I went to the Phoenix Casting Call
Registration took place in the lobby of the Phoenix Indian Center. It seemed pretty well organized. They seemed to be directing people very well for minimum confusion. It’s a smallish lobby and when I got there, there were about 100 people crammed into it. The people running the show were calling people in groups by age. I have no idea how many people were already back there auditioning. The atmosphere in the lobby was tense. I don’t know why, but I expected a sort of fangirl SQUEE. Nope, there was very quiet murmur considering the number of people. I didn’t see anyone practicing their lines or anything, unless they were doing it silently. Most people were talking to a buddy quietly. I didn’t feel free to walk around because it was so cramped, and because the mood clearly said, “Don’t bother anyone.” I took what pictures I could around the door where the light was best.
THE BAKER TWINS get Call Back Audition for NEW MOON
Comment: The Baker twins may be just what Twilight's people are looking for. They don't look like typically unglamorous Indians; they're Hollywood sexy and cute. Whether they can act or not is almost beside the point.
For more on the subject, see Quileute Werewolves in Twilight.
Below: "Good thing I didn't have to act like an Indian...!"
7 comments:
It was a little disappointing to see that something so spot-on about the racism of white people was written by non other than...a white person.
Are you an indigenephile or just another white-skinned "Indian" with a blog?
...curious, is all.
Whether or not they can act also matters less because Emily is such a minor character, and likely will appear little in the movies.
The real plum Native-female role is Leah.
I'm a white-skinned non-Indian with a blog, Anonymous. I'm not sure "indigenephile" is a word, but you could say I'm one of those too.
Most of this item was quoted from a blog item by Christa, aka the Snarky Sparrow. Neither her posting nor my comments on it had much to say about racism.
But if you want spot-on statements about racism, keep reading. Newspaper Rock has several of them each week, in my humble opinion.
If they're written by me, a pure WASP, is that a problem? I think it's a good thing that some white people recognize their culture's racist tendencies.
P.S. For more on casting Leah, see 10 Actresses to Play Leah? and Vanessa Hudgens as Quileute Werewolf?!
Maybe I came off as blunt in my original comment (which is mostly because this is the internet and it's hard to gauge people and their intentions through a monitor), but I guess I've just never come across any non-native folks who've taken such an interest in the struggles we face when it comes to representation, the media, et cetera. Sure, I know plenty of non-native people *personally* that "get it", but in my experience, blogs like this (done by a non-Indian) are very few and far between. I guess I just didn't know what to think, and my suspicions arose pretty fast. See also: "hypersensitive"/hostile Indian.
Oh, and by the way, I found this blog through the 'stereotypes' section of Blue Corn. Prior to a few days ago, I had never really bothered to navigate that website (my being overwhelmed by it and all, and getting back on a personal, non-library, non-school, non-community center, etc., etc., computer after several years). I just looked at the the FAQ - mow I know why you write this blog. Confusion cleared, and thank you for answering my question/responding to my comment. I appreciate it.
Re: the FAQ, I just have to comment on one more thing - I never thought I'd see a publisher for comics *about* Indians. (Danielle Moonstar, tragic half-breeds, beefed-up Apache warriors with freakish powers...I am not you. Can you tell all I've ever been exposed to is X-Men/New Mutants?) I'm sure "this is quite a find for me" comments are not unheard of around this site/blog, but I'm kicking myself for not having poked around Blue Corn and finding out about PEACE PARTY sooner...I'm Hopi/Dineh.
KICKING MYSELF.
Hello, this is Christa, AKA The Snarky Sparrow. Thank you, Rob, for linking to my site. I just found out about that by looking at blog stats I don't normally look at.
I was a little distressed to find that anything I might have said may have been construed at racism. I recognize differences between my (white) culture and the Native American culture, so I suppose that's a sort of racism, but I want it to be clear I harbor no grudges and do indeed know something of the struggle. Not only did I take a number of courses at school detailing these struggles, but I've lived in Phoenix for over 10 years. It's kind of hard to miss. Besides, just being female has its own set of struggles, so I am not without empathy.
That being said, I believe I said something in my post about not being sure I'd be allowed to enter the Phoenix Indian Center. Just to clear up any misunderstanding this may have caused, this was not racism on my part, but an ignorance as to whether it was a government building and whether or not I had to be tribal to enter.
Thanks again,
Christa
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