A Discussion in THTR 454

In one of my acting classes, we always discuss the department-produced shows the week after they have gone up. One of these days, we discussed the play The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney. The play follows eighteen different families (different family for each scene) around a single dining room table, examining the dying upper middle-class culture of tradition, and how the shift towards societal progress has changed these types of families.

We always talk about moments that worked and moments that didn’t work. When talking about moments that didn’t work, our professor baited us with this:

“I didn’t get at all what the play was examining, and that has largely to do with the casting. Can anybody tell me why?”

Though I had not seen the play myself, I had inkling of what she was going for after sitting through our discussion of the play’s main themes. It seemed like I was not alone as everyone fidgeted uncomfortably in their seats, but said nothing.

“It may not be the most politically correct answer…” she prodded.

“The cast was multi-racial,” someone finally chimed in.

She slowly nodded and said “That’s it.”

Because The Dining Room spans the late 19^th into the late 20^th century, the upper middle-class culture being presented is better known as the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) culture.

We then launched into a discussion of the validity of colorblind casting, and when it was appropriate and when typecasting was completely necessary.

“Well, it’s not like you can have a white man play Othello,” said one student.

“Olivier (referring to acclaimed English and very white actor Laurence Olivier) did it,” someone else countered.

Though brief, it was a truly fascinating discussion about artistic liberties, and the limits of an actor’s imagination.

“I personally believe that we’ve all felt what it’s like to be oppressed, to feel less than, and that we would be able to draw upon those feelings if a white guy had to play a character that was traditionally black.”

“Here’s the thing,” said Jade, one of my fellow African-American actresses “I think that by being a black man, you have an innate sense of what being a slave means, and I just don’t think that anybody else can know what that feels like.”

This back and forth went on for a while. I chimed in that while I understood that some roles are meant to be played by a certain race, roles that should be open to any race often go to white actors because of old-founded stereotypes of the “average” American. Others noted that the fact that our department has to have two “diversity” shows in order for actors of color to get cast is absolutely ridiculous.

What I ultimately took from this discussion, however, is how complex this issue is, and how there isn’t one right or wrong answer. My scene work for this class had me playing a heavily persecuted Jew. Part of my professor’s reasoning with this casting was that African-Americans had an instinctive understanding of what it meant to be oppressed.

But, on the flip side, how could I, a 21 year old girl, possibly understand the ramifications of years and years of cruelty put upon a middle-aged Jewish man?

As we ended our discussion, my professor said something that I hope will stick with me for years to come:

“I so admire your idealism and your purity in your idealism. Don’t lose that. It’s too easy to lose that in this world, but don’t think that just because the system says you can’t means you can’t talk about these things. This is the important stuff we should be talking about.”

Social Bookmarking Soulmate

I think I found the one.

I know it sounds crazy, and we haven’t officially met yet, but sometimes you find people and BAM! it just hits you, right? Let me introduce my new significant other.

Her name is celechi zero.

Okay, so I don’t actually know if she is a girl. Is it bad that I assumed that she was a girl because she was looking at articles that dealt with female portrayal (and all its faults) in the industry, among other things? 

Maybe it is. I’ve become pretty cynical these days.

I digress.

The top tags for this…person are as follows: racism, Hollywood, sexism, race, film, culture, rape, casting, colorism, feminism.

Any of these sound familiar to you?

I’m just gonna lay it all out there. celechi seemed to line up pretty perfectly with what I cover in my blog. They say opposites attract, but sometimes, you stumble upon the perfect match.

celechi zero is a quiet one. She (or he) doesn’t really comment on the articles she (or he-okay, for all intents and purposes, we’ll call her a she) bookmarks. Merely, she highlights sections of the article that stood out to her. I like that. Sometimes standing behind a statement is all you need to do – no embellishments, no add-ons. This one’s got quiet strength.

celechi’s bookmarked about ten articles, meaning she’s knows how to play the field, but she’s still new to the game. One small drawback (everyone has their flaws, guys), she seemed to have bookmarked a whole bunch of articles in August of 2013, a couple in December, and hasn’t bookmarked since. It’s okay! I’m sure she’s still out there fighting for the cause, as they say. Maybe she just wanted to make her legacy short and sweet. To the point. I like that.

The best part about celechi? She bookmarks some really, really interesting articles. If I could, I would talk about all of them, but here are a couple that really stuck out to me:

What’s The Difference Between Cultural Exchange and Cultural Appropriation? on “The Good Man Project” – The writer tackles the issue of cultural appropriation, and how often the issue is taken to either extreme: complete ignorance or wracking guilt over each little thing. The writer suggests that in order for cultural exchange to happen, there needs to be a mutual understanding of respect. For so long, cultures persecuted through oppression have been carefully picked through by well-intentioned white people, these people only glorifying certain aspects of that culture that they deem is “exotic” and “cool.” The writer insists that if you are a guest, act like a guest. Treat the culture with honor, not as a weird ritual. Only then can free-flowing exchange happen without fried nerves.

As I’ve touched upon actors playing characters of different races, I think this is extremely relevant. Perhaps Hollywood could learn a lesson or two when they choose to exercise this practice, and maybe, just maybe, it could become a practice that didn’t feel so exploitative.

Anna Gunn and ‘Breaking Bad’s’ Skyler White: Just the Tip of A Very Big Iceberg on The Huffington Post – Maureen Ryan talks about the problem with Skyler White and the immense sexist backlash that character has faced on Breaking Bad. Ryan claims that the character was written stereotypically in the beginning, and was only fleshed out and made a complex, multi-faceted character in the show’s later seasons. She questions whether Hollywood is actually beginning to take steps towards consistent three-dimensional female characters, or if their lateness only fuels the hateful and repellent attitudes of the sexist minority that has dominated Hollywood for decades.

With television shows like Orange is the New Black and Mad Men that heavily feature female characters becoming more common, this article touches upon a very topical subject. Are the tides finally changing in Hollywood? It’s ridiculous that Anna Gunn has had to deal with so much vitriol, but progress is never an easy road to take. Overall, I think this article gives great insight into how Hollywood might slowly, but surely be changing for the better, which offers great balance to my constant critique of its old-world gender normative practices.

I will never be able to thank celechi enough for introducing me to so many great articles. Isn’t she just great?! I really hope you like her guys, because I think I’m in it for the long haul. 

It Gets Better...Unless You're An Actor

Remember the It Gets Better project? After the tragic suicides of LGBTQ youth across the nation, CEOs, celebrities, and just plain ol’ people came out in droves with short, inspirational videos encouraging these teens that life does get better, despite the hardships they face now. I believe that this project is beautiful and moving, and I am in no means making light of the situation or the efforts of powerful people.

That being said, I can’t help but ask the question, in the context of Hollywood entertainment, does it get better? If you take a closer look at LGBTQ actors, I think you’ll find that they face similar discrimination, though it may not be as outright as physical violence.

For instance, one of the most visible out-and-proud actors is Sean Hayes, who is most famous for his portrayal of the flamboyantly gay Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. He won an Emmy, and was nominated another five times for his work (in addition to countless other nominations for other awards). The character of Jack is up there with the George Constanzas and Fraisers of legendary sitcom characters, so in that regard, it’s no wonder that Jack will always be an evident part of Sean Hayes.

However, when Hayes played opposite Kristin Chenoweth in Promises, Promises on Broadway, many (quietly) questioned Hayes’ ability to play a straight character with the prominence of his sexuality. In a highly controversial Newsweek article, writer Ramin Setoodeh noted that critics ignored “the big pink elephant in the room:”

“Hayes is among Hollywood’s best verbal slapstickers, but his sexual orientation is part of who he is, and also part of his charm…But frankly, it’s weird seeing Hayes play straight. He comes off as wooden and insincere, as if he’s trying to hide something, which of course he is. Even the play’s most hilarious scene, when Chuck tries to pick up a drunk woman at a bar, devolves into unintentional camp. Is it funny because of all the 60’s era one-liners, or because the woman is so drunk (and clueless) that she agrees to go home with a guy we all know is gay?”

Setoodeh received extreme backlash for his suggestion that Hayes was unable to successfully portray a straight character because of his sexuality. But what Setoodeh touched on is a very real problem for LGBTQ actors, gay men in particular.

Perhaps the only actor to really break out against this is Neil Patrick Harris, who just ended a nine year run as the very straight Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother. In truth, Harris undoubtedly had the luxury of already being an established television star through Doogie Howser, M.D. and the beginning of HIMYM before he publically came out, though no one questioned his ability to play Barney after he went public.

Timing is an incredibly important aspect for actors when they come out. Harris waited until he was already on a hit television show. George Takei waited long after his successful stint on Star Trek to publically come out. Controversially, after a slew of romantic comedy box office gems, Rupert Everett came out and simultaneously argued that gay actors should stay in the closest because “the fact is…that you could not be, and still cannot be, a 25-year-old homosexual trying to make it in the film business.” Even with Harris’ success in HIMYM, one has to wonder, due to the sitcom’s broad comedy, if part of the humor of Barney’s emphatic bro-chismo is that we all know the truth about the person saying the lines.

The flip side of this, of course, is that our society has no issue with straight actors portraying LGTBQ characters. In fact, when they do, many of them are nominated for Oscars (see: Jared Leto, Sean Penn, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Heath Ledger & Jake Gyllenhall, Colin Firth, Christopher Plummer, Greg Kinnear, and Tom Hanks, to name a few). Portraying gay characters is often seen as a worthy challenge for any actor or actress.

How in the world is this any different than a gay actor portraying a straight character? How is it that we can ignore the private lives of straight actors, but not gay ones?

I hate to be pessimistic, but as NPH opens Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, I’m curious to see how many more Barney Stinson-like characters he can land afterwards. I want to believe that “it does get better,” but it can’t only be for people who don’t lead public lives. 

"Let It Go" Already! Frozen and "False Feminism"

*knock knock knock*

♫ Do you wanna build a snowman? ♬

Yes, if you’re like me, one of the millions of college students who is reliving their childhood vicariously through animated movies, then you’ve been humming that tune to yourself on the way to class for the past six months (in 70 degree weather, no less. #californiaproblems)

Frozen was a box-office smash and critics called it everything from “the best animated musical to come out of Disney since the tragic death of lyricist Howard Ashman, whose work on The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast helped build the studio’s modern animated division into what it is today” to “…this is the rare example of a Walt Disney Animation Studios effort that reaches as deep as a Pixar film.” It was widely championed for its “formula-defying” storyline and its emphasis on female empowerment in its two princesses.

As the hype has risen to a fever pitch, however, others have asked Frozen’s disciples to take a step back and really examine whether the film is truly the pièce de résistance of modern feminism in children’s entertainment. In an article written for Medium, writer Dani Colman claims that Frozen left her cold.

“I have made absolutely no secret of how much I disliked Disney’s Frozen. I hated it. I spent most of the movie alternately facepalming, groaning, and checking my watch, and when people asked me how I liked it, I made this face:

Colman notes that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but lays out a point-by-point takedown of the feminist issues the film supposedly tackles, and how, in her mind, when you really look at it, Frozen isn’t that revolutionary at all.

She debunks the “Frozen doesn’t end with a marriage!” argument, highlighting that while there is indeed no wedding at the end of the movie (spoiler alert), it follows to the familiar Disney trope of the “heterosexual happily ever after.” She backs it up with the research that only seven of the forty-three Disney animated features actually have a wedding at the end, but that twenty-five have a “happily ever after,” thereby squashing the claim that Frozen is any different from the others.

What was most interesting to me was her take on the main female characters and the praise that they are strong role models for young girls. According to Colman, Anna is really no different than any other Disney princess (“beautiful, in a gives-Barbie-body-dysmorphia kind of way”), and that her “charming flaw” of clumsiness “seems to be the de facto flaw for heroines who aren’t fully developed enough to have a real flaw – and yes, this would be the point where I compare Frozen to Twilight.”

For Elsa, Colman claims that she may be even worse than her sister. “Her sister spends the better part of ten years trying to reach out to her (admittedly misguidedly), and Elsa shuts herself away so steadfastly a psychiatrist might call it pathological. She’s an absolute mess of a characterological self-blame and avoidance, and she deals with her issues by speed-skating away from them.” She draws comparisons to The Lion King’s Simba, and how Simba eventually takes responsibility and goes back to his kingdom, while Elsa is practically dragged to hers against her will. Colman declares that Elsa is overemotional (as she nearly kills her sister with her own snowman creation) and haughty, and yet oversimplified in an attempt to make her relatable and not the film’s true villain.

I found this article through one of my friend’s Facebook wall, and thought overall it was a refreshing take on the film’s so-called radical storytelling. Colman makes the excellent point that because we have been deprived of excellent female characters in children’s movies for so long, we are quick to laud any step in the right direction and gloss over any deeper issues the film may have.

However, as I am someone who looks less at political ramifications the story highlights and more at the story itself, I think Colman ignores the cards the characters were dealt, and the natural instincts the characters would have in those situations.

Yes, Elsa is someone who runs away from her problems, but she has been taught her whole life to be terrified of her own power. It doesn’t seem like much of stretch to think that, in her mind, going back to her kingdom which is entirely against her would only make things worse. As far as almost killing her sister (I think Colman makes a judgment leap with this, for the record. Was the scary snowman meant to be threatening? Yes, but I think it was to forcibly remove her sister from the situation, not kill her) and being overemotional, the girl has been holding back her entire freaking life and when someone is only beginning to comprehend how powerful they are after being emotionally and physically repressed, it’s generally not a good idea to provoke them.

No, Elsa’s not going to be as complex and morally ambiguous as someone like Elphaba in Wicked, of which this character draws deep parallels (“Defying Gravity” and “Let It Go” are essentially the same song, okay?). Elsa also doesn’t have the luxury of a three hour musical or a 300 page novel. At the end of the day, it is a kid’s movie and there’s only so much deep, enriching character development you can pack into an hour and half movie.

Still, this is not an unimportant conversation to have, and the culture normative is ingrained into kids at a young age. We want them to admire the princesses we watch on the screen, and we better make sure that those princesses aren’t teaching them lessons we don’t want them to learn. 

The Awesomeness that is C.J. Cregg

I know I spend a lot of time ranting on this blog. It is important for concerns to be voiced, but even I get tired of my activist Facebook friends’ statuses from time to time.

I thought it might be nice to celebrate something, for a change.

Growing up, my bleeding-heart liberal folks loved the NBC drama The West Wing with a fiery passion. They said it got them through the Bush years. Considering I was between the ages of 7 and 13 when the show aired, it’s fair to say that most of the show went right over my head. So, as I stared down my hardest semester of college, I decided to add on the challenge of going through the seven seasons of The West Wing.

But enough about me.

I’m here to talk about the awesomely kick-ass character that is Claudia Jean Cregg, portrayed by actress Allison Janney on The West Wing.

A little background, if you’re not familiar with the show. As The West Wing follows the two terms of President Bartlet and his staff, C.J. Cregg acts as Press Secretary for Bartlet’s first term and half of second.

Okay…so what?

Well, let me just put it like this.

Reasons Why C.J. Cregg is Awesomely Kick-Ass

1.     She is the lone woman on the senior staff.

Though Donna (portrayed by Janel Moloney) will become a series regular in later seasons, she is never a senior member of the President’s staff. It’s just C.J. out there in the boys club, which pretty accurately depicts the landscape of women in positions of power. In fact, it wasn’t until the early years of the Clinton administration that a woman served as Press Secretary. That said, C.J. doesn’t spend the show being the “oppressed” woman. She faces discrimination and adamantly fights stereotypes, sure, but it does not become her M.O. She is widely respected by her colleagues, has important influence over the President’s decisions, and definitely has a seat at the table. She simultaneously represents the progressive, modern woman who has gotten to her position of power all on her own (bucking an all-too familiar trend) while still recognizing the struggles that women face in the workplace and in the world.

2. She is well-educated and extremely competent at her job, as well as being a likeable, sociable person.

Too often women of C.J.’s intelligence are either painted as a socially awkward nerd who would rather have their nose buried in a book than talk with another human being, or as a know-it-all bitch with severe emotional detachment. But as well as having the professional respect of her colleagues, C.J. is one of the most beloved characters by everyone on the show. She teases and jabs with her friends, but is incredibly compassionate in their times of trouble, acting as a shoulder to lean on. It seems silly to applaud a show depicting a woman who’s got brains and a heart, but in the years where generalized “ditzes,” “bitches,” and straight-up “hot messes” dominated our television screens, a woman who pretty much had it all together professionally and emotionally was a refreshing change of pace.

 3.  She is a great role model, but is not a woman without flaws.

      

She falls on the treadmill! She’s just like the rest of us.

Kidding aside, C.J. goes through a lot of emotional turmoil throughout the show’s seven seasons. She nearly loses her job when making an ill-advised remark under pressure. A one night stand with a married man comes back to haunt her. She constantly battles with the balance of her 24/7 job and her dementia-stricken father. The career vs. family conflict is not unfamiliar territory for female characters—and we almost always see the woman choose her family over her job (otherwise, she’s obviously selfish and overly ambitious). Thankfully, with C.J., this struggle is a never-ending one – kind of like life, right? She cannot just leave her job at the White House, but she tries with all her might to be there for her ailing father. The result is complicated and heartbreaking and poignant.

4. A WOMAN WITH ALL OF THESE TRAITS CAN HAVE A RELATIONSHIP, EVEN IF IT TAKES A WHILE FOR IT TO HAPPEN.

 Girl meets boy. Boy pursues girl, but girl realizes there are professional boundaries that cannot be crossed. Boy and girl agree mutually to not get themselves into trouble, and separate. Girl does not wallow for the rest of the seven seasons over boy, and meets and dates various other worthy men. Boy appears again in her life, and professional boundaries are no longer a problem. Boy and girl rekindle relationship and presumably live a happy life together.

Overall, C.J. Cregg is a character any actress would dream of playing, and that is a true testament to the writing of Aaron Sorkin and the performance of Allison Janney. She will forever be a beacon for truthful, beautiful female characters who don’t need be there only to be a love interest (sorry, Janel Moloney.) It turns out women like this (and surprise! There are a lot of women like this!) can be pretty interesting people to watch all on their own.

You go, girl. 

Trifecta

Hello, World!

The “real world” – that vast expanse that most young adults enter at the ripe old age of 22. Upon entering this world, we are expected to know how to act, how to interact, and, most importantly, how to survive. This world is daunting to all those who enter it. But imagine, if you will, a young adult entering this world staring down a 12% employment rate, and the chance of serious success being about the same as winning the lottery. This young adult also happens to be of color and a woman. She is ready to take on her industry and wants to be successful, but doesn’t want to be put in the same boxes that those like her are often confined to.

Good luck, kid.

Who is this determined, but naïve person? That would be me, a young adult (only at the much younger age of 21) about to graduate college with a Bachelors degree in Theatre and enter the bottomless ocean that is “the industry.” Musical theatre is my passion, so I might be able to avoid being one of the Hollywood types for a while. Alas, the Broadway world continues to become more and more commercial. The different mediums of theatrical art have blurred, and many of the “rules” that apply in the Hollywood world also apply to theatre actors.

The entertainment industry is changing, for sure – Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave, nominee The Help, and box-office darling Bridesmaids have started a trend towards movies that level the representational playing field. These films wouldn’t have been made ten years ago. Even with a great creative team, the “suits” (i.e. the men and women who have no ties to the project other than financial ones) would have said something along the lines of: “There’s no audience for it” or “It will never work.” It sounds ridiculous. With women and minorities clearly making up a significant portion of the American population, how would those movies “not work”? Unfortunately, these assumptions are made off of a bad mix of old stereotypes and, as with all things stereotypical, a hint of truth.

This obviously affects the careers of minority actors and actresses. It wasn’t until 2002 that the first African-American woman took home the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar (Halle Berry). There has not been an African American woman to win that category since then (and the only nominations being Gabourey Sidibe, Viola Davis, and Quvenzhane Wallis). It’s certainly not a morale booster for someone like me. This is supposedly the age of equality, but actors and actresses of color are still not getting featured in most mainstream movies, and when they are, the movies usually feature the race of those actors.

Well, instead of wallowing in a pit of despair, I thought I would make better use of my time and talk about it. I’d like to cover both broad and detailed facets of this fairly broad subject. Minorities are not exclusive to my personal traits of being a woman and being African-American. What is it like to be actor with a disability? What about actors who are LGBTQ? How do they navigate the treacherous waters of the industry?

I also want to do some digging to see how this conception of what is profitable and what is not profitable (in terms of actors to cast) came about. Where did these standards that minority actors are coerced into following come from? Finally, I want to see how much our culture has influenced the movies that get made. Is the fact that we still have this problem in 2014 a reflection of how unequal our society still is?

I don’t expect to answer every question I have, but I hope to at least gain a better understanding of the industry I am about to spend the rest of my life in. 

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Profile of a Blog: Racialicious

The subject of representation in the entertainment industry, or really pop culture in general, is a massive beast to handle. There are many areas of grey where crevices of opinion, discourse, and factual evidence thrive, leading to varied, pointed views on the matter.

So when I found Racialicious, a blog described as “the intersection of race and pop culture” in its headliner, I was immediately impressed at the sheer quantity of in-depth analysis of the role of race in popular culture, and also how race sheds light on gender, LGBTQ, and class issues as well.

The group of editors and correspondents at Racialicious are no slouches. Latoya Peterson, who is the current Owner and Editor, has had her work featured in Spin, Vibe, The American Prospect, The Atlantic Blog, Bitch Magazine, Clutch Magazine, Slate’s Double X, and the Guardian. Her background lies in digital media consulting, working for esteemed clients like NPR, Wikipedia, and Al-Jazeera.  Other members of the team are graduates from the likes of NYU, Occidental College, and the Rhode Island School for Design, and have had their work featured in Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and MSNBC. They are based out of cities all across the United States, and work together through the Internet to collaborate and discuss their many thoughts, opinions, and experiences.

The blog posts multiple times a month, varying from movie and television recaps, to re-blogs, to short posts on what they found on the Internet that day. The site has not been updated since February, but is otherwise completely up to date with the happenings in the industry and around the world.

The blog seems to have a fairly small, but vocal group of supporters. On a purely technical side, here are the blog’s popularity statistics according to blog search engine Technorati:

Technorati Authority: 523 (Rank: 1388)

Entertainment Authority: 85 (Rank: 4885)

Politics Authority: 83 (3324)

The blog is filled with great, detailed posts about all things pop culture. Two posts, of completely different length, that I found the most interesting were both about the world of television.

The first one I stumbled across was a recap of a Season 6 episode of Mad Men. The show, under the backdrop of the 1960s, tackles a number of political issues that polarized the nation at the time, but has been infamously reticent about race. In this recap, contributors bemoan the lack of developed characters of color, but also talk about how racism (as outlined in the show) shapes Mad Men’s unrelenting standpoint on feminism, and also how developed, supporting minority characters (like the closeted homosexual Sal, who was an employee of the firm in the show’s first seasons) can enhance the show. It’s a fascinating discourse about race, feminism, and sexuality, and, though they all have similar opinions, no one has the exact same response to the episode and discussion.

In a post that’s about three times shorter, contributor Tamara Harris briefly blogs about a web series on YouTube called The United States of Amani, which documents multiracial actress Amani  Starnes’ navigation of being “ethnically ambiguous” in Hollywood. The episode is only three minutes long, but reveals a lot about how Hollywood perceives race and its marketability.

Blog posts like these are why I know this blog will be incredibly helpful for me in my work. The blog does encapsulate all facets of pop culture, while my work is mainly focused on Hollywood and commercial theatre, and, obviously, mainly focuses on race, while I try to include all types of minorities. However, the articulation of the educated contributors has allowed the posts to be flourishing discussions on a very complex subject matter. The blog is catered to young, hip intellectuals with a love for pop culture, so even though many of the posts could be short, scholarly essays, the voice always stays colloquial and relatable.

Because of the sheer number of posts, I think that I will be able to delve into the more detailed aspects of the subject matter, and perhaps examine things that I wouldn’t have caught when first tackling this topic. No matter whether you’re examining it or not, you should head on over to Racialicious for a great discussion about representation in our constant, 24/7 media market. 

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Voice of the People (of Color)

Typecasting (across all minority lines), is an issue that is talked about more and more, but there are very few blogs that are dedicated solely to that issue. Pieces are routinely featured in entertainment sections of larger blogs, but won’t be brought up again for months. Finding blogs that routinely examine this issue (especially amateur ones) has felt like an excavation, and I thought I would have to cobble together some pieces from various different blogs for this particular assignment.

Then, late one night, as I toiled through blog search engine after blog search engine, I stumbled upon this beauty.

Stop Whitewashing is self-described as a blog that is:

“ a safe space for People of Color. We are here to inform, to educate, and to call out people who whitewash. We support and celebrate entertainment equality and will also speak out against racism not only in the entertainment industry but in canon works (books, graphic novels, etc.) and fandoms as well.”

The blog is mainly comprised of short posts either celebrating the accomplishments of POC in the entertainment industry, or condemning those who halt signs of progression. A good portion of the blog is re-blogging articles, videos, and GIF sets from other blogs that will occasionally breach this subject. The contributors, however, routinely respond to comments sent in to them, and we hear the voices of Stop Whitewashing loud and clear.

For instance, one commenter said the following:

“I’m sorry but do you realize that black people are OVERREPRESENTED in US media and culture right? That effectively a group that is 12% of the population, gets more support than all others? So we shouldn’t be concerned if Lupita Nyongo wins, but why a Hispanic Asian actress never wins. NHL is not diverse enough, but 85% of the NBA is black, few to no Asians, no Indians, no natives, few Hispanics at all. Music is black dominated, television, even movies now.”

One of the admins had a feisty, yet thoughtful response to this comment. She uses short, clipped sentences to convey an authoritative, occasionally sarcastic tone. It gives off a “girl, you don’t know where the hell I come from” vibe that commands respect from the commenter and the reader.

A favorite quip:

“Context lil’ anon, CONTEXT. Not everything you see is glitter and gold. It’s probably bloody with a little mix of coonery and buffoonery.”

Coonery is a nice rhyming synonym with buffoonery, but also harkens back to the harsh slur for African Americans in the 20^th century. It gives historical context to her answer, alerting the reader that this continues to be a problem in this day and age.

What elevates this post from being just a snappy retort is the balance of sassiness with nuggets of straightforward reality. The admin wants the commenter to have learned something, so she gives credit to his comment while backing her side with hard evidence. It gives the post an intellectual, yet relatable quality, which gives the reader permission to accept the admin as well-educated and well-versed in the subject.

Despite not having a substantial amount of original posts, the re-blogged posts still reflect the voice of Stop Whitewashing. In this post, which was re-blogged from Policy Mic, the cheekiness comes out in full swing with the video “Typecast,” a parody of Lorde’s song “Royals,” putting the woes of non-white actresses to a catchy beat.

http://stopwhitewashing.tumblr.com/post/8082120288/chescaleigh-ever-wonder-what-its-like-to-be-an

Any song could have been used here, but the cleverness of “Royals” is that the original song tears into the opulent façade that pop and hip-hop music casts, and this parody does exactly the same in the case of Hollywood.

Representing the very true challenges for actors of color, we see the video point out the ridiculous reality that the main (white) lead can’t have two black friends, the Asian actress disregard the true origin of her last name in order to make it “whatever you want it to be (generically Asian),” all three actresses accept being typecast in order to get a job, and ultimately be passed over for a white actress because the roles of the three best friends were combined into one. The tone is down-to-earth and easily accessible to all (especially young people), but hopefully expands the view of the watcher of what modern entertainment really looks like (or doesn’t look like).

Overall, if you want a straight-up view of ethnic representation in pop culture with a mixture of hard facts and spunky personality, Stop Whitewashing is the place to go. 

Profile of a Blog: Racialicious

The subject of representation in the entertainment industry, or really pop culture in general, is a massive beast to handle. This is no black and white issue – it has many crevices of opinion, discourse, and factual evidence.

So when I found Racialicious, a blog described as “the intersection of race and pop culture” in its headliner, I was incredibly impressed at the sheer quantity of meticulous, in-depth analysis of not only race in popular culture, but how race gives a lens into gender, LGBTQ, and class issues as well.

The crew members at Racialicious are no slouches. Latoya Peterson, who is the current Owner and Editor, has had her work featured in a number of publications including Spin, Vibe, The American Prospect, The Atlantic Blog, Bitch Magazine, Clutch Magazine, Slate’s Double X, and the Guardian. Her background lies in digital media consulting, working for esteemed clients like NPR, Wikipedia, and Al-Jazeera.  Other members of the team are graduates from the likes of NYU, Occidental College, and the Rhode Island School for Design, and have had their work featured in Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and MSNBC. They are based out of cities all across the United States, and seem to work through the Internet to collaborate their many thoughts, opinions, and experiences.

The blog posts multiple times a month, varying from movie and television recaps, to re-blogs, to short posts on what they found on the Internet that day. The site has not been updated since February, but otherwise is completely up to date with the happenings in the industry and around the world.

The blog seems to have a fairly small, but strongly vocal group of supporters. On a purely technical side, here are the blog’s popularity statistics according to blog search engine Technorati:

Technorati Authority: 523 (Rank: 1388)

Entertainment Authority: 85 (Rank: 4885)

Politics Authority: 83 (3324)

The blog is filled with great, detailed posts about all things pop culture. Two posts, of incredibly different length, that I found the most interesting were both about the world of television, since that is a main factor of what I cover in my blog.

The first one I stumbled across was a recap of a Season 6 episode of Mad Men. The show, under the backdrop of the 1960s, tackles a number of political issues that polarized the nation at the time, but has been infamously prudish about race. In this recap, contributors bemoan the lack of developed characters of color, but also talk about how the racism outlined in the show shapes the show’s unrelenting takes on feminism, and how developed, supporting minority characters (like the closeted homosexual Sal, who was a employee of the firm in the show’s first seasons) can work in the show. It’s a fascinating discourse about race, feminism, and sexuality, and, though they all have similar opinions, no one has the exact same response.

In a post that’s about three times shorter, contributor Tamara Harris blogs about a web series on YouTube called The United States of Amani, which documents multiracial actress Amani  Starnes on how she navigates being “ethnically ambiguous” in Hollywood. The episode is only three minutes long, but reveals a lot about how Hollywood perceives race and how it is marketable.

Blog posts like these, and many more on the website, are why I know this blog will be incredibly helpful for me in my work. The blog does encapsulate all facets of pop culture, while my work is mainly focused on Hollywood and commercial theatre, and, obviously, mainly focuses on race, while I try to include all types of minorities. However, the articulation of the well-spoken and educated contributors has allowed the posts to be flourishing discussions on a very complex subject matter. The blog is catered to young, hip intellectuals with a love of pop culture, so even though many of the posts could be short, scholarly essays, the voice always stays colloquial and relatable.

Because of the sheer number of posts, I think that I will be able to delve into the more detailed aspects of the subject matter, and perhaps study things that I wouldn’t have caught when first breaching this topic. No matter whether you’re studying it or not, you should head on over to Racialicious for a great discussion about representation in our constant, 24/7 media market. 

Vaguely Ethnic White (and Black) Girls

Think about the musical West Side Story for me. Not ringing a bell? Ever heard this song before? Or this one? Or this one (or at least seen Anger Management)? There it is.

Now, think of Maria, the beautiful Puerto Rican girl who falls for WASP Tony. Maria’s speech is rich with trilled Rs and bits of colloquial Spanish. Latin beats are resonant throughout Leonard Bernstein’s score, and are fully present in the songs that she sings. So naturally, Maria should be played by a Puerto Rican (or, at the very least, a Hispanic), right?

Enter actress Natalie Wood, born from Russian immigrants and blessed with Western European looks, a movie star who is arguably most famous for her portrayal as…Maria in the 1961 movie version of West Side Story.

Okay, okay. But that was 1961. It was pre-Civil Rights movement, and it’s a wonder that a musical (and movie) with such strong racial themes, and its lesson of tolerance, was even made.

Cut to 2014. Me, attending an audition for the musical In the Heights in Anaheim. If you’re not familiar with the musical, the show takes place in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood, home to a diverse group of Hispanics from various Latin cultures. The musical deals with the struggle of identity, of what traditions you accept as your own and what traditions you start on your own.

So, in other words, race is a fairly important part of the show.

To my surprise and pure amusement, I walked into the lobby of the rehearsal studio seeing a whole lot of Aryan faces, a few looking vaguely ethnic enough to maybe pass as Latina, and maybe one or two real Latinas.

Cue a text to one of my friends, who I had texted earlier with worries that my presence (as a biracial African American-Caucasian) might come off as offensive: “Lolz, lolz, LOLZ to all these white girls here.”

I was simply baffled that these girls thought that they were right for a show that literally has no white characters – not to mention that, dressed in short cocktail dresses, teetering in high, high heels, and hair perfectly curled into gentle ringlets, these girls looked more suited for 90201 rather than el barrio of Washington Heights.

But I thought back to the conversation I had earlier with my friend.

Who was I, a mixed girl showing up to audition for characters whom are explicitly of a race that I am not a part of, to judge?

Because I am mixed, I am blessed with the gift that is “racial ambiguity.” Most people, upon first meeting me, do not know what race I am, and this means I am able to submit myself for a multitude of ethnic roles. I’ve been to Puerto Rico, and the natives thought I was a native. So I figured I would have no problem walking into that audition convincing the auditors that I was Hispanic.

And I didn’t.

But where is the line?  A girl with blonde hair and blue eyed would look completely out of place, but a girl with dark hair would not, necessarily. All of those girls that I scanned over with such contempt could have Latin blood running through their veins for all I know, and maybe those genes just aren’t visible ones.

On the flip side, however, it’s always disheartening to see roles that are meant for a certain race taken by those who aren’t of that race, particularly when it’s roles that are meant for people of color and are taken by those who are not. Of course, it is sometimes a matter of who comes out to the audition (and more importantly, who doesn’t), but the representation of POC is so small in the theatre. Ethnic ambiguity is a blessing for the actors who have it, but it can be another restriction of parts available for those who don’t.

It’s certainly not a black and white issue (pun completely intended) – who is really at liberty to limit an actor’s freedom of artistic practice (within reason, of course)? But at what (and who’s) cost comes that freedom?

Anyway, I hope that I get the opportunity to channel my inner Latina on the Los Angeles stage this summer. But, if I do, I will remember and honor the culture that I am representing, even though it is not my own.

UPDATE:

I got a callback for a part that requires lots of Spanish. ¡Ay, Dios Mio! 

Voice of the People (of color)

As I’ve clearly stated before, the issue of typecasting (across racial, gender, and other minority lines) is a hot-button topic, but there are very, very few blogs dedicated just to that. Having to find blogs that routinely talk about this issue (especially amateur ones) has been a trip and half, and I was beginning to think that I was only going to be able to cobble together some pieces from various different blogs.

And then I found this beauty.

Stop Whitewashing is self-described as a blog that is:

“a safe space for People of Color. We are here to inform, to educate, and to call out people who whitewash. We support and celebrate entertainment equality and will also speak out against racism not only in the entertainment industry but in canon works (books, graphic novels, etc.) and fandoms as well.”

The blog is mainly comprised of short posts either celebrating the accomplishments of POC in the entertainment industry, or condemning those who belittle it or are blatantly against it. I’ll admit this upfront – a good portion of the blog is re-blogging articles, videos, and GIF sets from various other blogs. But, particularly when it comes to answering the questions (or retorts) of their followers, we get to hear the voice of the people running this provocative blog.

For instance, one sadly misinformed commenter asked the following:

“I’m sorry but do you realize that black people are OVERREPRESENTED in US media and culture right? That effectively a group that is 12% of the population, gets more support than all others? So we shouldn’t be concerned if Lupita Nyongo wins, but why a Hispanic or Asian actress never wins. NHL is not diverse enough, but 85% of the NBA is black, few to no Asians, no Indians, no natives, few Hispanics at all. Music is black dominated, television, even movies now.”

Many people, including myself, might not have taken the time to actually respond to such nonsense, but one of the admins responded in a feisty, yet thoughtful and truthful way.

In the response, the admin uses a lot of short, clipped sentences to convey an authoritative, occasionally sarcastic tone. It does give off a “girl, you don’t know where the hell I come from” vibe, but in all honesty, the commenter probably has no idea where the hell the admin comes from. She balances her sassiness with nuggets of straightforward reality, hoping that the commenter not only understands the inflammatory nature of their comment, but also that they will have learned something through the admin’s response.

In another post, this one being re-blogged from Policy Mic, the cheekiness comes out in full swing with the video “Typecast,” a parody of Lorde’s song “Royals,” putting the woes of non-white actresses to a catchy beat.

http://stopwhitewashing.tumblr.com/post/80821202881/chescaleigh-ever-wonder-what-its-like-to-be-an

As an actress who has played many of these roles before, I definitely feel the pain of these women. Really any song could have used here, but what’s clever about the use of “Royals” is that the original song tears into the opulent façade that hip-hop music casts, and this parody does exactly that in the case of Hollywood.

Pointing out facts that the main (white) lead can’t have two black friends, the Asian actress disregarding the true history of her last name to make it “whatever you want it to be (generically Asian),” all three actresses willing to be typecast in order to get a job, and ultimately being passed over for a white actress because they combined all three roles are all played satirically here, but represent very true challenges for actors of color. This tone is down-to-earth and easily relatable to all (especially young people), but hopefully expands the view of the watcher of what modern entertainment really looks like (or doesn't look like).

Overall, if you want a straight-up view of ethnic representation in pop culture with a mixture of factual evidence and spunky personality, Stop Whitewashing is a good place to stop. 

Hello, World

Heading into the "real world" as a young adult is daunting, but none more daunting than for a young actor. With something like a 12% employment rate and the chance of stardom being about the same chance of winning the lottery, people wonder why anyone would possibly want to choose this profession. Now, try to imagine yourself as a young actor who also happens to be of color and a woman. You are ready to take on Hollywood, you want to be a leading lady, but you don't want to put in the same box as everyone else. All I can say is, good luck, kid.

Who am I to be spouting off about the treatment and identity of minority actors in the industry? First of all, it comes from personal experience. Unfortunately, that kid I said "good luck" to is me. I am a senior in college about to graduate with my Bachelor's in Theatre and enter the terrifying, shore-less ocean that is "the industry." I plan to focus on musical theatre, at  least in the first goings of my career, as it is what currently gives me fulfillment. But as Broadway becomes more and more commercial, and the different mediums of theatrical art blur, many of the same "rules" that apply in the Hollywood world also apply for theatre actors.

I know I am not the first to breach this subject, but as films like 12 Years a Slave, The Help, and Bridesmaids get made and gain national attention, I thought it would be both a personal and topical issue to address. Those films I mentioned wouldn't have been made ten years ago. Even with a great cast of actors, the "suits" (i.e. the men and women who have no ties to the project other than financial reasons) would have certainly said something along the lines of: "Nobody wants to see that," or "A comedy based solely around women that's not a romantic comedy? It will never work." It seems silly to hear those types of things. How could you possibly say that women would not come to see a "bad-behavior" comedy like Bridesmaids? How could you say that an actor of color could not carry an entire movie? Unfortunately, these assumptions are made off of a bad mix of old stereotypes and, as with all things stereotypical, a hint of truth.

For me, all it can take is a reminder that Halle Berry was the first African American woman to win the Best Actress Oscar in 2002, and that there has not been an African American woman to win that category since then (and the only nominations being Gabourey Sidibe, Viola Davis, and Quvenzhane Wallis) for me to feel like a successful career is impossible. Why, in this age of supposed equality, are actors and actresses of color not featured more in movies? And why, when they are featured in movies, does that movie usually feature the race of that actor or actress?

Instead of sitting in my room in a pit of despair, I thought I would make better use of my time and talk about it. Obviously, this is a fairly broad subject, so I'd like to cover a lot of smaller subtopics as I go. Minorities are not exclusive to my personal traits of being a woman and being African-American. What is it like to be an actor with a disability? I also want to do enough digging to see how this conception of what is profitable and what is not profitable (in terms of actors to cast) came about. Where did these standards that minority actors are coerced into following come from? Finally, I want to see how much our culture as a nation has influenced the movies that get made. Is the fact that we still have a problem in 2014 a reflection of how unequal our society still is?

I don't expect to answer every question by the end of this blog, but I hope to at least gain a better understanding of an industry that I am about to spend the rest of my life in.