All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[Malvolio]

Instead, all these morons choose to keep their foolish acts under wraps, keeping silent for years, even decades while hoping those screw-ups never come to light. Perhaps if they had just taken the time to think and to consider just how incredibly STUPID those actions were, they would never have done them in the first place. That heinous lack of proper judgment makes me wonder just how effective these idiots can be as elected leaders, and I don't want to hear any nonsense about how they were young and irresponsible back in the day. NO! That dog don't hunt. When it comes to horribly offensive shit like blackface, you're NEVER too young to be taught that is WRONG!

Truth! I was 7 or 8 years old when I watched an episode of All In the Family, where Archie Bunker wore blackface as part of a minstrel show. That's when I learned how wrong and offensive blackface was. That was around 1978. So I don't want to hear anyone say that they weren't aware of how offensive blackface was in the 1980s.

[Kirby101]

Thats...difficult imo. Is there a black actor/performer whom has the same talent?

As Placido Domingo, no, not really.

[Malvolio]

Thats...difficult imo. Is there a black actor/performer whom has the same talent?

I don't know about the opera, but I know James Earl Jones has played a great Othello.

[BruceWayneJr.]

What I find most comical about this whole situation is that it's basically white people pointing fingers at each other saying either "It's not that bad since you did it too", or "Well, since you don't think it's bad, and you did it, with no consequence, you're a hypocrite for pointing at us!"

Nah, it's all trash and they all knew it was trash when they did it. This ain't new.

It's the Most American Thing Ever and I continue to be disgusted.

[PaulBullion]

Thats...difficult imo. Is there a black actor/performer whom has the same talent?

Jesus FUCKING Christ.

[Kirby101]

I don't know about the opera, but I know James Earl Jones has played a great Othello.

Yes he did. And so did Lawrence Olivier.

[Iron Maiden]

The Metropolitan Opera, based in New York City, used blackface in productions of the opera Otello until 2015. That was only four years ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface#United_States

Both Orson Welles (1951) and Laurence Olivier (1965) played Othello on the screen. On another note, Egyptian Omar Shariff played a Russian in Dr Zhivago, a Mexican bandit in "McKenna's Gold" and Barbra Streisand's Jewish husband Nick Arnstein in "Funny Girl". So Hollywood has had some eccentricities in casting choices.

[Gray Lensman]

Thats...difficult imo. Is there a black actor/performer whom has the same talent?

Certain roles have an almost mandatory thing about them - Othello being one of them. For some reason, you can't be called a great Opera singer or Shakespearean actor if you haven't played Othello. (as well as Hamlet, but I am unaware of any opera featuring him).

[Jack Dracula]

Black face (or any color face) has aiways been unnecessary and insulting and there is no excuse for it under just about any circumstances. In 2019 we shouldn't even have to wonder about it.

[Michael Watkins]

but they let us have a black president. we should just ignore it. eye roll

[shooshoomanjoe]

but they let us have a black president. we should just ignore it. eye roll

You people don't even hide your racism anymore.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Both Orson Welles (1951) and Laurence Olivier (1965) played Othello on the screen. On another note, Egyptian Omar Shariff played a Russian in Dr Zhivago, a Mexican bandit in "McKenna's Gold" and Barbra Streisand's Jewish husband Nick Arnstein in "Funny Girl". So Hollywood has had some eccentricities in casting choices.

Don't forget John Wayne as Genghis Khan in The Conqueror



**********

or Broadway mainstay Joel Grey as Chuin, a Korean martial arts master in the mid 1980's big screen adaptation of the men's novel series The Destroyer (the movie was called Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins)

[Gray Lensman]

Don't forget John Wayne as Genghis Khan in The Conqueror

Well, that film did manage to kill him - along with many other people who worked on it. It was a stupid place to make a movie even if it didn't have any other issues.

[jetengine]

Jesus FUCKING Christ.

The arts work on a meritocracy dude. Its literally that simple if shitty. If you cant hire a black guy because none are good enough do you cancel the show, have a white guy (which loses the point) or give him make up. I mean this is the same form of entertainment where men played women for years. Especially when the whole point isnt to parody African Americans (minstreling) but to show how human Othello is, during a period where socities werent exactly teeming multiculturally. Its cultural inertia.

Certain roles have an almost mandatory thing about them - Othello being one of them. For some reason, you can't be called a great Opera singer or Shakespearean actor if you haven't played Othello. (as well as Hamlet, but I am unaware of any opera featuring him).

Oh I agree its just the arts are a bit weird, the above mentioned Cultural Inertia etc. I mean if we're calling out Shakespeare then literally every classically trained actor is now a racist.

[Gray Lensman]

Oh I agree its just the arts are a bit weird. I mean my initial thought was "If they have no one else, and historically its been mostly played by a white guy, its not cool but its got that weird culture thing about it"

I understand, and it is a bit odd. I think the Shakespearean world seems to have gotten away from the Othello requirement (I don't see any Braunaugh films with him as Othello) recently, but I bet not completely.

Fun fact - Laurence Olivier's protege was Derek Jacobi, who in turn mentored Braunaugh.