Pride in False Portrayal

[David Ojeda]

It's unfortunate that the false portrayal of various individuals is still seen on the stage and in films. It is the false portrayal of individuals who are marginalized due to various reasons (e.g., sex, race, sexual orientation, etc). This moment in the lecture made me think of the portrayal of a character in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's. In the latter film, Mickey Rooney, a white actor, plays Mr. Yunioshi, a Japanese photographer. Additionally, I also thought of the controversies Memoirs of a Geisha (the novel and the film) faced. The novel was written by Arthur Golden, so it was the perspective of a white male's portrayal of a geisha. As for the 2005 film, I believe the controversy pertained to casting Chinese actresses to play Japanese roles. I believe our society is gradually progressing...however, that's the issue: it's gradual. We move forward with some aspects (in films, for instance, we see more narratives of marginalized voices, like the LGBTQ community), yet we stay behind with some (actors playing LGBTQ roles in lieu of LGBTQ actors).