What can actors still learn today?
Published: Thursday, Nov 30th 2023, 10:30
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Are white people still allowed to play black people today? And heterosexuals still homosexuals? There has been a heated debate about this for some time. The cinema releases of "Maestro" and "Wonka" have revived it.
A nose can be explosive. When the first trailer for the film "Maestro" about the life of composer Leonard Bernstein was released some time ago (theatrical release in German-speaking Switzerland on December 7), accusations of "Jewfacing" were promptly raised.
In reference to "blackfacing" - the portrayal of black people by white people wearing make-up - the lead actor Bradley Cooper was accused of using an old Jewish stereotype to impersonate a Jew as a non-Jew. Cooper was given a prosthetic nose for the filming.
It's a question that is being discussed more and more frequently and heatedly in Western countries: What are actors allowed to appropriate and what not? If we look back over the past few decades, a clear trend emerges. Appropriation is viewed more critically.
For example Othello
For example, the title role in William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello, the Moor of Venice" used to be played by white actors throughout. In a famous 1965 film version, for example, the part was played by four-time British Oscar winner Sir Laurence Olivier. Even then there was criticism, especially because Olivier also played the character with a strange accent and bizarre gait.
Blackfacing" is now largely taboo. Several reasons are given for this: Firstly, there is almost always something caricaturing about a white person dressing up as a black person. Secondly, this masquerade is part of an unpleasant tradition. In the USA, so-called "minstrel shows" used to be popular, in which white people stereotypically imitated black people for the amusement of a white audience.
Thirdly, blacks have been oppressed and exploited by whites for centuries and are still often discriminated against today. There is therefore an imbalance of power, which is why special consideration should be given to the feelings of the disadvantaged group. Fourthly, it is often difficult for black actors to get roles at all.
Debates about whether non-disabled people should still be allowed to play people with disabilities, people of normal weight should still be allowed to play fat people and heterosexuals should still be allowed to play homosexuals follow similar lines of argument. Or people of normal height should play people of short stature: For example, there has been criticism of Hugh Grant's portrayal of a short Oompa-Loompa in the soon-to-be-released "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" prequel "Wonka" (Swiss German release December 7).
These questions are part of the wider context of identity politics, which aims to raise awareness of discrimination and give minorities a voice. In this context, cultural appropriation refers to the adoption of forms of expression from another culture, usually that of a minority.
Special status of acting
Acting occupies a special position here in that cultural appropriation could be described as its very essence. It has always been about embodying something completely different from oneself on stage: Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor played the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, the handsome Anthony Quinn the hunchbacked Hunchback of Notre Dame, the picture-book Frenchman Pierre Brice the Apache chief Winnetou. Critics say that if certain characters are no longer allowed to be played because they are too dissimilar, then the art of acting will be turned into its opposite.
What are actors still allowed to appropriate today? In an interview with the German Press Agency, comedian Hape Kerkeling sums up his position as follows: "Acting should basically allow everything in freedom - just no discrimination. It's that simple and that complicated." In other words, art must first and foremost be free. But at the same time, it is advisable to consider issues of identity and discrimination when casting roles.
If you have any doubts about this, you might want to think back to the faggy gay clichés from German films from 20 or 30 years ago. What hardly bothered anyone back then only seems embarrassing today. But what about a brilliant acting performance like the one Tom Hanks achieved in 1993 with his Oscar-winning role in "Philadelphia" about a lawyer suffering from Aids? Hanks himself wouldn't do it again today. "I don't think people would accept the lack of authenticity of a straight man playing a gay man," he told the "New York Times Magazine" last year.
Kate Winslet, who plays a lesbian paleontologist in the film "Ammonite", decided otherwise. Of course we can talk about whether she might have taken the role away from someone, Winslet told the Sunday Times. "But I know that this role wasn't offered to anyone else." By accepting it, she could at least "bring an LGBTQ story into living rooms". This is because the Oscar winner's name is the only way to guarantee a large audience and thus confront people with the topic who might otherwise never deal with it.
Decision in individual cases
Many things can only be decided on a case-by-case basis. In Germany, for example, it would be difficult to imagine sticking a hooked nose on a non-Jewish actor for a Jewish role. Under National Socialism, Jews were always portrayed with such noses in inflammatory newspapers such as the "Stürmer", but also in carnival parades and not least in films. It was the prelude to the Holocaust.
The situation is different in countries such as Switzerland, the USA and the UK, which is why criticism of "Maestro" quickly died down there. This was also helped by the fact that Bernstein's family took a very relaxed view of the matter. "It's just that Leonard had a nice big nose," said the family. It was "perfectly all right" to have a little help with this in the film.
Cooper, who is said to have spent years preparing for his role as Bernstein and never tires of emphasizing his admiration for the famous composer, recently spoke himself for the first time. And he summed it up in a simple formula: He simply wanted to look as much like Bernstein as possible.
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