Thief Of Bagdad Analysis - 1475 Words

The Thief of Bagdad was directed by non AAPI filmmakers Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell and Tim Whelan. Given this information, I can see how someone as a director would want to glamorize a culture in order to make it more visually appealing to audiences despite it being culturally inaccurate. At the time, Asians were still very much underrepresented in film and many roles would be lost to Caucasian actors so as to resonate with American audiences. I think it is fair to argue that had this film been handled by someone who shared the culture, certain directions would have been taken so as to give the film a more accurate portrayal. Directions such as casting more ethnically fit actors or more accurate historic costuming. Despite†¦show more content†¦Despite his garnered success as a leading actor, many of his roles subjected him to infantilization, race-bending, and exoticism. Due to the lack of actors of color in Hollywood at the time, Sabu would be often be typecast into the exotic and feral Jungle boy role. In the Thief of Bagdad we see Sabu show off his acting chops as a leading actor representing the South Asian community, despite him playing an Arab. The Thief of Bagdad has its flaws with regard to race-bending, however at its release the scenery and acting were heavily praised by audiences and critics. The idea of trying to exoticize a culture is often played in Hollywood in order to add some level of aesthetic. In Sabu’s case, I would like to argue that that is probably what made him so popular early in his career. The actor starred in many early British productions when India was still a British Colony. Much of India’s goods such as spices and silks were controlled for the sake of British Imperialism. Sabu himself was exoticized to audiences for his ethnic background. Many audiences in that period had little notion of what was an accurate representation of a South Asian person. The Thief of Bagdad plays into this trope as well. Sabu stars as a leading character, yet at the same time it almost feels as if he were cast in this role due to his exotic background. The film PiccadillyShow MoreRelatedThe Studio System Essay14396 Words   |  58 Pagesunusual studio because it was founded by artists in reaction to the studio system. Menzies did his most important set design during the silent era. Some excellent examples of his work during this period are: Rosita (1923), The Thief of Bagdad (1924), Cobra (1925), Son of the Sheik (1926), and Beloved Rogue (1927). Menzies won the first Academy Award for set design in 1927 for The Dove. In the 1930s Menzies divided his responsibilities between director/co-director