As I see it | Hong Kong must move on from using brownface – just look at Bridgerton
- Why do casting directors in ‘Asia’s World City’ insist on darkening a light-skinned actor to portray a person of different race rather than embrace diverse casting?
- Societal norms are changing, and institutions, officials, and industries – especially the entertainment sector – must move with the times instead of seeking to maintain an outdated status quo
As far as being brown-skinned goes, I think my bona fides are pretty well-established.
Like the Bridgerton star Simone Ashley, I am proud of my Jaffna Tamil roots and the generous endowment of melanin that comes along with it.
How offended should I be that it’s 2022 and this is still happening?
Why do casting directors in a metropolitan city like Hong Kong – which prides itself as Asia’s World City – insist on darkening a light-skinned actor to portray a person of different race rather than embrace diverse casting?
Having contemplated these questions, I find that, more than being offended, I feel an acute sense of second-hand embarrassment for those who have sought to suggest there is nothing wrong with the practice of brownface or blackface.
I remember having similar thoughts when in 2019, a similar incident took place in Singapore.
