The Inclusion of International Actors

Throughout its history America has been a place where people from any country could come and try to find a better life. The Statue of Liberty is engraved with this saying, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" This quote is what America was based on when it was founded. It’s a place where people could go to find refuge from their countries or just to search for a better life. While America no longer accepts every single person who wants to make a home here, it is still considered the melting pot country. This kind of national globalization can be seen in the films of Hollywood. It used to be that in all American films the main character of the movie would be the stereotypical white American, but all of that is changing. More recently, American cinema has begun to include a lot of international actors in its movies. Not only do these movies show protagonists that aren’t the stereotypical American but they also portray America for what it really is, a melting pot. A place where cultures from all over the world can exist and mix in one place, and that one place is America. Two recent movies that provide a great example of this are the films Harold and Kumar and Romeo Must Die.

The first film is the 2004 film Harold and Kumar by Danny Leiner. The film Harold and Kumar is about two friends, one of whom is Korean and another who is Indian, that decide to go in search of a White Castle restaurant because they are hungry. This comedy contains a majority of international actors even though it was clearly an American film. Wesley Morris of the Boston globe writes, “Harold and Kumar are the first Asian-Americans to carry a widely marketed US movie”. This shows that more and more, globalization is taking place in American cinema. Harold and Kumar is a stoner comedy about these two friends because of the fact that they are completely high throughout most of the movie. Despite the complete lack of a plot in this movie it was positively received by critics and it garnered a seventy three percent on the Rotten Tomatoes website which compiles different critics from around the country and gives an average score. Kal Penn is the Indian actor in this movie and throughout the movie he talks about how he loves America, mostly because of the weed, women, and fast food. His father is the classic immigrant who only wants the best for his son and is constantly disappointed by the fact that his son doesn’t seem to care about the future. Kumar (Kal Penn) uses this to his advantage by mooching off of his dad every chance that he gets. This is the classic American portrayal of the “black sheep” of the family that just mooches off of everybody else.

Along with the inclusion of international actors in a classic American comedy, Harold and Kumar also portrays America itself as a melting pot of cultures where anyone can find a place. Throughout their journey to white castle groups or individuals from different cultures constantly confront them. Peter Relic from the Rolling Stone wrote that Harold and Kumar is, “A multilayered goof on ethnic stereotypes” and Chris Vognar from the Dallas Morning News writes that, “Harold and Kumar is a rather crafty satire of racial stereotypes”. Both of these writers point out the fact that while the movie is a comedy it is also an exploration of different cultures in America. First they have to deal with an Asian club that wants Harold and Kumar to come party with them. Harold and Kumar on the other hand do not want to go and so they must escape from the techno party that is about to take place. After that incident they must stop by the hospital where they are confronted by Kumar’s Indian father and brother who are angry that Kumar failed to get into medical school. Shortly thereafter they get arrested by a racist white cop who doesn’t like foreign people and so throws them in jail. When they get to jail they meet an African-American professor who was arrested for no reason at all except that he is black. All three of these run-ins are classic Americans stereotypes but they also show how America has become a melting pot for different cultures. No matter where in America there are always plenty of people who are from different cultures. This movie shows that through the series of events that Harold and Kumar go through and while the movie is a comedy, it’s only funny because the audience can identify with the movie because the things it shows are true, if exaggerated and slightly ridiculous.

Romeo Must Die is another movie that has a lot of international actors. The premise of Romeo Must Die is that there are two competing gangs that are fighting for control of a section of waterfront property in Oakland, California. One of the gangs is a family run Chinese Triad and the other is an African-American gang. The main character of this movie is Jet Li who is also a Chinese citizen. Dave Larsen of the AJC writes, “[Li’s] command of the English language is superior to that of fellow Hong Kong expatriates Chow Yun-Fat and Jackie Chan”. This makes it so that even though he is from another country it is easy for American viewer to watch him. Romeo Must Die is a movie that centers on international actors and the whole premise of the movie is also based upon the fact that Jet Li is from China, so he has to assimilate to American culture while trying to figure out who killed his brother. This movie is a great example of how America has been moving towards globalizing its films and attempting to include more international actors in its films. Jet Li is portrayed as someone who doesn’t really know how America works; because of this he sometimes makes cultural mistakes that get him into trouble. Fortunately for him he is a master of martial arts and so he is able to get out of almost any situation. Several of the other actors who portray members of the triad are also international actors. This helps to show that the use of international actors is growing in American cinema and that there is no longer a stigma against using actors from other countries. It used to be that Hollywood would only allow certain people to be in its movies and those people had to be American, but that day is come and gone. All that matters to audiences now is whether or not the movie is good, not if the actors are American or from some other country.

Romeo Must Die also portrays America as the melting pot that it has become. The movie focuses on a city that is a huge mix of cultures. The section of the city owned by the triads is almost completely Chinese with a mix of other people as well. There is also the African-American section of the city that has a very different population. The movie shows the interaction between these two cultures, and because of the gang warfare it shows an exaggerated version of how cultures can sometimes conflict with others and how not everyone gets along. Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly writes, “Romeo's a canny mix of hip-hop culture … and Hong Kong attitude”. This clash of cultures is partly what makes the movie so interesting to watch. There is also the arrival of the rich and seedy businessman, Roth, who is an Italian-American that doesn’t care much for morals and is more concerned with getting what he wants. Roth is the classic businessman who doesn’t really care about what he does, he also represents yet another culture that is portrayed in this movie. Over the course of the movie the audience is shown a variety of cultures that exist within America. There are the African Americans, the Chinese Americans, the Italian Americans, the Hispanic Americans, and the European Americans but all of them are Americans. All of these cultures come together in the waterfront area of Oakland, California just trying to survive. It doesn’t matter who a person is, the vast majority of people’s ancestors are from another country, so the number of cultures in America is astounding. Romeo Must Die represents a microcosm of America as a whole in this way.

Both Romeo Must Die and Harold and Kumar are American movies to the core. Harold and Kumar is a stoner comedy that is designed to make people laugh while Romeo Must Die is an action/drama that makes a person think. In both of these films the two main protagonists are from different cultures yet they look past their differences to become friends. These two movies are great example of the inclusion of international actors into American films because of this fact. Not only are there international actors, but they are the main characters of these two movies. These movies also do a great job of representing America how it really is, not necessarily the drugs or gang related stuff but the fact that America is not just one group of people who are all alike. America is a country full of different kinds of people who like different kinds of things but in the end the one thing that holds them all together is that they are American. No longer are all the American movies made with the stereotypical white American as a lead role and every one else as a supporting cast. Now, movies are made in which any actor can star as the lead no matter what culture or country they are from.

Bibliography
1. Relic, Peter. "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle". Rolling Stone. 4/19/09 .
2. Vognar, Chris. "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle". The Dallas Morning News. 4/19/09 .
3. Larsen, Dave. "Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou, Romeo? ". AJC. 4/19/09 .
4. Burr, Ty. "Romeo Must Die". Entertainment Weekly. 4/19/09 .
5. Morris, Wesley. "'Harold & Kumar' aims low, but achieves a high". Boston Globe. 4/19/09 .