First there were sensitive readers, who advised whether a book might offend.
Then came intimacy coordinators, to ensure that sex scenes in films did not scandalize audiences or cause difficulties for the actors involved.
Now the latest innovation in these more sensitive times is the “cultural consultant.”
Modern Hollywood is embracing them to eradicate any insensitivity around ethnicity, faith and race.
Disney/Pixar is interested in them.
For example, his animation Soul, the story of a school teacher who dies suddenly while dreaming of achieving his ambition of being a jazz pianist, would have had no less than eleven advisors, including musicians Herbie Hancock and Marcus McLaurine.
Sony producers asked Sajid Varda, chief executive of media charity UK Muslim Film, to advise them on a Pakistani-American character in the new Ghostbusters film, Frozen Empire.
Still image from the latest Ghostbusters movie, Frozen Empire (archive photo)
‘Cultural consultants’ hired to root out any insensitivity around ethnicity, faith and race (file photo)
Sony producers asked Sajid Varda, chief executive of media charity UK Muslim Film, to advise them on a Pakistani-American character in the new Ghostbusters film Frozen Empire (file photo).
A key part of the plot is the discovery of a secret room in his grandmother’s house and the sale of an ancient relic. The producers wanted to get the details of the relationship right.
Varda told The Guardian that the key to the work was not censorship but “authenticity, not just saying what’s wrong with this, but how we can make it better and better.”
He said his role is not about censorship. “When you’re consulting, you present to the filmmakers, ‘Here’s the problem or concern,’ and ‘This would be the recommendation,’ and then it’s really up to them whether they take it into account.
Sometimes a certain incident or line of dialogue is an integral part of the story to them and changing it significantly can take away the shine.’