Race and Ethnicity Portrayed in Movies - Comments

I think it should be based on talent and not on race. If white people can play the part better, then they should be cast. If a minority can play it better, then they should be cast. It all depends on the talent, really. Casting isn't about making people happy (or it shouldn't be, anyway). It's about who can play the part the best :/

21 and The Last Airbender were all primarily asian characters, in the movies they are all portrayed by white actors (other than Zuko, that is, who is now being portrayed by an indian man, the guy from Slumdog Millionaire.) and the Prince of Persia was supposed to be Persia or at least something close to it. Instead they cast Jake Gyllenhaal, not to say I'm against him being cast because he atleast looks like the character he is portraying.

For the most part, I think whitewashing is for the sake of money. After all, who will get the most viewers? A white and famous actor or actresses that aren't the same race as the character they are set to portray or a no name who is the race of the character they portray?

I believe there's more to it then we see. What you've stated in your first paragraph is only half of a bigger picture. All I'm saying is that casting should be fair when it comes to movies that are dealing with ethnic characters. I'm pretty sure people will see Megan Fox in movies because she's hot despite her lack of acting talent, and movie goers will buy into that, I'm sure and that's why I don't.

The movie [i]Wanted[/i] was based off a comic book, and the character Jolie played (Fox) was originally black, but instead Angelina Jolie was casted, a hot sexy chick that will bring in a lot of money, but I personally think it still doesn't make it right.

[i]I'm just not convinced that your examples are examples of white-washing in film.[/i]

The films I used as examples were [i]Prince of Persia[/i], [i]21[/i] and [i]The Last Airbender[/i], are you saying those films weren't whitewashed? I'm just not sure what you meant by that.

While I would agree with you that white-washing is a terrible practice, I don't agree with your views on what exactly whitewashing is. The fact is, like you stated, movies and films - when it comes to Hollywood - are about making money. And when a lot of actors nowadays are casted for certain roles, it's not about their ethnicity but about how much money that person, as an actor or actress, can bring in. So perhaps the issue here isn't with Hollywood but with movie-goers, because it seems like white-actors/actresses bring in a bigger audience than black actors/actress - but then again, the same can be said for physical attractiveness, more attractive actors/actresses may bring in more money than less attractive but more talented actors/actress. I mean, Megan Fox, I think, would be a great example of that. A very "hot" actress who brings in the money and will continue to be casted in films, despite her lack of actual talent. I'm just not convinced that your examples are examples of white-washing in film.

But that's not to say that I don't feel like minorities are under-represented in films, and that's not to say that I don't feel like a lot of the representation of minorities in film isn't either negative or ridiculously stereotypical. I just don't think that Hollywood as an institution is to blame for this, or that "White Hollywood" is to blame. Because even in films being produced, directed, and financially back by people of minority background are often horrendously stereotypical and display a clear "them" vs. "us" attitude towards race and ethnicity - when I say that I'm thinking mostly of Tyler Perry films, which I hate. But that's another bag of worms, I guess.