Was going to write a long, lovely post about Bowie and representation but I'm too tired. So for now, I want to just highlight the video I watched today that made me think about media representation.
I remembered watching this video a few months ago when I found out Iman starred as an Egyptian queen in a Michael Jackson video with Eddie Murphy. Instantly I knew I had to watch it.
What struck me the most about this piece is that all the actors were people of colour. I love this decision for several reasons.
For a start, this music video reminds me of a more recent controversy in which people were afraid that Disney's live action Mulan would be "white-washed". It couldn't believe there was even a controversy. Not only is Mulan a Chinese epic, but it also takes place in ancient China. Ancient epics may not have an ethnicity attached to their characters, but settings certainly do. And as such for a story set in ancient China, it would be weird and wrong to cast a Caucasian actor as Mulan.
Similarly, for this music video, it takes clearly takes place in ancient Egypt, which is located in Africa. Greek travellers aside, it's clear that residents and attendants in the Kingdom of Egypt during this time period would all be people of colour. And since it predominately takes place in the palace and local marketplace, the casting choice is correct in excluding ethnicities that don't make sense (Latino, East Asian, Caucasian, etc. are all included here).
Not only that, but it's great that for something as clearly light-hearted as a music video, this choice in correct casting is still taken into account. It's a Michael Jackson music video. Of course it's meant to be a suggestion of true ancient Egypt, a "mere" backdrop for the main narrative of the song. However, this video understands how important it is to get that background right in order to set the tone - even if it's just a fun piece about a previous intimate encounter.
And clearly, there's no lack of talent in any of the cast as they all perform their various roles. Iman is the aloof, beautiful, and cruel seductress of a queen. Eddie Murphy is the foolish, but beloved king. The various subjects are all great back-up dancers to populate the "world" this story resides in.
It also offers an excellent counter-example to the "universal story" argument. Most productions defend their casting of all-white actors as okay because "the story is universal". If that is true, then the story will work regardless of ethnicity - so why is there no Asian actor or Latino actor or another person of colour actor leading the helm of the cast? This music video offers a simple enough concept - a beautiful, aloof woman seduced by the magnetic and charismatic traveller. Any ethnicity will work. However, this production takes it one step further. It recognises that "universal stories", or themes, are still draped in cultural trappings and embellishments (see: Wardrobe of Moral Imagination). And this one takes advantage of the exotic, sensual, and ultimately foreign world of "Ancient Egypt" to tell this story.
I once took a film class which discussed how representing silly or light-hearted representations of foreign cultures on screen was a good way to introduce people to new cultures. I can't help but agree when I think of media like The Cosby Show or My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Both take a foreign (to white American) culture and throw us, the audience, into a world that isn't "serious" (in terms of tone). It's a way to ease an audience in to accepting that other people aren't so different from ourselves (here being represented by white American, or just American/Western). Here, the music video offers a similar appeal. It makes no apology or half-hearted effort to show the fact that the story is solidy "Foreign". But that doesn't make it any less enjoyable, humourous, or relatable to the audience, of which clearly no one is an ancient Egyptian.
Thus, I want to add this music video to my Wardrobe of Moral Imagination as inspiration to myself, as a person of colour film maker, that embracing diversity and other cultures only heightens your art and your message. And you don't have to "give up" financial success. The song was well received by critics and audiences alike, certifing Gold in the US and charting in the top 20 in all major international territories during its release.
Also, Iman is literally the queen. And I love it.
<3
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