Reply #95: I'm with you - to say that a character can only be played by a certain [View All]

race denies thousands of years of thespianism.

In Shakespeare's time, men played the women's roles - is that wrong? According to the person you are arguing with, yes it is.

And as you say, only a Dane should be able to play Hamlet. SO that means that Randall Duk Kim, who I saw play Hamlet, is an asshole for thinking that he, an Asian, could play a white guy.

And not just a black person to play Othello - only a Moor will do.

I remember the brouhaha about the Passion of the Christ because they had a white guy playing Jesus - who fucking cares? Does this mean that Japanese churches have to call Israel and order out for a Jewish baby if they decide to do a Christmas pageant? Or that American churches have to go find a Jewish baby?

For fuck's sake people, it's art - Katherine Hepburn could play Hamlet opposite Phylicia Rashad as Ophelia and Dakota Fanning as Pelonious and Sean Connery as Rosencrantz and Chris Rock as Guildenstern.

Who cares?