| re: Why no hullabaloo about an Asian American playing Norma Desmond? | |
| Posted by: NeoAdamite 12:54 am EDT 06/17/24 | |
| In reply to: Why no hullabaloo about an Asian American playing Norma Desmond? - Zelgo 10:11 pm EDT 06/16/24 | |
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| I'm going to assume this is a sincere question (one never knows these days). Nobody is complaining that a Black woman has been cast as Rose. There are currently four ways to tell stories that take place in a segregated, default-white milieu. 0) Use all-white casts. This was tried with BRIGHT STAR. 1) Use all-black casts. This was done with the recent revivals of STREETCAR and TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL. 2) Ask the audience to suspend their belief in racial bias, sometimes called "colorblind casting." The story is placed in an alternate world where such bias never existed. This is the norm nowadays, exemplified by THE NOTEBOOK, CAROUSEL, MERRILY, and GATSBY. I assume that's the plan for SUNSET BOULEVARD as well. 3) Use ethnically-aware casting, and try to make the pieces fit without doing violence to the underlying story. This was done with DEATH OF A SALESMAN. That last is the hardest one to pull off - it only half worked with SOME LIKE IT HOT - and it's the stated intention with GYPSY. That's the question of the moment: Is it possible to make Gypsy's family Black in a somewhat realistic America without twisting the story out of shape? I have no idea, but I'm curious to see what comes of the attempt. |
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| Previous: | re: Why no hullabaloo about an Asian American playing Norma Desmond? - AlanScott 10:31 pm EDT 06/17/24 |
| Next: | re: Why no hullabaloo about an Asian American playing Norma Desmond? - AlanScott 12:44 am EDT 06/17/24 |
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