GRSJ224/whitewashinginhollywood
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Whitewashing is a common practice in Hollywood where white actors are casted to play a character of color. This is a casting practice that dates back to the beginnings of Hollywood and is often attributed to the producers of Hollywood and the film directors. It is still ongoing today but in the past few years there have been some groundbreaking films attempting to make a change.
Types of Whitewashing
Through the years, there have been four main types of whitewashing (2).
The first type of whitewashing is when white actors are casted in non-white roles in films based upon historical events (2). One example of this is the film Argo which was based on the 1981 Iranian hostage crisis (3). A white male, Ben Affleck, was chosen to play the role of the Latino CIA officer who was in charge of the operation (3).
Another type of whitewashing occurs in films in which the historical events are retold from the perspective of a white character (2). An example of this is Dances with Wolves, a film based in the period where the United States government colonized the Native people (4). The perspective of this movie is shifted from the tragedies of the Native people to the experiences of a white male.
The third type of whitewashing can be seen in films which cast a majority of black and brown actors but all the major roles are played by the white actors (2). This can also be seen in the example Dances with Wolves (4).
Lastly, whitewashing can be evident over the span of many films which follow a pattern of featuring mainly white characters, told from the perspective of a white character, or have the major roles occupied by white actors (2). This type of whitewashing is seen over a span of many films as opposed to a film-by-film basis.