Multi-Facial (1995) is a short film which discusses the issues of race and ethnicity in the society and film industry. The film is produced and directed by Vin Diesel. Multi-Facial can be discussed as an effective illustration to support the social constructivist position regarding race and ethnicity. According to the social constructivist position, racial and ethnic identities should be discussed as social constructs rather than aspects of the human nature and origin. Thus, while being social constructs, race and ethnicity have certain markers, such as skin color or language, which help to make a distinction between different races and ethnicities.
Mike, the protagonist in Multi-Facial, has the appearance which allows him playing roles of white Americans, African Americans, Italians, and Hispanics, if he focuses on changing language accents. The film demonstrates how ‘multi-facial’ Mike attends several auditions and changes such markers of the race and ethnicity as language and accent, depending on the role’s requirements. On the one hand, Mike has the mixed race identity which can contribute to his popularity in the film industry.
On the other hand, Mike has no any ethnic identity because he is ‘not too light, not too dark’, as it is stated in the film. Mike does not receive a role because his appearance cannot be easily associated with this or that ethnicity or race. Thus, the actor’s identity cannot be easily identified with references to known and used race and ethnicity markers. From this point, the film supports the social constructivist position on race and ethnicity because the character of Mike demonstrates how it is possible to vary identities depending on the society, a situation, expectations, and requirements.