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Tim Burton Doesn’t Put POC in Movies Because of the Brady Bunch

September 29, 2016

  •  Twitter lit into Tim Burton today for being weird in a way other than he’s normally weird. The director, who’s promoting the upcoming Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (check out the trailer here if you haven’t already), gave an interview to Bustle’s Rachel Simon in which he defended the lack of diversity in Miss Peregrine’s with this bizarre quote:

  • Source: twitter.com / Via: twitter.com

  •  Uh… what? The lack of diversity in his movies is because of the political correctness in The Brady Bunch? Now, I get the core of what he’s saying: forcing diversity onto stories that don’t necessarily call for it is a messed-up thing to do, and can compromise an artist’s vision. Imagine American Psycho with a diverse cast — the movie critiques the white male Wall Street culture, and it might weaken the overall message to shoehorn people of color into the story.  But Burton definitely 1. misspoke and 2. has a diversity problem. In her article, Simon points out that Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Miss Peregrine’s might be the first black lead character in any Tim Burton movie. (According to Simon, “Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent in Batman and Michael Clarke Duncan’s Colonel Attar in Planet of the Apes were both supporting parts.”)  As MTV News’ Ira Madison was quick to point out, there’s only one episode of The Brady Bunch featuring what Burton talked about:

  • Source: twitter.com / Via: twitter.com

  •  The blaxploitation thing is off-base, too:

  • Source: twitter.com / Via: twitter.com

  • Source: twitter.com / Via: twitter.com

  •  Hollywood has been challenged repeatedly over its diversity problem these past few years. From #OscarsSoWhite to our own recent critique of diversity in TV’s lead characters, there’s a definite sea change happening from the crusty exec way of thinking (“we have to cast a white man as the lead or white men will get mad and not buy tickets!”). As a person who’s enjoyed both Tim Burton movies and blaxploitation, I just hope Burton will realize his mistake, apologize, and get on the right side of history.  Oh, also, here’s an excellent joke:

  • Source: twitter.com / Via: twitter.com

  •  What do you think? Do Tim Burton movies have a diversity problem? Let us know in the comments below or @WhatsTrending on Twitter.