Bradley Cooper’s casting in Maestro is one of the current controversies of Hollywood’s one of the most problematic histories of whitewashing, which is still alive. The Silvers Lining Playbook star is going to play the role of Leonard Bernstein in the late composer’s upcoming biopic Maestro for which people are considering this a controversial action that continues Hollywood’s problematic ritual of whitewashing.
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Bradley Cooper’s Maestro Continues Hollywood’s Whitewashing Ritual
Actor Bradley Cooper, referred to as a white actor, will slip into a prosthetic nose and play a famous Jewish composer. For being more clear, the term “Whitewashing” referred to institutional racism, but we can’t ignore the fact that progress has been made in the current years, to allow people belonging to the minority to showcase their stories. Still, some parts of the film industry glide into old practices, particularly complicated and somehow a very popular trend that continues to this day is casting white actors. Comedian Sarah Silverman once said:
“If they deserve love or are courageous, the Jewish character is never played by a Jew.”
Following Leonard Bernstein, other Jewish actors including Joan Rivers, Felicia Montealegre, and even Golda Meir are represented as white performers, to say nothing of made-up Jewish characters. Even the pop culture is conquering Marvel Cinematic Universe, which already has a dark history related to Jewish characters, failed to perfectly portray the Jewish Marc Spector as Moon Knight by not focusing on the character’s Jewish heritage, which plays a major role in the original storyline.
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In today’s date especially in the film industry that is deliberately becoming more extensive, some practice of whitewashing needs to be avoided. Bradley Cooper’s casting and prosthetics as Leonard Bernstein permit a white performer to earn off of features that Jewish people are criticized, and often stereotyped for inside and outside of the industry.
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