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| Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 02:50 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| Disney admits that white extras were ''browned up'' with makeup to ''blend'' into crowd scenes for the live-action ''Aladdin.'' Despite filming next to a 1 million-strong ethnic community outside London, white actors were brought in to fill in background roles. Actor Kal Penn: ''I love @Disney so much. But when a PR person says they decided to put 100 people in Brownface in 2018 because not enough of us are qualified, that’s bs, someone just didn’t want to spend the $ to do it right. Let’s all expect more & do better this year.'' |
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| Link | Huffington Post: Disney admits to darkening white actors' skin for 'Aladdin,' sparking outrage |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Last Edit: GrumpyMorningBoy 01:03 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 01:01 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - WaymanWong 02:50 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| I feel like this is heading off-topic, so please forgive me, but I've been spending a decent amount of time in the Disney Parks over the last year, especially WDW down in Orlando. Despite Disney's huge efforts to draw guests from all racial backgrounds, I've been shocked to see how many of their shows' performers are white, even when it's utterly unimportant. For example, the cast of the Lopez/Anderson-Lopez adapted FINDING NEMO, THE MUSICAL -- where all the performers are dressed head to toe as fish and sea creatures, with only their faces exposed -- was entirely white at the last performance I attended. Same thing for the "Trolley Kids," who welcome guests to the Magic Kingdom and dance (& lip-synch) "The Trolley Song" from MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS. All eight of them were white. These shows are cast out of New York City. It would be very hard for Disney to say that they have a hard time seeing quality auditions from people of color. Disney does have four roles who are consistently played by black singer actors... over at "The Festival of the Lion King." Which was developed independently from Julie Taymor's version, and relies far more on stage acrobatics and aerial dancers. Here, at the end of the reprise-rich finale, the vaguely African-esque accented performers take "Circle of Life" to church. There are literally 32 bars of a straight up gospel song. Because... you know... it's Africa. And that's what lions like to sing. Gospel. The even get to riff a "Hallelujah." I cringe every time. For what it's worth, Disney just recently put out an Equity casting notice for a performer at the Animal Kingdom park: "Anika: Female, (height) a young woman who lives in the Anandapur Indian village and spends her time as a caretaker of birds in the Caravan aviary. She is the descendent of a Maharani, a free-spirit, and the storyteller in her proud family." - GMB |
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| Link | Disney's "Festival of the Lion King" (27:51) |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: showtunesoprano 03:38 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - GrumpyMorningBoy 01:01 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| At least one of the Annas and one of the Elsas who perform the live Frozen show at Disney's California Adventure (Disneyland) are black. | |
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| Yes, and important to note that Kristoff in B'way's FROZEN is also black (nm) | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 03:54 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - showtunesoprano 03:38 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| nm means nimble matriarch | |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: HadriansMall 01:09 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - GrumpyMorningBoy 01:01 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| Interesting, GMB. Being a Californian, I visit Disneyland from time to time and the actors there are very diverse - more so than most Broadway casts I see these days. What's interesting about that to me is that (to my knowledge) the demographic of the Walt Disney World visitor skews far more white than Disneyland. Doesn't seem like a casting accident. |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 01:21 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - HadriansMall 01:09 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| On my last trip to Disneyland, the "newsboys" who perform at Disney's California Adventure -- roughly modeled on the NEWSIES -- were basically a Benetton ad. They were singing live and dancing their asses off, and they were good. I think Orlando's global market might bring a more diverse audience than you expect. Either way, Disney KNOWS HOW TO DO THIS STUFF. From theme parks casting to Broadway casting to film casting, it's just ridiculous to see them tripping over their toes like this. I know that Disney is a massssssive multi-national conglomerate, so it might be unfair to imagine that some benevolent fairy godmother is overseeing all the global casting operations and guaranteeing diversity, but the optics make for such needless PR problems. Disney leads the way when it chooses to. I think we're right to call them out. - GMB |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 02:07 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 02:07 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - GrumpyMorningBoy 01:21 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| GrumpyMorningBoy is right. In 2018, the excuse that the talent doesn't exist just doesn't wash. To its credit, Disney has been pushing for more diversity, notably in its voice-casting of its animated movies. See ''Moana'' and its Asian Pacific Islander cast, which discovered Auli'i Cravalho, a Hawaiian teen who'll soon be in NBC's ''Rise.'' But it hasn't always been like this. The original ''Aladdin'' (1992) movie was largely all-white (tho' Lea Salonga sang for Jasmine). And Roger Ebert criticized what he saw as the film's use of ethnic stereotypes, writing: "Most of the Arab characters have exaggerated facial characteristics - hooked noses, glowering brows, thick lips - but Aladdin and the princess look like white American teenagers." |
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| re: Disney should re shoot those scenes or not release the film ... | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 12:19 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - WaymanWong 02:50 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| Disney has gotten a free pass on this kind of thing forever. There were a lot of pasty faces on stage in the original cast of Aladdin on Broadway - but none of the folks who scream about every and any perceived slight in theatre casting said a word - can't offend 'The Mouse'. | |
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| re: Disney should re shoot those scenes or not release the film ... | |
| Posted by: TheHarveyBoy 03:00 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney should re shoot those scenes or not release the film ... - NewtonUK 12:19 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| SO that would leave Christopher Plummer out of the reshoot, I guess. | |
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| re: Disney should re shoot those scenes or not release the film ... | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 02:53 pm EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney should re shoot those scenes or not release the film ... - TheHarveyBoy 03:00 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| .. or he could play a tourist lost in the mythical land! | |
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| Latino Actor (Chicago) in Dark Make-Up | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 11:20 am EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - WaymanWong 02:50 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| Many small theaters in Chicago use non-traditional casting in their productions. There is a popular, up-and-coming Latino actor who has been cast in a wide assortment of roles in several shows that I have seen over the last few years -- mostly shows where race or ethnic background is not an issue. In general, although he has dark hair and usually sports a mustache, he looks pretty white. However, most recently he played the lead in a musical where his character is Latino. My partner and I were sitting in the first row and it was obvious that he was using dark makeup. It didn't bother me, and none of the reviews mentioned it. However, since the issue of "yellowface" (and now "brownface") is frequently talked about on the ATC board, I thought I would bring it up. Is it common for white-looking Latino actors to use darker make-up for such a role? I'm just asking a question -- not trying to create an issue (if that's possible). | |
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| re: Latino Actor (Chicago) in Dark Make-Up | |
| Posted by: OriginalTopherP (pazdernikc@gmail.com) 04:14 pm EST 01/12/18 | |
| In reply to: Latino Actor (Chicago) in Dark Make-Up - BroadwayTonyJ 11:20 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| What show was this TonyJ? I live in Chicago too, and I'm racking my brain, but can't come up with anything that matches what you're describing! | |
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| re: Latino Actor (Chicago) in Dark Make-Up | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 05:42 pm EST 01/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Latino Actor (Chicago) in Dark Make-Up - OriginalTopherP 04:14 pm EST 01/12/18 | |
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| I just sent you an e-mail. | |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 09:20 am EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - WaymanWong 02:50 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| I've seen Disney do this with their Aladdin / Jasmine "face characters" who do meet and greets at Disney Parks worldwide. The most recent Aladdin that I saw at a Disney park was very obviously a white guy wearing bronzer. More often than not, the Aladdin and Jasmin are something other than white... but I have white friends who have played Aladdin for Disney before. Brownface lives on. - GMB |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: bmc 03:34 am EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - WaymanWong 02:50 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| Sounds like they were just careless, waiting till the last minute , then realizing all white extras would look odd........ . I wouldn't have fit in myself, I got one of those DNA analyses for Christmas. 78% Irish, 21% scots-welsh-Enlish and 1% Ukranian. Talk about a broad background! | |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 07:38 am EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - bmc 03:34 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| Their explanation -- which seems plausible -- is that this was only done for 'specialists' who needed to be incorporated into those scenes (such as stunt people and riggers), not just to fill out crowd scenes. | |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: RelaxnNYC 10:22 am EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - MockingbirdGirl 07:38 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| If Disney was filming in India and needed Caucasian 'specialists' for a scene, would they have just put ethnic people in "whiteface"? There's a Middle East/Arab film industry. There's a huge Bollywood film industry. I'm sure it boiled down to the fact that Disney wanted to save some $$, didn't bother to look, and thought no one would notice. If this was a small, independent film project, I would almost give them a pass. But Disney has money to burn. |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: MistressAndy 11:40 am EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - RelaxnNYC 10:22 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| Not just that, but they filmed in LONDON. The Southeast Asian community in the UK is massive. Seriously? | |
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| Has an actor of Middle Eastern descent played Aladdin or Jasmine on Broadway or tour? | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 12:15 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 12:09 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - MistressAndy 11:40 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| When ''Aladdin'' opened on Broadway in 2014, it had an ethnically diverse cast of African-Americans, Latinos, Asians and whites. But you were hard-pressed to find many actors of Middle Eastern descent in the show. Seth Rudetsky once quipped that his Off-Broadway production of ''Disaster!,'' which included two of them, had more than than ''Aladdin.'' Are there so few Arab-American performers who do musical theater? Between ''Aladdin'' and ''The Band's Visit,'' I hope that helps give them more opportunities to shine. |
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