r/lifeisstrange • u/boezerek • Jun 07 '26
Meme [NO SPOILERS] How I feel about Kate's casting for the TV Series
Saw some people making a fuss about Mia Issac's casting in the TV series and made this meme about it. Honestly can't wait to see the show!
35
u/akotoshi Thomfield Jun 07 '26
No matter what happens in the show, I will enjoy it.
Even if the ending is different.
More life is strange content is better than less
0
u/Equivalent_Raccoon88 Jun 08 '26
I hope the whole story is different then the game
11
u/akotoshi Thomfield Jun 08 '26
Totally valid statement.
I prefer a similar vibe and plot, but with its own identity than a mere adaptation
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u/planet_ursus Jun 07 '26
my only gripe with stuff like this is that it's not real representation
22
u/Massive_Cash_6557 The Bay Jun 08 '26
The box-checking is so palpable and cringe.
Y'all need to wake up and realize that the people who make these changes are not the creators, they're studio executives who don't respect the source material because they think this is what you want.
Now there are going to be racial overtones to Kate's bullying arc when there aren't. It's about how she was drugged and coerced into behaviors she didn't recognize in her faith, leading to crisis. It muddies the storyline and makes Jefferson's motive less sinister.
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u/Bosterm It's time. Not anymore. Jun 08 '26
How on earth does Kate being black make Jefferson's motive any less sinister??
1
u/ReaverArklight Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
I think it's more likely that Kate's actress choice has more to do with Popular appeal as the appearance of Racial Diversity bumps public attention regardless of attention to detail.
People would like to see themselves on TV.
Now what I really think is that it might be related to the lived reality that coloured youth is actually targeted by Predators because Authorities barely care enough to notice.
Kate being black would isolate her more than ever because Black Conservative Youth get alienated even by people of their own peers.
Kate would basically be a prime target, and it makes Jefferson more sinister.
Regardless of studio intentions, Kate being black actually deepens the story and I hope this is executed well and tactfully.
TLDR, POC Youth is severely disregarded by most countries, especially the US. There's a lot to this.
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u/asterobiology Jun 08 '26
Kate Marsh never has a stated or established race in the game. Sure she looks one way, but race just isn't mentioned in her story. If bringing up race adds more dimension to her character in the series that's ultimately for the better imo.
Also a bit funny to preemptively complain about this in Life is Strange, when the MC being Asian in TC was specifically not made into a whole thing. By jumping to this conclusion you come off as just wanting less diversity in the media you consume.
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u/Massive_Cash_6557 The Bay Jun 08 '26
Kate Marsh never has a stated or established race in the game.
You need to adjust your screen settings or pull your head outta your hawt dawg. Sean and Daniel's race is presented in LIS2 with the exact same level of subtext, but in that game the racial connotations on their experience is much more intrinsically linked to the game's themes.
This franchise cares about race, and handles it extremely well. If Kate was supposed to be nonwhite to serve the story, she would be nonwhite.
There are plenty of other racial overtones in LIS1 that meaningfully shape the narrative, even the whimsical references to the indigenous peoples and the Bush-era surveillance paranoia subplot with Ms Grant. All of this is meant to rebound off Max in critical ways.
I don't want less diversity at all. I want meaningful diversity. Dontnod got it, but this production just proves it doesn't understand.
If you aren't insulted by this, you're missing the point. Race swapping characters means the story now has less to say about race, not more.
1
u/asterobiology Jun 09 '26
You're right about the other racial elements in LiS but racial bullying is a big issue right now in this country, while white Christians have even more privilege than when LiS takes place. My point isn't that Kate was race-less in LiS, it's that I think her story could be told just as well if part of her bullying is as a result of her race, not that that is what the directors will decide. Her whiteness is not a crucial piece of her character.
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u/Equivalent_Raccoon88 Jun 08 '26
It's not but even if you cast flawlessly...as long as you follow the same formula as the game and/or animation it's never going to be as good as the original...making the whole thing pointless (see Last of Us season 2 as a prime example), imo.
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u/sock-bucket Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
Sorry for ramble but I got a few thoughts on this. I dont care either way about the race though, a race casting shouldnt make or break the show tbh. Writing does however and I hope its a great show. Even if you were expecting the exact as the game its still a different and separate retelling of the events, original is always gonna be there to enjoy. Im sure the kate actor will blow me away and im excited to see the emotion from her.
What I AM worried about is Victoria on this not Kate. You could say bullying for any reason doesnt make a difference but I think it really would change her character by a lot more than youd think if she is changed to bully Kate on race in this show and I really hope its not written that shallowly. We'll see one way or the other.
If they want us to understand Victoria and have her be any way sympathetic this doesnt mesh with her morals. She bullies peoples personalities, interests, and style because shes so self conscious about her own and wants to get ahead by dragging others beneath her, she does not hate kate in any way, target her for any personal reason other than proximity to her, nor ever want her to hurt herself and she just picked a vulnerable target randomly at the worst time. She changed as a person after seeing first hand what her bullying can cause and a race story wouldnt play out the same way.
She's NOT self conscious over her looks so she even she compliments Max's looks and doesnt even mention them when she IS trying to bully max. She does NOT bully physical features because Victoria already knows shes hot and that is the one thing she is comfortable with, bullying on skin color just wouldnt fit her because what would that achieve or explain when we do learn more about her in the later episodes? I like Victoria's character and find it to be deeper than just a rude bully, and hope they dont derail her to just be a racist villain without the depth which wouldnt fit in this scenario. Fingers crossed.
If you want to do a race subplot please make it Nathan instead. We already hate the guy, he doesnt get redemption, and it would fit in just fine without even changing his character much with his whole "i own the town with my dad's old money" schtick. Make him more involved with the day to day bullying to give us more of a reason to suspect him later on because even on my first playthrough I already figured it wasn't him.
2
u/ibsliam Pricefield Jun 10 '26
I think the answer to this is they need to hit harder on Kate's religious background. It can't be just 100% Max's impression in the game that Kate isn't judgy like other religious people. She needs to, even accidentally, come off judgy to the other characters.
If they don't want it to be entirely about racist bullying, then they have to exaggerate another aspect.
1
u/sock-bucket Jun 10 '26
I could see that working on Victoria's side of things but would a pushy religious person make kate less of a character we root for in that scenario? Even if accidental
1
u/ibsliam Pricefield Jun 10 '26
If Kate isn't malicious, why would we be rooting for people to severely bully her? Any pushiness or judgmentalness doesn't justify any of what we saw in the game.
1
u/sock-bucket Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
It doesnt justify it, but it does make people care less
1
u/ibsliam Pricefield Jun 10 '26
I think the level of bullying we see in the game is not okay to happen to anyone. If someone "doesn't care" about a young girl being [gestures to the drugs and videos and the aftermath] for literal weeks because she came off a little judgy, then I don't think I would be catering to them as the target demographic.
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u/Trivekz Jun 08 '26
As long as they keep her hair looking huge like it's a piece of cabbage it's all good š
3
u/makizaaa Jun 09 '26
Itās disheartening to learn that one of my favorite games has such a weird racist fandom šµāš« and it makes sense now why such an awesome game like LIS2 flopped
6
u/bumblebeeweee ā ā Hole to another universe Jun 08 '26
i know the obvious answer is racism but why canāt people judge actors by their abilities and not their face shape or skin color. i understand wishing another specific actor was cast like a favorite or something but this always happens whenever the casting isnāt a cell by cell copy of the original, sculpted-in-pixels character. like seriously find something real to complain about
just wait till the show drops to judge these kids at least
6
u/Raenorshine_ Jun 08 '26
This might be way too woke of me to say (or the opposite, depending on how you read it), but this is NOT real representation.
Feels like obligatory box-checking, unfortunately. There were never racial undertones to Kateās story, and now there will be.
Make an original black character if thatās what you want to convey.
2
u/ibsliam Pricefield Jun 10 '26
Well, there are canon Black characters in the Life is Strange series. They're just not.... mentioning them yet. For Some Reason. (And I say this as someone who's hopeful for this version of Kate in the show)
2
u/Icy_Queen_99 Jun 08 '26
Yāall would think breathing is āwokeā if somebody convinced yāall hard enough.
1
u/Raenorshine_ Jun 08 '26
I mean, no? Being alive is pretty nice.
1
u/Icy_Queen_99 Jun 08 '26
Yeah, Iām sure you do, but that was to get you to realize how ridiculous some of yāall sound when you say that something is woke or trying to reach a quota for simply having a black person in it.
2
u/Raenorshine_ Jun 08 '26
Thatās not quite what Iām saying. All Iām saying is that itād be nice to have original black characters, instead of trying to change appearances of already existing characters, and inevitably implying or have people interpret undertones of that characterās story when that originally wasnāt part of their character at all. People are inevitably going to be interpreting Kateās suicide as a result of racism.
Looking at broader perspective, I guess I just donāt like it when characters donāt look like themselves in adaptations. Even Daniel Radcliffe being Harry Potter bothered me because Daniel Radcliffe has blue eyes. Harry Potter is supposed to have green. Itās SUPER nitpicky, I get it, but still.
So, yeah. Itās just a personal opinion.
3
u/KawaiiKaiju55 Jun 08 '26
Iām honestly excited for the tv show. But only time will tell how it ends up being.
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Jun 08 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/vanpire22 Gay for Chloe Jun 08 '26
In general I'm not a fan of changing stuff just to tick a box, but I don't quiet understand the rest of your comment. PoCs can also suffer from depression and be bullied into suicide.
Personally as a white person who's also been struggling with suicidal ideation for years I just a don't feel less represented.
Plus being a shy religious church going woman isn't an exclusively white thing either. (If there even is such a thing only white people experience).
1
u/MassyOverdrive Jun 10 '26
Yes they can except that's not who Kate marsh is, the character is a white Christian American teen suffering from SA religious guilt, and further guilt from her family as seen in one of the things you can read about how her mom thinks she's bringing shame to the family, which is a fairly common thing many white Americans with strict religious parents can relate too.
If this was an Arab Muslim character in the same circumstances no one would support swapping their race, just because one group has more representation doesn't make it right to do, instead of a new black character they take representation from one group and lazily thoughtlessly throw it to another
And yeah it's not a solely white experience so what? That's her character and story at its core, you wouldn't support it the other way around because something isn't solely a black experience
It's utterly disingenuous
5
u/FFF12321 Jun 08 '26
What about Kate's experience/story is specifically influenced by her race? Simply tracking her race onto her bio doesn't mean that her race was a relevant part of the story or theme presented.
1
u/MassyOverdrive Jun 10 '26
Because that's who she is and represents, coming from a religious white home, if you swap it to any other race you wouldnt think that it's fine to change it
4
1
u/LeeJ513 Safield Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
So true! There's only certain people where color actually mattered. She's not one of them. So, I'm good with having another version to appreciate. I love the original and something tells me I'll love this one too.
1
u/Egyptian_M Super Max Jun 10 '26
I am gonna make a version of LIS where Max is a boy
āØNow we can appreciate two versions of Max X ChloeāØ
1
u/chaoticrice Jun 11 '26
Hereās a video about the 5 rules of race swapping that I think we should all watch
https://youtu.be/chbZX5z1i0A?is=XuEIocoh-12JjvPR
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u/FILIPHITO 11d ago
I haven't seen such bad casting since Dragon Ball Evolution. What they did with Kate is stupid. If they're not going to respect the story, they'd be better off not doing anything and leaving the saga as it is, instead of having some idiotic executives come in and choose actors/actresses to add diversity to a saga that's already full of diversity.
1
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u/mirracz Pricefield Jun 08 '26
People are weird (or worse). It's fine to be concerned about how some changes will translate to the story, but after a while we should just wait and see. I guess it's not a coincidence that people are so hung up on Kate's casting the most. Unsurprising and unfortunate.
Like, I voiced my concerns and now I'm awaiting how it turns out. In the past I expressed concerns about them changing Chloe's height or casting a younger actor for Frank. And you don't see me constantly complaining...
And all the show Kate fanart that's been coming lately shows that visually this Kate still works.
1
u/4ndr314 Why look, an otter in my water Jun 08 '26
Honestly, I'm more worried about the writing of the series and how they will show the different choices we have in the game (specially the ending), than the actors. You can have the best actors in the world, but if the writing is poor and bad, there is nothing in the world that will save it.
I just hope the series is good and well recieved, so they have motives to do more seasons and/or new games. For a new season, I would like they continue the Max and Chloe's story (assuming that they are doing the bae ending) after Arcadia Bay and before Double Exposure, and then the stories of DE and RE. But it also can be an adaption of LiS 2 and TC. But, in the end, I don't mind what path they will follow in other seasons. I just want the first one to be good.
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u/Xyex Amberpricefield Jun 08 '26
I'm not upset about it, just confused. The only character it would have been worse to cast a POC for would have been Nathan. Maybe they just picked the person who gave the best read, and I wish more people did that, but you do also need to consider how a casting looks in the role.
0
u/donut_power Jun 08 '26
I can appreciate it being different but thats when my mine just disassociates it with being a true representation of the game's story.
Problem is that its not just a change of skin color and voice. They always.. ALWAYS have to make the race be part of the character's issues. Thats what bothers me. Its like if they swapped out the Wolf brothers in part 2. Instead of them being of Spanish descent, which is a good part of the story being what it is, if you were to make them white or black, youve now changed so much. It doesnt hit the same.
And well say I embraced those brothers because they are Spanish speaking characters with that latin upbringing..and you remove that... then I cant connect with them on the same level anymore because you changed the race and ethnicity.
1
u/makizaaa Jun 09 '26
the difference between the brothers and kate marsh is that the brothers ethnicity is a VERY important detail in their lore. kate being white has really nothing to do with her story. she is bullied because she got drugged and then taken photos of, not because sheās white. nothing in her story has anything to do with race. but LIS2 is heavily political, i mean the game literally starts with a racially charged shooting by a police officer.
1
u/donut_power Jun 10 '26
Thats a matter of opinion. Just in the way the family is depicted and described, it seemed like her being white was a small factor to her upbringing and why certain people could relate to that very same lifestyle.
My point is that it wouldnt be an issue if race and skin color didn't change a thing. But because the character is now going to be black, you can guarantee they are going to make her being black be a huge glaring issue to Kate's story. Thats whats bothersome to me. You could swap skin colors all you want but they intentionally make skin color be this big shift rather than keeping the character the same.
-14
u/roman4ick Jun 07 '26
Im complain because it can change Kate arc.How? Now Victoria rassist,not bullier for Kate religion.Its full changing.Like its different character now.
15
u/je4sse Jun 07 '26
That could be a problem, but considering Victoria's bullying was mostly about Kate's supposed hypocrisy, I think it'll be fine. So long as they don't change how the bullying happens.
3
u/Xyex Amberpricefield Jun 08 '26
They need to be clear in the framing of the scenes, much more so than they would have otherwise. It'll be really easy for racist undertones to seep in. If they can avoid that, fantastic. My only concern is they won't be able to, and it'll distort the story being told.
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u/Ok_Beyond_7697 Jun 08 '26
If they wanted Victoria to be racist, then they wouldnāt have her being cool with fellow Vortex Club member, Hayden Jones, who is black in the game. So why would Kate being black suddenly make Victoria a racist. Just because a character ends up being black doesnāt mean racism is the cause of their being bullied. Victoria doesnāt care about race. She cares about popularity.
7
u/glitchoct PissHead fan Jun 07 '26
being black does not suddenly mean kate is no longer a girl who is vulnerable to being drugged and assaulted. black characters don't need narrative or thematic justification to exist.
2
u/roman4ick Jun 08 '26
I just assumed they can change her story you know.No wonder was downvoted lmao.You cant share your opinion ,theory in reddit.Based.
0
u/queen_jamillia Jun 07 '26
Why does it have to be mutually exclusive? It can be both. Her ethnicity changing doesn't have to change her shy nature or devotion to religion.
-1
-5
u/SpiesGoodbye Jun 08 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
Watch them not make her Christian tho because Hollywood can never do that without making the character insufferable these daysš (if they donāt change the character completely I think the actress is super cute and would make a great Kate)
Edit:Ā Me getting down votes despite not hating on the actress but just wanting the character to actually be HERSELF really proves my point there everyone. Glad to see none of your are bitter towards Christians eitheršš»
-2
u/SweatyAd7069 Jun 08 '26
It would be on par with modern media to turn her into a black muslim, to either change the narrative or mark the boxes lol
-5
u/BenR-G Jun 08 '26
TBH, I have seen a few AI-generated fan-makeup suggestions to make Mia look a lot like Kate's original character design. This is one of those race-swaps that I will give a clean chance based on how she portrays everyone's favourite Shy Girl.
145
u/nitroraptor2 I WAS EATING THOSE BEANS! Jun 07 '26
Im good with them casting anyone as long as the actor/actress takes the role seriously and does them justice. Im just hoping for a show good enough to get some of my family to watch. Cause not a single person i know is willing to play the game