Hollywood is always getting accused of all sorts of things, so I am not at all surprised by the recent accusations being thrown left and right. You might have heard of the latest dirt being thrown at Hollywood people. It involves the recently released movie, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
The news is that the casting was done in favor of white actors. Obviously, many of the characters in the movie are supposed to be of Asian or Middle Eastern descent. However, as we all know, many of the actors taking on the lead roles are not exactly from that part of the world.
Let’s take a look at hunky Jake Gyllenhaal who plays the lead role. He’s definitely not Middle Eastern – he’s American with Swedish and Jewish blood in him. (At least there’s a bit of Asian in him.)
Then there’s his leading lady, the princess, who is played by Gemma Arterton. She’s a full blooded Brit. No Asian blood in her.
It’s really not a surprise that critics are up in arms about the way the cast members – the leading cast members most especially – were chosen. Of course, there must be some reasoning behind the choices. There may be things that the general public – and the critics even – may not be aware of.
Then again, independent filmmaker Jehanzeb Dar might just be right. He said something like choosing white people to play the roles of other races is an insult to everyone involved. What do you think? Have you seen the movie?
Originally posted on May 29, 2010 @ 3:03 pm