the answer to ‘why a series in singapore by hbo asia has to star a white dude’ is colonialism and the role of australian military in south east asia in the mid 20th century (which ps we will be discussing in next week’s review) and the worst thing about all of this is that don hany isn’t even white, he’s just passing.
the second worst thing is why isn’t joan chen playing the detective.
as a seazn-australian i just want this show to be the best thing ever 🙁
I have a lot of feelings about how Don Hany only gets to play a lead character of his actual ethnicity if it’s on SBS. I love him, and I love that he’s getting a lot of work, but Australian television’s inability to create a non-white leading man (except in an Issues Series) is really terrible.
(And then non-Australians call him a white dude, and that shits me off as well, even though that’s exactly how he’s framed.)
Oh, sorry, the actor’s Iraqi-Hungarian? That’s awesome. But yeah, he’s presented as pretty white passing.
And yes, Joan Chen as the detective would have been my awesomest favoritest thing ever.
The show certainly does have potential but of course, like with Orange is the New Black recently, all the PoC still surround a white (presenting in this case) character. And Marlena…well. It wasn’t an unsympathetic light and probably a realistic situation considering the times, but tough to watch!