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BBC Cast a Black Woman as a Historical English Queen.

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Original post by silverbolt
This does bug me.

I have no issue with historical drama/fantasy casting non white actors in roles that are not specific. I.e not casting Idris Elba as Henry the eighth But in an actual historical drama, then keep the ethnicity accurate (seeing as your putting so much money into things such as sets and costumes)


How do you know she wasn't actually black and that the history records are lies?
Original post by NickLCFC
The new series of the 'The Hollow Crown' on the BBC has cast a black woman (Sophie Okonedo) as Margaret of Anjou. This is an actual historical figure who was the wife of Henry VI and thus was Queen of England from 1445-1461 and from 1470-1471.

See the trailer for the new series:

[video="youtube;W0kO-pVsc3E"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0kO-pVsc3E[/video]


The only reason I post this is because there always seems to be an outrage when movies/tv shows are supposedly 'white washed'. For example, more recently, Scarlett Johansson was cast as an Asian character in a Hollywood adaptation of a Japanese anime franchise: 'Ghost in the Shell'. There was outrage because this was apparently 'yellowface' (see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB0lrSebyng).

That is just a fantasy character however. The difference with this is that it's a real historical figure being represented inaccurately. Just imagine the outrage if someone like Martin Luther King was cast as a white guy.

Are you being serious here ?
Reply 142
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Maker
20
Paranio is rife amongst Leavers.
Original post by silverbolt
This does bug me.

I have no issue with historical drama/fantasy casting non white actors in roles that are not specific. I.e not casting Idris Elba as Henry the eighth But in an actual historical drama, then keep the ethnicity accurate (seeing as your putting so much money into things such as sets and costumes)


Original post by Dodgypirate
Hypocrisy.

People claimed that replacing Hermione with a black woman isn't bad because Hermione is fictional... which is fair enough, I wouldn't care if a black man was cast as James Bond.

Outrage when a white person replaces a historical non-white person in a film or TV show... which again is fair enough...

Nothing when a black woman plays a historically white person... not even a peep from mass media.

See it only matters if a white person does bad.


Original post by NickLCFC
The new series of the 'The Hollow Crown' on the BBC has cast a black woman (Sophie Okonedo) as Margaret of Anjou. This is an actual historical figure who was the wife of Henry VI and thus was Queen of England from 1445-1461 and from 1470-1471.

See the trailer for the new series:

[video="youtube;W0kO-pVsc3E"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0kO-pVsc3E[/video]


The only reason I post this is because there always seems to be an outrage when movies/tv shows are supposedly 'white washed'. For example, more recently, Scarlett Johansson was cast as an Asian character in a Hollywood adaptation of a Japanese anime franchise: 'Ghost in the Shell'. There was outrage because this was apparently 'yellowface' (see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB0lrSebyng).

That is just a fantasy character however. The difference with this is that it's a real historical figure being represented inaccurately. Just imagine the outrage if someone like Martin Luther King was cast as a white guy.

It is not simply the case that neither really matters. Who honestly gives a ****.

Yeer as bad as them. Yes, some minorities are as quick to moan about such things but doesnt mean yee need to join them.

Its an actor playing a historical role. No one died. The same goes for Colin Firth playing Nelson Mandella.
Original post by Dinasaurus
It was yellow face because they LITERALLY thought of using CGI to make ScarJo appear more asian, this woman is not in white face.


[video="youtube;vBagN5En-N0"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBagN5En-N0[/video]
Reply 145
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Assan
19
Original post by NickLCFC
The new series of the 'The Hollow Crown' on the BBC has cast a black woman (Sophie Okonedo) as Margaret of Anjou. This is an actual historical figure who was the wife of Henry VI and thus was Queen of England from 1445-1461 and from 1470-1471.

See the trailer for the new series:

[video="youtube;W0kO-pVsc3E"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0kO-pVsc3E[/video]


The only reason I post this is because there always seems to be an outrage when movies/tv shows are supposedly 'white washed'. For example, more recently, Scarlett Johansson was cast as an Asian character in a Hollywood adaptation of a Japanese anime franchise: 'Ghost in the Shell'. There was outrage because this was apparently 'yellowface' (see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB0lrSebyng).

That is just a fantasy character however. The difference with this is that it's a real historical figure being represented inaccurately. Just imagine the outrage if someone like Martin Luther King was cast as a white guy.


White people have played Cleopatra forever......
ITT: White people freaking out over equal opportunities for black people
In BBCs popular KING ARTHUR series , many of the royals, kings and queens etc etc, are asian or black.

Another question worth asking is why are there so few asian football players when the asian population of the uk is about 5% to 10%?
Reply 148
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Maker
20
Most rich people in the Tudor period had rotten teeth and bad breath due to eating sugar like Elizabeth I plus lots of aliments like smallpox scars, parasites, syphilis and rickets.

Funny none of the actors playing them have the same problems.
Original post by NickLCFC
That wasn't really the point. The actor doesn't even have to be English.


Original post by Maker
All the racists makes me laugh. I think only actors who can trace their ancestors back to the iron age should be able to play British people.


Margaret of Anjou was French, not British :yep:
Its worth asking the question.
What percentage of actors do you think should be asian or african?

Say if 5% of the population was asian or african do you think it should be 5%?

What about people from "sink estates" - if they make up 10 % of the population do you think 10% of our actors should be people bought up in the worse way possible instead of Rada types?

What about Old People playing Young Parts? Should sex scenes have more 80 year old actors?

Equality is not only about colour, its EVERYTHING.
Original post by Maker
No one seems to be bothered the patron saint of England was not English, never been to England and did not speak English.


Everyone knows that though and no one says otherwise. It's not like we portray him as a Victorian cockney.
I'm not too bothered if it's an adaptation of Shakespeare, but even in historical dramas and documentaries they should make more of an effort sometimes. One historical figure that they virtually always get wrong is Catherine of Aragon who is almost invariably portrayed in the anglo-absurd stereotype of being tanned with dark hair and eyes just because she was Spanish. I mean, how hard is it to find a very pale, blue-eyed and red-haired actress to play this role accurately once in a while?
(edited 8 years ago)
The BBC was excellent with having black and asian actors in King Arthur Series (including kings and queens).

American HBO (Game of Thrones) with a much larger ethnic population was awful by comparison.
I was gonna be like well that's a bit silly but then realised it was Sophie Okonedo she is sooo cool that it doesn't matter she'll pull it off!
Good. Sophie Okonedo is a good actress,
Original post by NickLCFC
The events in the play may not be completely accurate but the historical setting and characters in the play are definitely not fictional. His plays still do have a degree of accuracy to them. You can't just dismiss them as completely fictional.


No, it is completely fictional. As long as the quality of acting is good there isn't an issue here to be discussed. If you're seriously this bothered because she is black then i can only conclude one thing here. She was obviously much better as an actor and tbh, no one is particularly bothered. You talk about wanting some accuracy in the characters in a play that is NOT real.
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Original post by Plantagenet Crown
Margaret of Anjou was French, not British :yep:


I have already covered that.
I'm not really bothered.
Original post by NickLCFC
Just imagine the outrage if someone like Martin Luther King was cast as a white guy.



Or if Margaret of Anjou was played by a white teenage boy.

O wait! Didn't a white teenage boy play Margaret in the première production. What is a grown woman doing playing Margaret?

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