HBO’s upcoming TV series based on the hit novel The Vanishing Half is one of the rare situations in which the race and appearance of the actors are nonnegotiable. The 2020 book, written by author Brit Bennett, dives into social concepts based on real history, exploring how ideas of race and “passing” affect Black Americans today. This is reflected in The Vanishing Half‘s characters, so if HBO were to get the casting wrong, it would completely negate the point of Bennett’s impactful story.
The Vanishing Half book follows Desiree and Estelle “Stella” Vignes, Black identical twins who are raised in a 1950s Louisiana town that prides itself on having light-skinned citizens. Though still considered lower-class compared to white Americans, this Black community regards itself as being above those with darker skin. Despite being twins, this impacts Desiree and Stella in unique ways—when they “escape” their small town, Desiree continues to live as a Black woman, while Stella finds that she can pass as white and, in doing so, elevate her social class.
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The Vanishing Half Is Based On Real History
The Vanishing Half‘s story and characters are fictional, but it explores the experience of countless Black Americans, especially those who grew up in the South during the Jim Crow era. When segregation dictated who a person could be and what opportunities were available to them, Black citizens with light skin could sometimes “pass” as white. However, as discussed in the book ‘A Chosen Exile’: Black People Passing In White America, this meant a profound loss of self-identity and community. Even today, when segregation isn’t a factor of law, the pressures to pass are prominent.
By following the lives of identical twin sisters, one who continues to live in Black communities and the other who leaves her loved ones behind to pass as white, The Vanishing Half dives head-first into these concepts. The fact that two people who look exactly the same can be perceived so differently by the world reveals the paper-thin boundaries that exist between race, social class, and personal identity. Of course, for these concepts to come across the same way in HBO’s Vanishing Half TV show, casting must be handled with exceptional care.
Why It’s Better For The Vanishing Half TV Adaptation To Get The Casting Right
The Vanishing Half follows Desiree and Estelle from childhood to middle age, exploring how different their lives look from one another because of how they choose to identify. This will present quite a challenge for HBO since the TV series will need to cast various actors who reflect Desiree’s and Stella’s appearances at different stages of their lives. Because these characters are meant to have light enough skin to pass as white, the casting director may be tempted to choose white actors. However, this would be entirely counterintuitive to The Vanishing Half‘s themes.
It’s not necessarily imperative that The Vanishing Half cast twins—the same actor of each age group could play both Desiree and Estelle—but Black actors are nonnegotiable in this case. Not only would this mean an accurate representation of a sensitive topic, but it also would provide audiences with a visual example of the concepts Bennett’s novel explores. The Vanishing Half must cast Black actors who can pass as white, thus creating the contrast between the lives led by Desiree and Estelle. Without this, the story’s impact would be cheapened, and the themes would be entirely lost.
