I missed the episode but I was just watching MSNBC where they covered it and someone said "shouldn't Barack Obama be played by an African American?" No this would probably be ok if he was 100% African American, but he's not. He's half white and I think people want to ignore that. So how would Barack Obabama being played by someone who is 100% black be any different than someone who is 100% white. The two are both inaccurate and misleading, because Barack Obama is neither 100% black or white. And anyway, WHY DOES IT MATTER? This is the same thing that happened when Angelina Jolie played the wife of the beheaded American soldier (I forget their names, sorry), in the movie A Mighty Heart. The wife is half Afro-Cuban and half White. The argument was that they should have had an African American actress play her because there are "so many that could have". The fact is, they could have gotten a a biracial actress, which would have been more appropriate, but then there is still the issue of the accent. Now where are we going to find an Afro Cuban, half white actress with a Cuban accent to play her? I mean if we're going on accuracy I think we should do it all around, right?
The truth is, they are actors. They are portraying a person that they are not, because if they weren't it wouldnt be called ACTING. I don't know who they should have gotten to play Obama, but Angelina Jolie is one of the best actresses in Hollywood and her husband directed the movie. Who did they think was going to be picked? The actors in Shakespears plays were men, whether they played women or children, the characters were portrayed by men. Why is it such a problem when people play people of other races? It's acting. It's an art. And we have imaginations. Use them. ;-)
(I found out her name is Marianne Pearl. I got the photo's from
DListed)
