One way Political correctness

It's coming to the UK soon. ITV has bought the rights and will be showing it on their new ITV4 channel which launches in the autumn.

As much as I like Ving Rhames, Kojak to me wil ALWAYS be Telly Savalas. And I am black. I cannot watch the show. And I did not watch the Honeymooners with Cedric the Entertainer, because to me Ralph will always be Jackie Gleason. And Shaft will always be Richard Roundtree.

Political correctness is one-way by definition.
Casting a black actor for a white role is politically correct, and casting a white actor for a black role is politically INcorrect.

You got the reaction because most people who are P.C. are hypocrites, and "tolerance" and words like that are actually words that mean basically nothing when spoken by these types because it is merely based on "tolerance" for things they approve of, which is actually the complete opposite of "tolerance".

Personally i see nothing wrong with black actors in white roles, but the P.C. people are actual racists and think these things should indeed only be one way.
It's not so much that they're against white actors in black roles that is the problem because it's merely opinion, and they could give solid and logical arguments for it. But the nature of these people is that they have no interest in giving logical argument. Their whole ideology is based on hypocrisy and emotion, and some of the most narrow minded people are actually those who proclaim things like "diversity", "Tolerance", "open mindedness" etcetera.
You can see example aplenty of those types not accepting any opinion that doesn't fall within their ideology, and you can experience, like you did, that you can get censored and even insulted if you give an opinion that doesn't fit within their world.

That is why freedom of speech with these types is such a farce. They don't know the meaning. This issue is relatively benign. Espouse a viewpoing that is more controversial, like a contrary view about politics, and you'll almost always see just how "tolerant" and open minded they really are.

I don't think it has much to do with Political Correctness.

Colour is irrelevant to the character of Kojak, so casting a black man makes no difference to the role and what the character is about.

Colour is very relevant to the character of Shaft. Casting a white man is missing the point of what the original Shaft was about.

These are high-concept characters with a few definiting traits that make them who they are. Kojak is about integrity and heart in an corrupt world. Kojak can be short, fat and chinese but it can still be Kojak. Shaft was THE "black private dick" and it was all about being black and doing what he did in that milieu. The final phone conversation in the first movie means nothing if he's white. In fact, he'd just come across as a jerk. Shaft must be cast black, otherwise it's not Shaft.

Imagine if they re-cast Soap with a white Benson. That would miss the whole point of the character. Benson, the black butler who does his own thing and answers to nobody. Only works if he's black.

Could they recast A-Team with a white BA? Sure.

Could they recast Hill Street Blues with a white Hill? Sure.

How about a white Dr. Chandler on St. Elsewhere? Sure.

White Shaft? Nope! That's as pointless as a white Kunta Kinte.

What? The half-deaf giant carrying our fake uncle?

Kojak was always a Polish named detective who didn't seem to be Polish. Telly's Kojak was clearly Greek and proud of it. He wasn't clearly Polish at all. That's part of the Kojak charm and why Ving's casting works. Ving fits right in becuase he too isn't clearly Polish.

Shaft has always been "the black private dick". Changing his race would change that. It's different from Kojak in that way. The new Kojak series has maintained the idea that he doesn't seem to fit his name. I like that. Can you dig it?

check out the movie "The Hebrew Hammer". it's kind of like a white, jewish Shaft parody.

however i don't know if a serious, WASP Shaft could go through. i think it would just be lame.

The black community would do better to create their own unique and interesting characters instead of turning old established white characters as black. examples: James West (wild wild west) played by Will Smith, just how many black cowboy's in the late 19th century do you really think worked for the government undercover?
Dr. Dolittle replaced by Eddie Murphy, as with the Nutty professor, these movies had very little to do with the originals so why not just create different persona's.
If the black community really wants freedom from their past, then why dwell in white characters and become them.

P.S. How would the black community dig a Shaka Zulu movie starring Mel Gibson as Shaka.

Seacrest OUT

I cannot imagine a white Shaft because Shaft's blackness was such an integral part of the character. At a time when black actors were largely limited to supporting roles, Shaft was a conscious attempt to posit a black man as the lead in a crime drama.

Kojak's whiteness never meant as much in terms of the character as Shaft's blackness. Kojak was one more in a long line of white TV cops.

I think your interpretation of this as "political correctness" is wrong. I am trying to imagine what black characters might be re-made as white ones. Until recently, so few memorable black characters existed on TV that there are few to choose from. A white Fred Sanford or George Jefferson (but wait, there already is one: Archie Bunker)? I cannot think of too many others.