L'Autre Dumas (2010), the film portraying one of France's most celebrated authors, Alexandre Dumas père (1802-1870), triggered controversy surrounding the casting of Gérard Depardieu in the title role. Depardieu, himself one of French cinema's brightest stars, is white, whereas Dumas was a man of mixed race, and taking on the role of Dumas involved Depardieu darkening his skin and wearing a grey African wig.
Understanding Racism Involves Understanding Racial History
Should a white actor have played Dumas, given the statistics of the levels of racial tension and intolerance in France? According to the first ever survey of the black population in France, carried out on behalf of le Conseil Représentatif des Associations Noires (le CRAN) in 2007, over half the people interviewed had experienced racism, whether that was violence, discrimination, or disrespect. ("Le premier baromètre des populations noires de France", lecran.org, 22 June 2007)
Dumas himself was often the butt of jokes,caricature and a frequent target of cartoonists who emphasised his facial features and hair, exaggerating them to accentuate his Haitian heritage. Victoria Foote-Greenwell in her article "The life and resurrection of Alexandre Dumas" in The Smithsonian of 1 July 1996, relates the story of a leading lady once saying as he left, "Open the windows. It smells of Negro."
Given Dumas' background, does this strengthen the case to cast a black actor? Depardieu was engaged partly because his flamboyant personality is so similar to that of Dumas, but is personality and acting ability enough to do justice to an author whose life was shaped by having a black heritage?
Charles Bremner, writing in The Times of 15 February 2010, quoted Safy Nebbou, the director of l'Autre Dumas, as saying that it would have been a mistake to engage a mixed-race actor because Dumas’ eyes were blue, although he went on to admit that France falls way behind Britain in terms of casting actors from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Race Discrimination Works Both Ways – Or Does It?
Those who did not see a problem with the casting of l'Autre Dumas suggested that it illustrated France’s multiculturalism and ethnic diversity. Depardieu's skill as an actor can trigger a suspension of disbelief in the audience to the extent that the viewer sees the character and not the actor. The fact that Dumas was three quarters white racial heritage, they said, only strengthened the argument for using a white international star to play one of France’s most beloved authors: skin colour was seen as only part of the story and it was wrong to concentrate only on that at the expense of the rest of his cultural heritage.
The arguments, however, flaring up over what was considered by black actors and anti racism organisations in France and abroad to be an inappropriate and insensitive casting, were the signs of a wider issue of which this casting was a symptom. They highlighted a deep dissatisfaction with what was seen as race discrimination against black French actors and an under-representation of black actors in the French film industry. As for a white actor playing Dumas, Bremner quoted the president of le CRAN as saying: “In 150 years time could the role of Barack Obama be played in a film by a white actor with a fuzzy wig? Can Martin Luther King be played by a white?”
Promoting Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism
France is diversity. Such is the message of the Institut Montaigne, an independent think-tank that commissioned a report on what it is to be French. Such also was the message of the French President Nicolas Sarkozy who, despite voices of ingrained resistance across France, promised to promote anti-racism in the workplace, in education and in industry, with help from Yazid Sabeg, an Algerian-born Frenchman with responsibility for the diversity and equal opportunity government portfolio.("The Engineer of Diversity", Tiberge, The Brussels Journal, 26 January 2009)
According to le CRAN, Sarkozy's good intentions with regard to equality and diversity had not made much progress: positive and lasting change needed legislation, education and commitment to multiculturalism. Certainly, racial equality in the TV and film industry is still well overdue; the Director of le CRAN, Patrick Lozès, called on Depardieu to use the film to highlight the issue and to support black and ethnic actors in their fight to gain more recognition and exposure. Depardieu dismissed the issue as neither interesting nor important.
With the wider issues in mind, Lozès wanted to see more government support in strengthening anti-racist legislation and to see Sarkozy revisiting his election promises with regard to multiculturalism.
As Bonnie Greer said in her article "The Great Black Hope" in The Guardian dated 17 May 2006, in the 21st century she ".... expected to see black actors - particularly women - regularly appearing in leading roles. Black directors, costume and scenic designers, producers and an artistic director or two should all now be part of the level playing field that should be a characteristic of this, the best theatre in the world." She was talking about Britain, but the challenge continues to face France too. Time will tell if the film will be the thing to catch the conscience of the French film industry.
Sources:
- lecran.org
- institutmontaigne.org
- “Gerard Depardieu sparks racism row over role as mixed-race Dumas", Charles Bremner, The Times, 15 February 2010
- “Dumas movie starts row over black Depardieu”, Charles Bremner, The Times, 15 February 2010
- "The Engineer of Diversity", Tiberge, The Brussels Journal, 26 January 2009
- "The Great Black Hope", Bonnie Greer, The Guardian, 17 May 2006
- "The life and resurrection of Alexandre Dumas", Victoria Foote-Greenwell, The Smithsonian, 1 July 1996
Suzanne Bosworth - Suzanne Bosworth BA (Hons) - a professional writer published in magazines, journals and websites, specialising in arts, history and ...
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