Turning white characters black

No thoughts on awful fake accents then.

theworriedwell
Thanks for your answer.
Best in terms of acting skills or best in terms of the real people they are supposed to represent?

Mollygo

theworriedwell
So would you support the casting of mixed race actresses in the two films I mentioned.

Yes if they are the best for the role.

IMO the casting of real people, whether a present or historical should be accurate, rather than inaccurate casting for diversity’s sake.
With regard to fictional characters, James Bond, described as of slim build with short dark hair, suave, sophisticated, a deadly assassin and an avid womaniser, could be played by any male actor who could fit that description.

I find it strange that the new Hagrid a kindly character, has been chosen with the potential to fit the description in the book, whereas the casting of someone to fit the description of evil Snape, a thin, sallow-skinned man with a large, hooked nose and long, greasy black hair, is rather another example of choice for diversity’s sake.
I remember the fuss about Enid Blyton’s portrayal of good and bad in the Noddy books.

theworriedwell
So would you support the casting of mixed race actresses in the two films I mentioned.

Therein lies the danger of mixing up fact with fiction to appease the modern clamour for diversity.
Very wise words

Some deny or ignore their white heritage too eg Lidia Thorpe.

Mollygo

theworriedwell
It’s how any group defines colour.
So would you support the casting of your children in The Six Triple Eight, or Hidden Figures films?
For me, your mixed race children that you say you’d know would work well playing Rosa Parks, because they would have met up with the same discrimination back then.

I don't think it's how every group defines colour. Some would do it with the equivalent of a colour chart and some still believe in the one drop classification.

theworriedwell
It’s how any group defines colour.
So would you support the casting of your children in The Six Triple Eight, or Hidden Figures films?
For me, your mixed race children that you say you’d know would work well playing Rosa Parks, because they would have met up with the same discrimination back then.

Mollygo

I know very little about the ethnicity of GN posters, but from all those posters on GN, who say it doesn’t matter if white historical figures are played by black actors, I’m looking for the same support for
The Six Triple Eight and Hidden Figures being cast by Hollywood/Disney with white or even multiracial heroines.
Or agreement about having a white girl playing Rosa Parks in our Black History Month performance.

Depends how you define colour. According to many the one drop rule applies. My kids are mixed race, some you'd know some you wouldn't, they are not fixed about how they classify themselves and tick various boxes depending on their mood on the day.

Is acting a part with a very false accent the vocal equivalent of Black Face? I'd honestly prefer their own accent, I'm think of Helen Mirren in 1923 in particular as I've been watching it. Why does she have to have that godawful accent. They refer to her husband's Irish origins but Harrison Ford just sounds like Harrison Ford.

Some actors do it well I think (it might depend on how well you know the accent in real life) for example the Scottish actor in Line of Duty. I know people who were so convinced by his accent that when they heard his real Scottish accent they thought he was putting it on.

PinkCosmos

I haven't seen the musical either but I have heard about it and seen clips of it on awards shows.

I wonder how may other people now assume Hamilton is black, particularly non-Americans who may not be so familiar with American history.

Therein lies the danger of mixing up fact with fiction to appease the modern clamour for diversity.

Doodledog

Allira

So the part of Hamilton should be played by a white man because his heritage and position are integral to the story.

Are they? I don't know enough about it, but if being white (as opposed to his nationality) is important then yes, but I've had a very quick Google, and all I can find at first glance is that he was an immigrant from the Caribbean/British West Indies, so I'm not sure why his whiteness is important.

Because he would not have been a slave? Although he was "illegitimate".
That might have made his story more remarkable as a Founding Father of the United States.

The story of black slave, Nathaniel Wells, who rose to the heights of society here in the UK would not be so interesting had he been one of the white people born in the Caribbean in the days of slavery.

windmill1

Quite some years ago, comedian Lenny Henry did White Face to make him look like American comedian Steve Martin and it was pretty convincing. But this was way before Woke, Black Lives Matter, Taking the Knee, etc, etc.

How would it be received today, I wonder?

Shock horror, that he whited up, when it was already unacceptable to black up maybe.

Quite some years ago, comedian Lenny Henry did White Face to make him look like American comedian Steve Martin and it was pretty convincing. But this was way before Woke, Black Lives Matter, Taking the Knee, etc, etc.

How would it be received today, I wonder?

Allira

So the part of Hamilton should be played by a white man because his heritage and position are integral to the story.

Are they? I don't know enough about it, but if being white (as opposed to his nationality) is important then yes, but I've had a very quick Google, and all I can find at first glance is that he was an immigrant from the Caribbean/British West Indies, so I'm not sure why his whiteness is important.

I just prefer accuracy to political corectness

So the part of Hamilton should be played by a white man because his heritage and position are integral to the story.

As has been said more than once, if the story is about 'blackness' then of course it is important that the actors are black. How can the story of Steve Beko or Harriet Tubman be told without reference to their colour, when it was because of their colour that they were treated as they were?

Otherwise, if skin colour is not the 'point' of the story I still don't understand why it matters (to those to whom it does matter). As Molly says, nobody on here knows the colour of my skin. Would it make a difference to how you read my posts if you did? Or how you read anyone else's posts?

Fictional characters are often assumed to be white by white readers, in the same way as people often read fictional dialogue in voices similar to their own. It's only if a character's ethnicity or regional accent is pointed out that those things are noticed. Otherwise good writing encourages readers to identify with characters, so we tend to 'cast' the main protagonist as someone like ourselves.

Multi-racial dramatic casting is simply avoiding those assumptions. The very fact that it jars (for those who are bothered) shows how white-centric people's thinking can be.

I know very little about the ethnicity of GN posters, but from all those posters on GN, who say it doesn’t matter if white historical figures are played by black actors, I’m looking for the same support for
The Six Triple Eight and Hidden Figures being cast by Hollywood/Disney with white or even multiracial heroines.
Or agreement about having a white girl playing Rosa Parks in our Black History Month performance.

I haven't seen the musical either but I have heard about it and seen clips of it on awards shows.

I wonder how may other people now assume Hamilton is black, particularly non-Americans who may not be so familiar with American history.

PinkCosmos

Excuse my ignorance but I have just learned that Alexander Hamilton (as in the musical) was not actually black.

I am not American and not very familiar with American history . Because of the musical I wrongly assumed Hamilton was black.

According to AI (who knows everything) - 'Alexander Hamilton was not Black. He was of European descent, born in the British West Indies to a Scottish father and a mother of mixed European and French Huguenot ancestry. While the musical Hamilton features a multiracial cast, this is a deliberate choice to make the story more accessible to a modern audience and does not reflect Hamilton's actual race'

A portrait of Alexander Hamilton

I've not seen the musical, it seems like a load of rap music which is distinctly unappealing to me.

Excuse my ignorance but I have just learned that Alexander Hamilton (as in the musical) was not actually black.

I am not American and not very familiar with American history . Because of the musical I wrongly assumed Hamilton was black.

According to AI (who knows everything) - 'Alexander Hamilton was not Black. He was of European descent, born in the British West Indies to a Scottish father and a mother of mixed European and French Huguenot ancestry. While the musical Hamilton features a multiracial cast, this is a deliberate choice to make the story more accessible to a modern audience and does not reflect Hamilton's actual race'

Well said Whitewavemark2. Totally agree!

Oreo

This could run and run 😄
Time for my Milo.

I remember that from being in hospital.