I read this about Johnny and Carol a few days ago and thought of this thread. Good call in posting this here Sean Flynn, people need to recognize that a talented actor can transcend the gender AND race of a non-fictional personality and do justice in portraying them.
Except that his suggestion was a joke and he's playing with the media. If people want to use it as a springboard for further discussion, that's fine. But it does need some clarification.
Why would you cast a black man to make him look like a white man? That just seems excessive when you can get a white man who could do the job - and perhaps do it really well. I think the Johnny Depp mention was fantastic.
Why does the person who portrays Michael in a movie have to be African American? I don't see how having a white person portraying him at his later stage will diminish his accomplishments as an African American. They aren't casting a white actor because white actors are superior or anything like that; they're doing it for aesthetics - to simply capture Jackson's physical appearance in the later part of his life. Hell, if an alien-looking woman with excellent acting chops can be found, then have her play him. I don't see what difference it makes. It's called acting, and it's called cinema; you're trying to get a close portrayal.
I also find it ironic that people are so adamant that he HAS to be portrayed by a black man when Jackson himself did everything in his power to make himself white. I think casting a white person would be a really, really intriguing statement about Jackson's own racial pyschology which became a HUGE story in and of itself.
I think there is something extremely problematic with the assertion that a black man should only play a black man, or a white man should only play a white man. If that's the case, then all African Americans should be disallowed from playing any role, fiction or non-fiction, that was written for or is about a white individual. In fact, any one with the slightest bit of ethnic mix should be disallowed: no Arabs, no Greeks, no Asians - ONLY 100% pure white folk! Doesn't that sound ridiculous? If a story was made about Barrack Obama, ONLY a mixed person should play him. You can't get someone who is 100% African American or someone who is 100% white to play him because that is racially inaccurate. Doesn't that also sound ridiculous? The fact is, Obama looks like he can be a 100% African American man. Therefore, a 100% African American actor could do a solid portrayal - and people seem to agree with that. The exact same thing can be said about Jackson; he looks 100% like an alien-looking white woman, so why can't you get someone white to play his part? Those who are saying a 100% black man should portray Obama who are also saying only an African American should play Jackson are contradicting themselves.
