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Would these same people complaining be willing to see a movie with a black person portraying Christ? After all, was there not a description of feet like brass burned in a furnace? Speak!
There are many "black" people with feet like brass. Black people in America aren't all jet black burnt....
And FWIW, black people get upset at Jesus being cast as white all the time.
But Jesus is not MLK. We have videos and pictures of MLK and we know how he looked. No one knows what Jesus looked like nor do they know for certain if he even really existed.
I agree with your assessments and understand your view point, but on the bold above, the play indeed, is meant as a biopic of MLK. The author of the play did not agree with nor like that this director cast a white man. This is a pretty well known play.
The writer's intent is irrelevant; what matters is how the director decided to interpret it.
The director made the decision to essentially change it into a social challenge when he did the play. It is the director's vision and art, and it is not a biopic (BTW, yes, I know a biopic is a biographical movie, but I'm sure what the proper term for a biographical play would be - which is probably "biographical play" lol)
The writer's intent is irrelevant; what matters is how the director decided to interpret it.
Uh, I said, I understood what you were saying. And I do agree that was the director's intent, but I also feel that it was disrespectful to the author and to black America in particular. Again, that is my personal view and it is based on my own personal biases. I'm not afraid nor ashamed to admit my mistakes, biases or prejudices against others. But I can also understand the other person's POV, which I stated I did so what's the problem with that?
And again, there has not been, to my knowledge, a play or movie whereas an historical American white person (think founding fathers, Lincoln, FDR, other presidents, etc.) was played by a black actor.
If anything that brings another dynamic to the whole artistic expression of the director of this play IMO being that he is black and has was open to exploring this topic.
However, IMO it was still a disrespectful thing to do. Though Dr. King has been dead for decades, his death is still a sore wound to many black Americans to this day. Older people in my family still remember where they were and what they were doing when they found out he was assassinated. His picture (and JFK and white Jesus lol) is still hanging in black people's homes as if he were a dear family member.
Uh, I said, I understood what you were saying. And I do agree that was the director's intent, but I also feel that it was disrespectful to the author and to black America in particular. Again, that is my personal view and it is based on my own personal biases. I'm not afraid nor ashamed to admit my mistakes, biases or prejudices against others. But I can also understand the other person's POV, which I stated I did so what's the problem with that?
And again, there has not been, to my knowledge, a play or movie whereas an historical American white person (think founding fathers, Lincoln, FDR, other presidents, etc.) was played by a black actor.
If anything that brings another dynamic to the whole artistic expression of the director of this play IMO being that he is black and has was open to exploring this topic.
However, IMO it was still a disrespectful thing to do. Though Dr. King has been dead for decades, his death is still a sore wound to many black Americans to this day. Older people in my family still remember where they were and what they were doing when they found out he was assassinated. His picture (and JFK and white Jesus lol) is still hanging in black people's homes as if he were a dear family member.
In my most humble opinion, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said that he dreamed of a day when we are no longer judged by the color of skin, but by the content of our character. So I don't think he would mind this too much.
This being said, Dr. King was assassinated in 1964. That means there are plenty of people around in this world who can adequately recall what Dr. King looked like.
I think it is stupid to change a characteristic of an historical figure merely as an exercise in mental "self pleasuring." MLK did seek equality based on the content of one's character, but he never claimed that skin color was interchangeable for "poetic license."
Sorry with that, it is biographical in nature is what I meant. And FWIW, I have seen it, it is not historically accurate but based on an historical, biographical event.
Regardless though, he was a real person. He still has kids and grandkids alive and I see it as disrespectufl, though, as stated, I do get the director's reasons as stated, but I feel that MLK does belong to black America moreso than America in general. And the director IMO knows this, which is why he did it and made the comments that he made about his intent with the casting.
I agree with and share your admiration for MLK. I also know and understand the special place Black America holds for him.
None the less, the (black) director is simply attempting to send a message via Art. That hardly disparages Dr. King. He is trying to communicate his message. I don't know how anyone could find that disrespectful.
Even if he does belong to "black America" (very, very debatable), the director is black and thus makes that point moot. Black America does not consist of one solitary viewpoint on anything and nor should it. Black folks are human beings and subject to a plethora of outlooks, tastes, and opinions that run the gamut.
Why? We have had a Black Thor,Black stormtrooper in Star Wars,Black Annie,Black actor was Nick Fury the director of S.H.I.E.L.D,Black cinderella,Black Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four,Red in the shawshank redemption MOVIE was black in the book he is white,
Because MLK isn't a comic book character, he was a real person. Would you want a black actor to play George Washington?
It doesn't make any sense for a white actor to play an icon of the civil rights movement.
Ummmmm....why the hell not?
An Avant-Garde play that contrasts GW's heroic acts with his status as slave holder. You could do a lot with that. So yes.
A biopic where Denzel plays him? Factually inaccurate and silly, but I would survive.
One more time: It's called ART.
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