In the past two weeks, the search for the new leads of the live-action remake of Aladdin have been the subject of a wide array of articles suggesting POC leads of primarily South Asian/Middle Eastern decent and discussions about representation in films. As of yesterday, Disney announced that its new leads will be Mena Massoud, an Egyptian-Canadian actor, as Aladdin; Naomi Scott, an English actress of Indian descent, as Jasmine and Will Smith as the Genie.

I think the sheer number of articles, tweets and social media posts made about the casting demonstrates a key argument from Leo Mirani’s article in the Guardian on the impact of twitter in spreading news and helping political revolutions. With the emergence of social media, in particular Twitter and Facebook, and entertainment reporting sites, such as Buzzfeed and The Hollywood Reporter, the majority of Americans have been privy to casting information from sources close in Hollywood.

When films egregiously cast or are in the process of casting actors that would white wash roles, we (the consumers) can learn about it through twitter and the voice our opinions and specifically @ those involved to let them directly know. For example, when Emma Stone was cast as Allison Ng, a person of Hawaiian and Asian descent, in Aloha (2015) or more recently, when Tilda Swinton was cast as the Ancient One, originally a Tibetan Man in the Marvel Comics, in Doctor Strange (2016). So when several reports suggested that director Guy Ritchie was having difficulty casting for Aladdin, there were several articles and tweets that suggested various actor and actresses that would be perfect for the role. Moreover, as consumers, we have the power to stop white-washed films from profiting. The previously mentioned Aloha as well as Ghost In the Shadow (2016), both tanked heavily at the box office.

Therefore, just as Mirani argues in his article, the ability of social media to inform those who aren’t directly involved can have huge impacts on the course of an ongoing protest or casting in Hollywood.