Salon points out why PoC leads are a mistake

Salon magazine griped about Donald Glover having an Asian fetish in real life, which they think is just (gasp!) horrible, and how they feel that’s carried into the series.

They call out a “racist” comment Glover’s undercover character makes about Maya Erskine’s character during an episode, even though he does it to throw off his targets.

And, of course, Erskine’s character, who is supposed to be a cool, calm assassin, is offended by this.

https://www.salon.com/2024/02/11/mr-mrs-smith-donald-glover-asian-women-fetish

But that (perhaps unintentionally on Salon’s part) also points out why having PoC leads can be a problem.

When they cast white actors, like in the film version, films/shows focus on the story.

When it’s PoC actors/characters, it tends to focus on race (i.e. woke), which severely limits its potential audience and entertainment value.

This is why there is a big difference between being diverse vs being woke.

Diverse = Good (when it isn’t race-swapping white characters)
Woke = Bad