Is a film in which someone plays a member of a race different from their own automatically ridiculous?

Question

White men have played Othello. Caucasians have played Asians and Native Americans. Do older films that feature this sort of thing bother you? If they did it today, would it bother you?

Answer 1

A film that loses a lot by its portrayals of east indians by white people is 'Gunga Din' imo.

If it had used real indians of the proper accent and mannerisms, it could have had a much longer shelf life.

As it stands, a Jewish guy from the Bronx played Gunga Din, and his nemesis, the Thuggee leader, was played by an Italian-American. Both had horrible mannerisms and accents for the ethnic and cultural group, as did most of the rest of the actors in the film.

Oh well . . .

Answer 2

It only bothers me when they do not do the research. I think the good thing is that they can be more objective and I do not think your race should limit you to certain roles. I look at how fantastic Omar Shariff is and how many races he has played intstead of just playing his own.

Answer 3

No Eddie Murphy was great as the white guy in the barber shop in Coming to America.

Answer 4

No, it doesn't bother me at all. It still happens today. As long as they can play and look the part, who cares? Lastly, there's one race: the human race.

Answer 5

They do it today and who cares. All I care about is the acting its self.

Answer 6

Yes and yes.

Answer 7

hey it is nice to see that color has no barring

Answer 8

THERE ACTORS . ITS COOL./

Answer 9

NO!!!....