Flesh Colored
Oldest Son recently went to a party. The party happened to be attended by all Koreans. When he came home, he said, "For a minute or two, I felt weird because I was the only Hispanic." But then he had a great time and forgot all about it. (In fact, it ended up being one of the best parties he ever attended.)
It's funny, but my kids don't usually know about race until school. Because I tell my kids people are "flesh colored." It's only once they are in school that they give it thought. Yesterday, Dynamo Boy and I were watching a show and he wanted to know the name of the actor in a scene. And then he said, "Well, which one, mom, the black man or the white man?" It was the first time (age 5) I think the idea entered into his brain. I was using left/right to delineate the actor, but it was a fight scene and left/right kept changing.
However, three of my kids always self-identify as "Mexican." Not even Mexican-American . . . though they are kids and that might change.
Which got me thinking about . . . .
The Last Airbender. Since my two sons are DYING to see it, but it perturbs me that they populated the movie with white people.
Which got me thinking about several of my books . . . In Knockout, Jackie is biracial. In Diary of a Blues Goddess, Georgie is biracial. In Double Down, TD is black. In Invisible Girl, Maggie and her brother are half-Vietnamese, half white. So if any of these ever made it to the screen, would I be upset if a different race of actor portrays these characters?
So I put it out there . . . Articles abound on this controversy. How do you feel about it?
14 comments:
It's so convoluted for me, and this may sound ridiculous, but I usually reserve my opinion because I am white.
I have grown up with the idea in my head that my perspectives are a privilege and that 'minorities' views are a reality. Well, screw that. I am white, but I am a minority in my own ways. Re: flesh color. I usually do not notice. In fact, I forget we have a black president all the time until someone decides they need to point it out.
I think all people have the right to celebrate their heritage, skin color, whatever they want, but unfortunately, when you celebrate something someone if bound to get pissed off. I am a mix of Northern Euro, but I identify most with my Scandinavian heritage because it fascinates me. I have been criticized for this many times, but I continue to celebrate it in honor of my grandparents and my funky last name.
Hi Jonathon:
In my real life, I tend to identify with my Russian heritage because I write Magickeepers, which is full of Russian lore. But I would say there's more of a thread of Mexican-American life because of my kids.
And yeah . . . I feel like people should celebrate what makes them happy.
My opinion: The actors who play parts in movies should accurately reflect the race of the people portrayed in the books. If they don't, there is usually some subtle racism involved. You can tell that because I think I see more white actors portraying originally non-white parts than the other way around.
Joe:
I know there's an economic element. People turn out to see x or y actor versus someone lesser known. Certain name actors can "open" a movie with their name above. So I don't discount that in a practical sense, or a realistic sense, despite my intellectual side believing as you do. I wish casting were colorblind all around--just may the best person play the part.
For me, it depends. I honestly can't think of a woman in the world who would make a better Cleopatra than Angelina Jolie. With Last Airbender, I don't know how they drew on a blend of Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cultures and decided the characters should be Inuit, who have no relation to Chinese, Japanese, or Indian cultures at all. So if the creators weren't concerned about mixing races past the point of feasibility, I'm not, either. I am psyched that one of the leads (Indian heritage) is a black belt in TKD. Since no Fire or Water People ever existed in real life, I'm not sure I can get worked up about the heritage of those peoples, LOL.
Don't worry about Dynamo Boy. Studies show that the more kids talk with a parent or adult about and notice such physical differences as just a matter of fact, the less prejudiced they are when they grow up. You know how when someone has never been around, say, Asian people and they think they all look the same? If young children (Kindergarten, the study was) are taught to see the differences so they don't all look the same, they grow up less prejudiced. So color aware is better than color blind. There is no possible way EVER that children will not notice some kids have a different skin color, LOL, so it's best to lead them in how to view the differences, preferably as matter-of-factly as you'd discuss eye color and hair color.
Hi Natasha:
In the commercials the Airbender just looks weird. I can't say he doesn't look like the character--who is a cartoon.
As for Dynamo Boy, I am not concerned at all. You couldn't grow up in this house and end up prejudiced. It's just not possible (I mean, I suppose theoretically, but no . . . I would CRUSH it out of them, LOL!). My kids joke that they think I am secretly disappointed none of them has turned out to be gay.
You seriously can turn anything into a topic about writing. I heart your blog!
P.S. You are a good mom. :)
Posey:
Tomorrow . . . my grocery list as blog post.
Just kidding. :-)
If I haven't read the book and so don't know--I could care less. But if the author described a certain race, it really bugs me.
We have a family full of everything and I love that. When asked I'm American be it is considered a melting pot--like my family.
Love reading about your family and the way you work it into writing--CLEVER.
Maribeth
Giggles and Guns
In Pocket-47, Colt's girlfriend Juliet is Filipina. It would seem really weird to see a white woman cast in her role.
Mary:
That's a good point. I suppose if I arrive at the theatre with an expectation of casting, that changes things. Like James Patterson's Alex Cross. He IS Morgan Freeman in my mind.
Jude:
Yet I wonder . . . weird to YOU? What does her background bring to the story? Would it wreck a plot line if they cast a black woman or a white woman> I think about it with how I picture my characters . . . what nuances their race, religion, etc. might bring to the story.
Funny . . . when Mafia Chic was optioned for one of the big three networks, I saw the script . . . and they killed off a character. But it was funny in that I didn't think it impacted the storyline as much as I might have thought. It's certainly interesting to see what TV does with your stuff.
Trinidad is half-Mexican.
It's not an issue for him, like his being gay is not an issue for him. There is so much wrong in my futuristic world that I wanted to leave racism and homophobia behind. It's a conscious decision to make SOMETHING be right.
Though it is an issue here. I've mentioned I get really tan and so this is the time of year when people think I'm Mexican. Sometimes I feel a little touch of discrimination because of it. It just makes me laugh cuz I'm as white-bread as they come: 100% English, on paper anyway.
And I too was sad over the Airbenders casting, though my kids insisted, when I brought it up, that the kids look very much like the cartoon characters. I dunno, actually, I haven't seen either.
Starbucks:
They, do, to my eye, look like the cartoons. But considering there are not (to my knowledge) "names" opening it, I would have preferred different casting.
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