Chloe Bennet, nagpalit ng pangalan dahil ‘racist’ ang Hollywood
SINABIng aktres na si Chloe Bennet na pinalitan niya ang kanyang pangalan na Chloe
Wang dahil “racist” ang Hollywood at nahirapan siyang makakuha ng papel dahil sa kanyang apelyido.
Ito ang komento ni Chloe, bida sa The Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D. ng Marvel, sa tugon sa isang fan na nagtanong sa isang Instagram post kung bakit nagpalit siya ng pangalan.
“Changing my last name doesn’t change the fact that my blood is half-Chinese, that I lived in China, speak Mandarin, or that I was culturally raised both American and Chinese,” sagot niya.
“It means I had to pay my rent, and Hollywood is racist and wouldn’t cast me with a last name that made them uncomfortable. I’m doing everything I can with the platform I have to make sure no one has to change their name again just so they can get work.”
Nitong nakaraang linggo, tumanggap ng papuri ang British actor na si Ed Skrein mula kay Chloe nang umayaw sa papel nito para sa forthcoming reboot ng Hellboy dahil ang karakter na kanyang ginagampanan ay may Asian heritage.
Sa isang pahayag, sinabi niya na nagkaroon ng “intense conversation and understandable upset” simula nang maibalita ang pagpili sa kanya at kailangan niyang gawin “what I feel is right”. “It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people and to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the arts. I feel it is important to honour and respect that.”
Bilang tugon sa desisyon ni Skrein, sinabi ni Bennet na: “There is no way this decision came lightly on your part, so thank you for your bravery and genuinely impactful step forward. I hope this inspires other actors/ filmmakers to do the same.”
Pinuri niya ito “for standing up to Hollywood’s continuous insensitivity and flippant behaviour towards the Asian American community”.
Uminit ang debate hinggil sa Hollywood whitewashing nitong mga nakaraang taon, sa kontrobersiya ng mga pelikulang kabilang ang Doctor Strange, na si Tilda Swinton ang napili para gumanap sa papel ng isang gurong Tibetan, at si Scarlett Johansson para magbida sa Ghost in the Shell, na halaw sa isang Japanese manga series ni Masamune Shirow. Kalaunan ay inamin ng domestic distribution chief ng Paramount na si Kyle Davies na hindi gaanong kumita ang Ghost in the Shell dahil marahil sa kontrobersiya na dulot ng kanyang cast, na karamihan ay white actors.