Why is it that for every Genghis Khan movie....or for the few that actually have been nade....all the "mongols" are always portrayed by white people? Is it really that hard to get asian actors to play asian charaters?
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One must take into account the fact that this movie was made in 1965. Lots of prejudice back then.
sharePlus,all that they could get back then were European actors.
shareOmar Sharif is white. Just because he has a tan doesn't mean he isn't white. Also if we are actually going by skin colour, Mongols are white. If we are going by genetics and counting Russian etc as white, then Mongols are generally half-white/yellow or ''yellow''.
Who cares about this 'white-black-tan' *beep* anyway, the idea of many human races is an absurd human concept!
Regards,
The Count
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind"
Omar Sharif is not White. He was born in Egypt and that makes him of Arabic descent. And he was born with that "tan" as in genetic.
I agree with you that color shouldn't make a difference, but there's nothing wrong with accuracy.
Like I said before, it was easy for talented white guys to dress up as asians in the 50s and expect praise for it! Today they just look silly, of course.
shareI think you got to the heart of the matter - it just seems 'silly'. I opened this thread having no clue what the topic was going to be. As the page was loading though I had a grin on my face as I was picturing James Mason in his role (although having never seen the movie and only noting his name seconds earlier). I don't think the question reflects 'prejudice' etc., just that some things strike one as silly ! And this be one of 'em LOL !!
Like watching Trevor Howard (Capt. Bligh) in the Brando version of "Mutiny...." trying to do the native dance. I laugh myself silly at that scene each and every time !
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There sure are a lot of people hung up on the color of actors' skins. How sad. Thinking like this would preclude white actors from playing Othello, anyone but nordics from playing Hamlet, why not carry it farther and say women shouldn't play men? Would you take Linda Hunt's Oscar away because she's "white" and a woman?
Prejudice will last as long as any notice at all is taken of skin color.
"The value of an idea has nothing to do with the honesty of the man expressing it."--Oscar Wilde
Peter Sellers in THE PARTY is another example of a white actor playing an Indian. In this case, however, it was not that strange since racially Indians (South Asians) are caucasians too, some darker than others.
Mongols are not caucasians. But for the movie GENGHIS KHAN it was quite OK to pick caucasians (including Telly Savalas, James Mason, Eli Wallach, Robert Morley, Yvonne Mitchell, to name but a few more) since the movie makes no pretensions or claims to historical accuracy, not to forget the disclaimure about not representing any actual living or dead people! It's just a movie and actors act...
Yeah, there isn't as much of a problem with caucasians playing caucasians on UK TV right now; Indira Verma plays a Roman in 'Rome'.
Actually, an Indian actor played a Greek Doctor in 'I, Claudius'.
"Jai Guru Deva, Om"
I will have to admit, I found myself laughing
out loud at Robert Morley's not very convincing
portrayal of the Emperor of China. He seemed to
appear ill at ease sporting those LONG fingernails.
James Mason did a pretty good job....a little more
makeup would have helped and his accent needed some
refinement.
Omar Sharif...who is actually Egyptian, was outstanding.
Just for fun...one of the most unforgettable acting performances
EVER of an Arab by an Englishman (Welshman) was Hugh Griffith's
portrayal of Shiek Ilderin in Ben-Hur.
(You know, the man with the white horses!)
Almost half a Century ago, when this film was made, you couldn't find too many Chinese actors working in Hollywood. It was tough finding Chinese extras to shoot the famous film made in Spain, 55 Days in Pekin with Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner, the main Chinese characters were played by "white" actors except the queen. For western people it's hard to tell apart Chinese from Japanese, Korean or any other Asian type. I think the actor who was born to play Gengis Khan at that time was Charles -Buchinsky- Bronson including his CHINO moustache and blue eyes. He was Siberian blood after all. I ignored if he was ever offered the role.
Now the predujice runs once again but mainly FROM CHINA. You see, in Iron Man 3 the main foe who was MANDARIN being half CHINESE half British and a descent of Khan himself was replaced by a half INDIAN half British who has the looks of Gandhi, the evil uncle in Prince of PERSIA (Iran rather than China if you get my point), a big-nosed Jewish guy in Schlinder's List, etc. He WAS TURNED INTO OSAMA BIN LADEN sort of guy with curly beard but a Manchurian pig tail. The film used MANDARIN as a decoy which is like a subtle political statement: real Osama was a decoy and the true enemies are white including the vice president!!!! As a matter of fact even the other Chinese foes like Radioactive green bald Man were erased from the film because there's CHNESE $$$$$$ involved in the production and USA and China buying USA with wholesale store price don't have any interest in presenting China as the main evil antagonist. China is the good guy now, got it better?
So, if in the future Flash Gordon is not a blonde guy playing polo but a Chinese guy playing Chinese dice and with straight hair dyed "blonde" with virtual reality CGI green eyes as in Skin Resurrection 2.... I won't be surprised. Nor will I be if his main enemy emperor MING from planet MONGO won't be a bald guy with huge pieces on one of his little fingers, dressing a purple robe. The enemy will probably be a Caucasian red hair dude, right? Films are symbols of times and/or as propaganda for spoon feeding audiences. Relax and just be aware. The only way to stop os if you could convince millions worldwide that is a wrong path. But that would be naïve. You won't. If you think harder, the VERY COMIC STRIP of the blonde hero was done because at inner psychological level represented USA while the evil power was Mao Tse Tung! The stereotype excuse mentioned by shame-on-Shane director of Iron Man 3 was that MANDARIN (also the name of a Chinese dynasty if the character was not enough!) didn't have to wear Fumanchu clothes. He changed one stereotype with the stereotype of the Muslim world!!!!! Isn't that hypocrite to stratospheric level? In his "ignorance" he would've known Mandarin has been drawn with white long hair and a gotee and wearing an impecable suit and necktie BUT STILL BEING CHINESE as he should be. In this hypocrite times the whiter of the Norse gods was played by a black actor in THOR. It did look okey but please, let's call the things as they are, lies and hypocresy.
There's a thin gap between skepticism and cynicism