Westworld: Thandie Newton on diversity in the sci-fi genre

Westworld’s brave Maeve is speaking out about the lack of diversity in sci-fi. In a recent article by the New York Times, she expresses her thought’s on Westworld, Star Wars, and harassment on social media.

We know her best as Westworld’s boldest Madam. But did you know that Thandie Newton is the first woman of color to have a leading role in a Star Wars film? She thinks it’s “extraordinary” it’s taken 10 movies to accomplish this. This is what Thandie had to say when asked what she thought it meant to have characters of color working in the sci-fi genre.

Thandie says a lot of mainstream media and entertainment doesn’t have people of color. It irritates her that science fiction is exactly the kind of genre to be able to integrate more diverse skin tones. She feels since sci-fi is literally about the future, there should naturally be a large and varied mix of people. “If you don’t populate that place with people of different skin tones, shame on you,” said Newton.

She feels not having people of different skin tones represented is more a reflection on the daily lives of the entertainment creators. She states, “These are the key people and it’s like, ‘Oops-a-daisy, I don’t have a lot of black friends,’ and that’s a reality.”

Thandie’s role in the new Star Wars film is that of Val. The other actors and actresses of color who are in the new Star Wars films have been intimidated and bullied on social media. This is what she told the New York Times about handling this unique type of situation.

"Where there’s greatest progress, there’s greatest resistance. It’s a sign of getting somewhere if people get pissed about it. It’s like when you’ve got a cut, and as it’s healing, it starts to itch. That’s that moment that you’re in when people start to get really grumpy about change. It means that the healing is nearly done. So at that point, that’s when you’ve really got to knuckle down and, you know, breathe through it. The reason they’re getting pissed is because they’re losing, because things are changing, and they don’t like it."

One of Thandie’s daughters has a budding acting career. Thandie was asked if she felt she’d be entering into an industry that has improved or one that has remained pretty much the same. She said, “I don’t think it’s ever going to go away. This is human nature, to exploit. Especially in an industry like the film industry — people who want to exploit gravitate to it, you know?”

What do you think? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Follow Beyond Westworld’s Twitter and Facebook accounts for everything you need to know about Westworld.

Enjoy this article? Follow and see more from Renay here. 

Westworld returns with Season 3 in 2020 (or sooner, we hope)!