The Mary Sue: Listen, Cate Blanchett is a bit of an LGBTQ+ icon thanks to her roles in films like Carol and Ocean’s 8. Unfortunately, she keeps digging herself into a deeper hole by doing things like defending Woody Allen, and now insisting that straight actors should have the right to play LGBTQ+ characters—the exact wording was that she would “fight to the death” for these actors to play queer characters.
6 comments:
I really disagree with what she's saying here. I'm all for performers pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and playing roles that don't fall within the realm of their personal experience, but if we want it to be acceptable for straight actors to play LGBTQ+ characters, there has to be an equality in the industry of LGBTQ+ actors getting roles. I have yet to see a transgender actor cast as a non transgender character, so at the current time the only way they will be able to get a role is to be cast as a transgender character. The only way I will be able to accept casting straight cis actors in LGBTQ+ roles will be if they start casting LGBTQ+ actors in straight roles regularly, because only then will the playing field be truly even. Once we reach a point in our culture where we stop saying that actors are too "gay" to play straight roles, the general population will reach a point where we don't call actors too "straight" for LGBTQ+ roles.
I appreciate Cate Blanchett's intention behind saying what she is saying in this article but either it is her choice of words or the way she has reported that I cant truly agree with what she is saying.
Actors should always be in a place where they can challenge themselves to play roles that force to extend their boundaries in terms of acting. But it should not just be straight actors who are given the chance to explore LGBTQ characters. LGBT actors should also be given the chance to play straight actors, which, unfortunately, has not yet been accomplished in the entertainment business. And that is disappointing.
Cate saying that straight actors should be given the chance to play LGBTQ characters is a fair deal. But what makes her case weak is the fact that she fails to qualify the same for LGBTQ actors, for their right to be treated equally in such a scenario is saddening.
Bottom line; until LGBTQ+ actors and actors of color and actors with disabilities, ect... are given equal opportunity in the industry. For too long, straight, able-bodied, white actors get priority for every role. Too often, a straight actor is cast seemingly in order to avoid casting a gay actor. Actors, all actors, shouldn't be limited to their direct experience. I personally believe that for outward obvious identities, like race, there really isn't any reason not to cast a person of that race and I don't think any amount of equality reached will change how I feel about that, but sexuality isn't visible from the outside. I believe that one day far enough into the future where there has been consistent equal opportunity for straight and gay actors alike, this will no longer be an issue, but not right now. There is no reason to "fight to the death" for straight actors to be cast as gay characters when they have so many more opportunities while gay actors are consistently limited. It demonstrates an extreme lack of awareness surrounding what minorities experience in the industry.
I disagree with the author of this article. I think that anyone should have to opportunity to play any role in which they can. This goes back to the article about the high school that cast an all -white version of West Side Story. Here’s the deal, I don’t think that race, sexuality, or gender should limit, or enable, someone to get a role. I think actors and actresses should be cast because of their ability and how they fit artistically into a piece. Saying that a straight person can’t play a gay role would be the same as saying that a gay person can’t play a straight role. Sure, some people may not have the acting chops or don’t connect to a character, but if a straight person can connect and really showcase a gay character, why should they be denied that role based off of their sexuality? I agree with Cate in that if there’s a character that we can really connect to, it shouldn’t limit someone’s opportunity to get that role. Part of being an actor is being able to act in a situation that you haven’t personally experienced.
I feel like Blancett is engaging in a kind of ridiculous what-if train of thought. Advocates from representation and LGBTQ+ performers are not saying that we should restrict a creative's desire to play roles outside their experience, or that we should, but only when them playing that role both that it away from a minority performer who doesn't have the same privilege and also feeds into decades upon decades of oppression and societal power structures. I feel as though she is willfully misunderstanding the difference between her exploring something outside her experience such as her playing someone from a different time period, etc. and her actively taking away opportunities from an oppressed minority to tell their own stories. Yes, it a perfect world with no prejudice where everyone was exclusively judged on their skills and everyone had equal opportunities and privilege than any actor could play any role. But we do not live in that world and I wish people like Blancett would stop pretending we do so that they can do what they want under the guise of "artistic exploration".
“Playing roles beyond my experience” is a delicate argument against straight actors playing queer characters. This is not a “Not experiencing Motherhood doesn’t stop women from playing motherly roles in film” it is not an experience issue but a “reality”, for lack of a better word, issue. This just goes to the principle on which we don’t see males acting female roles, simply because they are not females. The roles were not written for them. Back in medieval times, all actors were males, sure, but times have evolved and now we have women portraying women. And back in the day when it was frowned upon to be trans or queer, straight people would get away with portraying this character because of the bad connotation they could bring to their personal lives. But now that people are openly queer, there is no reason for a trans role should not be played by a cis performer.
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