This topic reminds me of something that actually happened to me not long ago.....
I was walking back to my RV after dumping some cardboard into the recycle bins when I saw a man and woman approaching. They were having a fairly loud argument, but there was no anger. (I didn't know them, but knew they were park residents.)
All of a sudden I heard the woman say,"Let's ask that lady, and hear her opinion."
She called to me, and I stopped to hear her out.
She explained that she and her husband were having a discussion about the play, Peter Pan which was running at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. Her husband said it made no sense that Wendy was played by a black girl, when according to the original story, the Darling family were white Brits. The wife thought it was no big deal, and asked my opinion.
My reply was' "Well, actors 'act', correct? That actress didn't have to act a color, she had to act as Wendy. Perhaps she was picked for the part because she was the best choice after auditioning. The husband chimed in that he was not a bigot, and was pleased that a real Native American portrayed Tiger Lilly. (He said nothing about John, also black, Mrs. Darling, an Indian woman or Peter Pan, a Hispanic teen.) He just said that the play should stick with the 'truth' of the original story, and Roots would never cast a white person as Kunta Kinte.
I stared at him, then said," First of all, Kunta was based on an actual ancestor of Alex Haley in his family history. You want Peter Pan more truthful and accurate? We are talking about A boy who FLIES, NEVER AGES, lives in a land BEYOND A STAR, and has A FAIRY FOR A SIDEKICK...."
He stared back, turned and walked away, because at that moment his wife was in convulsive laughter. She thanked me several times, then walked home, still laughing.