Tuesday, November 20, 2007 :::
Apparently Cate Blanchett is to play Bob Dylan in an upcoming biopic.
I rather think the taboo against white actors being made to look black to play black characters is a symptom of continued racial unease — which isn't to say that we should pretend the unease isn't there. It would, of course, be just as appropriate for a black actor to be made up to look like a white character, and almost certainly more acceptable — there's less poisonous history there, of course. If the former occurs in my lifetime, it will surely be no earlier than the latter. No actor is the character he represents; attempts are made to paper over differences in hight, weight, scars, demeanor, even accent. I haven't heard of sex differences between actor and character being ignored; I'm glad it's being done, though I reserve the right to change my mind if she proves to do an unconvincing job.
About ten years ago, Patrick Stewart played Othello in a stage production in which the rest of the cast was black. There was no attempt to change everyone's complexion, though.
::: posted by dWj at 1:11 AM
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