Which of these things is not like the other?
BS (a new MMW guest contributor!)
According to Wikipedia, “Blackface” is a style of theatrical makeup that originated in the United States, used to affect the countenance of an iconic, racist, American archetype, that of the darky or coon.
For far too long in American history, white actors and actresses have used burnt cork to look black or applied prostectics and make up to look Asian. Hollywood’s story was that there simply weren’t any qualified actors of color for the role.
Even more recently, on Broadway, actor Jonathan Pryce was offered the role of an Asian man in “Miss Saigon.” When Asian American actors protested, the Cameron Mackintosh, creator and producer of the play, decried the Asian actors pleas as racist and threatened not to mount the play.
One would like to think that in 2006, this kind of cultural insensitivity would be dead.
So why is actress Angelina Jolie going to portray Mariane Pearl, the wife of the late murdered journalist Daniel Pearl? Mariane Pearl is a woman of color who is of Cuban and Dutch ancestry.
As news reports, Jolie will star in a film adaption of Mariane Pearl’s book, “The Mighty Heart,” produced by Brad Pitt. Given that Jolie has two children of color, I would have thought that she might have been more sensitive to issues of race and the place of women of color instead of following in the footsteps of Al Jolson.
[Note from CVK: You’d think, but her CNN interview indicates that she has a long way to go with the sensitivity thing.]
more after the jump…
Clearly, pictures of Mariane Pearl show that she has brown skin, curly hair and other features that indicate she is a brown woman. There are few good roles for women of color in Hollywood; thus I find it disturbing that Jolie would take this role.
Will Jolie tan her skin or apply burnt cork? Will she curl her hair and don dark brown contact lenses to achieve a look that a mixed-race/Latina woman like Halle Berry, Rae Dawn Chong, Jennifer Beals or Judy Reyes has naturally?
As they say on Sesame Street, one of these things is not like the other.
Note from CVK: Here are some other MMW posts on blackface and yellowface
Is blackface in Japan racist?
More blackface and whiteface… now on Tyra!
Blackface outside the U.S.
Blackface in the theater
Why young people *won’t* be solving racism anytime soon
Oprah gets in on the race-trading game
Blackface and whiteface coming to FX in March
Blackface and yellowface on America’s Next Top Model
Blogosphere: spotlight on Reappropriate
Yellowface, coming soon to a big screen near you
Dude, where’s my white privilege? Take 2: “Blackface Jesus”
Blackface and yellowface on America’s Next Top Model
Lyonside wrote:
*snicker*
No, I’m sure that they will fictinalize/dramatize the story and in the process, make Daniel Pearle’s wife a visually WHITE woman.
*sigh* Another Hollywood vanity project trying to be edgy with supposed-ly controversial material (Pearle’s death, not the race issue - they obviously didn’t think about that). I’ll pass (pun intended).
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 9:18 am ¶
Jennifer wrote:
I’m sure BS is blogging in reference to the casting choice for the movie. But bear in mind that Angelina is also mixed, with some Native American ancestry. To top that off, Jennifer Aniston was formerly going to play the role of Mariane, and she is also mixed with some Greek ancestry. Hollywood is notorious for its casting inconsistencies, however, I disagree with BS when she questions if Angelina is sensitive or not to the racial background of the character. Her deciding to take up this part should be based on Angelina’s ability to accurately portray Mariane’s character rather than how closely she resembles her. Quite frankly, I look forward to Angelina’s role in playing Dan Pearl’s widow.
In addition, I would think that Mariane would not have a problem with Angelina playing her part as Brad Pitt and Mariane are close acquaintances.
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 9:25 am ¶
brad wrote:
Jennifer,
While Angelina Jolie may have some Native American ancestry (I thought her mom was French, so does her NA come from her dad?), she visually presents as a “white” woman and not a brown-skinned woman. And, I do think it’s wrong to change a woman of color to a white woman because Hollywood wants to do so.
(Jennifer Aniston’s dad is Greek, but Greeks are white. So, I don’t see how that would make her mixed or brown skin?)
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 9:52 am ¶
site admin wrote:
Hey Jennifer,
I agree that the physical resemblance bit is not that crucial. But given how few decent roles are available in Hollywood for women of color, I find it disappointing that this meaty role ended up going to Jolie over someone like Berry or Beals. –CVK
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 9:54 am ¶
Staci wrote:
I was kind of confused by the news of Angelina Jolie’s casting for Mariane Pearl too. It would have been nice to see someone like Thandie Newton in the role. However, Mariane Pearl gave public approval for Jolie’s casting, more people will go see the film with Jolie in it, and if casting a white girl had been the plan from the jump, I would rather see Jolie versus Jennifer Anistion. Sad but true. This business of Jolie and Aniston being “mixed” or vaguely ethnic is moot since neither one would have gotten as far as they have (regardless of beauty and talent) without looking Caucasian.
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 10:52 am ¶
Gandalf Mantooth wrote:
Ms Pearl isn’t American by birth, so to me at least it isn’t surprising that she would openly support Jolie’s casting without reservation. Then again, she may be convinced by the same old saw, that we film goers can be “distracted” from the true meaning of the story when we see an Interracial couple. Anniston was NEVER being considered for the role. Brad Pitt was working with Mrs Pearl on getting the movie made and Anniston was just part of the team.
I’d also argue that Jolie is not that much more of a draw than Halle Berry. On Oscars, they both have one. Berry has a couple Emmy awards. However, Berry’s box office dwarfs Jolie’s. Sure, that’s partly thanks to X-Men in which she was not THE star, but there you have the numbers. I dunno, maybe Berry couldn’t do the accent?
I suppose it remains to be seen whether Jolie will put on the Cleopatra make-up or not. If she doesn’t (or even if she does) her casting bothers me most because it means no one involves thinks the racial differences in their marriage are a significant part of the story, as if it says nothing particularly special about either of them, as if race doesn’t matter.
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 12:15 pm ¶
brad wrote:
CVK,
I disagree about it just being an issue of there being few roles for women of color. The film is about real life, a moment in history. If a film of the assasination of JFK were filmed with Denzel Washington as Bobby Kennedy or Lee Harvey Oswald would that be okay?
Similarly, if Nancy Reagan thought it was important to get a wide audience to see a biographical film about her husband’s first years in office and she wanted a popular older actor to play Ron, do you think it would be reasonable if Morgan Freeman played the role?
Regardless of what Ms Pearl thinks, when someone is creating a film about a real life moment, they should try to bring as much truth to the project as possible. Race matters in the U.S. If someone decides to make an interracial couple single race(d?), then that takes away a lot about their relationship. Lots of people say race doesn’t matter in a relationship, but they’re kidding themselves. It plays out in subtle and sometimes direct ways. Skirting the issue does a disservice to everyone.
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 12:55 pm ¶
Lavanya wrote:
This also brings to mind the casting choice of Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind. In real life, John Nash’s wife was Costa Rican. For whatever reason they opted to go with a dark-haired white woman instead, and made no reference to her ethnicity…And considering Daniel Pearl was half-Iraqi, if someone suggested an Arab/South Asian actor like Naveen Andrews to play Daniel Pearl, do you think people would be receptive to that? I think in Hollywood, it doesn’t matter who plays the wife, she’s supposed to be in a subservient role anyway and not the “real” focus of the story. She’s not important to the story as long as she’s “hot.”
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 1:27 pm ¶
the joy princess wrote:
Umm, is that a pic of Troy Beyer in that collection!!!? Talk about flashback!!!
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 4:27 pm ¶
eric wrote:
I see about 50 cents in that picture!
Seriously tho, Co-sizzle with CVK @ brad.
Posted 17 Jul 2006 at 5:57 pm ¶
Adrianna wrote:
It’s hollywood what would you expect? accuracy!
Posted 18 Jul 2006 at 12:58 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
Joy princess - it’s Rae Dawn Chong. Wrong “one”
Troy Beyer, when I saw this montage I thought about her. We are definitely showing our age.
I have no problems w/ AJ as an actress, but letting her play Mariane Pearl who does NOT look like a white woman is almost as bad as letting Brian Dennehy play Kublai Khan. If they need a current hot actress, Thandie is the way to go.
@ Brad - Morgan Freeman as Ronald Reagan. LMBAO
The man would get death threats!
Posted 18 Jul 2006 at 7:58 am ¶
mtevc wrote:
i am all for morgan freeman as ronald reagan…hey, who can do wrong after a stint on my fav show the electric company…whoa…i am dating myself!
Posted 18 Jul 2006 at 8:09 am ¶
site admin wrote:
Ooooo Electric Company was awesome! –CVK
Posted 18 Jul 2006 at 8:58 am ¶
Nina wrote:
Totally agree with Brad’s comments above. Color blind casting in fiction is fine, but in a biography? Angela Bassett would probably be a great Elizabeth I but that is a movie we will never see. I think Marianne Pearl is astute enough (she is a journalist) to recognize the issues associated with casting AJ in the role. Perhaps her friendship with Brad Pitt has clouded her judgment. Or maybe it is simply a ploy to garner attention and big bucks for productin. At any rate let’s hope there will be no dark face makeup.
Posted 18 Jul 2006 at 10:18 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
@ mtevc - HEY YOU GUUUUYYYYYYSSSSSS!
Posted 18 Jul 2006 at 10:40 am ¶
Rachel S wrote:
I suppose there are times when I think race blind casting is fine, but it seems to me that White people are usually the ones chosen in these race blind casting cases. There are exceptions–Rosie Perez in White Men Can’t Jump would be one.
However, it seems to me if we are representing a real person it would be nice to find someone who resembles them, which means the vast majority of the time the person is going to be from the same race.
I also wonder if the people casting this were uncomfortable with the idea of portraying an interracial relationship. This case is pretty pathetic.
Also, the whole notion that Angelina Jolie is mixed race. Oh, please. If your going to use that loose criteria-somewhere way back in their ancestry somebody was Indian–then I’m mixed too. We can’t say that it doesn’t matter that I was raised as a White person, look like a White person, and receive all of the privileges of a White person. I understand that there are White looking mixed race people, but there is a difference between living as a White person and looking like a White person.
Posted 18 Jul 2006 at 6:45 pm ¶
mtevc wrote:
see gatamala and site admin must be down, if they are giving props to electric company!
Posted 21 Jul 2006 at 8:42 pm ¶
Mixed712 wrote:
Mariane Pearl is hispanic she has light brown skin and tight curly hair.She is not of african american culture and if it was going to be a fuss it should be for the spanish culture.Angelina Jolie is an actress and of course she will curl her hair as she has changed styles in every film.Honestly Mariane and Angelina have similar features,with the exception of the nose.So shame on you all for playing a valuable role on racism.
Posted 27 Jul 2006 at 1:54 am ¶
Wayman wrote:
This is definitely not the first time that a white person has played a Latino in a film. Al Pacino famously played Cuban immigrant Tony Montana in “Scarface”. And Madonna played Eva Peron, the first lady of Argentina, in “Evita”. Besides, there are some Latinos out there (especially Cubans) who could pass for white. So if an actual latino can’t be found, I think the producers next choice is just a more ethnic-looking white actor. Like Pacino and Madonna (who are Italian) or Jolie (who has that exotic look). There’s always gonna be some controversy about it, but I don’t think it’s a huge deal.
Posted 28 Jul 2006 at 11:33 am ¶
sun wrote:
If Jolie has Mrs. pearls approval, what does it really matter? I am a woman of color, but I dont think the role should go to a Halle berry just because she has brown skin! If people want to say that Jolie ( who is of French, Native American(iriquoi) and chec) shouldn’t get the role cause of her race…well then, neither should halle- she is black american and white…Thandie newton ( whom I love) is African(zimbabwe) and english, jennifer beals who is black american and Irish….Rae don chong, who is Black American and Asian… The List goes on…Mariane Pearl is Cuban and Dutch and hough she is not of african american culture, she is a obvious a cuban with strong african influences, like Alot of other Latinos.. are we really going to go there and make race a hue factor, rather than focus on the craft of acting. Angelina could pull the role off and do an amazing job with it, as could Thandie…I get irritated, when people think every ethnic role should go to halle, she doesnt have the depth to pull a role like this off. This role s bigger than race! Truth is, your not going to find a cuban and dutch actress who can pull this off? when you look at Jolie, do you really see a “white woman”?…can she not pull it off?
Posted 29 Jul 2006 at 3:13 pm ¶
Cazeliah wrote:
I don’t know what to think.
Posted 05 Aug 2006 at 4:39 pm ¶
Cazeliah wrote:
She’s made some bold moves, and this is one of them. However, I’m not too suprised.
Posted 05 Aug 2006 at 4:40 pm ¶
The Assimilated Negro wrote:
I don’t know. I do think Jolie and mariane look close enough not to cause a ruckus.
Brad - I dont’ know if Jolie represents a “white woman” as definitively as you assert. If I have a lineup of Aniston, Jolie, and say Halle Berry. I’d create three distinct categories. One that looks traditionally white. One that’s a “tweener.” And one that’s black. Seems part of Jolie’s popularity is her crossover appeal. Versus a Kidman, Charlize Theron, Aniston etc.
Also dont’ see how you can dismiss Marianne Pearl’s opinion in a bio on her life. Yes you want to remain true to the facts, but as long as you’re in the ballpark I’d think her opinion is the trump card on any specific details.
Posted 07 Aug 2006 at 10:51 am ¶
The Assimilated Negro wrote:
Sir Anthony Hopkins as a black man was more questionable to me.
Posted 07 Aug 2006 at 10:57 am ¶
Sara wrote:
I think Halle Berry in the role would also have been troubling, in a “they all look the same anyway” sort of way.
Posted 11 Aug 2006 at 5:50 am ¶
Anonymous Homo sapiens wrote:
As an anthropologist I know that race is a myth and a social construction, but it is real to the cultures and societies that have created it. The box office receipts will determine who really cares about the casting choice for this movie. Whatever happened to the Denzel Washington movie, Hannibal?
Posted 11 Sep 2006 at 4:27 pm ¶
James Landrith wrote:
Why is Rachel Sullivan attacking the right of multi-generational multiracial to identify as such? Who appointed her the Racial Boundaries Guard?
Since when did it become her right a self-identified white woman to question the racial classifications of others?
It seems a bit racist and condescending to me.
Posted 25 Sep 2006 at 2:50 pm ¶