2017-09-07

Off a Role: Race and Hollywood

① Ed Skrein was not a household name, but he may yetbecome one by the unusual route of turning down a role.

② The white British actor had been cast in the remakeof "Hellboy", a superhero franchise.

③ But he withdrew this week, having discovered that in the comic book upon which the movie was based, his character was Japanese-American.

④ His stance was rapturously received by critics of "whitewashing"—casting white actors to play roles originally written as non-white.

⑤ This has hit Asian and Asian-American actors especially hard; they are underrepresented in Hollywood's best roles relative to their share of the population—even more so than black actors.

⑥ After Mr Skrein's announcement, Chloe Bennet, an American actress whose father is ethnically Chinese, said booking roles had become a lot easier after changing her name from Chloe Wang.

⑦ Look for casting directors to face increased pressure, and for actors to feel compelled to follow Mr Skrein's lead.

生词好句

off a role: 双关语，本文表示在电影行业中，某件事情被打断了 (转了两个弯: "on a roll", "off a roll" , "off a role"—具体解释听音频)

household name: 家喻户晓的名字

yet: adv. 已经

route /ru:t/: n. 路线

turn down a role: 辞演某个角色

cast: vt. 选角 (文章中有三次用到，请听音频注意收集用法)

remake: n. 重拍

superhero franchise: 超级英雄系列电影

withdraw /wɪðˈdrɔ:/: vi. 撤出；撤回；本文指辞演 (过去式 withdrew /wɪðˈdru:/ )

stance /stans/: n. 姿态；立场

be rapturously /ˈraptʃərəsli/ received: 被 (某人) 兴高采烈地接受

whitewashing: n. 洗白 (指“白花花”的好莱坞现象)

underrepresented /ʌndərɛprɪˈzɛntɪd/: adj. 不受重视的

relative to: 相对于

book roles: 获得角色

feel compelled /kəmˈpɛld/ to: 感到不得不做某事

follow one's lead: 跟随某人的步伐

"Racism is man's gravest threat to
man—the maximum of hatred
for a minimum of reason."

Abraham Joshua Hesche,a Polish-born American Rabbi