Today, in class, when we were asked what topics were social taboo, someone instantly said race. This is exactly what is discussed, especially pertaining to the performing arts in Ben Brantley and Anthony Tommasini’s “Debating ‘Otello,’ Blackface and casting trends'”. The authors tell us that in today’s castings, directors must not take race into account even when the original piece calls for an actor of a specific background.
Traditionally, the role of Othello is played by a darker skinned man, but the director of this production decided to cast a man with light colored skin.
The photo above is of the play Othello, where Othello is being played by a man with light skin. The authors of the article talk about how Othello usually stands out because of his ethnic background which is different than all of the other characters in the play. If Othello being of a different ethnic background adds to the plot, why is it deemed offensive? This is where I believe that society is oversensitive. If people who believe this to be offensive took a step back, maybe even had a conversation with theater critics, they would be able to see that they are hampering creative expression. The authors of the article make it seem that Othello blending in with the other characters takes away from the impact of his role, and i can see where they are coming from. Why would anyone want to take away from Othello’s impact on the play? For this reason I cannot see why Othello cannot be of a darker skin tone.
The controversial play “The Mikado”.
Where I believe the criticism might be warranted is in a play such as “The Mikado” where the characters are somewhat portrayals of asian stereotypes. The authors describe the makeup used here as “yellowface”. Today, things like yellowface and blackface are extremely discouraged and seen as racist. I am of the opinion that if an actor is using makeup to portray a stereotype that any offense taken has validity to it, but it is totally fine to darken the skin of someone playing a role like Othello, where it is constructive to the plot, and I think that the authors of the article would agree.
Indeed, we seem to be oversensitive to the issue of race in performing arts. If the play calls for a specific race to demonstrate a particular effect, then it is absolutely necessary to make race a factor when the director is deciding who gets the role. Let’s go back to the example you mentioned, The Mikado. That play is mostly based on Japanese. It would only make sense if Japanese people act in the play. To make white people Asian with makeup is disgusting. The effect is ruined. During the play, critics will only question the choice of the director to cast white people and make them Asian.
Casting mostly Asian actors and actresses in an Asian play isn’t racism. To not do so is. Moreover, this racism limits the freedom of expression, as you’ve said. In a NBCNews article, it notes that the play casts “all 40 Asian roles with White actors, with the exception of two Latino actors.” That’s kind of ridiculous…
Read more… http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/stereotypes-mikado-stir-controversy-seattle-n157306
I found Wednesday’s discussion about taboo interesting as well, because though we are in a more progressive, non-tradional and somewhat accepting type of generation, there are still some topics that we consider taboo. And race is definitely
still a taboo. Though we must always be careful when referring to race (so as not to discriminate etc), I side with you in that society can sometimes be a bit oversensitive. If Othello is of a darker ethnic background (a fact that is constructive to the overall storyline) , then an actor of darker ethnic background would be an appropriate person to cast in the play. That shouldn’t be considered racist.
I found your article very interesting. The issue of racial discrimination plagues our society today and it shouldn’t be that way. I also don’t think that if someone is portraying a different race for the purpose of deepening the understanding of the audience that they shouldn’t be allowed to use makeup that makes their skin tone a different color. However, use of words like ‘yellowface’ and ‘blackface’ are simply outdated ways to describe race, and are-not to mention-harmful to anyone who isn’t white.
I agree with you Brandon in how society is oversensitive when it comes to art. While it is crucial to respect other people, that respect can’t take away from what an artistic work calls for. Not all plays are designed to please the audience. As we discussed in class, some works of art are meant to be pretty, others are meant to portray an event and others are meant to question society. The latter often times tries to shock the audience in order to get a message across. I recently read Ayad Akhtar’s play disgraced. The climactic scene involved an arab man hitting his wife because she had an affair. While the race of this man might not seem important at first, Akhtar in an interview stated that he was trying to force the audience confront their stereotypes of Islam. Had the character been white, perhaps Akhtar’s message would have gotten distorted. Overall while it is clearly important to mind what we say in front of other people so we don’t insult anyone, overall art should be free from that rule as by insulting someone, art can provoke social change.
Brandon, I agree with you in that society is oversensitive when it comes to race. People should not be immediately stating that a play is presented in a racist approach because of “black faced” or yellow faced” actors. This also shows that they have an ingrained fear of racism for themselves, and continuing on the stereotypes by mentioning them. Sometimes portraying a different culture or race, is not trying to mock it, and people have to take that to consideration.
I do not think that race should be a taboo to the point where people “ignore race.” Race should be unique to people and it should be something that is embraced. Society is indeed too sensitive these days with race. Othello was an African Muslim Moor. Someone with African roots would have been a more appropriate actor. Along the same lines, I find it awkward when people are describing others and they are not sure wheter to use race to describe the person. I think that we should not fear race; If I have dark skin, I do not mind someone saying that I have dark skin.
Society in general is very over the top when it comes to racism. I can understand why people don’t like the painting of actors’ faces, it is kind of mocking the race they are trying to portray. But, if the story calls for someone of a certain ethnicity, then they should get someone that fits that description or make someone a better representation of that specific character. The play should represent the original story as best as it can, so it can be the most effective way of telling the story. If that means getting a darker skin actor play the part then get a darker skinned person.
I believe that in today’s society people treat race as something that should not be looked at. Considering America’s history with slavery and discrimination, it is understandable why people would want to change the way we view other people. However, race is also an important part of our history. With plays, such as Othello, race adds to the overall theme. We cannot censor ourselves to the point where we change literature that has been around for years.
I agree that people today are overly sensitive about race and most controversial issues in general. In case of Othello, Shakespeare places huge emphasis on race. Othello’s ethnic background plays a huge role in the play and it’s not fair how directors today need to sacrifice their creative freedom to appease to oversensitive people. Audience needs to step back and look at a bigger picture rather than thinking of everything as offensive.
In everyday interactions, it is important to be sensitive and respective to everyone’s race. Art is a medium that allows for artistic expression. It is meant to be provocative and unusual. If a certain play calls for a particular race to be featured, and it adds to the plot, that race should be featured. I agree that in our politically correct world, many people are oversensitive to race. But we should be able to move past that and embrace race without having to censor it.
You bring up a very good point in your blog post. I agree that society today is very sensative to the topic of race. You can see that all around but, in this case, I agree with you that it would be fine to choose a man with darker skin for this production. I see Othello as a play meant specifically for the reason to bring up race and how big of a factor it is. Therefore I see that despite the directors thoughts, I would agree more with the idea of casting a darker skinned character to play othello in order to convey the message that was and avoid any effect that may be lost using a light skinned actor. Even now you can see through our comments and blog posts that for us race is still a taboo and it is hard to bring up