How the Controversial Casting of Jamaican Characters in 'Luke Cage' Season 2 Gave Birth to b/dscvrd

My initial outrage finally wore off. I was no longer yelling at my television screen during frequent pauses of each episode while trying to get through the painstaking representation of Jamaican characters in season 2 of 'Luke Cage' on Netflix. Where some of my colleagues abandoned hope or boycotted the season, I stuck it out and watched till the end. 

When the moment came to give the season a thumbs up or down, something had shifted. The energy turned into something different, a nagging curiosity, like a constant hum that I couldn't shake. Questions about the casting process, the availability of Caribbean actors in the US, and why we miss opportunities to do the work of representing our own culture gnawed at me daily.

Then, I let it go. Until I couldn't.

Months later, after sitting in the audiences of several presentations of the Jamaican plays my client Chris performed in across Toronto, I found myself Googling his cast mates. The results were triggering. Well-known Jamaican actors who tour North America, the UK, and the Caribbean had no digital presence. I couldn't find a digital property they own that is a portfolio of a body of work or has contact details for the actor or their representation for booking purposes.

That nagging hum had resurfaced.

How can our talent be cast in large productions, home and abroad, if no one could find them? How does the casting system across the Caribbean fare against casting in the US and UK? Is there a system? How are producers, casting directors and talent agents finding talent for new projects? How many opportunities are talented young actors missing out on in the region? These are some of the questions I set out to answer - and provide a solution through b/dscvrd. 

Our film industry is in a boom right now, and as organizations like JAFTA are creating a space for our auteurs to level up and thrive, the same is needed for our acting talent. We'll start by building a talent database and casting platform for actors from the Caribbean and Diaspora. Ultimately, our mission is to work with industry professionals to build a system that nurtures and protects our talent.