OSCARS '75: The Man Who Would Be King

Foiled again by racism!

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CONTENT WARNING: Racism, colonialism, colonial attitudes, imperialism, depictions of brownface.

This is now the second time, in an Oscars series, in which an otherwise pretty fun movie was spoiled by massive, massive racism. Like, our two stars perform in brownface as Afghani villagers for a good chunk of the movie, and it’s just treated as a plot point. It’s even worse because Sean Connery has a history of doing this on screen, and also, just, why? Because behind the layers of awful colonial racism (yes, we’re talking about you, Rudyard Kipling, you garbage pile), there’s a deeper story about hubris, privilege, and whiteness to be told here. But John Huston, who is known for telling stories about tragic hubris, is so attached to his source material that he’s missing the forest for the trees. Connery and Michael Caine shine in this movie, but it’s ultimately hampered by its own rigid storytelling and unwillingness to sever ties with the concepts of imperial honor that drag the movie down. Sign the contract and ride out to Kafiristan as we continue our Oscars ‘75 series with The Man Who Would Be King.

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Intro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from “The Man Who Would Be King,” composed and conducted by Maurice Jarre and performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Copyright 1975 Capitol Records, Inc.

Clips taken from the film The Man Who Would Be King are © 1975, renewed 2003 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpt taken from “Wouldn’t it Be Nice,” written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, and performed by The Beach Boys. Ⓟ© 1966, 2016 Capitol Records, LLC.