Interesting that you bring up Othello - I am reading just now James Shapiro’s book *Shakespeare in a Divided America*, which includes a chapter on Othello in Antebellum America. That play was much more racialized then than when Shakespeare wrote it (the idea of race as we know it now was pretty much being invented as Shakespeare was writing). He discusses several permutations of actor and role in that and other plays.
My point is, again, context and history matter. White actors in black face playing Othello means something different in 1603 England than it did in 1843 America than it might one day mean in 2203. I don't set myself up as the arbiter of when and when it is not a problem, but I am tired of folks on either side pretending it is an absolute issue and then using an example wrenched from context to make the other side seem absurd. Reasonable people and and do disagree about what is and is not problematic, but those can be useful and productive conversations if they don't get sidetracked by red herrings. Personally I do look forward to a time when discrimination and prejudice are remote and irrelevant enough that any actor can play any role without limit. I don’t think we are there yet. But I also don't want an absolutistic argument aimed at silencing morons like Megyn Kelly to get us trapped in unproductive debates. On Mon, 22 Mar 2021 at 11:29 AM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > On Mon, Mar 22, 2021 at 12:57 PM M-D November <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Lt. Commander Worf *wasn't *played by an ACTUAL Klingon. >> > > This problem is like the Othello situation. Traditionally all the actors > were white and the actor playing Othello wore blackface. If you try to > solve the problem by saying that only a Black actor can play Othello does > that mean all of the other roles are limited to white actors? A lot of > casts practice diversity in that roles in general can go to anybody > regardless of region of origin for them or their parents. So if the Othello > cast is diverse, then what about Othello? Can he now be white? There was at > least one production of Othello with a Black cast and white Othello but > that's as much a stunt as a way forward. > > When I was watching The Great I got confused at first. The characters were > all Russian with the exception of Catherine who was German. Yet the actors > were white, Black, and Asian. It's likely that a port and capital city > would have a more diverse makeup than the provinces and I remember that > Russia's national poet, Pushkin, had some African ancestry and nobody held > it against him. Plus the Russian Empire extended into Asia so Asians could > be in the court. After a few episodes I figured out that they were being > color blind in regards to casting and so non-white actors were playing > white characters. In another show could the reverse be put into practice or > is that appropriation? > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiGRC4aEQhs1LqHZtctMuddSU1-M%2BjndynFXXkFQQyu7hg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiGRC4aEQhs1LqHZtctMuddSU1-M%2BjndynFXXkFQQyu7hg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYK5vORGoACp4E-%3D4PmMetuOJ51cVtMzuML5UsgmiR2DEw%40mail.gmail.com.
