Seeking advice re: racial issue.

[Dangerously Amused]

Hey All. I've found myself in a rather uncomfortable position regarding a racial issue. I want to do the right thing, but I sure could use some advice as to what exactly that might be.

Here’s the (unfortunate?) situation: I’m Assistant Director for a theatrical production. The plot takes place in the 1950s, and the Bad Guy is an international spy who assumes the identity of a native of whatever country the Hero happens to be in.

ISSUE I:

The Bad Guy actor is having a difficult time getting down an Asian/Chinese accent for one of his character’s characters, and it is my responsibility to work with him on dialect. He and I have both been poking around on YouTube (and elsewhere) looking for a character voice that he can model. We haven’t been able to find anything.

The show is a comedy, and it becomes obvious as the plot unfolds that the Bad Guy is not an authentic (insert nationality here), and he is not a terribly sophisticated criminal; in fact his persona is rather cartoonish, so the voice for his character should also be overdone.

I know that I have heard the voice I’m seeking before, like in an old “B” movie or a cartoon. For reference we have already found clips of Charlie Chan and Kung Fu, but those accents are too subtle for our character.

So. Is it or will it or should it be considered racist to use an overly done accent? Either way, any suggestions as to a voice character to model?


ISSUE II:

The director of this show (a flaming liberal, good guy) and I are discussing the PC-edness of doing Kabuki style makeup on the Bad Guy, and specifically the part that would give him “Asian” slanted eyes. On the one hand is the concern that doing so would either actually be, or be perceived as stereotyping no better than blackface, and thus offensive. Then someone made the argument that the Bad Guy is the one “doing” the stereotyping, and everybody knows that it is the bad guys of the world who stereotype in the first place. (FTR I don't really buy this last argument.) We are also discussing the fact that the makeup is what the Chinese do with the Kabuki style anyway, so is it really "racist" to copy them?

Your thoughts?

And yes, once again I am acutely aware of/not at all thrilled with/trying very hard to be respectful regarding the PC aspects of this situation. :/

Please be kind, I have been struggling with and losing sleep over these issues for a few weeks now. :(

Welcoming all suggestions! Thank you!


ETA: At one point the Hero does confront the Bad Guy, and tells him that it almost seems like he (the Bad Guy) is making an effort to enforce racial stereotypes (which he is sort of is). If this helps in the assessment.

[XemaSab]

1. Instead of slanted eyes

I've seen white people play Asians with just the addition of thick-rimmed, eye-obscuring glasses.

I'm not saying it's PC, but it might be another option. :shrug:

[Dangerously Amused]

Thanks, Xema!

We have discussed this option as well.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

21. Remember that Mickey Rooney did that in "Breakfast At Tiffany's"

And the movie has never lived it down.......

[margotb822]

23. Or Fu Man Chu-style facial hair

I think everyone would understand that. If it's supposed to be a comedy, you should make it over the top.

[Dangerously Amused]

26. Ah, good idea.

We hadn't discussed that. I will bring it up to the director, thanks!

:hi:

[DS1]

2. I think if they saw other stereotypes just as badly done you'd be okay with just about anything

[Dangerously Amused]

4. Good point.

He is a "Chinese" bad guy for most of the show. He does play other nationalities but those are really very brief (as in, a few seconds each) appearances and mostly portrayed via the corresponding accent. So, probably not a fair comparison. Thanks though!

[DS1]

6. course it's a good point

'fuck you talking about?

[Dangerously Amused]

7. Jesus.

I near go bankrupt giving you all those hearts, and this is the 'tude I get?

:hide:

[DS1]

8. LOL

I so sowwy! I twy nexxa time

[Dangerously Amused]

12. Awesome! May I consider that your audition?

You're hired!

[Ikonoklast]

3. How about using Jackie Chan for the accent?

I always thought that he almost sounds like an American English speaker trying to imitate the accent of a Cantonese speaking colloquial English, but that is just the way he learns his lines.

From what I've read about Jackie, the hardest part of acting for him is the dialog, and he learns his lines phonetically.


Good luck. I got nothin' for issue two; maybe the more understated the better.

[Dangerously Amused]

5. Thanks, someone else recommended Jackie Chan too.

:runs off to find Jackie Chan vid clips:

:hi:

[jobycom]

9. Couple questions

Is he fooling native speakers, or just the hero, or no one at all? And is he supposed to be speaking Chinese when he does this bad accent, or is he supposed to be speaking English? And to whom is he speaking?

I would think as long as you aren't portraying Chinese characters as some offensive stereotype or caricature, or as too stupid to recognize the bad guy as faking their own language, you should be okay. If the bad guy interacts with Chinese characters, maybe have them look at him funny when he speaks, as though they think he's faking or crazy or whatever. I've seen some movie or something I can't fully remember where a character was faking an accent and persona to fool Americans in another country, and every time he spoke in his accent to the Americans, native speakers in the background would look at him like he was crazy.

As for an accent, I don't know. watch Kung Fu Panda or Mulan or Avatar. Or "Big Trouble in Little China."

[Dangerously Amused]

13. Great questions, you are always so insightful!

Bad Guy is the only (fake) "Chinese" character in the show, and there are no "authentic" Chinese characters; it's just Bad Guy and all the other characters are Americans.

So Bad Guy is speaking broken English to Americans only (he is undercover as a worker in their place of business, located in China), and he is fooling them for most of the show. Although Bad Guy's words and actions suggest that something about him is just not right, the Americans can't quite put their finger on it. So bottom line, yeah, we are not portraying any "actual" Chinese characters with any stereotypes.

Thanks for your input, and for the voice model suggestions too. I will definitely look into those.

:hi:

[jobycom]

24. "Insightful." Nice euphamism for "Rambles and is full of corn!"

:rofl: But thanks.

[Dangerously Amused]

27. Oh stop it.

You know I adore you and consider you one of the wisest people here.

[Aristus]

10. I've actually dealt with those problems. I played Sherlock Holmes in a production of

"The Crucifer Of Blood". There is a scene is which Holmes disguises himself as a Chinese opium dealer in order to solve the case. We did sort of a Kabuki-style job on the eyes, although my face, in character, was mostly obscured by a long straggly gray wig. As for the voice, I gave him a British accent, on the supposition, backed up by the character's history, that he was born in British-occupied China, lived for a while in British-occupied India, and was currently living in London. Instead of a stereotypical high-pitched Asian voice, I gave him a low, gravelly voice, like British actor Michael Hordern. It gave the character gravity and dignity, and worked very well. There is a moment when Holmes has to reveal himself to Watson, and there were gasps in the audience when I started speaking in my Holmes voice. I guess the disguise was pretty convincing. Anyway, I think we managed to avoid any ugly sterotypes in the portrayal.

Hope that gives you some ideas... :hi:

[Dangerously Amused]

16. Thanks!

So I presume you didn't get any complaints or comments regarding the makeup. Good.

And thanks for your ideas! (FWIW, the Bad Guy also has to portray a woman in the second act and his voice has an amazing range, from baritone to a lovely girlish falsetto. I don't know how you guys do it!)

:hi:

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. Issue I - nothing racist at all. The idea is that he's an idiot.

Issue II - Kabuki is Japanese, not Chinese. Not at all.

Granted, it could be funny to show the guy's stupidity by having him dress Kabuki-style, but I doubt that few in the audience would get the joke.




You are way way way too worked up over this. It's a play about an idiot; it's not a play in which you and the cast and the play writer are showing what degenerate subhumans the Asian race is.

[Dangerously Amused]

15. You're right about the audience not getting the "Kabuki in China" thing.

It would go right over their heads in this venue. The director and I were amused by the fact that the joke would really be on the audience in that respect. (And yeah, I think you caught my flub re: "Chinese (meant Japanese) Kabuki" in the OP, so thanks. Alas, it is too late to edit and so I appear ignorant. Eh, it's not the first time and it likely won't be the last, heh.)

But okay, so what if it wasn't full Kabuki, but just makeup to make slanted eyes? Would that make a difference in your opinion?

And yeah, I probably am getting too worked up over all of this. But you know how uptight we anally PC, hand-wringing, bleeding heart liberal types get over racial issues.

Thanks for your input.

[Rabrrrrrr]

20. I still don't think it would be racist at all.

It's the CHARACTER doing it, not you or anyone else involved.

The audience is smart enough to know that. And if they aren't, they aren't smart enough to listen to when they complain.

[Dangerously Amused]

29. We are leaning toward your position

...that it is the character being a jerk, and not us actually (or negligently) being racist. However, the director is concerned about how he would answer the counter-argument that it is he who was ultimately responsible for what the character does on stage.

And none of this would normally be such a big deal -- at least not in a privately run theatre where the powers that be would presumably back the Director's decisions -- but this is a public university theatre, and if there is a complaint to the President or the Dean of his department or whatever, the director will have to answer to a higher authority who may or may not support his choices. So the director is being extra careful. He even suggested discussing the issues with an Asian anti-defamation league, that's how concerned he is. It doesn't seem to me like we should have to take it that far though, y'know?

Oh well, I guess that even having these discussions here would be proof of the fact that we gave the matter a great deal of thought and were sensitive to the issues, even if we eventually reach a decision that some people don't like.

Again, thanks for your thoughts.

[blueraven95]

31. if I may chime in -

the director is not responsible for what the character does on stage, the director is responsible for what the actor does on stage. If the character is written as a jerk (or bad guy, or whatever), then that is how he should be played. It seems to me that the only way the director could be held responsible for offensive behavior in this case, is to have the behavior of the one character somehow validated by how he directs the other actors to portray their characters.


This may sound like a really minor point, but to me, in theatre, anyway, the person primarily responsible for the characters' behavior and the story is the author.


Goodness, I hope this makes sense. If it doesn't, let me know and I'll think about it a little more so I can verbalize it better.

[Rabrrrrrr]

32. Yes - it's the author's responsibility.

I wonder if the OP were doing Huckleberry Finn, would he be as paranoid about Huck calling his raftmate Nigger Jim.

Doesn't mean that the director is a racist, nor that the playwright is a racist. It just means that the character uses the word "nigger".

And if anyone has a problem with it, I say "Fuck 'em". They have no right to have a problem with it.

I mean, how on God's earth do you do Huck Finn without "Nigger Jim" and other uses of "nigger"? Might as well go piss on Twain's grave and tell him his social critique is as worthless as Oprah's morning bowel movements.

[Dangerously Amused]

34. Well said, thanks for the clarification.

I understood it perfectly, and agree with you.

In this case the only things we are "changing" (or, "interpreting") from the script are the intensity of the accent (although it is written in accent), and the facial makeup. So if there is a complaint re: either of those things, the director would (I think) have to take full responsibility since neither is guided by the script/book.

Thanks for your thoughts!

:hi:

[deucemagnet]

14. How about John Pinette's Chinese voice from his stand-up act?

Definitely over the top (and a funny bit, too!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdwuiyO7hOU

[Dangerously Amused]

17. omg that was funny!

How come I never heard of this Pinette guy??? I have to look up some more of his stuff now. :7

And thanks, the accent was good. I'm going to send the clip to my actor, and keep looking for some longer clips, too.

:hi:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

22. Also check out Russell Peters' standup where he imitates the accent.

[Dangerously Amused]

35. Thanks!

:hi:

[Iggo]

18. Why you no eat vegetable?

That line will crack me up to my dying day.

[Ikonoklast]

19. "You eat like killer whale!"

"You go NOW!!"


:rofl:

[Call Me Wesley]

25. I always think of this,

but perhaps just more flawless, but keeping the basics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_Vay9t1-A0

[Dangerously Amused]

28. Thank you! Excellent suggestion.

I have added it to my vid clip roster for the actor to study.

:hi:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

30. John Lone from The Last Emperor

At the end, his aged character, it's deliberate and clear. Done slowly, it might be a good fit for a villian. There's a smoothness to it. :)

[Dangerously Amused]

33. Will check that out, thanks!