Blackface

Since we have seen the different film adaptations of Othello, I was particularly disturbed by the Laurence Olivier in blackface. Even with the black makeup, you could still tell that he was a white man. It seemed very insulting to see Othello played in such a way. In my history class we watched clips from an old film on the rise of the KKK, and some actors were also in blackface. It really highlighted the discrimination towards black people. It was very insulting to not only see the way that they presented these people in blackface but also the way that they were presented in the film did not show that they were thought of as being equal to the white Americans. The film adaptation of Othello that we watched in class used a black actor for the role of Othello and seemed much more authentic. There are racist remarks used against Othello in the play, but presenting a white actor in blackface makes the racism much more apparent. It makes it seem as if black actors are not thought of as qualifying for the role of Othello, which is the role of a black man. I'm interested to see how the film "O" is going to present the play in a modern adaptation.