sexist?

Question:i.e. an actor is seen as being of a particular 'race' and then can only play characters also of that race. The same could be said regarding gender - contrast with former times when men (usually boys I think) would play female parts - Cate Blanchett playing Dylan is the only example I can think of the reverse. Personally I think there should be more freedom in casting. Would you welcome that or not?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: i.e. an actor is seen as being of a particular 'race' and then can only play characters also of that race. The same could be said regarding gender - contrast with former times when men (usually boys I think) would play female parts - Cate Blanchett playing Dylan is the only example I can think of the reverse. Personally I think there should be more freedom in casting. Would you welcome that or not?

I know I cannot give good answer to this, but I know especially in theatre there is a lot of exploration with this topic. I would suggest you do some research into the Wooster Group in NYC they have done a lot of exploration of race and casting historically using "blackface" regularly (I know Willem DaFoe has been cast in such roles) and been highly criticized for this being racist. But these institutions like the Wooster group use this to expose the cross racial casting in terms of most straight theatre suspension of disbelief is the ultimate goal and if the casting folks believe an actor can convince the audience can effectively believe the actor is the race, gender, et cetera that the script calls for they will claim, most of the time, that they will consider them for the part, (I think such claims are sincere). And there is certain sections of theatre where you see a lot casting that will not exclude an actor from a part because their 'race' or gender doesn't fit the part, I've seen a lot of this in both Shakespeare productions and high school theatre. So far as Hollywood, it is difficult for me to find examples (outside of Shakespeare on film). I hope this is helpful.

No. The entertainment industry is a business and looks only to make a profit.

Biggest load of crap i've heard in a while... well done.

The administrative policy always reflects society's viewpoint, as it is the majority of society that ultimately pays their bills. It's important to remember this, because as society changes its viewpoints, so will the film and theatre industry.

Back in the 20's through about the 50's, it was common to portray blacks as illiterates who's only use was for that of cheap gags -- heaven forbid that any of 'em have a brain! In current days you will never see episodes of "The Little Rascals" on TV, and most of the major cartoons from that era are severely censored so as not to offend the people that they were making fun of back then.

In all of TV history up to about the mid-80's or so, spanking a child was commonplace. I remember and episode of "Good Times" where the father's punishments had varying degrees, the harshest of which was referred to as the "Big Mac." I don't think "Good Times" is aired anymore either. What's more, any scenes of children being spanked are censored out of older programs, as well -- again, to avoid offending people.

I would imagine that one day in the future there will be some things that we do today that will be considered offensive by future viewers, thereby causing our current programming to fade out of reruns.

Racist?... ya hah...

Why is the male lead in "The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor Of Venice" (aka Othello) predominantly played by a man of Caucasian extraction "blacked-up" when there are innumerable black actors (often of better ability) who would KILL for the chance???!!!

About me... ;o]

I was in the amateur theatre for years - then I became too disabled to walk across a stage... do you know how few plays are out there for me?

Write one for me... go on, you know you can do it - email me your scripts and I'll let you know what I think!

I'm a 50 something, large lady, with a much acclaimed sense of comic timing and a knack for characterisations and accents.

WARNING... I WILL BE BRUTALLY HONEST!

no but they are elitist,to see a opera or ballet in london you are looking at over a ￡100.00p for a ticket for a basic seat
this outprices normal folks budget and deters them from going to see the show,this falls right into the snobs hands because they wont have to mix with lower classes
when i say snobs i dont mean rich landowner gentry lords and lady types i mean middle class and upper middle class
types they are some of the most truly horrid people you could ever be most unfortunate to meet.

There is freedom to a degree

In the screen play for Ballistic (written by a black man) the character Sever was designated as male.

Then the director (an oriental man) thought it should be a woman and the lead actor (Antonio Barndaras, a Spanish man) suggested Lucy Liu and she got the part originally written for a man

Now if you group that movie by ethnicity, ALL the WHITES are bad guys and ALL the other ethnics are good guys.

Not ONE white was good guy. All the good guys were hispanics or orientals.

In Rising Sun both white, hispanic and black actors were looked at for the role Wesley Snipes got.

There was an uproar when Russian descent Natalie Wood (she's Baltic) played the Puerto Rican Maria in the movie version of West Side STory

The girl friends of the black navy pilot in Stealth were either white or oriental.

Now are you saying that Paul Newman should have played Malcom X?

Or maybe Jennifer Lopez!

The latest 'Oliver Twist' on TV in England had a black woman playing Nancy. In the St Trinian's film, Rupert Everett plays Miss Fritton (A role played by Sir Alec Guinness many years ago). The character is a female, not a man playing a woman). Freedom of casting would work up to a point. Could you imagine Alex Haley's 'Roots' with the slaves played predominantly by white actors, or Gladiator played by Miley Cyrus? I think not! I believe that there are certain things which would be better played by the correct gender/race. There is a lot more freedom nowadays to cast the best actor for a role, whatever their race may be. I worked on a stage production of The Tempest, where Prospero was played by a white man and Miranda, his daughter, played by a black woman. It was never questioned - they were both good in their roles and believable. The industry still has a way to go, but it is getting better.