| re: Mickey Rooney is the most racist version of yellowface... | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 04:01 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 03:45 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Mickey Rooney is the most racist version of yellowface... - BroadwayTonyJ 08:41 pm EST 02/16/21 | |
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| ''Actors were cast in leading and key roles because they were considered movie stars or box office draws.'' Among the ''key'' Asian roles are Lady Thiang, the Kralahome, Tuptim and Lun Tha, and they were cast with Caucasian actors (Terry Saunders, Martin Benson) and Latino ones (a young Rita Moreno and Carlos Rivas). I doubt they were ''considered movie stars or box office draws'' in 1956. ''If Brynner hadn't accepted the role, the film wouldn't have been made so no Thai actor was deprived of any opportunity to become a star.'' ''The King and I'' was originally created to be a star vehicle for Gertrude Lawrence. But could it also have become a hit if a Southeast Asian or Thai actor had been cast as the King? We'll never know because one was never given the opportunity. Ditto for the movie. And I think the film would've been made with, or without, Brynner. ''The King and I'' was Brynner's first lead film role, and Hollywood already was making big-screen versions of Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals in the '50s: ''Oklahoma!,'' ''Carousel.'' R&H were the primary selling point. ''And what about the other actors of Asian descent who had significant or even small roles in the film?'' And what about the other actors of Asian descent who could've played the larger, more featured roles, like Lady Thiang, Tuptim and Lun Tha? Patrick Adiarte (as Chungalongkorn) and Yuriko (as Eliza) deserved more opportunities, but like Asian actors of their era, were limited to what they could get. Adiarte's best big-screen appearance is re-creating Wang San from ''Flower Drum Song'' for the 1961 movie. It was a showcase for this dancing dynamo, and he never had another one. Adiarte didn't get to do another Broadway musical after that, either. And Yuriko's work in the film of ''The King and I,'' would be her only big-picture performance. ''What about the other Asian actors cast in small roles? I can count at least 28 actors with Asian last names.'' And those ''other Asian actors'' would largely consist of the unnamed flock of royal children and the royal wives. To count them, you'd probably have to go to IMDB.com because they were uncredited in the film, and that includes Yuriko. '' I have no idea what happened to them after the film was made.'' I imagine these Asians mostly returned to their ''normal'' lives because Hollywood didn't have the roles to sustain them as actors. To me, ''yellowface'' is just as racist and offensive as ''blackface,'' and it's appalling that it was allowed to continue so much longer. |
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