7 Cases Of Ridiculous Racism In Film Casting

7. Mickey Rooney €“ Breakfast At Tiffany€™s

Mickey Rooney It€™s actually a really odd one, this. Here we have a film renowned for featuring classy actors €“ including a smouldering Audrey Hepburn €“ engaging in charming romantic comedy fare. Everything€™s full of charm and classiness, but then we have Mickey Rooney playing Holly Golightly€™s Asian neighbour, I.Y Yunioshi in the very definition of sticking out like a sore thumb. It€™s weird because there€™s no real need for him to be in the film at all €“ he€™s literally a big, racist appendix. Yet he remains there, and has has caused headaches ever since. I€™m not going overboard when I say this gave Breakfast At Tiffany€™s a massive downer which it€™s found it hard to shake. Rooney€™s portrayal of an Asian man appeared to channel every negative stereotype under the sun, and he added buck-toothed and stupidity for good measure. It was just bizarre, and always results in a massive editing job when the film is shown in public, especially in multi-cultural events. Plus, this role apparently made Bruce Lee very upset when he watched the film. If you manage to upset a man who murdered about twenty men before breakfast, you know you might have gone too far.
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Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.