Post by Prime etc. on Jun 30, 2019 21:51:00 GMT
But even in 1950, 1 in 10 Americans was black. And while the numbers of Native Americans, Asians, and others who were not white accounted for only a small share of the total population, there were still many thousands of them in absolute numbers in the country.
But it gets back to who the audience for the film is. Who says a film must represent all things at all times? That would only be a flaw if they filmmakers prided themselves on making films for the entire world--which I think is an impossible task. You cannot make a coherent movie story that registers equally with all audiences because everyone is different.
Ironically, I think Pal was seeking to be multicultural for the era either by his own desire or forced on him by the studio. Dr Lao is an example-since the foreigner is presented as a benevolent wise character and surrogate father to the orphan kid. That's only 10 years or so after WWC.
Realistically, how would black or asian or Cherokee characters be inserted into the story in a way that seems plausible for 1951?