Non-issue of the day: Fred Armisen (white; part-Asian) played Barack Obama in a Saturday Night Live sketch.
I think the broader issue (blacks underrepresented on SNL casts) is a good point, but is it seriously wrong to cast a half-white actor to play a half-white role? (Some of the commentary centers on the darkened face makeup (by the way, they should have also put some on Fred's left hand). It's plausible that blackface is a red flag, but are we really so crudely incapable of using common sense that dark makeup is a priori racist?)
In any case, let's think about historical SNL cast members who could(n't) have played Obama. Phil Hartman could pull it off, for example. Tim Meadows would've been tremendous in the role(probably the best hypothetical Obama in my personal SNL viewing history). Chris Rock probably couldn't, and Tracy Morgan definitely couldn't.
Posted by Matt Bruce at February 29, 2008 03:50 PMMy take is that it wouldn't be raised as an issue if Armisen's impression was impressive. As played last week, Obama as a character was really just in the background. Political impersonations have been most memorable on SNL as over-the-top caricatures. Armisen's Obama was not. The test of Armisen will be if he can pull something off when not pitted against Hillary Clinton or (soon) John McCain (who really should be portrayed as crazy, old man).
By the way, has anyone complained that Will Ferrell played Janet Reno instead of a woman or that Amy Poehler does Dennis Kucinich instead of a man?
Posted by: Anthony at March 1, 2008 11:57 AM