responses about Cynthia Erivo being cast as Harriet Tubman in biopic...
sleepynegress said:
There is definitely a note of they are "exotic blacks" from the perspective of American White Hollywood that makes it easier for black Brits to get jobs here. Especially when it comes to darker-skinned players. That accent adds a sense of pedigree black American actors don't get the benefit of. Especially if they don't have a "respectable" accent. i.e. Taraji Henson. She's been putting in work for decades, to get beyond limiting roles like Baby Boy and Hustle and Flow.
landlockedbird said:
I don't think Harriet Tubman would care.
miscreant-side-puffs said:
Well like I talked about this when Samuel L. Jackson brought it at this point Black Americans need to learn some Black UK history so we can just start producing and starring in whatever historical figures they have. 😕
ourqueenfelinefatale said:
I’ve already said my piece on this so here’s a short version:
phoenix-ace said:
What is up with this obsession with having people who are removed from the enslavement of African Americans play enslaved black people? We might be sensitive about this because these are enslaved people, our ancestors, who other black people make a point to attack during our diaspora drama.
saturnineaqua said:
And if they arent hiring black Brits or west african folks to play notable african American women,they hire biracial women and pay them to commit black face.
akilamantado said:
This film is a USA production with a USA director and writer that, so far, is cast with majority USA actors. This is more than has ever happened with any US film about prominent Africans. Erivo's casting is not disrespectful. Arguments that state otherwise are usually paired with rigid notions of African American identity that stink of a purism we ought to be cautious about indulging.
viavir said:
Yes, they really don't get it WE'RE DESENDANTS OF SLAVERY. SLAVERY. Fuck, it's so insensetive and I don't think they give a fuck to care about AA's to understand because when it comes to us there is no cultural insensitivity somehow.
akilamantado said:
African American culture and public figures are global in a way no other part of the diaspora can claim (except Jamaica 😉 in a very distant second) and it's something the rest of us all have to wrestle with. Yet the moment it goes in the opposite direction there is a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth. I can't take it seriously.
1000heartbeats said:
Exactly.
akaskrrtmotor said:
when that movie comes out, Harriet Tubman is going to rise from the dead and beat the living shit out of her lmao
akaskrrtmotor said:
The movie is going to be mess and casting Cynthia is a disrespect to Black actresses that are descendants of American chattel slavery
shadow-hikari said:
What everyone ^^ Says and Cynthia is trash if she thinks AA Blacks (or DACS) are interchangeable with British Blacks. Like yes we would know you weren't American on the street because surprise surprise the cultures are fucking different.
gregwuzhere said:
@ourqueenfelinefatale makes an excellent point
bushmastersisterwivesassemble said:
Aisha Hinds set the bar too high too can't just have anybody after that performance
BlackFilm: Question for those who have an issue with Erivo’s casting: Do you all also have an issue when an African American is cast in a Black British, African, or Caribbean film/tv show? Should we all only be cast within our ethnic groups? And just for some historical contextualizing...because it seems that some of you are upset that Erivo doesn’t have enslavement within her history....it should be noted that African Americans are not the only Black peoples to have experienced slavery. All of those of the Caribbean and South America have also experienced slavery, AND there are some West Africans who were enslaved in the Americas during the slave trade and returned back to West Africa after emancipation. Erivo is British-born to Nigerian parents, but none of us know her ancestry beyond that. My point is that she could very well have someone who was enslaved in her family tree. but in any case, does anyone care to expand on why it is so important to have someone whose ancestors were enslaved to be the actress playing Harriet Tubman?
