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1. Angelina Jolie Does It Again / Stereohyped on 20 Jul 2007 at 8:57 am

   […] via Racialicious] » Post A Comment Tagged: Movies · Common · Angelina Jolie · A Mighty […]

2. Is Halle Berry pulling an Angelina Jolie? at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture on 27 Jul 2007 at 11:52 am

   […] We’ve spent a lot of time on Racialicious discussing the fact that Angelina Jolie is playing a woman of color in “A Mighty Heart” and apparently, also in the upcoming film adaptation of the comic book “Wanted.” […]

3. Wanted: More Black Actresses at BlackGeekdom - Science-Fiction from a Different Perspective on 01 Nov 2007 at 2:23 pm

   […] don’t want to see an interracial couple on-screen. I found this interesting blog post here from a website called Racialicious (the blogger references willow_dot_com) that asks the same […]

4. Comic Heroine Vixen Gets a White Wash at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture on 21 Feb 2008 at 1:42 pm

   […] Interesting. First, it was just the film industry using (what I assume to be) their discretion to change the Fox’s black roots to fit big budget film draw Angelina Jolie. […]

Comments

1. Karen wrote:

   Is Hollywood convinced that they can just easily swap a WOC with Angelina Jolie?

   Posted 20 Jul 2007 at 10:28 am ¶

2. Keke wrote:

   Let me see if I get this: In a nation numbered in the triple digit millions, there are absolutely no beautiful, charismatic Black actresses anywhere? None? They couldn’t find ANYONE???? So they get Angelina? This makes me angry on so many levels. And as a mother of a child of color, what is she to say to her child years later if she decides to go into acting?

   Posted 20 Jul 2007 at 10:45 am ¶

3. Carmen Van Kerckhove wrote:

   > And as a mother of a child of color, what is she to say to her child years later if she decides to go into acting?

   Seriously.

   I read on some other blog (forget where now) that if Zahara decides to go into acting when she grows up, she’ll have to watch out for her mom stealing all her parts.

   Posted 20 Jul 2007 at 10:53 am ¶

4. Allen wrote:

   This made me giggle.

   And the Boston Globe had a story on racism among doctors that was interesting as well.

   Posted 20 Jul 2007 at 1:00 pm ¶

5. Fiqah wrote:

   I remember many years ago when Angelina Jolie first really hit the scene and the press went on and on and on (and then on some more) about her “exotic” good looks: her full lips, her voluptuous figure, etc. A similar fuss is made over just about any actor who can be seen as racially “ambiguous” (i.e., possibly Black but not, you know, TOO Black). I think what makes Angelina Jolie so appealing to mainstream American sensibilities is her coded, sub textual “Blackness.” It’s just a theory. Anyway, this doesn’t upset me. That cover story back when she was pregnant (sorry, I forget the magazine) and in Namibia with the title “African Queen” upset me. WTF?! Angelina Jolie: all the fun of Black womanhood, and none of that bothersome oppression.

   Posted 20 Jul 2007 at 3:39 pm ¶

6. mommywommy wrote:

   This does not make me “giggle”. What they are basically saying is that Jolie is a more bankable asset than a woman of color in the role. Thandie Newton? Totally a more beautiful and a better actress, than skanky Jolie, not cast. In fact, this is not based on ability at all, otherwise most all of these roles would go to women of color.

   Just because Jolie continues to collect children in melting pot fashion, does not mean she should be taking these roles.

   Posted 20 Jul 2007 at 5:43 pm ¶

7. Angela wrote:

   *sigh*

   Did anyone also hear on Angry Asian Man that Jessica Biel may be playing Chun Li in the new Street Fighter film? What is the world coming to?

   Posted 21 Jul 2007 at 3:18 am ¶

8. Ezra wrote:

   This is really strange because if you read the comic the character’s appearance is obviously based on Halle Berry. This is like the whole Marianne Pearl thing all over again.

   Posted 21 Jul 2007 at 8:25 pm ¶

9. Nikki wrote:

   I am so sick of Saint Jolie. She’s not that attractive, or even that great of an actress. And don’t get me started on her as a role model - she’s a heroin addict and a home wrecker…

   What bugs me more about this: as a white woman, I am DYING to see movies that DON’T feature your average Hollywood leading lady. I would love to see more actress of every color and size be featured in leading roles. I don’t want my children, especially my daughters, thinking that there is only one standard of beauty; and that if you’re not white, blonde, tall, and thin, then you’re not it.

   This world is more beautiful with all the color in it, and I want to see that reflected in the movies I pay to see.

   Posted 22 Jul 2007 at 12:53 pm ¶

10. Orion wrote:

    I’m with you all except Halle Berry can’t do it — she played Catwoman which makes her ineligible to do this as Catwoman is a competing franchise and Catwoman was really bad.

    Now mind you in that instance it was a black woman playing a traditionally white woman’s role, which I also had no problem with. I understand the lack of good roles for WoC and solo women even. Unfortunately there just aren’t that many women who can bank a movie all by themselves, especially this kind of movie.

    It stinks, but I’m not sure from a fiscal perspective what there alternatives are. Are there any other A+ stars you would put in this role?

    Posted 22 Jul 2007 at 4:37 pm ¶

11. jonp72 wrote:

    The wife of John Nash, the mathematician/economist who inspired the movie A Beautiful Mind, is Latina born in El Salvador. But when they cast the part in the movie, the wife was played by Jennifer Connelly, who won an Oscar for the role. Connelly is a great actress, but she definitely doesn’t pass for Salvadoran.

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 8:55 am ¶

12. derek wrote:

    Yeah, remember, Halle Berry played Catwoman. IMHO, it’s hard to say there’s something wrong with Jolie playing a black Catwoman knockoff if no one complained about Berry playing a white Catwoman.

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 9:31 am ¶

13. Wendi Muse wrote:

    i think some of the comment posters on this entry have brought up an interesting issue of double standard…and makes me wonder *why* people of color are chosen for white roles sometimes. . .

    another good example of this is the film City of God. the main character, Buscape, is white in the book (as it is based on the author’s life), but portrayed by a black person in the film version. apparently this was an explicit choice made by the author and the director in that they felt there needed to be more black role models in brazilian film. . .

    can the conscious choosing of a specific race to portray a character, especially if it’s for some greater purpose, also fall under this category?

    where do we draw the line?

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 10:17 am ¶

14. Fiqah wrote:

    Wendi: while I think that there may be some difference in reaction to white actors playing characters of color, I’m kind of of the opinion that actors of color are picked FAR LESS often to portray white characters - it’s like it doesn’t even occur to these folks to cast them! Also, Paolo Lins is a person of color. Here’s a link to an article with a photo: http://www.ulnoe.at/literaturundwein/autorinnen/lins.php?naviaktiv=nav3&step=autorinnenarchiv

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 10:52 am ¶

15. s wrote:

    derek, derek, derek. Where have you been? White people, white websites, white activists have booed, complained, and set up boycots against Catwoman as soon as it came out (actually, as soon as they heard she had the part). Google it. Even Comic forums were suddenly jammed with racist comments about that “nigger” stealing a great Hollywood role that only a white beauty should play. Many went on to talk about our “nappy hair, ugly black skin, fat ugly lips, wide slave noses, big bouble butts” etc.

    For a minute, I actually thought you were kidding. I mean, did you really think that NO white person would complain about that? None? That would be a historical first!

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 11:00 am ¶

16. Wendi Muse wrote:

    fiqah: thanks for the correction.
    i was going on what my portuguese teacher told us (i have not read the portuguese book cidade de deus)…maybe he meant that the author explicitly asked for a black person to play the role? (as lins may not be considered “black” in brazil for multiple reasons whereas the boy in the film would be).

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 11:45 am ¶

17. gatamala wrote:

    derek - google Eartha Kitt

    ***
    My understanding (from interviews with non-white actresses) is that the roles for “white women” are not advertised as such. Whiteness = normal and all others must be specifically cast. So if the white actresses get the “neutral” roles and race-based roles, what do WoC get????

    ***
    I’m through with the bankability argument as well. EVERY star has that one role which catapults her to stardom. Kerry Washington has cut her teeth on good roles…why not her?

    ***
    jonp72 - I had no idea.

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 12:37 pm ¶

18. Fiqah wrote:

    Gatamala: once again you have hit the nail on the head. That’s precisely the problem - normative whitenes, which basically posits that white isn’t a race, but EVERYTHING ELSE is. Fhat the wuck.
    Wendi: Hmmm…I hadn’t even thought of that. I guess it would really depend on how Mr. Lins self-identifies. Obrigado, I’m discussing this at my next brunch salon!

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 12:56 pm ¶

19. Willow (DotCom) wrote:

    Hi and hello and glad you found the article. But may I ask a favour? Instead of promoting my particular blog, could you find and replace it with “The People of Color SF Blog Carnival” ?

    http://ofcolour.blogspot.com/

    Because that entry was it’s first ever issue and I was host.

    I’d like to get more people aware of the Carnival, willing to host and willing to look to it for news about People of Color in SF, Scifi and Fantasy.

    Thank You.

    PS: Would you be interested in hosting?

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 2:17 pm ¶

20. tasha wrote:

    Derek and Orion, Halle Berry casting as Catwoman was not groundbreaking because Berry was not the first black actress to play the role. Eartha Kitt played Catwoman, decades before her.

    See now, I don’t understand why this is happening. “A Mighty Heart” made no money at the box office, so this idea of Jolie being bankable isn’t always so. However, you can’t really pin down the exact reason behind why the movie flopped. Some think it was because the movies of Angelina’s that make big money are her action films. Some think that the studio should have released the film in the fall, instead of the summer when the summer blockbusters are playing. Some think that people are just tired of Brangelina, not to mention how many people decided to see the film because they objected to Jolie playing a woman of color. If this is really true about her latest role than this is a big test. If this action movie flops, then it will have only failed for two reasons, one being that Angelina Jolie isn’t as bankable as the media would have us believe, or enough people were offended by the casting choice of Angelina as a woman of color that they decided to pass on the film.

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 3:39 pm ¶

21. Fraser wrote:

    One woman’s magazine did a study some years back showing that while “bankability” was usually cited as the reason male stars get so much more $ than women, pretty much every man in the top bracket had one or more high-profile failures.
    I agree it should be a black woman even though I probably won’t see it–the source miniseries sucked royally.

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 4:15 pm ¶

22. Latoya Peterson wrote:

    Hey Everyone -

    Thanks for the comments!

    Willow -

    Sorry, this isn’t my blog. You’ll have to talk to Carmen.

    Re: White Actress/Black Roles (and the inverse) -

    I cosign with Gatamala - in the film industry, “whiteness” is considered default…and way too many actresses of color have to try to overcome that preconceived barrier to even get roles. Also, I do not have any hard facts on this one, but I would imagine that the number of roles written for a white woman and given to a POC is drastically lower than roles written for POCs that are re-done with white women. Check out all the films from Asia Hollywood decides to remake - are there any Asian-American actors in major roles?

    Also, what really struck me about this post wasn’t that Angelina took a role - it was that she claimed to be aware of the issues that actors/actresses of color face. If you are aware of an issue, doesn’t that give you a bit of responsibility in trying to solve the problem? A.Jo has clout in Hollywood - if this role was a once in a lifetime, can’t pass this up project, why couldn’t she advocate for more black costars? Or hiring more minorities behind the scenes?

    Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 11:39 pm ¶

23. michelle wrote:

    I am so glad you guys brought up Eartha Kitt. Eartha Kitt is known for many things, two of which are; breaking ground by playing Catwoman and the song “Santa Baby”. The fact that some people don’t know about Eartha Kitt’s portrayal just serves to prove that Black women and their contribution to American culture via film and television is not recognized.

    When a part comes out on the breakdowns (a term for a description of an available role) about half the time it won’t have a definite ethnicity, and like people have mentioned it implies that Whiteness is the default state of being. Sometimes it will say Caucasian, but that is usually when the other characters are “ethnic”. A lot of times they will say “please submit all ethnicities”, meaning that any old ethnicity will do. The casting office will be full of Asian, Black, Latino, and everything that is not ostensibly White. Gatamala, your post posed the perfect question. Where does that leave Women of Color if White women are now eligible for the “Please submit all ethnicities” category? This is not about Angelina Jolie, because Hollywood is a trickle down type of town. If Angelina plays a Black woman once, plays a Black woman twice, you better believe that it is going to effect every level of Hollywood casting. We have too far to go, to take steps backward. This is why AJ playing Marianne Pearl was a major step backward for Black actresses.

    I have been shouting from the rooftops about the need for Black women to maintain, no cement, their presence in film and television is imperative in order for a shift in our paradigm to occur. Our culture relies on the images presented in film and television to both mirror and shape who we are and how we see ourselves. It is vital for Black women to be included on all levels of the cultural discourse.

    Posted 24 Jul 2007 at 2:32 am ¶

24. gatamala wrote:

    “Awareness” is as meaningful as postsecret confessions and “tolerance” without action.

    Angie is an “aware” actress who traipses around the world looking tenderly into the eyes of colored folk. She has even taken a few home. AnJo has more than a bit of a responsibility, she has an obligation. Just b/c her children are no longer malnourished does not mean her maternal responsibility to fight for kids ends.

    Let’s face it. If Maddox, Zahara, Pax [& Shiloh] go into the family business, doors will automatically open. If AnJo & Brad used their clout to fight for minorities (like their children) then perhaps Zahara will play the lead superhero/district attorney and Maddox & Pax will play heartthrobs.

    Posted 24 Jul 2007 at 8:06 am ¶

25. michelle wrote:

    Gatamala you are simply amazing.

    What you said was DEAD on and my only wish that AJ would read what you posted. As a mother she has a responsiblity to protect her children and to make sure that they inherit a world where they can succeed. She seems blissfully unaware that she is undoing so many strides that Black women have made. And yes, doors will open for her non white children, but she has the power to destroy the glass ceiling that they will all face simply because of their color, no matter who their parents are.

    Posted 24 Jul 2007 at 11:59 am ¶

26. lilac wrote:

    Eartha Kitt was one of the first black people I ever saw on TV, so it was no great stretch to imagine Halle Berry as Catwoman. “Wanted” is an appalling miniseries (though I’m dying to know how they’re going to finish the movie without displaying violent contempt for the audience) - but I suspect that there is little coverage of Angelina playing/replacing black women in her movies. I was guilty of assuming that Mariane Pearl was white and American rather than black and (mostly) European - it was blogs that enlightened me, not the mainstream press.

    Posted 25 Jul 2007 at 12:19 am ¶

27. thekamisama wrote:

    Since the Fox in the comics was drawn looking almost EXACTLY like Halle Berry, they might be wanting to distance themselves from lawsuits (and the Catwoman movie) as much as they can. I doubt they will cast Tommy Lee Jones or Eminem in thier lookalike roles for the same reason.
    I just don’t know if I can agree with everyone. Because to keep The Fox black simply because the comic character is (instead of just finding the best actress who embodies the role, or sells alot of tickets) gives too much fodder to the fanboys who bitched about people of color playing “white” comic roles (like Kingpin in Daredevil, Alicia Masters in both Fantastic Four films, and the upcoming Nick Fury with Samuel Jackson). The fact that Morgan Freeman seems to be playing an altered version of a white character from the Graphic Novel also deflates the point of this being overtly racist casting. I would rather loose one “obscure” independent comic book knockoff character to racially strange casting than to give the purists nerds that right to complain.

    Posted 25 Jul 2007 at 9:54 am ¶

28. mwb wrote:

    That’s ridiculous. Angelina gets another role.

    Bah, every time you don’t cast Gina Torres in a movie you are wrong!

    Yeah, she’s expected. So hold up the movie, she’s worth it!

    http://www.gina-torres.com/

    Posted 25 Jul 2007 at 12:08 pm ¶

29. electric_goldfish wrote:

    More of the same. They keep threatening to cast Chun Li (Chinese!) with actress Jessica Biel. (so very white). I’m sadly not surprised.

    Posted 25 Jul 2007 at 7:10 pm ¶

30. michelle wrote:

    I don’t think that given the history of film in America, we should “pass” on “fighting” this casting choice because of small group of comic book fans. Particularily in light of AJ being cast as a woman of color in her most recent film role. Seems like a pattern to me!

    Posted 26 Jul 2007 at 12:06 am ¶

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