Colorwashing
People often raise a tremendous hue and cry over the racism of whitewashing - that is, actors and actresses of European descent playing characters of non-European descent. However, no one ever talks about the equally racist, and increasingly common, practice of colorwashing - that is, actors and actresses of non-European descent playing characters of European descent. In our modern "multicultural" (i.e. multiracial) society, colorwashing is often even lauded as being politically correct. Imagine the tremendous scandal that would result if a white actor ever dared to portray Martin Luther King, Jr., for example, while we ourselves laud shows that portray our ancient heroes, including Achilles and Guinevere, as being black.
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- DirectorWill GluckStarsQuvenzhané WallisCameron DiazJamie FoxxA foster kid who lives with her mean foster mom sees her life change when business tycoon and New York City mayoral candidate Will Stacks makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in.Quvenzhané Wallis (African) portrays Little Orphan Annie and Jamie Foxx (African) portrays Will Stacks, the movie's name for Daddy Warbucks.
- CreatorJohnny CappsJulian JonesJake MichieStarsJohn HurtColin MorganBradley JamesThese are the brand new adventures of Merlin, the legendary sorcerer as a young man, when he was just a servant to young Prince Arthur on the royal court of Camelot, who has soon become his best friend, and turned Arthur into a great king and a legend.Angel Coulby (African) portrays Guinevere and Tomiwa Edun (African) portrays Sir Elyan the White. Literally, the hero's name in Arthurian legend is Elyan the White. What group of people would put up with this sort of blatant racist evisceration of our cultural heritage, other than Europeans?
- CreatorDan FogelmanStarsJoshua SasseTimothy OmundsonVinnie JonesA musical comedy adventure featuring a knight on a quest for love who helps a childish king to see the error of his ways.Massively multiracial casting in a medieval European setting.
- 2006– Not Rated8.1 (29)TV EpisodeDirectorGary HalvorsonStarsRachelle DurkinPatricia RisleyElina GarancaA loose adaptation of the Cinderella tale without the magic.Lawrence Brownlee (African) portrays the Prince in Cinderella.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsDaniel RadcliffeRupert GrintEmma WatsonAn orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.Series. Daniel Radcliffe (Jewish) portrays Harry Potter and Jason Isaacs (Jewish) portrays Lucius Malfoy, who are British.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsDaniel RadcliffeRupert GrintEmma WatsonHarry Potter lives his second year at Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione when a message on the wall announces that the legendary Chamber of Secrets has been opened. The trio soon realize that, to save the school, it will take a lot of courage.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintHarry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintHarry Potter finds himself competing in a hazardous tournament between rival schools of magic, but he is distracted by recurring nightmares.
- DirectorDavid YatesStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintWith their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.
- DirectorDavid YatesStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintAs Harry Potter begins his sixth year at Hogwarts, he discovers an old book marked as "the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.
- DirectorDavid YatesStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintAs Harry, Ron and Hermione race against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, they uncover the existence of the three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows.
- DirectorDavid YatesStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintHarry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts.
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsRobert Downey Jr.Gwyneth PaltrowTerrence HowardAfter being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.Series. Robert Downey, Jr. (Jewish) portrays Tony Stark (Iron Man), who as far as I know has never once been mentioned as being Jewish in all of canon.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsRobert Downey Jr.Jude LawRachel McAdamsDetective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.Series. Robert Downey, Jr. (Jewish) portrays Sherlock Holmes, who I hope I need not tell you is British.
- StarsDaniel RadcliffeTrevor EvePauline QuirkeA gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world.Daniel Radcliffe (Jewish) portrays David Copperfield, who is British.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsChris HemsworthAnthony HopkinsNatalie PortmanThe powerful but arrogant god Thor is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.Series. Idris Elba (African) portrays Heimdall, and Tadanobu Asano (Asian) portrays Hogun, who are Norse Aesir gods. To add insult to injury, Heimdall is described as "the whitest of the gods" in Norse mythology. Also, Natalie Portman (Jewish) portrays Jane Foster, who as far as I know is never described as being Jewish in canon.
- DirectorJoss WhedonStarsRobert Downey Jr.Chris EvansScarlett JohanssonEarth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.Series. Besides Heimdall, Hogun, Jane Foster, and Tony Stark, mentioned under the movies Thor and Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson (Jewish) portrays Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), who is Russian and as far as I know has never once been mentioned as being Jewish in canon.
- DirectorJoseph Gordon-LevittStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittScarlett JohanssonJulianne MooreA New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Jewish) portrays Jon, who is Italian American.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittShailene WoodleyMelissa LeoThe NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Jewish) portrays Edward Snowden, who is European American.
- DirectorLynne RamsayStarsTilda SwintonJohn C. ReillyEzra MillerKevin's mother struggles to love her strange child despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.Ezra Miller (Jewish) portrays Kevin, who is of Armenian and Irish descent.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.Series. Abe Vigoda (Jewish) portrays Sal Tessio, who is Italian.
- DirectorJames WatkinsStarsDaniel RadcliffeJanet McTeerCiarán HindsA young solicitor travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.Daniel Radcliffe (Jewish) portrays Arthur Kipps, who is British.
- DirectorAlexandre AjaStarsDaniel RadcliffeJuno TempleMax MinghellaIn the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to find strange horns sprouting from his forehead.Daniel Radcliffe (Jewish) portrays Ig Perrish, who is European American.
- DirectorBrian KirkStarsDavid HaigDaniel RadcliffeKim CattrallAuthor Rudyard Kipling and his wife search for their 18-year-old son after he goes missing during World War I.Daniel Radcliffe (Jewish) portrays John Kipling, the son of Rudyard Kipling, who was British.
- DirectorOliver ParkerStarsBen BarnesColin FirthRebecca HallA corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty eternally, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.Ben Barnes (Jewish) portrays Dorian Gray, who is British.
- DirectorAndrew AdamsonStarsBen BarnesSkandar KeynesGeorgie HenleyThe Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian.Series. Ben Barnes (Jewish) portrays Prince Caspian.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsBen BarnesSkandar KeynesGeorgie HenleyLucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsChris PineZachary QuintoSimon PeggThe brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.Series. Anton Yelchin (Jewish) portrays Chekov, who is Russian.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsChris PineZachary QuintoZoe SaldanaAfter the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsHenry CavillArmie HammerAlicia VikanderIn the early 1960s, CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.Armie Hammer (Jewish) portrays Illya Kuryakin, who is Russian.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsLeonardo DiCaprioClaire DanesJohn LeguizamoShakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.Harold Perrineau (African) portrays Mercutio.
- DirectorRon ClementsJohn MuskerStarsAnika Noni RoseKeith DavidOprah WinfreyA waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him.The fairy tale The Frog Prince is portrayed as having African characters.
- CreatorAngela C. SantomeroSamantha Freeman AlpertTraci Paige JohnsonStarsTajja IsenSiera FlorindoZachary BlochA group of characters who live at a library turn into superheroes and then go into books; using early reading skills to save the day. They later use a problem from the story one of them faced and apply it to their own lives.The princess from the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea is portrayed as being African.
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsRobert Downey Jr.Mickey RourkeGwyneth PaltrowWith the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father's legacy.
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRobert Downey Jr.Guy PearceGwyneth PaltrowWhen Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsRobert Downey Jr.Jude LawJared HarrisDetective Sherlock Holmes is on the trail of criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty, who is carrying out a string of random crimes across Europe.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsAnna KendrickMeryl StreepChris PineA witch tasks a childless baker and his wife with procuring magical items from classic fairy tales to reverse the curse put on their family tree.Chris Pine (Jewish) portrays the Prince from Cinderella.
- DirectorAlan TaylorStarsChris HemsworthNatalie PortmanTom HiddlestonWhen the Dark Elves attempt to plunge the universe into darkness, Thor must embark on a perilous and personal journey that will reunite him with doctor Jane Foster.
- DirectorTaika WaititiStarsChris HemsworthTom HiddlestonCate BlanchettImprisoned on the planet Sakaar, Thor must race against time to return to Asgard and stop Ragnarök, the destruction of his world, at the hands of the powerful and ruthless villain Hela.
- DirectorAnthony RussoJoe RussoStarsChris EvansSamuel L. JacksonScarlett JohanssonAs Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with a fellow Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Black Widow, to battle a new threat from history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.Series. See the comments under The Avengers.
- DirectorAnthony RussoJoe RussoStarsChris EvansRobert Downey Jr.Scarlett JohanssonPolitical involvement in the Avengers' affairs causes a rift between Captain America and Iron Man.
- DirectorJoss WhedonStarsRobert Downey Jr.Chris EvansMark RuffaloWhen Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it's up to Earth's mightiest heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plan.
- DirectorPeter WebberStarsScarlett JohanssonColin FirthTom WilkinsonA young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.Scarlett Johansson (Jewish) portrays Griet, who is Dutch.
- DirectorRon ClementsJohn MuskerStarsTate DonovanSusan EganJames WoodsThe son of Zeus and Hera is stripped of his immortality as an infant and must become a true hero in order to reclaim it.Barbara Barrie (Jewish) voices Alcmene, who is Greek. The Muses are portrayed as African.
- CreatorDavid LevyStarsJohn AstinCarolyn JonesJackie CooganThe misadventures of a blissfully macabre but extremely loving family.Carolyn Jones (Jewish) portrays Morticia Addams.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsCharles GrodinKieran CulkinMary SteenburgenIn this sequel to A Christmas Story (1983), it is now summer in the Parker family and the usual number of events is happening in their separate lives.Charles Grodin (Jewish) portrays Ralphie's (i.e. Jean Shepherd's) father, who was European American.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.Claire Bloom (Jewish) portrays Queen Mary.
- DirectorCornel WildeStarsCornel WildeGert van den BerghKen GampuDuring the 1800s, a safari guide, two elephant hunters and their crew run into trouble with the natives in the South African veld when they refuse to offer gifts to the tribesmen.Just short of explicit colorwashing. Cornel Wilde (Jewish) plays the main character, who is strongly (the plotline revolves around it) implied to be a white man.
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyIn the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.Not explicit colorwashing, but was evidently perceived as such, since this show is supposed to have portrayed the first on-screen kiss between a white man and a black woman, even though the supposedly white man, James T. Kirk, is portrayed by William Shatner, who is Jewish.
- CreatorJames DormerStarsKieran BewJoanne WhalleyEd SpeleersHeroic legend Beowulf gallops through the epic and mythical Shieldlands, to his childhood home of Herot, hoping to set right past wrongs.Full of colorwashing and cultural appropriation.
- DirectorBill CondonStarsEmma WatsonDan StevensLuke EvansA selfish Prince is cursed to become a monster for the rest of his life, unless he learns to fall in love with a beautiful young woman he keeps prisoner.Many of the characters are African, despite being European in the original, and this being a European fairy tale.
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsNat WolffLaKeith StanfieldMargaret QualleyA high school student named Light Turner discovers a mysterious notebook that has the power to kill anyone whose name is written within its pages, and launches a secret crusade to rid the world of criminals.L (3/4 European, 1/4 Japanese) is played by Lakeith Stanfield (African).
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsLogan LermanKevin McKiddSteve CooganA teenager discovers he's the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods.Brandon T. Jackson (African) portrays a satyr. Persephone is portrayed by Rosario Dawson (Cuban). Hephaestus is portrayed by Conrad Coates (Jamaican).
- DirectorNate ParkerStarsNate ParkerArmie HammerPenelope Ann MillerNat Turner, a literate slave and preacher in the antebellum South, orchestrates an uprising.Completely colorwashed.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsLiesel MatthewsEleanor BronLiam CunninghamSara is sent to a strict boarding school after her father enlists in WWI. When he is presumed dead, the headmistress, knowing she will not receive any more money, forces the girl to become a servant.Becky is portrayed by Vanessa Lee Chester (African).
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghEmma ThompsonKeanu ReevesYoung lovers, and soon to wed, Hero and Claudio conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles, Benedick and Beatrice, to wed as well.Denzel Washington (African) plays Don Pedro.
- DirectorStephen ChboskyStarsLogan LermanEmma WatsonEzra MillerCharlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.Ezra Miller (Jewish) plays Patrick, and no hint is ever given in either the book or the movie that he is Jewish (plus his name is Patrick).
- CreatorMichael HirstStarsKatheryn WinnickGustaf SkarsgårdAlexander LudwigVikings transports us to the brutal and mysterious world of Ragnar Lothbrok, a Viking warrior and farmer who yearns to explore--and raid--the distant shores across the ocean.Despite there being no evidence that there was any contact between Scandinavia and China during this period, there is a Chinese woman who becomes the love interest and sex partner of one of the main characters.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMartin FreemanIan McKellenRichard ArmitageA reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of dwarves to reclaim their mountain home and the gold within it from the dragon Smaug.The hobbits are portrayed as multiracial.
- CreatorChris ChibnallMichael HirstStarsJoseph FiennesJamie Campbell BowerTamsin EgertonWhen King Uther dies and Britain faces chaos, Merlin presents an unknown named Arthur as the new king by birthright, as the late king's son, against the ambitious desires of his half-sister, Morgan.Vivian is an invented African character inserted into the myth, though the actress who portrays her, Chipo Chung, is 1/2 African and 1/2 Asian, making it even less believable that such a person would exist in Arthurian England.
- CreatorDavid FarrStarsLouis HunterChristiaan SchoombieBella DayneRetells the story of the 10 year siege of Troy, which occurred in the 12 or 13th century BC.Achilles is portrayed by David Gyasi, who is African. The people who would appropriate our culture truly have no shame.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.Jake Gyllenhaal (Jewish) plays Robert Graysmith, who is European American. Robert Downey Jr. (Jewish) plays Paul Avery, who was European American.
- DirectorPablo LarraínStarsNatalie PortmanPeter SarsgaardGreta GerwigFollowing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy.Natalie Portman (Jewish) portrays Jacqueline Kennedy.
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsStorm ReidOprah WinfreyReese WitherspoonAfter the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him.Massive colorwashing.
- DirectorGiles FosterStarsBen KingsleyJenny AgutterPatrick RyecartWhen a respectable weaver is wrongfully accused of theft, he becomes a virtual hermit until his own fortune is stolen and an orphaned child is found on his doorstep.Ben Kingsley (East Indian) portrays Silas Marner.
- DirectorThom EberhardtStarsMichael CaineBen KingsleyJeffrey JonesA drunken Sherlock Holmes is really just a cover for the real detective, Dr. Watson.Ben Kingsley (East Indian) portrays John Watson.
- DirectorTrevor NunnStarsHelena Bonham CarterRichard E. GrantImogen StubbsShakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.Ben Kingsley (East Indian) portrays Feste.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsPatrick DempseyBen KingsleyJulie DelpyA man who is haunted by a murder he committed.Ben Kingsley (East Indian) portrays Porfiry.
- DirectorJon ScoffieldStarsRichard JohnsonJanet SuzmanRosemary McHaleAfter the murder of her lover Julius Caesar, Egypt's Queen Cleopatra needs a new ally. She seduces his probable successor Mark Antony. This develops into real love and slowly leads to a war with the other possible successor, Octavius.Ben Kingsley (East Indian) portrays Thidias.
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsAlan BennettRichard O'CallaghanTenniel EvansWhen Sir John Falstaff decides that he wants to have a little fun he writes two letters to a pair of Windsor wives: Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. When they put their heads together and compare missives, they plan a practical joke or two to teach the knight a lesson. But Mistress Ford's husband is a very jealous man and is pumping Falstaff for information of the affair. Meanwhile the Pages' daughter Anne is besieged by suitors.Ben Kingsley (East Indian) portrays Frank Ford.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsDiana RossMichael JacksonNipsey RussellAn adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of the African-American experience.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsEmily BluntLin-Manuel MirandaBen WhishawA few decades after her original visit, Mary Poppins, the magical nanny, returns to help the Banks siblings and Michael's children through a difficult time in their lives.Broadly colorwashed - none of the main characters, but a lawyer who visits the family and such.
- StarsJosh SilverLeo WringerTerenia EdwardsA diamond goes missing after a party at an English country house, and numerous suspects have a motive for its disappearance.Gabriel Betteredge and his daughter Penelope Betteredge are portrayed as African, unlike in the book.
- StarsMatthew MacfadyenClaire FoyTom CourtenayThe Dorrits are a family whose life revolves around the Marshalsea, a debtor's prison. Amy Dorrit's kind nature brings the family into contact with a wide swath of English society, from the poorest to the richest, and back again.Tattycoram is portrayed as African and Daniel Doyce is portrayed as Parsi, unlike in the book.