Mascots: what’s in a name?

by Robert Archerd, February 25, 2022

In my February 18 article, a reader disagreed with my premise that it was okay for Laurence Olivier to portray Othello since he’s a Shakespearean actor and Othello is a Shakespeare play. She disagreed because, and I’m paraphrasing, people of color have historically been too often denied access to such roles.

She’s right. And that’s not just an opinion, it’s verifiable. So my bad. My feeble excuse is Medium informed me on February 15 that I had until March 2 to have at least 100 followers or my account would get the boot! Whoa! Out of left field, my two-week notice!

At the time I was informed, I had 37 followers (up close to 50 now), and I had never concerned myself with that number, nor necessarily with their approval ratings. That is, I never solicited compliments or clicks on the hand-claps icon. My only concern was that people would read, and hopefully digest, what I had to say. That’s all!

So I published that last article, regarding who should be allowed to perform the role of Othello, feeling under the gun to get it posted right away. Perhaps with more time to reflect, I’d have considered her point and decided differently.

So, although I agree with her criticism, I stick with my original premise that a Shakespearean actor has every right to do any Shakespearean role — but I was thinking of that as a rule of thumb, absent any context.

And context is everything.