Color Blindness In The Phantom Of The Opera

August Wilson’s 1996 address entitled “The Ground on Which I Stand”, sparked a vigorous debate in the world of theater over the idea of “colorblind casting” and he presented the need for a Black Theatre. Mr. Wilson was outraged by the fact that of the 66 major companies belonging to the League of Resident Theaters, only one was black. He felt that the supporters of black theatre used their funds to increase black hiring in primarily white theatres as opposed to creating a theatre for the black community. Hw wanted to have more black theaters established to cater to the black actors as well as draw in black audiences. He attacks the increasingly popular trend of “colorblind casting” which basically meant casting black actors in roles traditionally

The article is about black creative production (theater) since the play is directed by African American playwright Richard Wesley. In addition, the predominantly black casts are spectacular and deliver a strong performance. The ability to be multi-skilled in your craft displays creativity and versatility where the actors can utilize their many talents.

Abstract: This essay seeks to explore how the 2002 Broadway production of the musical Hairspray depicts and produces inclusivity in American life in both modern and contemporaneous periods. The point of view set up in the show emulates the concept of a “white savior complex” in its efforts to showcase the perils of black people in the entertainment industry in the 1960s, along with minimizing the responsibility of white people in the systematic societal racial structure. Despite these shortcomings in historical accuracy in its overly-optimistic portrayal of segregation, Hairspray gave explicit, designated opportunities to black actors to be highly featured in a Broadway production. And unlike other shows during its time, it ultimately brought up conversations of segregation and racism in the entertainment industry in a time where these issues were seldomly addressed.

Three sources analyze the racial conflicts of white actors playing colored parts, and all agreed that it was not a trivial situation, for audiences, or actors. Racial tensions are very popular with the media. While there is some minor tension today, the movies and plays of Othello top the charts for most racial conflicts. First, The article, “Othello: the role that entices and engages actors of all skin colours,” by Andrew Dickson shows the history of the actors that played Othello, and when the actors were black, they were either not cast, due to segregationists, or were criticized in their performance for the same reason. Also, this article uses diction to convey the seriousness of white vs. minority crisis. Next, the video, “SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED White Actors Playing Othello” by PBS, shows the performances of many Othello actors that were white. Additionally, the video shows one white actor who used makeup to make himself more than than black. The video uses hyperbole to describe the absurdity of Othello movies. For example, Laurence Olivier, the 1964 Othello was black-top showing how far film industries will go to cover-up racial tensions, and the narrator describes the makeup as ridiculous,and dramatic. Finally, the last article, “Aladdin: putting a white character in Disney’s live-action remake is offensive,” by Hannah Flint displays that film industries feel obligated to please a white audience, keeping the minorities second fiddle by adding characters white people

Comprehensive Annenberg Report on Diversity in Entertainment, showed one-third of females with a script were 33.5 percent, in spite fact that woman represented about half of Americans population. The percentage of characters with dialogue who were non-white was just 28.3 percent, which is roughly 40 percent of America’s

The term that describes this is inequality which is unequal distribution of opportunities in society. The article shows this by saying that women and people of color get less opportunities in theater because they are not the predominant white male for example for play, 61.3 % are males and 35.7% are females. Another reason America is unequal according to the article for theater people is because people cannot move from one social class to a higher social class. This is defined as immobility. Immobility occurs in the article due to the potential person getting hired gets the established not so good pay in order to get the job they want just to be able to provide for the family. This does not allow for a move up in class, because if they negotiate for better pay they might get not get the job or get fired and then they won’t have anything for their family. The article provides an example that inequality due to skin color in America is going down a bit. The example of African American lead actors getting paid more than white lead actors in Chicago is an example of meritocracy. Meritocracy is where an individual gets rewarded for being skillful at the job rather than having connections. That African American example is an example of meritocracy, because they don’t have the same background as the white employers, but I believe they get paid more because they are

Stereotypical representation in entertainment media has long been and continues to be a reoccurring issue. Diversity representation in entertainment media has been debated over and over again, and still continues to be a major problem. The historical representation of African Americans in theatre and comedic performances still largely affects the stereotypical representation of African American males today. More often than not, when a male African American body is placed into a theatric arena, they are automatically stereotyped to only acting in a certain way. Ranging from historical contexts, viral YouTube videos, American sitcoms, and actor’s entire careers, male African American bodies have and will continue to be used to define the specific

Staging Race is a book that focuses on black performers between 1890 and World War I. During this time period blacks were dealing with many social events which included: the Jim Crow segregation, the Niagara Movement, and heightened racial tension. The goal of this book is to show the way that black performers were able to use public entertainment to present their political ideas and use them to appeal to the white audience and at the same time entertain and educate the black people in the balcony seats.

While theatregoers are generally familiar with the names of such pioneers as George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern, the names of their black counterparts - Will Marion Cook, George Walker and Bob Cole, among others - are virtually unknown today. Allen Woll aims to remedy that neglect in this book, offering a thoroughly researched account of the evolution of black musical theatre from the turn of the century to the present day. In his discussion of the careers of Ethel Walters, Eubie Blake and Lena Horne, to name just a few of the luminaries considered here and in his outlines and analyses of "A Trip to Coontown", "Shuffle Along", "Porgy and Bess", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "The Wiz", "Dreamgirls" and dozens of other shows, Woll brings the works vividly to life. "Black Musical Theatre" should become an essential reference and guide for anyone interested in theatre and African American

Harmful racial stereotypes have plagued the entertainment industry since blackface minstrel shows began in New York in the early 1800’s. Although the structure of minstrel shows changed over time; the images, blackface, and the caricatures of blacks continued. Early Hollywood films sustained the racist tradition of white actors performing in blackface with numerous silent movies that included white actors playing non-white characters in a particularly stereotypical fashion. Eventually non-white actors were allowed to play themselves in film, however they were cast in extremely prejudiced roles that degraded themselves like “the coon”, “the tom”, “the black buck” or “the mammy” for African American actors, and “the bandito”, “the greaser”, “Latin lover” or the “spitfire for Latino actors. Although there are some productive ambiguities within some of these roles, they are ultimately damaging.

During the 20th Century, it can be noted that minorities have made significant strides in securing their dreams and reaching equality in America. The advances such as the right to own land and the right to vote has defined America to be the “land of opportunity”. Despite the political advances obtained, minorities still suffer from the racist beliefs that have also been ingrained into American society. Although it has been long since these bigoted practices have been upheld by the law, it could be argued that supremacist ideologies and derogatory stereotypes are still seen in the entertainment industry. Historically, the portrayal of minorities, especially African Americans, has been less ideal.

He pointed out that at the time he wrote this article, most American theatres are “racially mixed”. Black actors could cooperate with a white playwrights. It was no need to separate which theatres are “black” and which are

Over the course of approximately one-hundred years there has been a discernible metamorphosis within the realm of African-American cinema. African-Americans have overcome the heavy weight of oppression in forms such as of politics, citizenship and most importantly equal human rights. One of the most evident forms that were withheld from African-Americans came in the structure of the performing arts; specifically film. The common population did not allow blacks to drink from the same water fountain let alone share the same television waves or stage. But over time the strength of the expectant black actors and actresses overwhelmed the majority force to stop blacks from appearing on film. For the longest time the performing arts were

African American Theatre has a very dynamic and rich entity which comes from ancient Egyptian practices, and the African background of Greek legends contributed by Shakespeare. While black theatre was in its early stages, plays echoed of the lives they were living. Black American artists were constructing and preforming plays for mixed audiences as early as 1821. The dance and rhythm black people inherited caught the eyes of European audiences. Black theatre involves all sorts of black tradition with ancient stories, mythology, dances, music, and rich practices. It also contributed to the formation of America’s musical comedy acts. Social restrictions that

Throughout the years the play Othello by William Shakespeare has been adapted both on the screen and on stage many times. The questions or race and racism that have quite often been a point of discussion with William Shakespeare’s play Othello can be seen through the bard, however some may argue that Othello’s skin colour was purely a plot device. This paper will look at two film that have been re-made since the 1960’s, which provides an analysis of the concept of race and how political ideas and events of that time have influenced each adaptation. It will be seen that the film version of Othello directed by Oliver Parker in 1995 compared to the film version directed by Geoff Sax in 2001 present’s race with differing degrees.