Idris Elba is a British actor who has appeared in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London where he found his passion for acting. Elba was born and raise in Canning Town to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother. After receiving his training in theater he starred Many supporting roles on British television such as The Bill, Degrees of Error, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, and The Governor. However he earned his big break when he joined the cast of the soap opera Family Affairs and opening the doors for him. He then went on to major American TV shows such as Dangerfield and starring major American movies such as Obssesion and This Christmas. Ong would argue Elba is a great example of flexible citizenship because he is a privilledged because he was able to move to a new country and use his acting skills to put him in prominent status so he could avoid responsibilities more permannet residents would have to follow. Do you believe Elba is able to Co-exist in the states and avoid the responsibilties of a more permanet resident? Is his cultural background negotiable because of his status and his ability to blend with other Americans? Does his job make his citizenship flexible?
I think that Idris Elba is a good example of what citizenship means today. In "Flexible Citizenship: The Cultural Logics of Transnationality" Ong cites Benedict Anderson's cliam that passports are no longer attestations to citizenship, nor to loyalty to the country necessarily. They are mostly claims to participate in the labor markets. I think that Idris Elba is accpeted among Americans because his job entitles him to be American (when he is working on media in the United States). Elba was a star of and one of my favorite characters on the greatest show of all time, The Wire. I had no idea that he was British when first watching the show because he is so talented that he was able to accurately portray his character, Stringer Bell, who was an ambitious underboss in a powerful Baltimore drug organization. The character Stringer Bell was so loved that he is referenced on many occasions by American rappers. I would say that to my answer to your last question would be yes, his job as an actor gives him this flexible citizenship, because he exists in the media as himself just as much as the characters he plays.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Idris Elba is not so much avoiding the responsibilities of permanent residence, but he is simply straddling the fence if that's what he's doing at all. He's working and sometimes the work that you do, especially as an actor, can create spheres of mystery regarding your citizenship, the roles you play and the goals that you have as a result of what you do.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly, some of these same questions have been posed and were discussed amongst me and my friends this weekend regarding Cameron Diaz and Jessica Alba's citizenship and ethnicity.
Elba's cultural background is not in question because that will always be who he is, but questions of authenticity could be raised regarding his roles of playing African-American men, while being fully African (Ghanaian and Sierra Leon).
I think that daily many people's employment makes their cultural citizenship negotiable simply from the change and inflection in dialect when speaking to co-workers versus friends and family. These things are not solely linked to cultural standing and the authenticity of ethnicity, but also speech and general relationships.
I do believe that many individuals are able to co-exist in the states and their native lands. I do not think that they are exempt from the responsibilities that permanent residence have however I do believe that they are not accepted by some of the social responsibilities of this nation because they have the ability of disconnecting to the USA due to the fact that they have another native land to identify with. I believe that he along with many other celebrities has their own distinctive culture when it comes to their work. In this case, I agree Tichina’s & Matthew’s pots that his job gives him citizenship flexibility.
ReplyDeleteWhen talking about Idris Elba, I do think that he fits the definition of having a flexible citizenship. I agree very much with Matthew in the fact that the reason why he is able to get by so easily as a citizen to the United States without questions of his authenticity is because of his job and because of how well he is at it.
ReplyDeleteThis is very well the case because I has NO idea that Elba was not a citizen of the United States nor did I know he was not born and raised in this country. If he were to play a certain part of an African American in the ghetto I wouldn't question his authenticity because I never knew of his history in the first place.
I'm glad Matthew brought up The Wire. I had actually been wondering what people thought of the representation of the different aspects of life in Baltimore. The show represents several classes of people in Baltimore, and as i think it was written by white guys, I was wondering if their identity was betrayed in any instances by the gaze of the camera. I suppose this goes back to our first week's readings dealing with representation.
ReplyDeleteI did not now he was not American, I remember him from 28 weeks later playing an American Army official in England and from the Office. Weird. I wonder what he pulls from in order to play roles as African American since he's African-English and his parents are from Sierra Leon and Ghana. I would also be interested to see how he negotiates all of his identities differently when he's in different nations and if he sees himself as a member of a larger diasporic acting community that can represent different people of different nations.
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ReplyDeleteIdris Elba is an example of flexible citizenship. Ong expressed that "...willingness to accommodate self-censorship reflects the displaced person's eagerness to hedge bets, even to the extent of risking property and life under political conditions anywhere in the world." Elba adjust his British life into the Americanized norms. He is therefore accepted in the society. I think he do take responsibility to American duties because it will allow him to get respect. It might be hard, but people will respect him because he's from British and he is a profound actor.
ReplyDeleteI think Elba is a great example of "flexible Citizenship" and it's something that many people don't experience, so you are privileged when you do. I do agree with Kortney that even though he has the leisure to co-exist in two places that really doesn't give him the right to abandon his responsibilities as a citizen. he should be able to do both.
ReplyDeleteI think Idris is I great example of flexible citizenship. But I don't think he is avoiding anything. I think he is only easily more accepted because he black. I feel that regardless where ever you come from. Accent or no accent. A person from the African decedent is considered black in America. There for I feel as if they are less to face scrutiny rather or not if they fit the mold to be American. I feel that people will identify him as black and treat him as a black person would be treated. Regardless if he is from a different country, he is black, therefor it grants him his citizenship. Is this this right, no. But i feel that is what is actually happening.
ReplyDeleteSince he is an actor, it is easier for him to display this cultural citizenship because it s his job to play different characters and different personalities. I do agree with the post above that any people of African descent is going to be accepted by the Black community regardless of what country someone is born in. I do not think he is avoiding any responsibilities, but he i just reaping the benefits of his job and his ethnicity, for he can be African-English at home and still be seen as an African-American in shows like The Wire and Obsessed
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