i try not to be toooooo PC. But i cant help notice how Mr Hydes character seems to take on several black features, that were typical of the stereotype characters created in that era... especially the hair and the skin tone. It almost felt like watching one of those films where white people were made up to play black people to avoid using black performers.
I dunno... just an observation.
From what I've read, the dichotomy that they were actually going for was modern man versus Neanderthal.
Jekyll was the "more evolved", reasoning, intellectual side and appeared as modern man.
Hyde was all primal urges without any intellectual or moral breaks or filters. Since they saw Hyde as being figuratively "less evolved", the film makers expressed that visually by having Hyde appear literally, physically "less evolved". Therefore the makeup was designed to evoke images of Cro Magnon or Neanderthal man. Note the similarities to the current "cave man" characters used in TV ads. Hyde and those "cave men" are more similar to each other than either is to modern people descended from sub-Saharan Africans.
>> From what I've read, the dichotomy that they were actually going for was modern man versus Neanderthal.
Jekyll was the "more evolved", reasoning, intellectual side and appeared as modern man.
Hyde was all primal urges without any intellectual or moral breaks or filtered. Since they saw Hyde as being figuratively "less evolved", the film makers expressed that visually by having Hyde appear literally, physically "less evolved". Therefore teh makeup was designed to evoke images of Cro Magnon or Neanderthal man. Note the similarities to the current "cave man" characters used in TV ads. Hyde and those "cave men" are more similar to each other than either is to modern people descended from sub-Saharan Africans.
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Well then, what we need to do is rewrite history so that extremely weak and sensitive people don't get "offended". I mean, it's just the right thing to do.
"Affirmative action is a stain on the American soul." - Charlton Heston
Yes, he totally looks Neanderthal to me.
'You may very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment'
FYI a cro magnon is a modern man.
shareThat's interesting...the same thought crossed my mind. (And for the record, I'm not black.) Spouse thought they were trying to make him more caveman like (or as they viewed primitive man). But the wide nose, lips and skin tone seemed to fit racist stereotypes. Then again, he had the caveman type brow. I don't know if it was a conscious thing, unconscious or if we're just seeing things that aren't there.
Interesting that someone else had the same thought though. Regardless, Fredric March did an excellent portrayal of a man who releases the worst in himself rather than the best. Much better than I thought it would be.
Look at drawings of "cave men", especially older ones that would have been available at the time.
*ALL* of the features fit the "cave man" motif. The nose is absolutely consistent with the cave man theme. The lips are a side effect of the teeth which were designed to give the whole mouth the appearance of protruding outward, like "cave man" skulls indicated and like you still see in a number of the other great apes.
*IF* there is any racism involved anywhwere, it was on the part of the anthropologists doing the renderings of what neanderthal or cro magnon men would have looked like (and was probably not conscious). Once the film makers made the thematic choice to make Hyde appear physically de-evolved back to a "cave man", the rest of the design process was based on the best available anthropology at the time.
Black Africans have weak brows like east asians actually. Caucasians, Polynesians and Australoids otoh have stronger brow ridges, but amongst the 3, you'll find the strongest brows amongst Northern Caucasians, papuans and Australian aborigines, negritos who are australoids for example have weak brows. So things you associate to blacks as primitive features are actually not common in them but more common in other ethnic groups like Caucasians.
shareI think you're right......but indirectly.
The makeup department obviously wanted to make Hyde look like Jekyll had "devolved" into a Neanderthal man.
But this is also how people of the time saw all non-white races, not as evolved as whites.
But did Paramount intentionally try to make Hyde look something other than Caucasian? No.
This film was made in the 1930s, WAY before the Civil Rights movement, so I doubt they would let blacks be in movies. How is Hyde black in the least? His skin tone is grayish, which represents a bit of ghoul and monster, and the hair has NOTHING to do with it.
I can't believe how many activists watch movies and say "That's offensive and racist!" It's just plain disgraceful.
Leave the classics ALONE.
crawlfan-1 this may come as a shock to you, but there were black people in movies in the '30s and before. And the fact that you don't seem to know this, now that's offensive.
share[deleted]
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Wait a second. I need a bit of time to get my head around what you said.
It "offends" you that crawlfan-1 didn't know that there were black people in movies in the 30s?
It "offends" you?
That was a joke, right?
???????????????? Black people were in movies from the earliest days, well before the Civil Rights movement. I'm amazed at your statement.
shareWhat a ridiculous statement
share17th century: "She's a witch! Burn her!"
20th century: "She's a communist! Burn her!"
21th century: "She's a racist! Burn her!"
It's just you. Sorry.
shareDude, It was the freaking 30s...
Of course they didn't use a black performer, they wouldn't want their film to look bad. And I'm saying that in the view of a white person in the 30's, not my own view.
And I bet every single person that worked on that film was white and LOOKED DOWN on black people. Know your history, black people weren't really even accepted until the 60s and even then they still weren't even really appreciated at all.
And I know, that Black people were in movies back then, but did they play huge roles? How were their characters treated in films back then?
Before you post, make sure you have the brains first.
Having lived through the 50's, 60's and continuing to live through now, yes racism has always been with us, but many of us have survived, lo, these many years and continued to work in spite of it. "Know my history?" Son, I am living my history.
shareI didn't see anything rascist in Hyde makeup.
He is the very classic image of Neanderthal Man.
I agree racism/pc is the witch hunt of our times.
"Nice girls don't wear Cha Cha heels!"
I thought about the same thing when I saw his picture.
Eminem-I don't give a *beep*, God sent me to piss the world off!
Dude, what a STUPID fu--ing post. Where the fu-- did the OP (an idiot in his own right) say anything about a black performer needing to be used anywhere? Did you even bother to read the post in detail, or did you just look at the "racism" mention and get all hyped up for the opportunity to get on your moral pedestal and "daringly" (or so you've been convinced) sound off against the horrible olden days oppression of evil whitey?
There are few sights more embarrassing than an arrogant Jr. High school lemming trying to be an intellectual authority. Why on this site of all places are they so damned impossible to avoid?? Oh and btw, if you hate the olden days so much, kindly don't watch the movies from this horrible period and stay away from discussions about them, simple as that.
"And I bet every single person that worked on that film was white and LOOKED DOWN on black people"
Hattie McDaniel won an oscar for "Gone with the wind" in 1939! So to say everyone connected to a film made 8 years earlier looked down on black people is a disgrace. If you are right why would they worry about how the film looked?
Black people's portrayal in films in the 1930's probably reflected their position in society at large.
As for your comment about black people not being appreciated even in the 1960's. By then Sidney Poitier had not only played major roles in films but played 3 parts where racism was a major part of the film, "the defiant ones", "in the heat of the night" and "guess who is coming to dinner. He was nominated for an oscar for the first film, made in the 50's!
If you continue to judge 1931 movies with 2007 norms, you'll no doubt find many more examples of things about which to complain. For those of us who find revisionist history disgusting, and a sad commentary on the state of our great nation, we hope you are able to grow and learn.
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Remember When Movies Didn't Have To Be Politically Correct?