Even if Taymor treated the Caliban storyline mercifully, it still rankles.
Fair point. Though I still want to see Honsou as Caliban.
Simon: You're out of your mind. Early: That's between me and my mind.
'Objects In Space'
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Sean K - Oct 05, 2010 8:32:02 am PDT #11384 of 30000
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
Sean K - Oct 05, 2010 8:35:04 am PDT #11385 of 30000
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
Yeah, Jess. That's kind of silly. But whatevs. I'm hoping/expecting Mirren to make the most badass Prospero ever.
juliana - Oct 05, 2010 8:35:33 am PDT #11386 of 30000
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss them all tonight…
(Cross-casting in Shakespeare has been around since, well, SHAKESPEARE, just let her play ProsperO.)
This, too, but eh.
Fair point. Though I still want to see Honsou as Caliban.
And he'll be amazing. It's just... way to (unintentionally, I hope) reinforce shitty fucking stereotypes. There's other ways of marking Caliban as Other.
Jessica - Oct 05, 2010 8:35:40 am PDT #11387 of 30000
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
I just... I have serious problems with Caliban being played by the only person of color in the entire damn movie.
Taymor's answer to this was pretty weak, too, IMO (DH was at a Q&A) - she kept harping on how, well, his skin color is right there in the text, so what could she do??? But unless I'm mistaken, Prospero's gender is also right there in the text, and, well, see above.
Sean K - Oct 05, 2010 8:42:51 am PDT #11388 of 30000
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
Weak.
DavidS - Oct 05, 2010 8:56:22 am PDT #11389 of 30000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I just... I have serious problems with Caliban being played by the only person of color in the entire damn movie.
I raised my eyebrows at that. But following that logic, you get to, "Well, even though Taymor thinks Djimon is the best person to play Caliban we can't have him play the role because he's black."
Which I think is a bad solution.
juliana - Oct 05, 2010 9:04:05 am PDT #11390 of 30000
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss them all tonight…
I raised my eyebrows at that. But following that logic, you get to, "Well, even though Taymor thinks Djimon is the best person to play Caliban we can't have him play the role because he's black."
Which I think is a bad solution.
What about the solution of having more POC in the cast? That's my logic, right there.
Jessica - Oct 05, 2010 9:05:30 am PDT #11391 of 30000
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
But following that logic, you get to, "Well, even though Taymor thinks Djimon is the best person to play Caliban we can't have him play the role because he's black."
But by her own admission, his skin color was part of what made him the best person to play Caliban. Which I find extremely problematic, especially considering that this is Julie "traditional-interpretations-of-Shakespeare-my-ass" Taymor. It's not like we're talking about a Kenneth Branaugh production here.
[eta: And What Juliana Said.]
DavidS - Oct 05, 2010 9:07:53 am PDT #11392 of 30000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
What about the solution of having more POC in the cast? That's my logic, right there.
Definitely a better solution.
I could see replacing Molina with Chiwetel Ejiofor, as an example.
They're both fine actors who can handle the comedy and the language, but that would dilute the effect of othering you get by casting Djimon as beastial Caliban.
§ ita § - Oct 05, 2010 9:17:46 am PDT #11393 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
the effect of othering you get by casting Djimon as beastial Caliban.
Dilute the problematic effect, you mean...that sentence bothers me right there.