NBC Promotes ‘Rise’ as an ‘Inspiring High School Drama Inspired by a True Story’ but Straightwashes Main Character
Showrunner Says He Wanted ‘Material That Was Provocative,’ ‘Didn’t Want to Shy Away From Sexual Orientation and Gender,’ but Wanted to ‘Make It My Own’
NBC is promoting its new drama about a high school teacher and his students as an “inspiring high school drama inspired by a true story” but for some reason has decided to change the main character from gay to straight.
“Rise,” HuffPost notes, “follows Lou Mazzuchelli (played by Josh Radnor) as he helps revitalize the high school theater department in a working-class town. The series is based on Michael Sokolove’s 2014 book, Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater.”
Mazzuchelli, in turn, is loosely based on Lou Volpe, who was the drama director at Harry S. Truman High School in Levittown, Pennsylvania, before retiring in 2013. There has been one critical change: Although Volpe came out as gay late in his career, Mazzuchelli will be portrayed on “Rise†as a straight family man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7HHOjnipS4
“I wanted it to be two things: material that was provocative,” showrunner Jason Katims tells The Hollywood Reporter, “and I also wanted it to be a show that thematically connected to the stories that these characters were going through.”
Why change the teacher from gay to straight?
“I felt like I needed to make it my own story. I didn’t want to shy away from sexual orientation and gender,” Katims says. THR reports he “referenced a transgender high school student and another who is coming to grips with his own sexuality amid being raised by a very religious family.”
“Those stories resonated with me as a storyteller and I wanted to lean into that. With Lou’s family, there’s a lot of reimagination — not just if he’s gay or straight, but the family structure. … It was important to honor the source material, but to also make it my own so we’d be able to lean into it.”
Katims is taking heat on social media:
Jason Katims explains that he changed the inspiration for Rise from a closeted gay man to a straight family guy to better mirror his own story. So, 😬 #TCA18
— Caroline Framke (@carolineframke) January 9, 2018
What faith should anyone have in the remaining #LGBT characters on #Rise if Katims admits to straightwashing the lead character because he can’t relate? https://t.co/212VCbzX93
— natthedem (@natthedem) January 10, 2018
“Katims explained he changed this aspect of his main character to be able to connect with the story.â€
I have so many things I want to say about this. None of them pleasant or polite. https://t.co/Dilu5uocf6
— RJ Lackie ⚔ (@rjlackie) January 9, 2018
The straight showrunner Jason Katims decided he needed to make the real life teacher, who was closeted and came out later in life, straight so that HE could connect to the story. GET. FUCKED.
— Laurence “Laura Dern” Barber (@bortlb) January 10, 2018
New NBC drama’s gay lead has been rewritten as straight – https://t.co/kznnyLWcx2
I call this “laziness.”
— Zack Ford (@ZackFord) January 10, 2018
Imagine straightwashing a character because you are that mediocre of a writer and can’t connect to a gay character https://t.co/eVyim3kTH6
— ⛪Goody Christianson🙠(@HonestlyJon) January 10, 2018
I’m sorry, but ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Pro-tip, Katims. If you pick a story to adapt, and you can’t find a way to connect to the main character w/out changing A CORE ASPECT OF HIS CHARACTER, here’s a gem of an idea….PICK ANOTHER STORY.
— Kalen O’Donnell (@kalenodonnell) January 10, 2018
Just…what the actual fuck? This is a character based on a real person. Hey, Jason Katims, want to take inspiration from an inspirational gay man? Here’s a tip: don’t write him as straight because it makes you more comfortable. https://t.co/wJvm3nWGD5
— Cole Campbell (@colehcampbell) January 10, 2018
If you’re a straight writer who can’t write a gay character, maybe the character isn’t the one who needs to change. Gay writers have written straight characters since they were doing it in pictographs. pic.twitter.com/R81Ok1ssyy
— Jeremy C. F🦊x (@JeremyCFox) January 10, 2018
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