Is That Racist? – Son of Zorn: Two Girls, One Nancy
Son of Zorn uses two Asian Actresses to play the same bit character, Is That Racist?
Son of Zorn is an animation and live-action crossover comedy about a cartoon Barbarian who leaves his action-packed barbarian life and land to live in the Orange County to get closer to his son. It’s pretty much He-Man living in the OC, trying to adjust to life in the real world. The show has an interesting and hilarious concept, that is still finding it’s stride. Personally, I like the show. I really like the cast, and the concept feels very original. I also Think He-Man is one of the dumbest characters ever created, and this is as close as I’ll ever get to liking him. However, there is one thing that almost makes me want to stop watching the show entirely, and that is the fact that they use Ellen Wong and Alice Lee to play Nancy. Nancy is a girl who goes to the same school as Zorn’s son Alan (Johnny Pemberton).
Nancy is a girl who goes to the same school as Zorn’s son Alan (Johnny Pemberton). She’s a waitress and shows some romantic interest in Alan. In the first episode, Nancy is introduced as a waitress who takes Zorn and Alan’s order, and also drives by Alan’s home as Zorn slays a giant bird he got for Alan that his mother won’t let him keep. In this episode, Nancy is played by Ellen Wong. The second episode has Nancy walking a dog and casually running into and conversing with Alan about “shared interests.” In this episode, she is played by Alice Lee.
Nancy plays a much bigger role in the second episode, but other than mentioning the bird-slaying in the previous episode, and briefly shown as a waitress, has no connection to it. So why is it necessary for Alice Lee to also play Nancy? Was there something pivotal in the pilot that requires the same character to appear in the second episode? Why are there no other Asians in this fictional Orange County?
Is having two Asian actresses play the same minor part racist? YES, it is racist.
Nancy’s role has no significant purpose to the story in the pilot episode. So keeping the Nancy character for the second episode is absolutely unnecessary. The callbacks Nancy makes to the pilot, only serve to promote that she is indeed the same character. However, both situations could have easily been experienced by an entirely different character. Is it really so hard to believe that there are two young Asian teenagers who go to Alan’s school? That there are two Asian teenagers who work as waitresses? That there is another person who witnessed a giant 10-feet tall bird get slaughtered in an open driveway? No, to all those questions.
The only logical explanation is that Alan is a such a freak that this Nancy is the only one he can ever have a chance with. But, Alan isn’t a freak and does not seem like some outcast who no one talks to. He’s an awkward teenage boy who likes a girl. NOTHING NEW THERE. So even this explanation is completely pointless, meaning there was absolutely no reason to carry the character over and replace the casting.
Pilot episodes are often shot before the show is picked up to shoot more episodes, so not being able to get Ellen Wong for the rest of the series is understandable. However, her part as Nancy is completely negligible. New Girl had to replace a main character when they faced a similar situation with Damon Wayans Jr. They could have had Lamorne Morris replace Wayans as Coach, but no, the writers at New Girl aren’t that ignorant and degrading. They created an entirely new character for him, and also left it open for Coach to return.
There is no good reason for Alice Lee taking over the role of Nancy instead of simply just having her play another character. The writers could have let Alice Lee play Nina; it would not have taken anything away, or changed anything, from the story. Doing so would have, left the door open for Ellen Wong to come back and reprise her role, essentially double the Asian population of this fictional Orange County, and not insult a whole group of people who already struggle for representation in entertainment. However, I guess it is too much for the creatives of the show to fathom more than one Asian in their show’s world at a time; even if they only feature one minority on screen at a time. Son of Zorn is only two episodes in, and they already display a huge lack of competence in continuity, creativity, and respect for its audience.
So again, Son of Zorn having two girls, one Nancy, IS RACIST.
Bad writing move maybe, but racist? Far shot from being that, don’t waste your time reading this like I did.
has to be the most ridiculous article i’ve ever had the displeasure of reading… how confusing would it have been to have one asian love interest in the first episode, then a completely different asian love interest in the second episode? stupid breeds stupid, please dont have children
That was the point of the article. I asked nearly the same question:
“Is it really so hard to believe that there are two young Asian teenagers who go to Alan’s school? That there are two Asian teenagers who work as waitresses?”
Please learn to read. I’d insult you as well, but I don’t think you’d get it. You may commence on going on a hate tirade because your ego has been damaged by someone who’s profile photo has them sleeping on a puppy. I’ll even not respond so you feel like you win this one little buddy.
She clearly got replaced idiot, nothing racist about it. Also the other Asian girl isn’t even in the show, shows they scrapped the role not that their racist.
Learn to read and fix your grammar and we can have a conversation. Not gonna have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Sorry, I’m Asian and this was not a racist move. It is quite typical after a pilot episode to make changes to a character. Being a waitress most likely changed. At least they kept the role Asian. 🙂 This is why they call it a “pilot” episode. Changes are bound to be made. Sometimes not. For example, there’ a funny British TV show out there called Toast of London. They have a re-occuring cast member on that show who was re-casted right after the pilot episode. It happens all the time.
Recasting and replacing “recurring” characters happens all the time, even after the pilot. If you read my responses to Earl, I list a number more from popular American shows that I know people have watched or can easily find. And if you read to the end of my you’d know I mentioned that fact in detail.
I will admit I could be pointing out something that is a huge coincidence that has nothing to do with race. It can just as easily be completely lazy and negligent writers.
Why I say it is racist is that it is not a “recurring” character or a character who has an established relationship to any main character. It’s not a sibling, parent, cousin, it’s a bit part. Changing “Nancy’s” name from the pilot to the second episode would have 0 impact on anything. Rather than pressing “CTRL + H” on the keyboard to change her name in the script, they have two scenes establishing that the new Nancy is the exact same Nancy from the previous episode.
Again, it can be a complete coincidence that there are two scenes establishing the character was in the previous episode. But considering it is not a recurring character or a character with a connection to any of the characters in the show, it does come off as racist because it seems extra effort went into showing Alice Lee is the same character as Ellen Wong.
If it has nothing to do with race, it is still evident of how neglectful and lazy the writing is.
But, if you can think of an example of a non-recurring character, with no established relationships to any of the main cast, I will admit you’re right and write an “I’m wrong piece.” Until then, it is racist (or at best, negligent and lazy writing).
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On a side note, since you’re so thankful that they kept the character Asian. How do you feel about The Ancient One being portrayed by Tilda Swinton?
I don’t think it’s neglectful writing. Again, it’s just typical change after a pilot episode. Maybe Ellen Wong was not contracted to the show and did something else in the process. Maybe they felt that Alice Lee is a better actress. There could be 100 different reasons why they re-casted her. It’s most likely the change after the pilot is what the character will be going forward, and who’s to say that she won’t show up again? I’m sure the writers could bring her back.
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As for the Ancient One being portrayed by Tilda Swinton, that’s just a pure example of white-washing roles, like “Aloha”.
Top 10 Worst Whitewashed movie roles – https://youtu.be/9NCIGC537kE
Although you can’t really blame them for Ghost in a Shell since hardly any anime characters look even close to being Asian. lol
The reason I say it’s neglectful is because better writers have been through the situation and handled it with more class and thought. Best example, (mentioned in the article) “New Girl” (which also happens to be on the same network).
The precedent has been established. “That’s the way it’s always been,” is not a good excuse especially when people have found a better way; that way is also proven to be extremely successful and respectful to the audience.
But I’m not trying to change your mind, I could be completely looking into a coincidence. However, considering the situation and other examples, I stand firmly in my opinion of it being Racist, or if it is a coincidence, negligent/lazy. The situation is not new and has been handled better.
It’s all good. That’s what these forums are for, discussion and opinion, not trolling. 🙂
My thing about the the whole Tilda Swinton/Ancient one is that no one is complaining about Baron Mordo, who is a much larger character to the lore. Yes they replaced a character that is originally depicted as Asian, but the character doesn’t even have a 4 issue mini-series worth noting. Whereas Baron Mordo has action figures.
They took a somewhat interesting character and gave it to a renowned actress, and provided a character that allows the movie to pass the Bechtold test. I mean they could have given the role to Michelle Yeoh, but it’s a bit part that likely ends in the character’s death. So after the movie, there would have people complaining how they give Asians bad roles.
Ghost in the Shell, I’m in a similar boat because this is the creator’s chance to grow his franchise to worldwide popularity. Ghost in the Shell is not Dragon Ball or even Yu-Gi-Oh, and most of the people complaining don’t even know the franchise. So people are boycotting the creator’s chance to make it big, because they want to be mad about a trending issue.
I’m pretty sure I see people mad about Ghost in the Shell and The Ancient Once the same way some people perceive me complaining about Son of Zorn.
I think the Baron Mordo change was more marketability in it’s actors. It’s a role like Nick Fury, who is originally white. They might have figured that it is a role that can be portrayed by anyone.
Marvel has been making all sorts of changes recently. They now have a female Thor and a Korean Hulk. Yes! A Korean Hulk! https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/09/08/marvels-new-korean-hulk-could-begin-to-smash-recent-criticism-over-diversity/
But why isn’t the same logic for Mordo’s change applied to The Ancient One? I’m against cultural appropriation, but there’s certain battles that are trivial and have multiple sides. Dr. Strange made two race swaps, yet only one is talked about. And they don’t talk about how much more diverse the movie is because of it.
And I love all the changes Marvel’s been doing in the comics, but more importantly is the way they’re doing it. They’re not race swapping their long time characters, they’re passing on their mantles. I wrote a piece on it awhile back:
https://fanboynation.com/marvel-now-diverse/
Yeah, it can be a sensitive topic. Probably because roles like Mordo and Fury were given to African-Americans given their history and deserving of it. So, they will be praised for it. Also, I think it’s good to see people speaking up more for the Asian role (big or small). Whether it is right or wrong, or completely exaggerated, at least they’re being heard. Otherwise, the producers will continue to easily dismiss the Asian role entirely for somebody else as we still see today.
Loved ellen wong, but sorry not racist. You’ve watched t.v. before you know shows replace actors and keep the character around, if nancy was white you wouldnt care. Lazy yes, racist not unless you make it.
If Nancy was white, it would depend on how much emphasis they put into her being white and how important her character’s relationship is to others on the show.
I can definitely be wrong, and it could be a simple case of having to change actresses after the pilot. Or the writers/producers coincidentally were too lazy to press CTRL+H to change the characters name and put two establishing scenes into the episode. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence those scenes were still in the episode and they just had to recast because of availability and I’m reading too far into it.
But here’s why I think it’s racist and how it’s different than the countless other actor/actress swaps. Every other swap I’ve witnessed was for a recurring character with an established relationship to a character on the show. Aunt Viv on Fresh Prince, Becky on Roseanne, The sister on The OC, Meg from Family Guy, or Carol on Friends, to name a few. If the character had no relationship, the character is usually just dropped.
The situation isn’t new but the precedent of changing a character’s name and story for a new actor has been established, successfully, by New Girl. They kept all of Coaches story lines they had planned and just gave it to a new character (Wintson).
In the case of Nancy, they go out of the way to show it’s the same character from the pilot. A character who had no established relationships and as of now no recurrence. When a character has no established relationships, they’re usually dropped and never mentioned again. (Donna’s Sister in That 70’s Show, Daniels from Brooklyn 99, The Youngest Sister in Family Matters.)
So if you can give me a solid example where a character is swapped out, that doesn’t have an established relationship, isn’t a recurring character, and given awkward scenes establishing her, I’d be willing to say you’re right and I’m reading too deep into it.
I like the show too, but it just felt really lazy and negligent. Rather than hitting “CTRL+H” to change Nancy to something else, they have two mini scenes that seem like they’re specifically there to confirm it is the same Nancy from the first episode.
This is definitely the best version of He-Man ever made.
Odds are you’re correct about production not being able to get the same actress for the series post pilot (or there were other problems involved like the first actress was difficult or wanted more money.) I work with the lot best boy grip who did the show so I could probably find out for sure. These recastings happen a lot more than people realize (ask Richie Cunningham’s brother). Still, I agree, it could be a simple name change; it’s not like a production can’t adjust on the fly.
I do like the show, though and god you are right about He-Man being the dumbest character ever.