Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, often known simply as Rumi, was a 13th-century Persian poet and scholar. He was born in the Kwaraziman dynasty, which encompassed parts of what is now Iran and Afghanistan. He was most certainly brown. Which, of course, means Hollywood wants to cast Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie based on his life. Ramadan Mubarak, I guess.
Screenwriter David Franzoni, most famous for Gladiator, told the Guardian he wanted DiCaprio to play Rumi, and Robert Downey Jr. to star as the mystic Shams of Tabriz—aka two white people playing two nonwhite people. If you couldn’t guess, many are unhappy about those choices and are posting about it under the hashtag #RumiWasntWhite.
White people ruin Ramadan 2016 by announcing their ‘Rumi’ movie.#RumiWasntWhite pic.twitter.com/1XnxWa8x7O
— Aamer Rahman (@aamer_rahman) June 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/740362587016024064
OMG. #RumiWasntWhite Please sign this petition and tell Hollywood: No to whitewashing #Rumi! https://t.co/wHyCSqlm4N
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) June 7, 2016
remember when idris elba wasn’t “english enough” to play james bond, but it’s chill if leo dicaprio plays rumi #RumiWasntWhite
— aamina inayat khan (@aaminasdfghjkl) June 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/Arshloc/status/740285295732613120
Nearly every single time a white person is cast as a character of color, people call out the decision, which would make you think that producers would stop doing it. There was outrage when Scarlett Johansson was cast as Motoko Kusanagi, a Japanese character, in Ghost in the Shell. There was outrage when Tilda Swinton was cast as the Ancient One, who is Tibetan, in Doctor Strange. There was outrage over the casts of Exodus and Gods of Egypt being overwhelmingly white. There was outrage at Johnny Depp playing a Native American in Lone Ranger, Emma Stone playing a character of mixed heritage in Aloha, and Benedict Cumberbatch playing anyone with the name “Khan” in Star Trek: Into Darkness. We could go on, but you get the point.
https://twitter.com/kriosphone/status/740549486338924545
Franzoni says the film, which has yet to be cast, will delve into the life of one of the most famous and popular poets who ever lived. “Rumi is hugely popular in the United States,” he says. “I think it gives him a face and a story.” Let’s just hope that face is the same color as Rumi’s was.
