Discussing 'Hitch'

You might also argue that at least two recent movies have featured interracial couples, and that perhaps they even kissed. Well, I can think of two recent movies - Save the Last Dance, 2001, with Julia Stiles (White) and Sean Patrick Thomas(African-American) and the current remake of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner with Ashton Kucher (White) and Zoe Saldane (Dominican of discernible African descent). The key difference with these movies is that the interracial relationship is the plot! Without it, there would be no movie. So, while Hollywood may dare to portray the interracial couple as an oddity, a case study, something to laugh at, or an object for voyeurism, it has yet to develop a comfort level with the idea of casting in an interracial couple in a movie that just isn't about their interracial status!

In summarizing her feelings about Hollywood's casting decision on "Hitch," Renee Graham, writer for Boston Globe, said, "Still, when the filmmakers ruled against casting a white or black actress opposite Smith, they made a far more insidious statement about their views on 21st-century America. For all its ballyhooed liberalism, Hollywood is just as guilty of the racial myopia it smugly believes only afflicts its audience." And I would have to say I agree.



sources: Ambient Latinidad: Easy Lover: Calculating the Upside of Eva Mendes, Omayra Zaragoza Cruz, popmatters.com; Indo-Asian News Service; Boston Globe March 8, 2005