The first teaser trailer for the newest live-action adaptation of a popular video game series, this time Mojang’s Minecraft franchise, was finally released Sept. 4. Following fans’ lukewarm reception to initial posts about “A Minecraft Movie,” the latest reactions to the 79-second trailer did not elevate any previous doubts.
Fans quickly criticized and mocked Warner Bros. Pictures’ decision to greenlight a live adaption, citing the poor visuals, lack of dynamic lighting and miscasting of game protagonist Steve (Jack Black) as reasonings behind the future “box office disaster.” Despite the many memes and jokes circulating social media after the teaser dropped, one common “criticism” against the film’s casting of Danielle Brooks has showcased a disturbing trend ruining the enjoyment and development of new media projects in today’s social climate.
Brooks, who plays the original character Dawn in the film, is the latest victim of racist backlash against non-white characters and performers in new pieces of entertainment. Reactions on X to the casting were the most severe, as the site’s rampant rise in hate speech on the platform under Elon Musk’s reign has notably pushed advertisers away.
Users on the site openly mocked Brooks’ weight and race, called her casting “forced diversity” and asked, “Do Blacks even play Minecraft?” Far-right live steamer Nicholas Fuentes even posted a picture of Brooks accompanied by a Rachel Maddow video. The video, utilized outside its original context to provide “humor” to the post, said, “You’re awake by the way. You're not having a terrible, terrible dream. Also, you're not dead and you haven't gone to hell. This is your life now.”
The reactions to Brooks’ casting are not the only attacks against non-white performers in visual entertainment in the past few months, either. In April, users online called British actress Francesca Amewudah-Rivers “ugly,” for her Black facial features, and even sent death threats to her after she was cast as Juliet in a West End production of “Romeo & Juliet.” A few days later, some fans of Disney’s animated “Tangled” (2010) flooded “Mean Girls” (2024) actress Avantika’s Instagram page after a false rumor spread that she was cast as Rapunzel in a live-action remake.
The rampant backlash against these performers can limit their availability, and excitement for roles, even if they are perfectly cast. In June 2023, Idris Elba commented he was turned off by the fan idea of playing James Bond once it became “about race” online.
The backlash can also encourage companies to pull support and advertisements for projects or even cancel each entirely since their presence online is full of hatred. In August, actress Amandla Stenberg took to Instagram to call out the racist vitriol she received following the latest cancellation of “The Acolyte.” Despite the racism against Stenberg not being the official reason behind its cancellation, the cancellation helps validate the rampant review bombing and other “criticisms” surrounding these shows’ supposed “wokeness.”
The push against diversity in political legislation and the co-opting of the term “woke” from Black culture, turning the term into a mockery of inclusive identities, has led to disgusting publicity of hateful remarks toward new projects and performers in the entertainment industry. Companies need to do more to stop the rampant hate speech on its platforms by calling out and removing the promoters of these hateful actions.
Even if a site like X states it is addressing these concerns on the platforms, the lack of enforcement leaves a lot to be desired. As of now, anyone could scroll underneath Brooks’s post and find a comment denouncing her weight and race as a means of “forced diversity” despite the many warnings and “limiting” of the post.
X’s loose application of its policy represents a greater disservice these regulations provide for non-white performers and original characters on these platforms. This rise in hate speech is not only rampant in online climates but also manages to spill into the social climate surrounding each project.
Any performer and character of any race deserves to have the same opportunities as their white counterparts, who have dominated the entertainment landscape since its rise in American culture. The racism against Brooks is, unfortunately, not going to be the last rampant attack against non-white characters and actresses in entertainment. However, society and companies need to do more to limit the frequent attacks against these individuals through proper action.
Trey Barrett is a graduate student studying film at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Trey know by emailing him at tb222023@ohio.edu.
