Why is 'browning up' acceptable in Hollywood?

[Orang Utan]

So many films, including Ridley Scott's newest Biblical epic, Exodus: Gods And Kings feature heavily made up white actors playing brown characters.
Why is this acceptable? I would have thought it was frowned upon nowadays.

 

[gentlegreen]

Given the subject matter is entirely bonkers .....

I hadn't realised how despicably violent the Jebus film was - total gore-fest and a box office smash.

 

[Treacle Toes]

It isn't acceptable! Of course there are no decent Black or Brown actors around so they had no choice

 

[Orang Utan]

Given the subject matter is entirely bonkers .....

I hadn't realised how despicably violent the Jebus film was - total gore-fest and a box office smash.

Which film?

 

[Orang Utan]

It isn't acceptable! Of course there are no decent Black or Brown actors around so they had no choice

A friend of mine played a mute warrior in Prince Of Persia, while Jake Gyllenhall played the lead. He could easily have played him and he wouldn't have needed any fake tan.

 

[gentlegreen]

Which film?

I believe it was called "The Passion of The Christ" .
I accidentally saw bits of it on an atheist video - they reckoned the longest bit without violence was about 6 minutes.

It shocked me, but then I won't even watch the news, let alone violent films or computer games.
The Abrahamic cults are extremely violent.

 

[Hocus Eye.]

Perhaps some Brown actors refuse to play such parts on the grounds that the parts are not also suitable for a white actor.

 

[Belushi]

Everyone in the bible was white, you only have to look at the pictures

 

[Thimble Queen]

It really isn't acceptable at all. It's massively fucked up and depressing.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

So many films, including Ridley Scott's newest Biblical epic, Exodus: Gods And Kings feature heavily made up white actors playing brown characters.
Why is this acceptable? I would have thought it was frowned upon nowadays.

Interesting question. I wonder, have there been any actual examples of 'browning up' in a modern day setting since Fisher Stevens in Short Circuit? Or to put it another way, is it purely reserved for stuff set thousands of years ago, when clearly everyone who mattered was white?

 

[butchersapron]

I believe it was called "The Passion of The Christ" .
I accidentally saw bits of it on an atheist video - they reckoned the longest bit without violence was about 6 minutes.

It shocked me, but then I won't even watch the news, let alone violent films or computer games.
The Abrahamic cults are extremely violent.

Who the eff do you think done all that violence on the christ?

 

[gentlegreen]

Who the eff do you think done all that violence on the christ?

The Romans apparently did that to a lot of people around that time.
Making it into a death cult and forcing children to watch it 2,000 years later is a bad idea.

 

[Orang Utan]

Interesting question. I wonder, have there been any actual examples of 'browning up' in a modern day setting since Fisher Stevens in Short Circuit? Or to put it another way, is it purely reserved for stuff set thousands of years ago, when clearly everyone who mattered was white?

I dunno. But how is it more acceptable if it's set in the past?

 

[Orang Utan]

The Romans apparently did that to a lot of people around that time.
Making it into a death cult and forcing children to watch it 2,000 years later is a bad idea.

It's an 18 certificate isn't it? Who is forcing children to watch it?

 

[Hocus Eye.]

I have only recently found out that some of the blacked-up minstrels in the old days in America were already black but wanted to exaggerate the effect.

 

[Belushi]

So many films, including Ridley Scott's newest Biblical epic, Exodus: Gods And Kings feature heavily made up white actors playing brown characters.
Why is this acceptable? I would have thought it was frowned upon nowadays.

Thinking about it this is a whole can of worms, What is white? People of indigenous European ancestry? North Europeans? Caucasians?

Many people from the Middle East consider themselves to be white; are Italians White but Persians not?

 

[butchersapron]

The Romans apparently did that to a lot of people around that time.
Making it into a death cult and forcing children to watch it 2,000 years later is a bad idea.

So let's see - it wasn't anything to do with an Abrahamic cult but, in fact, people directly opposed to Abrahamic cults.

 

[butchersapron]

What about vic and bob?

 

[Buddy Bradley]

I dunno. But how is it more acceptable if it's set in the past?

It's not, obviously, it's just weird. Like Hollywood think nobody really knows what colour people were in Africa a few thousand years ago.

 

[Fez909]

Interesting question. I wonder, have there been any actual examples of 'browning up' in a modern day setting since Fisher Stevens in Short Circuit? Or to put it another way, is it purely reserved for stuff set thousands of years ago, when clearly everyone who mattered was white?

Tropic Thunder?

 

[Athos]

... made up white actors playing brown characters. Why is this acceptable?

Why not? Actors play all sorts of parts. As long as the process for recruiting them is fair i.e. doesn't discriminate in favour of white actors, then I see no reason in principle why a white actor shouldn't play a 'brown' character, if the make-up is good enough.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Tropic Thunder?

That was "blacking up" really, and was knowingly post-ironic or something. And they got shit for it even then. I think Fisher Stevens did too, with his comedy Apu-style Indian, but I don't remember anyone criticising Ben Kingsley for doing Ghandi.

 

[DotCommunist]

the Passion is an anti semetic piece of propaganda from the middle ages, and mel gibson is a cock of the highest order.

 

[gentlegreen]

So let's see - it wasn't anyone who ahd anything to do with an Abrahamic cult but,in fact, people directly opposed to Abrahamic cults.

Isn't that purely academic ?

 

[Fez909]

That was "blacking up" really, and was knowingly post-ironic or something. And they got shit for it even then. I think Fisher Stevens did too, with his comedy Apu-style Indian, but I don't remember anyone criticising Ben Kingsley for doing Ghandi.

"blacking-up" / "browning-up" - same thing.

 

[Orang Utan]

That was "blacking up" really, and was knowingly post-ironic or something. And they got shit for it even then. I think Fisher Stevens did too, with his comedy Apu-style Indian, but I don't remember anyone criticising Ben Kingsley for doing Ghandi.

Hank Azaria is white and got away with Apu in The Simpsons.
And Ben Kingsley is half-Indian. His real name is Krsna Banerjee!

 

[Thimble Queen]

Why not? Actors play all sorts of parts. As long as the process for recruiting them is fair i.e. doesn't discriminate in favour of white actors, then I see no reason in principle why a white actor shouldn't play a 'brown' character, if the make-up is good enough.

Are you for real? Blacking up or browning up whatever is not ok under any circumstance.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

"blacking-up" / "browning-up" - same thing.

Well, yes - although I thought Orang Utan was making the point in the OP that white actors in blackface is a lot more incendiary than white actors playing brown (north africans, indians) people.

 

[Treacle Toes]

Why not? Actors play all sorts of parts. As long as the process for recruiting them is fair i.e. doesn't discriminate in favour of white actors, then I see no reason in principle why a white actor shouldn't play a 'brown' character, if the make-up is good enough.

Here's a perspective you might enjoy

https://medium.com/@DavidDWrites/yo...cotts-pretty-racist-exodus-movie-37471c4d7628

 

[butchersapron]

Isn't that purely academic ?

Isn't you getting something totally wrong academic? To you? To me - to those adding this to the long list of stuff abgut religion you know sweet fa about?