This remained on my mind for quite some time, and, after looking deeper into it, it proved to be even more troubling than what I thought. Not only were white, American/British actors cast to play the royalty of ancient Egypt (let alone cast at all), but when they chose to include people of color, it was mainly for the roles with the least dignity (such as theif, slave, assassin, "lower class civilian", and servant).
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| Racially-biased casting is even more evident in this powerful image from Exodus. |
Besides being wildly historically inaccurate, this sends a very strong message to the viewers - specifically younger ones. It gives the idea that white supremacy was not only a concept developed in relatively recent world history, but that it has been around for thousands of years, and in places not even inhabited by a white population. It gives the idea that giving white actors/actresses wigs and spray tans is an acceptable way to uphold the integrity of a very well-known story. It gives the idea that getting big (which the film industry often interprets as white) names in the credits is more important than respecting a culture and staying true to that story.
I still cannot believe that despite the progress we've made, films cast such as this one still exist. How could this be acceptable? And if something as powerful and impactful as the film industry can't be counted on to display good standards of racial equality, how can we ever expect racism in the real world to change?
I still cannot believe that despite the progress we've made, films cast such as this one still exist. How could this be acceptable? And if something as powerful and impactful as the film industry can't be counted on to display good standards of racial equality, how can we ever expect racism in the real world to change?
Abbey:
ReplyDeleteI too think that the white supremacy is quite apparent in the Hollywood Blockbuster films of today. I think that when casting agents cast roles they already have an image of what they want the cast to look like. There needs to be more diversity in the entertainment business because it is dominated by mostly white actors. If you take a look at the Forbes 25 top paid actors list it is clearly evident that most of the people are predominantly white. When was the last time a person of a non european descent made it to the number one highest top paid actor spot? Yes of course we have people like Morgan Freedman and Laurence Fishburne but they have never reached that number one spot.
Hi Abbs,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great topic to explore -- very current and relevant. I think you have demonstrated a keen eye toward identifying this way our society is constructed. But I think this post could be even stronger if you had anchored it in an outside text and perhaps analyzed the actual elements of the photo you provided. Nice!