Why Bradley Cooper’s ‘Bernstein Nose’ Is Causing So Much...

[imagesource:wikicommons]

Actor Bradley Cooper has been on the receiving end of criticism for his prosthetic nose in the biopic of West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein, with suggestions that it plays up to offensive Jewish stereotypes.

It’s not uncommon for actors to transform themselves into the protagonists they are playing, whether it involves changing their body, hair colour, or even using prosthetics to get into their skin.

The first trailer for Maestro released earlier this week shows Cooper wearing make-up to make his nose look bigger, which some have now found offensive. It has to be noted however that Bernstein’s family members defended Cooper in a statement, saying they were “perfectly fine” with the Oscar-nominated actor’s portrayal and that it “breaks our heart to see people… misunderstanding his efforts”.

But as we all know, offense-by-proxy has become an international sport these days, so the controversy rages on.

Cooper himself is not Jewish, which has drawn criticism and reignited a debate about something that has plagued Hollywood for many years: whether or not characters from minority groups should only be played by actors who share the same attributes.

It’s not yet known how heavily Bernstein’s Jewish heritage will be featured in Maestro, and critics have not even reviewed the film yet as it is set to premiere in Venice next month, with a release on Netflix only in December.

[image:wikicommons&twitter/bbc]

The controversy around ‘casting in your lane’ has been a hot topic in the new ‘woke Hollywood’. In 2018, Scarlett Johansson backed out of playing a transgender man in Rub & Tug. Her withdrawal came a year after she starred in the Hollywood version of the anime film Ghost In The Shell, in which she was criticised for playing a Japanese character.

Tom Hanks, who played a gay man dying of Aids in the 1993 film Philadelphia, said last year that, as a straight man, he could not play such a character today, “and rightly so”. Eddie Redmayne also recently reassessed his role in the 2015 film The Danish Girl, saying his decision to play a transgender woman was a “mistake”.

Although these films have all been scrutinised to death, and in many ways are concerning, as Hollywood has a tendency to ‘Americanise’ certain foreign characters, comedian and writer David Baddiel says he doesn’t understand why the same logic about authentic casting doesn’t always appear to apply to films or shows about Jews.

He believes that “Jews remain the only minority where you don’t have to cast the actor in line with the real thing”.

“There will be instant outrage and consequences to the casting of a trans part to anyone but a trans actor,” he says, referencing the response to Rub & Tug.

“I’m pointing out the discrepancy, the fact there is no outrage [about Jewish roles]”.

According to an article in BBC, one of the problems with trying to authentically capture the Jewish experience on screen is it can’t be portrayed in a one-size-fits-all way. Judy Klass, a lecturer of Jewish Studies and English at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, recently said it’s a murky issue as “no one knows exactly what Jews are”.

“Many people who want to completely assimilate would still be considered Jewish by certainly Hitler, but also modern white supremacists. It’s a very murky issue.”

In Klass’s opinion, there is no one face of Judaism – meaning stereotypes like Cooper’s large nose are unwelcome in the minds of some Jews.

British actor Tracy-Ann Oberman, who is Jewish and currently playing Jewish character Shylock in a production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, also addressed the issue on social media recently, conceding that if someone has the skills to play a part, they should.

Oberman asked why Cooper, as the director of the film, did not consider a Jewish actor instead of himself, but challenged his acting to “be so magnificent and truthful that the character of Bernstein shines through what he already looks like”.

“So if an actor is cast in a part but doesn’t look right, there are so many brilliant actors out there. Surely there would be someone more suitable for the part and a prosthetic nose for example doesn’t need to happen?”

Louisa Clein, who is best known for appearing in ITV’s Emmerdale, agrees somewhat with the point made by Oberman. “The worst thing is watching non-Jewish actors playing a stereotype and after working in an entirely Jewish company of actors, the unspoken language of shared experience of being a minority is priceless,” she says.

Whilst this particular debate rages, there are some who used the opportunity to debate the perceived lack of opportunities for Jewish women in the acting world.

The limited number of roles also seem to be centred around ‘off-key’ characters like the irritating Jewish mother Mrs Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory, or a high-maintenance character like Shoshanna Shapiro in Girls, come to mind.

Clein says that “the culture, the heritage, the experiences of being around Jewish women inform so much about that”. But she says when it comes to authentically representing Jewish people – whether that be men or women, “our lived experience hugely benefits us being able to play those parts”.

Regardless of the debate, most comments have revolved around whether there are enough Jewish stories being told in Hollywood. American journalist Mark Harris believes “any argument about the systematic denial of opportunity to Jews in the Hollywood entertainment business is going to stand up very well to scrutiny.”

Harris reiterated the point others have made about Jewish culture being too complicated to stereotype, and that therefore being Jewish does not “hyper qualify us for certain acting assignments”.

With the movie not even released yet, the arguments over representativity will like increase. I am neither Jewish nor do I like West Side Story all that much (I’m more of a Romeo and Juliet kinda guy), but it is becoming rather tedious to have to go through the controversies about race, religion, and gender with every single film.

Should Cooper have found a bona-fide Jew to portray Bernstein? Let’s ask the question again after the film actually comes out and we’ve seen how Bernstein is portrayed. Surely there was more to the man’s life than just his religion.

Check out the trailer for Maestro below:

[source:bbc]

Why Bradley Cooper’s ‘Bernstein Nose’ Is Causing So Much Controversy [Video]

21 Aug 2023 by Heinrich in Celebrities, Entertainment, World

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