Iannucci and Branagh’s Adaptations of David Copperfield and Much Ado about Nothing: The Problematic of Race-Bending

Abstract

This paper embraces a counter-argument approach to the contemporary theatrical trend of race-bending mostly through color-blinding. Two cases are examined: Armando Iannucci’s film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel David Copperfield under the new title The Personal History of David Copperfield, and Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing under the same title. Color-blind casting is a non-traditional theatrical practice that encapsulates undermining the actors’ ethnicities when playing a certain character, cancelling the typical alliance of ethnicity between character and actor. The paper utilizes Stuart Hall’s theorizations on cultural identity in addition to August Wilson’s objections to the method, questioning the compatibility of the race-bending strategy with its stated purposes: embracing equality and multiculturalism. It seeks to demonstrate that, on the contrary, this strategy neither enhances cultural diversity nor advances equality, as it both demolishes historical authenticity and causes distraction in the construction of the cultural identity of people of color. Keywords: Race-bending; color-blinding; Stuart Hall; The Personal History of David Copperfield; Branagh’s film Much Ado about Nothing.