| re: Question re: Once On This Island revival - a white Daniel? | |
| Last Edit: Chazwaza 08:41 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 08:38 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question re: Once On This Island revival - a white Daniel? - ntjvy 08:12 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
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| I think in the context of race relations today, with segregation illegal and interracial marriage etc legal, and in the situation of The Story of TiMoune, the skin color that is visible to the naked eye (rather than the one define purely by bloodline) is the only one that matters (i mean in terms of the OOTI dark black vs light black issue - I know that wealth and "Grand Homme" background are also big dividing issues and that stems from who you were born to). Nowadays in America you aren't profiled or harassed because someone found out one of your grandparents was black, you suffer the oppression based almost solely on how racists and those concerned with race in the negative sense SEE you and your skin color. But yes, for all intents and purposes of this play especially, I am suggesting that Powell is not black enough to play a black character when his race is very important to the story, because we shouldn't have to look up the actor's racial heritage to understand that. I think many audiences see him in the show and think he is white. That doesn't mean that the racial conflict isn't understandable in the text of the story, but I think it changes it and adds a layer of unwelcomed confusion to the story and its subtext. (And also it's true, at least from my observation, intellectual assertion, and what I hear from non-light black people, that black people who pass as white do not "live as a person of color" in the same ways that obviously black people do. Yes, culturally and personally they have that and identify with it, etc etc, all due to that aspect of life as a POC - but in the context of racial discrimination, no it is just not the same. That doesn't mean it isn't a factor, or that other complicated issues don't come of it (for example people assuming you're white and dismissing your actual racial heritage, or insisting you define and defend your racial identity because it doesn't line up with their assumptions based on the visuals)... but in terms of discrimination or profiling from non-black people, it's not the same. Perhaps this is a good thing for the character of Daniel. But how would it be if Porgy and/or Bess were played by white-passing biracial actors? I would guess not well, even though it's certainly conceivable that they'd have white genes mixed into their family blood line. Now I know that this isn't the same because it is specifically part of the story of OOTI that Daniel is from a bi-racial white/black genetic background, but it's also noted that both of the "two different worlds" on the island are black people. |
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