There are legal black Italian citizens, born and raised in Italy and recognized by the Italian government, but somehow they're not Italian because ...? I don't know - maybe you could let the Italian government know so they can kick them out.
black italian citizens may be italian citizens but they are not of italian heritage. citizenship does not make a race. as to whether they belong there or not is not pertinent to this conversation.
Serious question: If you're going to claim color and lore is everything, should blue fairies only be played by blue people? What race and heritage are blue people, anyway? Just wondering.
the 'blue' in the blue fairy had to do with the blue hair color, and like i explain below, the fairies have white features: straight hair, straight nose, etc.)
In case you've forgotten, fairy tale and mythological creatures do not actually exist in real life. They have no real race and therefore do not have to be played by people of a particular color.
disagree 100%. elementals do exist. not everyone can see them but when they are seen, theyre fair skinned and have white features.
american indians have known about little people (dwarfs) for thousands of years (the indians in north carolina and in north dakota). go check out the diary of lewis and clark-- in 1804, they meet with two different tribes near the mississippi that describe little people that live in the ground. miniature skeletons were also found in a more recent dig in north carolina. the list goes on (and this is a separate discussion).
in any event, throughout all of antiquity we see white/fair skinned elementals. they are a part of white european tradition.
Yes, I'm very happy to see all races of actors given equal opportunities [based on merit] to play fictitious roles rather than being locked out just because of their skin color. There is no way to compare fairy tales to historical dramas. I have to reject the 'whites only' policy you are presenting for works of fiction.
i am all for merit-based advancement. but if the person does not look the part, he/she should be rejected from that role (or at least caked with makeup so that he is the right color, black, white, or asian). physical appearance is essential for authenticity. otherwise, its just a farce.
in university, there was a very popular class called 'the african storyteller'. like kerrichinchilla said, many of those stories (and theres plenty) would be a perfect fit for black actors. and i wouldnt want to see whites in those roles, either-- again, it would ruin the authenticity. in a way, those traditional african stories are sacred to their culture-- whites (or asians) have no business playing a part in those stories. to do so would be insulting.
only here in the west would we even have a discussion about this. there is a series called
kingdom based out of south korea. the koreans would be straight forward: a black actor approaching the casting director for a part would be laughed out of the room because of how silly it would be.