Follow up to last post (#4)

Last night I briefly posted about Vh1's Black to the Future, and mentioned something about how black actors still feel discriminated against in Hollywood. I didn't really elaborate on the topic for more than a few sentences, though, but I've found two juxtaposing sites related to the topic that I would like to write on.

The first is is a petition--that I should hope no one signs--that argues against black remakes of white films. The maker (and 56 signers) of the petition is obviously racist, saying that, "It is the rape of white culture inserting a culture that never belonged and does not belong [...] Black culture appears to be determined to never stop until they have black remakes of every last white movie or TV show, while whites are unallowed* to remake black movies or TV shows with white actors since that would be considered racist."

The next site is a discussion board for the 2009 Academy Awards, where one member started the topic of African American actors and actresses and their roles in Hollywood. They, along with the majority of other commenters, said that one cannot be blind sighted by the popularity of a handful of black actors, since they are still outnumbered greatly by white actors, as I said in my last post. This goes with actors of any minority: for example, the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender was originally cast with an all white main cast, even though the show centers around Asian-influenced culture, and one could argue that the characters are drawn to represent different Asian civilizations (Japanese, Chinese, Tibetan, and Inuit are most easily recognized by the fans). Just as the movie 21 was based off a true story of Asian students, the stars were white. It's completely true and all too unfortunate that Caucasians hold the greatest power in Hollywood, while many talented actors are not given equal opportunity because their race is not what is "popular" in Hollywood.

Though, unlike what was mentioned about the black remakes of white films, those posting at the Oscar boards did not seem too find the remakes too amusing. They stated that they felt that the films were a mockery of the talent that resided in the race, and that the black community, at the time, had a huge opportunity to do something original and provoking. I've never thought of it that way before, but when they mention it, those remakes are almost like a reverse type of trying to blend into white culture. Those film remakes were obviously made for the subcultures of blacks, but the blatantness of them almost had them turn into films for whites. Rather, it gave whites stereotypes to view blacks by. The difference now was that blacks were the people making the films, so whites may have thought that the stereotypes were justified. I have to wonder: would Malcolm X have thought movies like Blacula were funny, or would he have told blacks to step up and use their own ideas? The more I think about it, the more it seems like Boston as described in Malcolm. The blacks had their own slang, their own social codes. But they dressed like whites, conked their hair like whites, and aspired to be just like the whites. In the 1970s, black remakes had the slang, the dress, that attitude; but all-in-all, they were still stories by white men.

So, back to the first article before I wrap this up. That person's reasons behind not liking black remakes is wrong and misguided, but maybe they do have a point of blacks ending these remakes. I feel that, after looking back at Hollywood and black history, that blacks would have a greater chance to prove themselves in the industry if they let go of the white films and, instead, made their own, without influence of a culture that has, for hundreds of years, undermined them.












*That's not even a word, you dumb hick.