Why Is Gerard Depardieu Still Playing Black Characters in France?
Films that deal with ethnic identity or the socially marginalized are an anomaly in France, where the cultural establishment is notoriously allergic to new blood of any kind. More common is a film like L’Autre Dumas, which starred blond and pale-skinned actor Gérard Depardieu as the mixed-race author Alexandre Dumas. Depardieu donned a curly wig and a light tan to play Dumas, the grandson of a Haitian slave who was mocked by contemporaries for his African features and slight Creole accent. Jacques Martial, one of the leading advocates in France for the promotion of ethnic diversity, is outraged by decisions like these. “France is a century behind and still believes that the universal is white. They haven’t understood that the universal is diverse and inclusive of every color and every identity that makes up the reality of human existence,” Martial told TakePart. Martial has worked as both an actor and a director in cinema, television and theatre. Aside from appearing onscreen in films
