Dammit, Tim. 

DeLaDoll

DeLa Doll is a culture writer, cosplayer, and artist based in Florida. She has been writing professionally since 2016, with some of her work being featured on sites like HuffPo and /Film. She is an advocate for meaningful diversity and representation in media, a gamer, a mom, and an avid user of DIY hair dye.

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  1. Steve says:

    I agree with most of this, not sure about your point about the villain being black though. I don’t see how that’s some kind of secret message that blacks are evil, and more importantly I don’t think anyone watching the movie would get that impression either. Samuel L. Jackson is just a good actor for, well anything.

    • DeLa Doll says:

      No doubt he’s a great actor, but Tim saying he only cares for diversity when it’s “called for” and then deciding that a sadistic cannibal villain (who was described as pale in the books) calls for a black actor when none of his other movies have ever called for a non-white actor in a lead role is questionable. If he hadn’t the made the comments, it wouldn’t have been as big a deal to me (a bit bothersome, but I’d be able to give the benefit of the doubt). It’s just his views coupled with that particular casting choice that made it so uncomfortable

  2. picoFarad says:

    Really well said. Tim Burton may have been an outsider at one point, but he’s not anymore. I’d say it shows in his films, which have been entirely formulaic for a long time. Part of that might be that the outsider story resonates for so many people, but it’s clear now that for him, his themes aren’t actually universal, they’re just about himself. Another egoistic artist. As you said, an out of touch rich old white man.

  3. Candace Cooper says:

    I am an old(ish) Black woman and love what you said to the old white guy. The amount of denial that is present in Burton’s comment is startling. I too thought he was just unique and quirky. You properly called him a fraud.

  4. Anonymous says:

    YES!! Thank you.

  5. Alesandra says:

    So well said! I definitely resonate with this.

  6. Alesandra says:

    Reblogged this on Dream Warrior and commented:
    Apart from some profanity, I wholeheartedly agree with this.

  7. Niko says:

    MIC DROP! 😉 Very well said, we all gotta get past our own “particularities” and mostly have to be called out on them. Keep calling it like you see it!

  8. Anonymous says:

    Beautifully said. I saw the movie yesterday, and one of the first things I noticed was that the villain was black, and there were no other black actors, or any other actors of color. My first reaction was to give it a pass because, well, it is Tim Burton, and well, he is supposed to be forward-thinking, enlightened, or at least not your average ignorant shmuck, and I just couldn’t get past the cognitive dissonance that would have resulted from seeing what Tim Burton really did there. But, it has been bugging me, and your letter perfectly articulated what I was feeling/thinking. Tim Burton shouldn’t get a pass – there is no excuse to be so incredibly insensitive and out of touch, and to rely on willful ignorance is cowardly and a cop-out. There are a lot of groups who don’t have positive role models who look like them in mainstream media, and we need to be making efforts to change that. I didn’t know about Burton’s previous comments about lack of diversity in his films. I expected better from him, and it looks like I gave him too much credit. I’ll think twice before seeing or buying his films in the future (and I too have been a huge fan and own almost all of his work). Maybe there should be some pressure on powerful actors (Depp) who frequently work with him to try to influence him. Anyway, thanks for your letter, and for shining a light on a really important issue in Hollywood (and all mainstream media).

  1. October 4, 2016

    […] DeLa Doll (10/2/16) hit the hypocrisy of Burton, self-proclaimed champion of outsiders, dismissing the importance of […]

  2. October 4, 2016

    […] DeLa Doll (10/2/16) hit the hypocrisy of Burton, self-proclaimed champion of outsiders, dismissing the importance of […]

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