Girl Doctor: Casting suggestions :-)
Jun. 18th, 2008 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethI'm a bit grumbly because on reflection I've decided I agree with the teacher and not, er, me, about what I said out loud in class. Which is annoying. I quite like agreeing with me.
So, moving on:
This week's register question is who would we cast as Doctor Who, should it be necessary?
I only know people who've actually been in Doctor Who, so I just said not another white guy.
The setup where the Doctor is always going to be the coolest and world savingest and most powerful and all that means that as long as he's a white guy it plays into certain dominant assumptions, no matter what companion he has. Indeed, making his companion be someone from any minority can make things look extra wonky, on account of the function of the companion is, among other things, to get in trouble and have the Doctor save them. Though lately it has been also to save the Doctor.
So, basically, the powerful guy at the center of the story should hold power clearly because of knowledge and learning and stuff like that, acquired stuff, and not category stuff like being white or indeed boy parts. Change those things and you make that clear while also doing interesting to the structures.
... I only said the first sentence in class, cause the register question is mostly meant to be a one word answer.
ANYway, teacher agrees. He's thinking black guys for the role. But next week's question is specifically -
What woman would you cast to play the Doctor?
So, opinions from teh internets?
I know someone around here figures Rachel Weisz from The Mummy films. Somehow seems to work.
Someone else's fic has Nina Sosanya as Romana. D'you need the same qualities in a Romana as in a Doctor? NS was suggested in an interesting thread.
We're not allowed to vote Joanna Lumley, cause she's too obvious.
I am, once again, stuck with the everyone I know is in DW and TW thing.
Romana in my head is an asian woman. From India. Wearing white and gold and styled quite different than medaeval european robes.
But then I don't know any actress at all to be that.
Is no helpful. I should know more people. I keep bumping into the thing where my knowledge is very in depth in a very narrow area. Very very narrow, sometimes. And then in Doctor Who it don't feel deep enough cause DW is pretty damn wide all on its own.
So, moving on:
This week's register question is who would we cast as Doctor Who, should it be necessary?
I only know people who've actually been in Doctor Who, so I just said not another white guy.
The setup where the Doctor is always going to be the coolest and world savingest and most powerful and all that means that as long as he's a white guy it plays into certain dominant assumptions, no matter what companion he has. Indeed, making his companion be someone from any minority can make things look extra wonky, on account of the function of the companion is, among other things, to get in trouble and have the Doctor save them. Though lately it has been also to save the Doctor.
So, basically, the powerful guy at the center of the story should hold power clearly because of knowledge and learning and stuff like that, acquired stuff, and not category stuff like being white or indeed boy parts. Change those things and you make that clear while also doing interesting to the structures.
... I only said the first sentence in class, cause the register question is mostly meant to be a one word answer.
ANYway, teacher agrees. He's thinking black guys for the role. But next week's question is specifically -
What woman would you cast to play the Doctor?
So, opinions from teh internets?
I know someone around here figures Rachel Weisz from The Mummy films. Somehow seems to work.
Someone else's fic has Nina Sosanya as Romana. D'you need the same qualities in a Romana as in a Doctor? NS was suggested in an interesting thread.
We're not allowed to vote Joanna Lumley, cause she's too obvious.
I am, once again, stuck with the everyone I know is in DW and TW thing.
Romana in my head is an asian woman. From India. Wearing white and gold and styled quite different than medaeval european robes.
But then I don't know any actress at all to be that.
Is no helpful. I should know more people. I keep bumping into the thing where my knowledge is very in depth in a very narrow area. Very very narrow, sometimes. And then in Doctor Who it don't feel deep enough cause DW is pretty damn wide all on its own.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-18 10:28 pm (UTC)Seriously? I don't know much about Indian actresses - the lead in Bride and Prejudice was good (and it's a wonderful film). Aishwarya Rai, I think.
Asian from other countries? Maybe Yunjin Kim from Lost? She's a very good TV actor, lots of range.
I'm drawing a blank otherwise.
Oh, Sarah Shahi from Life. She's of Persian-Spanish ancestry, gorgeous and a very fine actor.
Perhaps others will have useful suggestions. It's a very good question, and I'll be interested to read what your class comes up with.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-19 02:11 pm (UTC)Or maybe Claudia Black.
Both Not British though.
Rachel Weisz might work
or how about Catherine Zeta Jones with her *proper* accent (not the mid-atlantic one that now seems to be her normal speaking voice).
Judi Dench would be amazing.
I really don't watch much TV and when I do it's usually the Discovery Channel!
If Iman could act, I think she'd be a great Romana; she looks so *regal*. A female Doctor would not need to have that same air around her as a Romana.
As for blokes I think Conrad Coates, the guy who plays Morgan in the Dresden Files would be cool. link to pic (http://l.yimg.com/img.tv.yahoo.com/tv/us/img/site/66/91/0000036691_20061228120529.jpg) he even has a long coat!
Or maybe an Asian actor like Joel De La Fuente. Both not-British though. Hmm.