Let's take a look at Vin Diesel's 1994 short film, MULTI-FACIAL. (Also available on You Tube)
In terms of their own approach to racial categorization, how do Diesel and Danzy Senna ("Half+Half" exerpt) speak to the history of mixed-race identity in the U.S. and U.S. media representations as explained in Mary Beltran and Camilla Fojas' introduction to their "Mixed Hollywood" collection? For instance, what is at stake when one assumes a "black" identity (Senna) or appeals for the transcendence of race (Diesel)?
According to Mary Beltran in her essay, "The New Hollywood Racelessness", how do recent action films set in the millennial, multiethnic urban environment challenge but also re-inscribe cinematic racial paradigms that install "white" as a privileged social category? (Briefly discuss two examples from Beltran's essay)
For two extra credit points for Blog #4:
In a separate email to greenes@uwm.edu, identify the title, director and release year for the film from which Diesel takes his audition monologue at the opening of the film.
In terms of their own approach to racial categorization, how do Diesel and Danzy Senna ("Half+Half" exerpt) speak to the history of mixed-race identity in the U.S. and U.S. media representations as explained in Mary Beltran and Camilla Fojas' introduction to their "Mixed Hollywood" collection? For instance, what is at stake when one assumes a "black" identity (Senna) or appeals for the transcendence of race (Diesel)?
According to Mary Beltran in her essay, "The New Hollywood Racelessness", how do recent action films set in the millennial, multiethnic urban environment challenge but also re-inscribe cinematic racial paradigms that install "white" as a privileged social category? (Briefly discuss two examples from Beltran's essay)
For two extra credit points for Blog #4:
In a separate email to greenes@uwm.edu, identify the title, director and release year for the film from which Diesel takes his audition monologue at the opening of the film.
Senna and Diesel certainly approach mixed-race from different points of view. Senna’s article highlights the militancy of the MN in humorous ways, but honestly explores her own conflict with mixed-race identification. Her upbringing reflected society’s need to clearly separate races and she relates a sense of pride and personal growth from identifying with black because it is a privilege. Alternately, Diesel’s entire short film illustrates the absurd situations that occur with specific race identity when confronted with multi-racial people. This culminates in the final monologue where he relates his father’s wish for his son to be an actor, not a black actor – a desire to remove race altogether.
ReplyDeleteRecent action films have made progress in portraying race in film, but continue to illustrate white privilege as well. In Romeo Must Die, the central protagonist Jet Li is non-white but one of the main antagonists is Russell Wong, an actor of mixed race. Beltran suggests this casting is a subtle reminder of miscegenation fears and that such characters are dangerous and can’t be trusted. As with Romeo, The Fast and the Furious also features a mixed race protagonist in Vin Diesel, but this is tempered with a more traditional white protagonist in Paul Walker, whose character is given driving status above other non-white characters. He is accepted into the group dominated by non-whites with little difficulty, displaying the “white” ability to easily interact in any environment.
In terms of their own approach to racial categorization Vin Diesel and Danzy Senna speak to the history of mixed-race identity in different ways most likely because they have very different backgrounds. Vin Diesel's 1994 short film, MULTI-FACIAL shows us what kind of crazy things can happen when multi-racial individuals come into a situation where they are either indentified as white or black. It would seem to me that Diesel would rather not be known as white or black and that people should view him as an individual. On the other hand Danzy Senna ("Half+Half" exerpt) explores her own mixed-race identification in a more witty fashion. Her background strove for separate races; there for she identified her self as black to me it seemed very similar to Obama.
ReplyDeleteThrough the ages films have began to make strides in portraying races as equal but there still lingers a perception of a white advantage. In Lethal Weapon series we see a example of a “biracial buddy cop film” Beltran explains that. “the recurring central gag or comic motif . . . [of] Black penetration of clearly demarcated White cultural, social, or physical space” Another example of a mixed race protagonist that I found interesting would be Blade Runner I remember in that movie at the start of that movie many of the lower class people spoke a mixed language between English German and Chinese that would suggest a mixed identity there.
Vin Diesel and Danzy Senna are both of mixed races but their view of what it means to be of mixed race is very different. In Vin Diesel’s short film Multi-Facial he shows us the struggles that he had to face because he was either too light, not light enough, or “wasn’t what they were looking for.” At every audition they said he was great, but not what they were looking for. Senna’s situation was a little different because she defined herself as black because that was more accepted than mixed race. It was a lot easier for people to come out and say they were of mixed race when it became more accepted to be more than just black or just white. Neither Vin Diesel nor Danzy Senna felt they needed to be one thing, but conformed because that’s what was accepted.
ReplyDeleteRecent action films have casted multiracial actors and portray multiracial relationships but white privilege manages to sneak in there somewhere. In Romeo Must Die Jet Li and Aaliyah are both multiracial and their cultures are expressed in the film, but Kai played by Russell Wong betrays his heritage to achieve the privilege of whiteness. In The Fast and the Furious the main character is played by Vin Diesel, who is of multiracial decent. He is king of the street racing world but then a white cop steps in, played by Paul Walker, and is accepted into this racing world. In these movies there seems to be a multiracial main character who has to share some of the spot light with another white actor.
Both Diesel and Senna have different ways of approaching mixed-race identity. In Diesel's short film, his character is always short of getting roles because of the way he looks. He is put into consideration for the role because of who he is but its the way he looks that seems to hold him back. The people Diesel auditions for are looking for something distinct to classify him because society needs to classify people. This shows how much people care about knowing what a person is. The film does a good job of illustrating this by putting Diesel in an industry that is already picky and rejects so many people because of the way they look. In Senna's Half+Half exerpt, she is kind of funny in her description of her experience. People wanted her to classify herself which could not have been easy for and she chose to identify as black and she's cintinued to live her life. Society shouldn't put people in positions where they should be idenfied by race.
ReplyDeleteOver the past few years, action films have been doing a good job of diversifying cast but the actor in the lead is never seen the same way as if a white actor had been playing the role. In both, The Fast and the Furious and Romeo Must Die, the cast is made up of mostly non-white actors but the white characters are trying to be shown as people being ridiculed and treated badly. In The Fast and the Furious, Vin Diesel is shown as the hero but so is Paul Walker and this kind of steals away from Diesel and shows that he cannot be the hero himself because he is mixed race. In Romeo Must Die, there are white characters and this probably helps put the viewers at ease of having a non-white actor play the hero.
Vin Diesel's experience as a mixed race actor is almost as if his background is what prevents him from getting certain roles. Because of his lighter skin, he's able to pull off roles as Hispanic or Italian-American, but it also prevents him from getting roles aimed at African Americans despite his African American ethnicity. Even though he's able to play these various types of roles, the movie executives are looking for certain images that represents a specific races. His appearance might make him appear too “urban” to play Italian American parts, but it also prevents him from getting roles that he might not appear “urban” enough, especially the scene where the movie executive says they are looking for someone with dreadlocks but they are looking for some other “types” too.
ReplyDeleteIn Diesel's account, it seems as if he'd rather be a full race rather than a mixed race actor who can't get work in any race. On the other hand, Senna's article talks about being mixed race as a growing trend of acceptance. However, because she was raised as an African American, she identifies herself with that ethnicity despite having a mixed race background. She ends her article by saying that people should be identified by their shared background and not their appearance. Diesel's film seems to end on the same point by the line, “not too light, not too dark.”
In Vin Diesel’s short film multi facial multi-racial identity is approached by showing the viewer different situations where the main character can not get acting jobs playing a white man or a black man. Through this film Vin Diesel shows us that he does not want to be seen as a black actor or a white actor, he just wants to be seen as an actor. Senna approaches multiculturalism in a very different manner. In the excerpt from her book Senna tells witty stories to show that she identifies herself more with her black half.
ReplyDeleteMost action movies that have been made in the last decade usually have a white male lead and a black male as a supporter to the lead. In these action movies the black man is portrayed as a helper who does the white leads dirty work. This brings back the stereotype of the black aggressor, although this time around he is on the right side. Thus advancing the African American in cinema but still keeping some restraints on.
In the past because of the one-drop rule, if you had any amount of African American in your race you were still considered “black”. The media and the general public have now accepted the idea of being “mixed” has now become mainstream and popular. Danzy Senna, who is mixed but identifies herself as African American, said that a lot of times when she would tell people this she would notice that they became uncomfortable because they hadn’t realized that there was a “negro in their midst”. Vin Diesel had a different experience. He chose not to identify with any race, and people became very confused as to what he was and how to act around him. Action films now feature a lot of different non-white characters as protagonists, which is dramatically different from the past. However in movies such as The Fast and the Furious there are different types of ethnicities, but one of the main hero is white. The rest of the characters were not bad, but they are seen doing more deviant things, thus associating non-whites with these practices. The other example is from the movie, Romeo Must Die, where they feature Asian and African American communities. Although they don’t seem to favor one side or the other they still reinforce their differences. R&B music is played during scenes featuring African Americans, and Oriental motifs and culture is featured in “Asian scenes”. Doing these things emphasizes the different of the ethnic group and reinforces bias and stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteVin Diesel tries breaking through racial stereotypes to become a great actor, not a great black actor, but a great actor, in his film Multi-Facial. He shows how there are few opportunities for actors who don’t fit a specific racial profile. Senna writes about identifying as black, even though she comes from a much more diverse background. People are quick to judge those who are different from them, and when people don’t “fit” into a particular group it can be hard to find a place to belong anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe new multiethnic stars and stories represent a growing number of people who don’t naturally identify as one specific race, or who live in areas not as segregated as the rest of the country. This speaks to the diversity of the inner city as portrayed by these films, but also helps reinstate the notion of whites as separate, and a more suburbanized sect that does not deal with the problems of the inner city. This separation of environments reverts back to the “white as more privileged” notion.
Mixed race identity in the U.S media is usually someone light skinned "yellow" , with features that cannot be placed in the stereotypical looks of any category as seen in the film by Vin Diesel. Actors who play mixed race characters in film might not actually be mixed they could just be African- American, Hispanics etc. I think that the transcendence of race in the film was gone very well we see him in a white beater with blacks slacks , and a hat without the accent, mannerism that are all stereotyped and assumed of Italians we see that he is fitting into the Italian American stereotype. At the next audition he put in a earring and baggy shirt and he plays the role of a African American in both auditions he is told your too light, I wonder what the darker men were told your too dark ?
ReplyDeleteLooking for darker, his to light ?
that makes me think of black face/ minstrel shows
What really got me thinking was the use of the term "Wesley" type...
I think that's really sad that they've categorized his skin color, making him sound like crayon color.
I think that film makers then and now chose darker skinned people to pay the token role. To make it easier to point out racial groups in the media.
Its seems like setting with film now with minorities there in little houses in a "rough" neighborhood working class. Or they re rich and have a nice house and car that they got by working for the man. The white man? If they live in these nice houses and such they're friends are portrayed as white and example of this is seen in the Tommy ads to connects to the class discussions and media.
Vin Diesel and Senna speak about race in different ways. There views are different. I mean it has to be different for men and women of course. But there experiences effect them differently. I think as a person it might be harder for diesels character because he’s african and italian it might be harder to claim one race over another where as sienna just clammed black per-say.. Which all in all is easer then saying your mixed. If you think about it allot of us are of mixed race. My ethnic background is as long as my arm. All in all the two are but in hard situations. Diesel is stuck going from audition to audition and not getting the role because “he’s not the what they are looking for”.Siena is stuck with people wanting to classify her as ether or.
ReplyDeleteIn the Films Mary Beltran talks about we see that the characters in the films played by mixed race actors, portray types of heros that are pushed out of the limelight by white (er) characters ( in some cases )
Diesel and Danzy Senna approach the subject of mixed-race differently. In Multi-Facial, Diesel’s character is a biracial man of Italian and African American decent, trying to make a name for him in the acting world. Diesel plays his part accordingly in pursuit of an acting gig. In the film he does not land a job because he does not fall in any of the criterias that they were looking for. He is either “too light”, not the “long hair” type, or not the “Wesley” type. Senna identified herself as an African American and was raised as one and not really looking at her as any other different race. Senna is still trying to get a grasp of what category she should be in because she is the “enemy” of the people. When a person assumes a role in a certain race, they fall into a certain demographic of stereotypical role.
ReplyDeleteAction movies today have people of various backgrounds in their leading roles. The paradigms that were set in the early years of cinematography that being white were cast as privileged individuals are still seen today. They may not be as apparent in today’s films but that assumption is still there. In Too Fast Too Furious, agent Walker is set to be the “golden” boy of racing from Arizona. The plot gives this character a superior air to begin with. He is not of the same neighborhood or really understands the politics of the arena, but yet he still steps into a scene that he does not know. The strained area of Oakland has been in the struggle of territory between battles of the Chinese and black crime families in the movie Romeo Must Die. The bottom line is that, the fighting between the two family were because of a rich white developer needing to get contracts signed by these individuals for the property that they had shares of.
Vin Diesel and Senna both have different views dealing with being multiculturism,Senna has chosen the black side of her idenity,she knows society wants to classify her as black almost like,she has concided, and turn her back on her other ethnic sides. On the other hand looking at Vin Disel, he is at his realm of being. He understands he is Vin Diesel(Mark Vincent) no matter how the people view him. Vin Diesel short film (Multi-Facial)he gives a tremdous insight, about what an actor of color goes thrugh, then even worse, to be told you are not black enough to play a black role, when you are black,which makes no sense. I love how he keeps trying, and dosnt really get to angry and give up. As i watched the monolouge i did not think he was going to get the parts because of the slightly bad acting, but then when they tell him he is too light, i thought was kind of crazy. you cant change our skin color, and african americans come in all shades. In the movie Fast and Furious the lead character is white and most of the supporting people of many different races. i am not understanding, how most of the time a white person is casted in a role, where normaly he would not have fit in, but we go with the flow because it is the norm.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that the difference between Vin Diesel and Senna is based on their own individual experiences. For example, Vin Diesel did not gain acceptance from either worlds (Italian or African American) which was obvious in his short film multi-facial. In his experience, he was viewed as undefinable, casting calls either said he wasn't black enough/urban enough or italian enough. This forced him to embrace his undefinable-ness. He wanted to be recognized for his talent alone, opposed to being categorized by race. It seems as if Vin Diesel embraces this new idea of racelessness, which is ultimately where America is headed. Senna seems to feel more accepted in the African american community, it is true that African American communities have a stronger likelihood of accepting biracial heritage, opposed to white society. I think this is the very reason why she identifies as black, simply because of the welcoming acceptance and because of her strong pride in the culture.
ReplyDeleteThe standards of beauty within american films definitely adhere to European-american standards still, which means that despite the range of cultures onscreen, they all still represent those standards. For example, the film The fast and the Furious had primarily asian and latin american women cast, but they were all tall and thin, with symmetrical facial structures and no "exotic features". This is a European standard of beauty and doesn't represent all women of color or the beauty standards within their own culture. Another example is also taken from the Fast and the Furious. Vin Diesel was paired with Paul Walker(anglo-american actor) and they were viewed as a heroic team. The hero/leader of the film was Vin Diesel but he was paired with a white co-actor, whose role wasn't necessarily needed but makes the audience feel more comfortable with an undefinable main character because of his co-partner being white. This is also evident in Eddie Murphy's film Beverly Hills Cop II.
Diesel and Senna deal with their issues of mixed race identity in an almost opposite fashion. Diesel attempts to ignore race and concentrates on expressing himself through his work. While this may be a modest approach, it obviously fails to breakdown certain racial barriers shown in MULTI-FACIAL. The casting directors in his short film are all looking to fill some stereotype. Although he is an incredibly talented actor, there’s little room for a man neither white or black. Unlike Diesel and despite her true mixed racial identity, Senna chose to identify herself as an African American, in accordance with her upbringing. People are constantly trying to categorize individuals based on their race, size, sexual preference, religious beliefs, etc. In a way identifying herself as black was a tactical move to avoid such confusion and belittlement.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “The New Hollywood Racelessness” by Mary Beltran I was reminded of a Hollywood classic, Predator. In this film Arnold Schwarzenegger, a stereotypical white all American, but ironically Austrian, plays a military squad leader sent into the jungle on a classified mission. Carl Weathers, a well known African American actor, plays a mischievous military general, with a hidden agenda behind this mission. Throughout the film the two seem to be in direct comparison and Arnold of course perseveres, completes the mission, and “kills” the predator. Carl Weathers on the other hand dies attempting to redeem himself. Although racism in Hollywood has come along way, there stills exists an inequality between white and black actors. Black actors rarely are cast as lead roles in action films and commonly suffer a worse fate than that of there fellow white characters.