Unrealistic YA casting in movies and tv shows

My lovely blogger friend Nicole posted a link on facebook to this article asking if every YA action heroine must be petite. After participating in a little facebook discussion, it sent me on a little thinking tangent about how unrealistic most YA casting is.

My current casting pet peeve is Theo James as Four in Divergent.

heyguys.co.uk

I have nothing against Theo James. I loved him in Downton Abbey. My issue is that Theo is 29 playing an 18 year old. I'm sorry but there is no way he is passing for a teenager. Even Shailene Woodly is giving Theo the side eye about this.

Tv shows do it too. One Tree Hill, Dawson's Creek, Smallville (noticing a WB trend here...) all cast people that do not look like actual teenagers.

Here's the One Tree Hill cast.

zap2it.com

"We have so many "teenage" problems!"

Here's my senior year photo.

I would have fit right in One Tree right? Check out those braces.

I understand casting directors want to cast attractive people who have already gone through the awkward teenager phase but it's just glaringly unrealistic. This is why I love My So-Called Life so much.

huffingtonpost.com

An interesting tidbit is that Alicia Silverstone was up for the part of Angela but they gave it to Claire Danes because they thought Alicia was too pretty to have all of these teenage insecurities. I would have loved to look like either Alicia or Claire in high school by the way.

Let's take a look at some of the differences between One Tree Hill and My So-Called Life.

Things that happened on One Tree Hill:

Expensive weddings, going on tour, starting a fashion line, hanging out with Pete Wentz, living alone as a teenager in high school while your parents send you money.

Things that happened on My So-Called Life:

Friends growing apart in high school, crushing on the bad boy, crying over everything, rebelling against your parents, teenage alcoholism (done realistically) and general teenage social awkwardness.

Yes some of these things happened on One Tree Hill too but anything realistic was over shadowed by the over the top events that did happen and portrayed by actors who do not look like your typical teen.

I understand that One Tree Hill is a soap and reality is not the top priority here but the problem is there are too many shows like One Tree Hill and not enough like My So-Called Life.

Ok tangent/rant is done! It felt good to get that all out. Theo James I'm sorry you couldn't be on Downton Abbey longer.

Dropping Acid (it's not what you think it is) and Mr. Pamuk is Four?

I kept seeing one book pop up over and over again when I was searching for recipes for GERD - Dropping Acid the Reflux Diet Cookbook and Cure. Not only does is have great recipes but it also talks about how acidic our diets are in general due to prepared foods being increasingly acidified to prevent growth of bacteria and to extend shelf life. It makes sense to me. Eat less processed crap!

Work has been pretty busy the past two weeks which is good for my eating smaller meals plan. Keeps me distracted so I'm not tempted to eat too much. I'm getting used to it though and the frequent smaller meals are keeping the hunger pains away. I was very proud of myself today when I only ate half of this giant chicken salad sandwich.

I was talking with a former co-worker about the upcoming Divergent movie via email and he pointed out that Four was Mr. Pamuk on Downton Abbey! How did I not realize this before??

Your fate is much better in Divergent Theo.

The Boston Marathon safety protocols have been revealed. No bags, no strollers no unregistered runners or baggy clothing. There are a few problems here. If it's cold on Marathon Monday people will be wearing jackets. That could be a problem. Also people often have to run across the course to get to the other side of a street. Are you going to get in trouble for that? I don't know but I do it every year so I can get to the spot where I watch and to the bar I like to go to. I guess I'll have to leave my purse at home too which I'm ok with. 

It's going to be weird for sure but I still plan on heading out in Brookline like I usually do. We can't let fear rule our lives and I want to be there to support the runners (by drinking beer and cheering of course).