I just found out that Fisher Stevens, a white guy, played Ben. That's insane! Did he have to go tanning to get his skin so brown?
shareHe said he wore a dark coloured base make up.
Professional Jayne Mansfield fanatic/lover™ since 1980.
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I thought he played a good indian.
shareUh, Native American, you racist.
shareOr Native Indian! Or... Native Pittsburghian?
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"Love means never having to say you're ugly." - the Abominable Dr. Phibes
Uh, Indian is politically correct. Ben was from India, hence, he was Indian. Not an Indian, like American Indian...
One day at a time... What, like 3 or 4 is an option?
You have bewitched me, body and soul. And I love, I love, I love you...
no one cares about political we tell you what to think correctness
"sticks and stones may brake my bones but whips , chains, leather and tight pvc excite me"
Are there many Native Americans who speak with such a strong Punjabi accent?
(And resemble people who come from the INDIAN sub-continent - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as the character is supposed to?)
"Everbody in the WORLD, is bent"share
ha ha! this thread cracks me up. i just saw that he is american on vh1 and i didn't believe it, so i HAD to look up here. they would never get away with that today, but i still think it is funny!!!
shareI hope that wasn't a reference to the famous Philip Sheridan quotation.
shareI heard they used dark makeup on him.
It seems like that would be offensive to Indians though. It could be seen as an American making fun of Indians (or maybe foreigners in general). His character did make a lot of mistakes with English words & phrases..
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I thought Stevens was hilariously superb, but figured he was a Pakistani. I have worked overseas with both nationalities and it was usually the Pakistani who charmingly murdered the English language the way he did. It was the kind that make you smile inwardly i.e. "The workmanship on this rug is disastrous!". Those taught English English (as compared to American English) were always pleasant to listen to as well. Between the accent and English terms: "cutlery" for silverware, "bonnet" for car hood and "dual carriageway" for a divided road, it was always neat to hear them talk.
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It's pretty ridiculous. I bet the producers never expected his acting career to carry on and for him to have done recognizable projects (Early Edition and so forth...) that would make people remember that he was white when they went back and rewatched the film. He doesn't even really look indian to me because I know him so well as the white actor he is. It's pretty obvious he's white. Makes me wonder why? Seriously, were there no working Indian actors in the 80's? Where were Harold and Kumar when you need them. Well, not the asian one. Well, I guess Indian's are technically asian too. Although if Ben Kingsley can play Ghandi and that movie wins oscars than maybe it's alright.
The Day Of The Dead
Haha, I saw this movie when I think I was 10 (15 years ago). All I remember was that there was Steve Gutt and an Indian guy. I totally didn't realize at the time that it was a Caucasian.
Now I want to re-watch it, since Johnny 5's look-alike Wall-E is coming to the big screen.
"Good Will Hunting" explained this best.
Indian = Dot, not feather.
"It's not that you had it bad, but that you're that pissed that so many others had it good."
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When I was young I though he was indian lol, I couldn't tell the difference.
Also....."Balki Bartokomous" from "Perfect Strangers" anyone lol, I liked that show when I was young even though I new he wasn't really greek lol, and I have a greek ancestry.
I knew he wasn't as I had seen, and liked him, in other performances.
He did a great (as in outrageous) job murdering the English language. Back in the '80s I worked for a rent-a-rig oil company and got to travel to Kuwait, where a lot of Indians and Pakistanis worked, and many of them pretty much talked the same way.
The computer operator at one camp was a 20-something Pakistani girl I had made friends with (no problemo as I was in my fifties). I was looking for a souvenir prayer rug and she accompanied me to bazaars (souks). After a Monty Python like bargaining scene (Life of Brian), I bought one. She turned down one, saying "The workmanship is disastrous". (chuckle)
The flip side is that I'd probably have those folks in hysterics if I tried to speak Hindi or Urdu.
Definitely won't be able to do it again today without the bleeding heart politically correct morons calling him and all others who worked on set a 'racist'
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Remember just because it's your opinion doesn't make it a fact ;)
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Definitely won't be able to do it again today without the bleeding heart politically correct morons calling him and all others who worked on set a 'racist'
Sadly, gotta agree. Too many studio execs automatically assume the fetal position when some Professional Victim plays the [expired] Race Card.
He was great...i was surpised when he goes,,,Im supporting a huge chubby or something like that
shareAre you joking?! They are much more politically incorrect/racist nowadays! I'm shocked to hear people attack older films when they are doing much worse ones today and with a lot of hatred to it. Racism is getting so much worse.
Anyone with an accent is a target. What about that idiot "comic" who lampoons members of other ethnic groups? He did "Borat"~I think it's called~and other such. He's not the only one doing it, and people laugh and praise them.
At least Fisher Stevens created a funny, sweet, clever character, not bashing the person as in present-day films.
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
'Definitely won't be able to do it again today without the bleeding heart politically correct morons calling him and all others who worked on set a 'racist'
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Browned up white guy taking a job away from actual actors on Asian heritage.
It was racist then and racist now.
It's that man again!!