A few weeks back, after seeing a remarkable number of reels hyping up the return of The Last of Us, I finally binged the first season of the acclaimed video game adaptation. With each episode, I found myself slowly falling in love with the chemistry between Joel (portrayed by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (portrayed by Bella Ramsey), the lore of the post-apocalyptic world and the brilliant production design. I eagerly awaited the show’s return, grateful that I would not have to wait two years to watch new episodes like those who tuned in during the original release. However, I soon found my Instagram feed infiltrated by reels with a concerning topic. Specifically, users seemed intensely focused on criticizing the physical appearance of Bella Ramsey.
Before I continue, I should clarify that I have extremely limited experience playing games from the The Last of Us series. In high school, I briefly took turns playing through the beginning of the first game with some of my friends, but we obviously did not venture far into the main storyline after only an hour. Because of this, watching the television series served as my first exposure to the vast majority of the important characters and plot points of the video games, and I had only a few existing reference points through which I could examine the series' performance as an adaptation.
I highlight this because much of the criticism toward Ramsey has (according to the posts/comments I’ve seen) come from avid fans of the original series. These criticisms typically revolve around concerns that Ramsey does not physically resemble the character of Ellie depicted in the video game series. Upon first glance, this criticism does not seem overly harmful or unwarranted. From an objective standpoint, I would say that Ramsey and the video game version of Ellie have facial and hair style differences that are more pronounced than some of the show’s other actors. However, these criticisms often contain more malicious/inconsiderate ideas behind them, delivered in a quiet or overt manner.
The first issue regarding the criticism stems from whom fans are blaming for the perceived miscasting. Most of the less hate-filled posts online simply compare Ramsey and the video game version of Ellie, with the implication that Ramsey is somehow responsible for their physical differences. The grievances of these fans would be much better directed toward the casting directors for failing to cast someone who (in their eyes) better fit the role or the makeup/hairstyling crew for preparing Ramsey in an improper manner. And, in all fairness, I have seen some posts which do that. One post that stood out to me in particular featured two versions of a photo, one unedited and one in which the creator had digitally altered Ramsey’s hairstyle to better recreate that of Ellie’s. The commenters on the post also took a much more positive and constructive approach to their criticism, placing emphasis on hairstyling/makeup decisions rather than placing blame on Ramsey.
However, these issues in blame allocation represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to improper posts. Some of the most egregious content I saw online directly insulted Ramsey’s physical appearance, with posts and comments labeling them as not thin or muscular enough to depict Ellie. Many users claimed that Ramsey was not physically attractive enough to portray Ellie, which comes off particularly odd considering that Ellie is only 14-19 years old throughout the series. Other users did not even attempt to pose their concerning comments as criticism regarding the show’s faithfulness to the video game series. These individuals made appalling comments regarding Ramsey’s appearance on its own, displaying the rapidity with which somewhat-questionable points of criticism paved the way for blatant hate posting and mockery.
This online behavior is particularly concerning given Ramsey’s past struggle with anorexia. After the release of the first episode of season two, Ramsey revealed that they decided to quit social media, explaining that the differences between Ellie and their own physical appearance resulted in a great deal of anxiety regarding their role. These issues were only exacerbated by the fixation of social media posts and trolls on their physical dissimilarities. Clearly, this behavior has had an adverse effect on the emotional wellbeing of a human being. While I understand the desire of fans to witness their favorite pieces of media be put to the screen in the most faithful manner possible, the criticisms regarding Ramsey’s casting have too often traveled into the territory of hate posting and trolling. At the end of the day, the original video game series still exists for fans to enjoy. While fans have the right to be dissatisfied with adaptations, we must strive to direct criticisms in an ethical and proper manner.
Matthew Rentezelas is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at mmr255@cornell.edu.
