To all the people saying Halle looked too black or that the role should have gone to Jennifer Beals. READ THE BOOK!
Yes Queen was described as being as "white a cotton", yes some people did mistake her for white BUT just as many people clocked that she is mixed race upon meeting her. Her attempt at passing was hit and miss.
I didn't think she or Lonette McKee's characters looked like white women especially that night they were going to that ball and passing for white. They looked like two half black half white women to me with deep black features that anyone could have told they weren't pure white. The scene where she's with the white girl she's a servant to and she says to herself "Queen you's a white girl now" ... I just didn't see it, still looked of black decent to me no matter how light they made her (Halle).
shareI am watching this now, and I think Raven Symone was badly casted as well. How could a light brown little girl with her facial features ever be mistaken for white? The powder they put on their faces doesn't help either.
shareRaven was popular at the time, so that is probably why she was chosen. I actually heard that Jasmine Guy got picked to play Queen 1st, but they decided to go with Halle instead. I thought that she did a great job!
shareI actually have two friends who are "Quadroons" with very pale skin and "african features". Even though I could tell they were part black a lot of their white friends just thought they were white. And during slavery that is how it was if you had a black grandmother but your skin was pale you could potentially pass. My cousin is half scottish half black and his skin is paler than most white english people. A lot of people think he's greek :/
shareBut there isn't actually anything wrong with them still looking of black decent. Because they are. If you consider the time the film is set it was not always easy to tell who was black and who wasn't. Mary Seacrest sometimes past for white. It was a different time.
Remember Queen is a quarter black. A lot children I see who are only a quarter black still look very mixed. Queen could have had obvious african features but it was mainly her very pale skin that confused people in times of ignorance. Remember the stupid old lady who said "You're french...that explains the colouring."
I agree. People weren't as diversified and knowledgeable about other cultures and ethnic groups as they are now. Where now, we would easily perceive some of these women to be multi-ethnic, back then, alot of people weren't diversified enough to discern this.
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