Several of the cast recently went to Paris for the premiere of True Blood Season 2. This group included Rutina Wesley. While there, she was interviewed by Tony Cotte. We have translated that interview below:
Tony Cotte: In the series of novels Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries, in which the series True Blood is adapted, Tara appears in the second book.
Rutina Wesley: I was glad my character is different from that of the books, it allowed me to be present from the first season and have a little more importance. I wanted to create my own way with Tara and so I decided not to read the other volumes of the collection. The screenwriters have taken some elements of Tara from the books, but for the most part, Alan Ball (creator of True Blood) gave me my own plot.
Tony Cotte: You seem to be a happy person. Tara is a young woman, very tough, even in friendly relations, how are you like your character?
Rutina Wesley: I am hard! (laughs) Like my character, I look severe, especially because of my muscular arms, but I’m much sweeter when you know me. To embody it, I had to play this girl who never had a childhood and had to grow up very fast. With such a past, Tara became someone austere, often on the defensive and works much on instinct. She is also a very intelligent girl with a lot of love, certainly it is not always easy to show since she spends her time swearing!
Tony Cotte: For many viewers, the True Blood vampires are a metaphor for minorities in America today. As an actress, how do you analyze the series?
Rutina Wesley: I think if they really lived among us, the vampires would be experience negative reactions. They do not resemble us, not our code or our language. If they existed, they would flee because Americans are very proud and dislike those who are not like them. This is still true today and I am speaking from experience being a black woman. When I take a walk, I still feel the eyes of people. So I understand the feeling of being considered a minority, and being in some way undesirable. This is one of the highlights of True Blood, even if everyone does not see it.
Tony Cotte: Do you think the series helps to educate the younger viewers to tolerance?
Rutina Wesley: No doubt. When reality meets a fantasy world it allows his imagination to go really far. Some viewers may wonder, for example, if they can fall in love with a man who can turn into a dog (laughs). But we must see the metaphor: what it means to be in love (is) to someone different? Personally, I’m friends with a man of another race than mine and I can understand that sentiment perfectly. True Blood delivers a very positive message: we can live together, coexist and communicate … although vampires must drink their Tru Blood! (laughter)
Tony Cotte: Esquire Magazine has published a study showing that teenage love stories of vampires, as they fantasize, in fact, the gay boys. What is your view?
Rutina Wesley: (She laughs) I think they are crazy side “hot” vampires. They all secretly dream of being bitten, besides myself, I dream and hope that it will happen (laughs). Again, I think it has much to do with the fact and imagination to fantasize about something that we cannot have. This is, in my opinion, one reason for the success of the series viewers can only dream of being part of True Blood, crossing the screen and entering this world …
Cotte Tony: Some people say that the portrayal of the population of the southern United States is extremely stereotypical. The focus of your character is strongly marked, do you understand those criticisms?
Rutina Wesley: Tara is not a stereotype, just a human being. There are many girls like her in the world, people often come to me saying that I remind them of a cousin in Tennessee or aunt from Mississippi. It is important not to be narrow minded and watch the series before judging it. Some have seen the early episodes and were told: “Oh, an angry black woman! Oh look, a black gay! “But this woman is so much more than that, basically, she is fragile, needs attention and her flaws do not make her a stereotype. The southern United States is full of people speaking in the same manner as Tara or live, for example, for their firm. This is not that they have no value in our society.
Tony Cotte: The credits of True Blood shows how religious fanaticism and sexuality may make wild creatures or primitive. Is this aspect a reality across the Atlantic?
Rutina Wesley: I do think that some people may lose because the spirit of love and sex. I like the credits of True Blood which is one of the best parts of the series: the mixture between the baptisms and the images of the body and how everything is mixed. This reminds me of those dark clubs that have a certain sexual energy, because everyone, women or men feel at one time or another, need to be loved and desired sometimes even despair. Read the rest of this entry »
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