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Casting Non-Native Actors As Native Americans Is Wrong

posted 6 years ago by [deleted]
10 replies | jump to latest

Here's a great article from the (genuine) Native American actor, Adam Beach: https://deadline.com/2017/09/adam-beach-hollywood-whitewashing-casting-native-american-open-letter-1202169836/

I particularly like the following paragraph:

"Being Native is more than claiming your great-great-grandmother was a Cherokee princess, or people have told you that you look Native because you have high cheekbones. It's more than a last-minute bullet point on your resume or Wikipedia page to qualify you for a role you wouldn't otherwise receive. Incidentally, claiming Native ancestry without proof makes you a fraud."

Certain actors, and politicians, and their defenders on movie chat boards, would be best advised to consider these words...

[–] TexasJack (12516) 6 years ago

I don't see any reason why Natives can't be portrayed by others in movies. Would you object to Adam Beach playing a Hispanic character?

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Hispanics represent a mix of races and ethnic groups, including white, black, and Native American, among others.

So, sure, of course Adam Beach could credibly play a Hispanic (with Native American ancestry), although I'd personally always prefer an actual Hispanic to portray a fictional one (especially speaking as someone of part Hispanic ancestry).

[–] db20db (17754) 6 years ago

In the movie Windtalkers, there's an especially emphasized scene where he could possibly be mistaken for the enemy, the Japanese.

[–] SomeCodhopper (76) 6 years ago

[deleted]

[–] BillySlater (4285) 6 years ago

I don´t see a problem with it. Certain actors who are, "racially qualified" don´t have the resume, nor the box-office draw to play a starring role in a big budget motion picture. Any Native Americans characters that are being portrayed in a positive light should be celebrated not complained about because an actor who is playing said character is not ethnically qualified.

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

I wouldn't call it wrong, it's just more authentic. But if they look the part, I don't see a problem.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

But you're depriving genuine Native American actors of work that should rightly be there's.

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

The part should go to the best actor who looks the part. If that's "deprivation", than any actor who auditioned and didn't get the part is being deprived.

If it's not "their" movie, they don't have a "right" to anything.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

Thank you, Strat.

Some of us should proofread our posts, lest we get hosed by Mr. Spellchecker, and wind up looking careless, illiterate, or both: there’s (there is) or their’s (belonging to them)?

I know: education: who cares? I do.

[–] BillySlater (4285) 6 years ago

Not all of us are Native English speakers. Im pretty sure Malko mentioned he is German, I could be wrong though...