How closely does an actor need to resemble a character or historical figure in order to portray them on the Silver Screen?
The answer largely seems to depend on whether you are darkening the character's skin tone.
We call this colorism, and in the case of Black women, misogynoir.
Moya Bailey, Ph.D., author of Misogynoir Transformed: Black Women’s Digital Resistance, defined misogynoir as "the ways anti-Black and misogynistic representation shape broader ideas about Black women, particularly in visual culture and digital spaces".
There was a major uproar in 2018 when Anna Diop landed the role of Starfire on DC's Titans on HBOMax. The vitriol and fake concern over character design integrity were not unexpected. Whenever a darker skinned or Black (the two are not always interchangeable) character is whitewashed or given racially ambiguous features and lighter skin, any criticism is met with useless platitudes that ignore systemic issues or are benefit-of-the-doubt excuses. Suddenly, the "best person" for the role should get it regardless of race or the animation team was just going with a pastel palette.
