Diversity: When a caucasion man and woman can give birth to a black daughter and anyone who notices is labelled a racist - Lost in Space (2018) Discussion

[–] Starman (412) 5 years ago

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[–] kuku (3510) 5 years ago

diversity exists in the real world, art merely reflects reality

LOL

You're a troll, aren't you?

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[–] TimMC (9143) 5 years ago

They eventually explain it and it's a pretty good story too. If they hadn't explained it YES you would be raving RACIST for pointing that out. LOL.

It's a MAD HOUSE.

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[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

There were always two possibilities: she was a child from a previous marriage, or she was adopted. It doesn't take a genius to figure that much out. Do people need every dot explicitly connected for them? When they finally did get into specifics, it set up the storyline for a presumed third season. We needed to know about her biological father and his long lost expedition to get the significance of her finding that ship.

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[–] TandyMan (11120) 5 years ago

I still don't know why the cast an actress who looks like she's 12 years old to play Judy. Her bio says she's 25, but it's endlessly weird and creepy.

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[–] doctorc1970 (278) 5 years ago

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[–] trevorh321 (5495) 3 years ago

We shouldn't be concentrating on skin color so much. We should focus on diversity instead. Diversity is our strength.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Diversity doesn't make you stronger, the reality is America and its success was not due to diversity. You assume that simply having different races was some grand diversity that help America... it was not. The reason America progressed past Europe in the 20th century and before was the lack of diversity. People that came to America had a shared belief in trying to improve their place in the world and a belief in themselves. They were also already successful enough to afford passage to the US, they left behind the slackers. That was the very opposite of diversity. The only problem is that the US brought in slaves that were not seeking a better life and were in fact the ones too stupid to avoid being caught and enslaved. If slaves had never been brought into the America then the US would be even further ahead that it is right now.

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[–] rnmboon (411) 3 years ago

It certainly is a strange casting choice. And very much against the times. You would think that in the age of "identity politics" the producers of a show like this wouldn't so frivolously change the skin color of character that has always been white in earlier incarnations of the series. Maybe 20 years ago this wouldn't have been controversial but times have changed.

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[–] Keelai (34982) 3 years ago

The 60s were racist and sexist. No reason to maintain both in a 21st century update. Notice that Judy, Maureen and Penny aren't doing cooking for the men in this version.

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[–] rnmboon (411) 3 years ago

A 21th century update should also include respect for different cultures and not appropriating characters with a specific skin color. We have seen multiple examples in film and tv where this led to controversy. The makers of the series clearly did not get that memo.

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[–] Keelai (34982) 3 years ago

It appears you believe the women should only cook like they did in the original even though it wouldn't reflect reality presently and especially in the future for female astronauts.

Furthermore, the reboot takes place in 2044 when the majority of Americans are persons of color. They are clearly underrepresented in this show.

I don't have the impression you watch this program since you don't appear to understand the story.

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[–] rnmboon (411) 3 years ago

You don't seem to get it. Changing the original storyline to be able to change the color of a character IS the problem. The fact that it is happening is what matters and not the way it is done. And no one is bothered if a female character is cooking or not. Not sure why you are referencing that. You may want to actually read my original post.

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[–] Keelai (34982) 3 years ago

They changed the original storyline for everyone especially Dr. Smith, Don, the Robot and John. Obviously, you never watched either version of the show.

The women only cooked. Nothing else. In the new version, the women are intelligent and working scientists. The original storyline was drastically changed for them.

"no one is bothered if a female character is cooking or not."

Speak for yourself:

"In the original series, Maureen, who was introduced as Dr. Maureen Robinson, was a distinguished biochemist. However, Maureen won't be delegated to just cooking and cleaning.

In the original, Maureen Robinson makes a lot of sandwiches in the middle of a massive alien crisis," Molly Parker explained to Vancouver Sun. "Maureen is like, 'Can I make anyone a sandwich?' I don't know if that was the reality then but it's certainly not the reality now. So instead you have this working mother who is a brilliant scientist who can do what she needs to do to protect her family and she does."
https://www.romper.com/p/who-plays-maureen-robinson-on-lost-in-space-molly-parker-brings-new-life-to-the-character-8749842

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[–] joej2923 (3049) 3 years ago

I just think they should have invented a new show instead of swapping race/gender of the original crew. Don West is now a latino. Penny is now mixed race. Dr. Smith is now a female. I enjoyed the new show overall but I always thought the original show was too campy/silly like a lot of 60's shows. I'd be pissed if they did a gender/race swap of characters that I cared about like Batman/Superman.

https://www.supanova.com.au/character-study-comparing-original-lost-space-netflix-reboot/

Netflix has a commitment to diversity/equity/inclusion so a Netflix viewer has to be prepared to see people of color randomly inserted into the show. I'd rather see new shows with diverse casts instead of old shows rebooted with diverse casts.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/26/netflix-will-spend-100-million-to-improve-diversity-on-film-following-equity-study.html

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[–] Keelai (34982) 3 years ago

Dr. Smith is still a male.

Lost in Space was originally a serious program. You can watch the first few episodes to see that. Jonathan Harris began to change his character and brought more comedy to the show which made the show more popular.

I'm a huge fan of the original and was not planning to watch the reboot because of my admiration for Harris' Dr. Smith character. I changed my mind when I realized they went in an entirely different direction.

A reboot should be different from the original instead of a complete rehash. All of the characters and their storylines are different which makes the show fresh, original and interesting. The original adult characters, except Smith, were boring. This show did a good job at fleshing out the characters and making their interactions more realistic. A lily-white sexist American show in 2022 would be distasteful. It definitely needed to be corrected. I can't wait for Judy to see her biological father who was believed dead. Now, poor Maureen has TWO HUSBANDS! My guess is that one of them will need to be killed off.

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[–] joej2923 (3049) 3 years ago

The original Dr. Smith was a man but the lady criminal stole his identity. They eventually figured out that she was an impostor but she is still playing the role of Dr. Smith from the original show.

The first season of the original show was serious but the second and third seasons introduced comedy in order to compete against the campy Batman tv show. I think I only saw a few episodes of the second and third series before deciding it was stupid.

I think a reboot should remain faithful to the original show in order to keep the original fans happy. Hollywood should just come up with a new show if they are going to make drastic changes to the key characters. I could see changing a few support characters if a better actor/actress is available/willing but I don't agree with major changes to significant characters. I don't see any evidence of the original show being sexist and I don't see a problem with a "lily-white" show" or a show featuring a bunch of blacks/asians/hispanics.

I finished season three so Judy's father did show up briefly. I suppose you didn't see it yet. I don't believe Maureen ever married Judy's father so there were never two husbands.

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[–] Keelai (34982) 3 years ago

Obviously, you're not a real "Lost in Space" fan since you didn't like the original.

Lost in Space's camp had nothing to do with Batman. CBS told the creator to lighten the tone so it wouldn't be too scary for younger viewers. Harris took it upon himself to begin camping it up.

Interesting how you're not complaining about the entirely different tone between the campy original and serious reboot.

The only thing that offends you is a black actress.

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[–] joej2923 (3049) 3 years ago

Unlike you, I watched all three seasons of the new show. I liked the first couple seasons of the new show but the final season was lame. I'm not a fan of the original show so my complaints aren't too loud. I also enjoyed the '98 movie with William Hurt so I do appreciate a serious adaptation of Lost in Space.

The show was competing against Batman and the show did change from a serious sci-fi show to a big joke. There could have been more than one reason for the format change BUT it did embrace zany humor.

https://www.looper.com/724302/the-untold-truth-of-lost-in-space/ ** Competition vs Batman? **

I prefer serious sci-fi shows so that's why I enjoyed the new show over the ridiculous old show.

The actress is a mixed-race actress and I'm not offended at all. I challenge you to find any post of mine on this show that expresses anger/offense about the casting of Judy. I don't mind race/gender swap of a supporting character so kids are never important to me. I thought the casting changes to Don West and Dr. Smith were problematic since those are key characters on the show. I feel empathy towards fans of Lost in Space who tuned in expecting nostalgia and encountered an unrecognizable show.

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[–] Keelai (34982) 3 years ago

Unlike you, I watched BOTH "Batman" and "Lost in Space" when they originally aired in the 1960s. I continue to watch LIS in reruns for decades and own many of the episodes including the two pilots.

No greater fan than myself!

In the 60s, it was normal for shows to repeat the entire season during the summer as well as rerun episodes during the winter holidays.

Batman aired twice a week and different seasons from Lost in Space.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965%E2%80%9366_United_States_network_television_schedule

You're complaining about their campiness, but kid-friendly shows were normal for that era. I watched "The Flying Nun", "Mr. Ed", "Mr. Terrific", "My Favorite Martian", Captain Nice", It's About Time", The Monkees" and "Bewitched" when they originally aired. You seem humorless.

The "Lost in Space" movie stunk. It only reiterates my concern about trying to recreate Dr. Smith. That's why I'm glad they went in an entirely different direction for the new series.

Don was never a key character. Will, Dr. Smith and the robot were the stars.

Your linked article is crap. Lost in Space thrived in syndicated reruns for decades. Many B&W shows were only beginning to film in color since more families were buying color sets. CBS set out to be cheap with "Lost in Space" according to Gene Roddenberry who was approached by their execs in regard to creating a low-budget sci-fi series before LIS was created.

You're a hypocrite for complaining about any changes to the original re: Judy, while welcoming changes to the original re: tone. Admit you just hate black people.

The iconic original show will continue to play in reruns while the new series - as much as I like it - will be long forgotten.

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[–] JUNKY (15) 3 years ago

You're a twit. At least watch the show before your racist rant...

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