| re: Gene Nelson -- Yes "White Privilege" Benefit | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 07:42 pm EST 03/08/21 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 07:40 pm EST 03/08/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Gene Nelson -- Yes "White Privilege" Benefit - Singapore/Fling 06:36 pm EST 03/08/21 | |
|
|
|
| A few weeks ago, you posted something like since the film of The King and I was going to be somewhat racist, Brynner should have turned it down so a more appropriate Asian actor could get the role. I argued that Rodgers was calling the shots and that Brynner would be the king. I brought up the names of Patrick Adiarte and Yuriko Kikuchi, who both gave stunning performances. I told you this film undoubtedly helped their careers. Both had played the roles on Broadway and deserved the opportunity to appear in the film. I said for this reason alone the film should be made and asked you to reconsider about calling it racist. Something like that. I've read a lot about the movie industry back in the 50's and earlier. I know this is going to sound awful but back then the "powers that were" generally favored Asian actors who were Russian, Mongol, Armenian, Indian, but rarely southeast Asian. They wanted an Asian look, but not too ethnic. Brynner, of course, was a great actor and he had the right look, one that would probably please a mostly white audience. I believe Richard Rodgers back in '51 was being truthful (in his own mind) when he stated that Yul Brynner was an Asian actor. Bobby Driscoll was a popular child actor in the 40's. He made some films for Disney, won a juvenile Oscar for The Window in '49, and then Disney starred him in Treasure Island and the voice of the title character in the animated Peter Pan. He also played the lead role of Bibi in The Happy Time. As he entered puberty, he developed a bad case of acne, which eventually resulted in Disney cancelling his contract. The roles began to dry up, he tried TV for awhile, but he turned to drugs and the rest wasn't very pretty. I would not characterize any of the decisions that the "powers that were" made in these instances as white supremacist or examples of white privilege, but I respect your passion and opinions. Of course, since that time the culture has evolved, audiences today no longer want fairy tales or romanticism for films depicting Asian characters. In the remake of The King and I all the Thai characters will be cast with Southeast Asian actors or the film will not be made. |
|
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | re: Gene Nelson -- Yes "White Privilege" Benefit - Singapore/Fling 06:36 pm EST 03/08/21 |
| Next: | re: Gene Nelson -- Yes "White Privilege" Benefit - Singapore/Fling 09:05 pm EST 03/08/21 |
| Thread: |
|
Time to render: 0.010321 seconds.