In the movie "Pinky", Pinky Johnson, played by Jeanne Crain, passes as a white woman and as the movie progresses, Pinky begins to understand the consequences of passing and of accepting her own identity. This movie clearly represents misogyny in a particularly unique way. Initially, two white men sexually harass Pinky and it is very clear that this is inappropriate conduct. However, when her boyfriend, Tom, exerts his dominance by forcibly kissing her, she ends up succumbing to his tactics. It is not as clear to the viewer whether this is incorrect. This reinforces the gender power structure that women should be passive to the men.
One of the most prominent issues in minority representation is in the form of "white washing". Black face and yellow face were often used in movies as no producers would deem any minority worthy of taking the main stage. As mentioned in one of the previous lectures, one of the most famous cases is of Mickey Rooney playing the Japanese landlord. Although society has greatly progressed from this point, starring minorities in lead roles, white washing is still a common practice. Tom Cruise starred in "The Last Samurai" and Tilda Swinton played what was supposed to be an old Tibetan man in the movie "Doctor Strange". Interestingly, there are a few African American actors/actresses in this movie, but the main character, Pinky, is played by Jeanne Crain: a women of Irish catholic descent. As mentioned in lecture, African Americans are often depicted in roles of domesticity, which is possibly why the director made this choice. I felt like the choice of Jeanne Crain as the passing character was a bit distracting. Understandably, she is supposed to look white as the character is supposed to pass, but her appearance doesn't lend to any belief that she might be ethnic. Additionally, this movie brings up the discussion of who owns culture and if actors should be able to play characters of a different race than that of their own. Obviously, we rarely see the example of a person of color playing a white role, but we often see white actors playing Asian and other minority roles. What would the response be if it was flipped?
One of the most prominent issues in minority representation is in the form of "white washing". Black face and yellow face were often used in movies as no producers would deem any minority worthy of taking the main stage. As mentioned in one of the previous lectures, one of the most famous cases is of Mickey Rooney playing the Japanese landlord. Although society has greatly progressed from this point, starring minorities in lead roles, white washing is still a common practice. Tom Cruise starred in "The Last Samurai" and Tilda Swinton played what was supposed to be an old Tibetan man in the movie "Doctor Strange". Interestingly, there are a few African American actors/actresses in this movie, but the main character, Pinky, is played by Jeanne Crain: a women of Irish catholic descent. As mentioned in lecture, African Americans are often depicted in roles of domesticity, which is possibly why the director made this choice. I felt like the choice of Jeanne Crain as the passing character was a bit distracting. Understandably, she is supposed to look white as the character is supposed to pass, but her appearance doesn't lend to any belief that she might be ethnic. Additionally, this movie brings up the discussion of who owns culture and if actors should be able to play characters of a different race than that of their own. Obviously, we rarely see the example of a person of color playing a white role, but we often see white actors playing Asian and other minority roles. What would the response be if it was flipped?