So… we should allow racist casting because there’s been racist casting in the past? Even within this same role? That’s the argument?
I think the point that thehandsomedevilsclub is making is that the role was whitewashed from the beginning. That people are erroneously citing Ricardo Montalban as a POC, when he’s just as much a white dude as Benedict Cumberbatch. That Ricardo was basically in brownface in TOS. It’s not about “allowing” or “accepting”, but about not using Ricardo Montalban as the template as if he had any right to play that role in the first place.
But does that mean that every stage or screen adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s should have a white actor in yellowface playing Mr. Yunioshi? I don’t disagree that Montalban was whitewashing as well.
The point is that this shit was never okay and an adaptation released in 2013 should know better.
Let’s also be clear about something: if Benedict is to be believed, he wasn’t allowed to see the script and wasn’t told who he was playing before he signed on. I don’t lay any blame at his feet. This is nearly all aimed at JJ.
No, it’s doesn’t mean that at all. I’ve seen so many people writing, “well Ricardo was a POC, granted the wrong POC, but POC nonetheless” and he was not POC at all.
And no, it goes without saying that Mr. Yunioshi should be played by an actor of Asian descent, preferably Japanese and not for comedic purposes.
I agree with you that JJ Abrams could have found an actual POC to play the part. Hollywood never seems to have difficulty finding POC extras to be henchmen or thugs, but the lead ambiguously motivated villain? Can’t find a one.
Absolutely. And saying “any skin color but white will do” is racist. Casting a South-Asian man as the Mandarin isn’t necessarily “whitewashing,” obviously, but it’s still problematic. Because while casting Benedict is whitewashing, casting Ben Kingsley is tantamount to saying, “Eh, close enough.”
That’s an excellent point — we rarely see a POC villain as a smart, capable, intellectual, motivated, tortured soul. You want brass knuckles and pit bulls and baseball bats and evil smiles? We can get a POC for that. You want intense psychology and motive? Oh dear, let’s find us an aryan.
