Is Antonio Banderas an "actor of color"?
Antonio Banderas has been nominated for an Oscar for this first time in his career for his role in Pedro Almadovar's new film Pain and Glory. Some US media outlets described him as an "actor of color" after the nomination. The press takes stock of the nomination.
Bring some colour into black-and-white thinking
The term "colour" is very relative, Público reminds readers tongue in cheek:
“Antonio certainly has more 'colour' than Viggo Mortensen, but less than Morgan Freeman. And in any case the whole thing is laughable because of course everyone has a colour, namely his or her own colour. The most relevant aspect of this anecdote is that it reminds us of the relativity of things. We are white or black depending on who we compare ourselves to. No matter how white we may imagine ourselves to be, there will always be those who are whiter than us. For this practical and selfish reason alone - and also because we never know what colour our grandchildren will be or where they will be born - we should be careful where we set up our border fences and what prejudices we have.”
Belated nomination proof of discrimination
Die Presse sees this as further evidence of latent racism and sexism in Hollywood:
“After all, it's no coincidence that women are much less likely to get leading roles in high-budget films than men, and that blacks, Mexicans and Asians are more likely than average to play clichéd characters such as drug dealers or martial artists, which in most cases prevents them from developing their potential. ... Although he has played leading roles in Hollywood productions for 25 years, the first film for which he has received an Oscar nomination comes from Europe.”