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Lars von Trier's Interview

posted 18 years ago by banafsheh-beizaei
6 replies | jump to latest

"I think that we have come to a point where the best thing you could offer a black actor is a white role. That means a role where the color of the sking doesn't matter. And it's degrading in itself."
This is a quote from one of Lars von Trier's interviews about Manderly and I can't really understand or perhaps agree with what he's saying.
I have always believed that, unless it's in a movie that is about or deals with racial matters, the actors should be given roles regardless of their color of skin. I think no character in a movie should be defined by his or her color of skin, because we are, above anything else, humans, not "white" or "black" humans. You see the opposite in many movies nowadays, movies in which there is always a fixed type of character for people of color. In those types of movies, it is only the white character who is free to be whichever way he or she wants.
What do you all think?

[–] Chareth_Cutestory 18 years ago

I think if you had a better understand of what Lars von Trier meant by that statement, you would see that you actually agree with him.

[–] saydstrings 18 years ago

So enlighten us. I think that quote from von Trier is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.

[–] magnusrnilsson 18 years ago

saydstrings and banawhatever your name was:

He's saying that people nowadays are thinking that giving a black actor a white man's role is being open-minded while it is in reality rather degrading towards black actors to think in terms of either a "white man's role" or a black man's role at all. Unless the movie deals with racial matters it should be selfevident that black actors be considered for every acting part in the film.

That's my take on it. I might be wrong. I don't know the guy.

[–] touchstone35 18 years ago

When you take a line out of a interview like that you are taking it out of context. Post the link to the entire interview.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] elisabethskoven 8 years ago

"I think that we have come to a point where the best thing you could offer a black actor is a white role. That means a role where the color of the skin doesn't matter. And it's degrading in itself."

Correction: he said "and that's (not it's) degrading in itself".

I think he pointed out the absurdity of it even seeming a "thing" when black actors are offered "white roles". Meaning that it's a somewhat humiliating notion in itself.