In other news....
I’ve been watching, with a mix of dread and anger, recent news stories about Asian-Americans, often women, being physically attacked over the past few months. I’ve been somewhat upbeat watching what I hope will be an unending effort to get the United States to move in a new direction and stop making various brown people materially “different” from the melanin deficient. It’s not that we aren’t different so much as the fact that in a huge number of cases the differences are, literally, only skin deep.
No one spends a lot of time dwelling on how Polish Americans, German Americans, English Americans or Hungarian Americans are “different” from the “Average American” because they are all regarded AS Average Americans due primarily to the fact a huge percentage of them can’t get a tan. Culturally, there are significant differences between those descended from Western Europeans as against Eastern Europeans. Music, art and cuisine vary significantly from one European nation to another yet the commonality of being melanin-deficient visually connects them in the minds and eyes of the “Average American.”
In an all too real way Americans descended from Brown people (many of whom are also brown) are also treated consistently and that amounts to being suppressed in one fashion or another. Additionally, while melanin deficient Americans are viewed as highly homogenous the same has not been as true of Brown Americans. Indeed, much as we share certain physical characteristics we also tend to congregate with those who are most like us. Spanish speaking Americans tend to live near other Spanish speaking Americans. The same holds true of other Brown ethnic or national groups.
What this reality has done is allowed the visually homogenous melanin-deficient to in effect ally themselves under a common, colorless, flag (it’s actually red, white and blue but, you know). When the Proud Boys meet no one asks about a member’s ethnicity or national origin so long as they look like they need sunscreen if they even think about walking under the Sun. Brown people however KNOW that someone of Korean ancestry is substantially different from someone of Mexican ancestry despite the fact they might, and often do, look very similar.
Few places underscore the reality of the foregoing more than the entertainment industry. Lou Diamond Philips has no Mexican ancestry (as far as I know at the moment) nor does J-Lo. Despite this reality both of them were chosen to portray historical figures who were, unquestionably, of Mexican ancestry. Ritchie Valens and Selena, respectively. This is largely due to the fact Brown people are viewed by Hollywood as fungible. Aimee Garcia, of Mexican and Puerto Rican ancestry has played an Asian American scientist (Robocop - 2014).
While I was, personally, annoyed at the choice of Philips and J-Lo for these roles there was no uproar. Perhaps I’m more jaded than I realize however I suspect there would have been quite a problem having ANY of these actors portray a historical figure who was melanin-deficient. Imagine Chiwetel Ejiofor playing Abraham Lincoln (a problem for me because he’s English but otherwise an excellent performer) or Lucy Liu as Dolley Madison. In terms of skills I am beyond comfortable either of these individuals could pull these roles off however the entertainment industry would never give it a moment’s thought making it de facto impossible.
The overriding question however must be - WHY? Paul Newman, Yul Brynner, Robby Benson and Shia LaBeouf have all portrayed Brown individuals yet the media has never so much as noted this fact. In my eyes the answer is obvious, Hollywood and the media view a lack of melanin as a positive trait and having a melanin-deficient actor portray a Brown person is OK because the melanin-deficient are deemed de facto superior whereas Brown people, being fungible in their Brown-ness, are all more or less the same.
What the entertainment industry and the largest single group in the United States seem to forget is that the World is, by and large, Brown. North America was first inhabited by Brown people who were subsequently slaughtered by melanin-deficient “explorers.” The success of the invaders is not the result of superiority. Instead it was the result of unquenchable greed. If we can end the primacy of greed in this country we just might make skin color a minor and unimportant fact in the minds of most. If we can’t - the ugliness will only continue.