by Chris Marshall:
I’ve never read Jules Vernes’s novel Around the World in 80 Days, so I don’t know how closely the film
version sticks to the source material. In the movie, at least, we do see
Phileas Fogg make a trip around the world, and in doing so, we see lots and
lots of semi- to fully-racist depictions of various cultures and ethnic groups.
Ok, so maybe it’s not always racist, but it is always stereotypical. First, though,
just some quick background information. For a movie that’s over two and a half
hours long, Around the World in 80 Days
is surprisingly light on plot. Fogg (played by David Niven) is a British
aristocrat whose entire life is run by clocks; he’s the world’s most punctual
man. He’s also incredibly particular about his routine. His meals must be
served at exactly the same minute every day. His bathwater has to be at precisely
the right temperature and not even one degree off. It’s too much for his assistant
to take, so he quits.
Fogg can’t survive without an assistant, however, and he
immediately hires a man named Passepartout. Passepartout has a French name, is
played by a Mexican actor named Cantinflas (yes, Cantinflas), and in the movie
seems to be from Spain. Or maybe we’re supposed to believe he actually is from
France. I don’t remember anybody ever saying for sure.
