It's been a few weeks since my last blog post (which was also my first... so not getting off to a very good start). A lot has happened since then, even for a scrub. The Academy Awards aired and Jada kept to her word and did not attend. I had the opportunity to watch the dress rehearsal for Talley's Folly at HB Studio where I now attend classes. And I'm still looking for a job.
So let's start with the Oscars. Not much to report really, Chris Rock was funny, albeit a little awkward at times. His jokes were funny, but his delivery was a bit off. He sometimes looked really uncomfortable on stage, like a black man made to sing and dance in front a group of klan members. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to compare Hollywood's elite talent to members of a hate group. I would probably feel extremely uncomfortable telling black jokes at an NAACP meeting.
So now that I've effortlessly changed the subject to a matter of race, let's discuss! There is a lot of hate and rage fueling our country right now (don't worry, I'm not going to begin a rant on a national level). I think people are beginning to realize how divided we still are as a nation (I know what I just said! Hold on a second, I'm getting there!). And I think the magnifying glass has been pulled out to examine a lot of areas we may have turned a blind eye to in the past, mainly Hollywood. (See, I brought my focus back in.)
But what bothers me most about this current conversation is the lack of any other voice except for black actors. This goes way beyond just black people in Hollywood. There have only been two Asians in the history of the Oscars to ever win a major award: Yul Brynner and Ben Kingsley. Now if you're old enough to know who Yul Brynner is, you surely had no fucking clue he was Asian! And Ben Kingsley is only continentally Asian, he's really Indian. And neither of them could or would check the "Asian" box on a form.
(If you're reading this, then you must be a friend of mine. And if you're a friend of mine then you are probably laughing right now because I, Stephen West-Rogers, am writing about qualifications for being Asian when I myself rarely identify as such unless it's convenient.)
But I digress. Yul Brynner was born in Russia in 1920 and is of Mongolian and Buryat decent. I'm horrible with geography, so I had to do some research. Basically, Yul was barely Asian. He's really Russian, but it's a fine line. (I'm sure plenty of people with better knowledge of the continent of Asian will dispute my claim, but I'm sticking to it!) Yul was able to move through Hollywood playing whatever he damn well please and people were fine with it. He was an Egyptian King, an American cowboy, a Pharaoh and filled the role of many a Russian character. Now picture me doing the same. (If you don't know me, look me up on imdb. Go ahead, I'll wait...
...done? Okay, now would you cast me as an American cowboy? Would you say I could float through the many periods of world history with ease?)
Since Ben Kingsley is still acting, I'll discuss less about him, but that dude looks about as Asian as Dev Patel. Asian only on a technicality.
The more important thing here is that both Brynner and Kingsley look white. Their ancestry isn't obvious and only comes into play in Hollywood when it's needed. Now I get that an Asian guy that looks Asian isn't going to be able to play the role of a Nazi commander in a WWII epic. I know that if Hollywood tells the story of anything taking place in America in the 1600s, black people will only be portrayed as slaves.
But there are plenty of fictional films that could cast minorities in lead roles as opposed to the usual suspects. I know the argument! "But we need stars in our films to bring in the money! Nobody is going to finance a film unless George Clooney is starring in it!" Then let's start where a lot of our heavy hitters started. Clooney got his big start as a doctor on E/R. A doctor! That's the quintessential role for an ASIAN!! In my short career as an actor I've played a trauma nurse, paramedic and morgue lab technician! Did Brad Pitt's character in Thelma and Louise have to be white?
It's time we all started to look outside the tiny scope of what's being fed to us and realize that Asians, Indians, blacks, Hispanics, whoever isn't white, are immersed in American culture. We're everywhere! Doing everything! We're not just bodega owners. Or thugs. Or witnesses to crimes. Or whatever side character you want us to be so long as your lead is white. This industry is hard enough to navigate. Let's level the playing field.
Okay, I kinda went off a little bit there and spent more time on diversity in Hollywood than I had intended, so I'll try to keep the next two bits short.
Plays. I saw a dress rehearsal of Talley's Folly. It starred Judd Hirsch and Kathryn Danielle. Judd was amazing. Kathryn not so much. The actors were too old for the roles. Kathryn never seemed to connect on stage. It was great to see Judd perform, though. And watching a bad performance can be just as great a lesson for an actor as watching a brilliant one.
Jobs. STOP MAKING PEOPLE UPLOAD A FUCKING RESUME THEN HAVE THEM FILL OUT A FUCKING FORM THAT HAS ALL OF THE SAME INFORMATION AS THE FUCKING RESUME!! It's like people don't want you to have a job. It takes upwards of an hour sometimes to fill out all of these forms online and then when I get to the bottom of the page, they ask for my resume. Why! I just gave you all of the information in that hour long form you made me fill out!
I'm still on unemployment (scrub) so I won't say anything disparaging about that process...yet. Stay tuned for my take on the requirements for unemployment.
Until next time...
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