Now, now, Raggy. Everyone's allowed the occasional Fox Par for the cou… Sorry, I mean, faux pas, aren't they? ;-)

It's a valid enough question , if not well worded. When we will we see a Chinese playing Martin Luther (even King), an Inuit playing... There surely must be prominent actors & actresses who are or have Native American / First Peoples' heritage (I claim no particular expertise, but having met one or two, my impression is they don't much mind what you call 'em, so long as you don't call 'em that!! Samndman, please note. ;-) )

What's more to the point is what will happen when someone is so cast. What annoys the crap out of me is not a black actress playing Anne Boleyn, it's... First, is this a decent non-liberty taking retelling of historical fact, or just a histrionic piece of "Oh, but this is just entertainment, dahlink!"? Second, if it's decently accurate, is the script actually any good, does it 'feel' right? I've never seen one, but I'm always a bit dubious about the notion of e.g. Bill, again, being "modernised" in scenery or language. Third, do I believe that characterisation? I'd rather watch Madame Black Actress play Anne Boleyn (or Good Queen Bess or whoever) convincingly, than watch Madame White Actress do it badly.

Which is what I'm getting at with the term "window-dressing". What does annoy the crap out of me, though, is hypocrisy, If You (the impersonal You!) wants to insist that a black actress can play Anne Boleyn, I won't accept any squawking about Chinese (or Inuit or White or Purple with Green Spots) playing beloved black icons. Etcetera.

Either you fight for equality on all sides, wherever something 'wrong' is brought to your attention, or you're just another bigot. Ismist* or anti-Ismist, you're just another bigot...

* For those of you who are curious (or downright peculiar ;-) ), yes Ism is a standalone word, not merely a suffix. It's been used as such since the mid-17thC. And another explanation for "blacking up" that I've run across is not coal miners, but soot. I know not why, but it used to be considered lucky to have a chimney sweep at a wedding (I don't whether he was 'lucky' at other functions!). No doubt the sweep would make sure he was liberally covered with soot to suit! ;-)