Hollywood's irrational allergy to 'black' films
By Roland Martin, CNN Contributor
(CNN) -- Who knew that 70 years after African-American pilots had to work hard to overcome the prejudices of whites in the U.S. armed services, and the nation having its first black commander-in-chief, the men known as the Tuskegee Airmen would still be doing battle with an entrenched institution of white power brokers, all based on the color of their skin.
Many of you may have seen the flashy commercials advertising "Red Tails," the major motion picture that chronicles the amazing and true story of true American heroes: black pilots who went overseas in World War II to fight for the freedom and democracy that they could not enjoy at home.
The film opens January 20 in theaters nationwide, and for its producer, George Lucas, it has been a 23-year odyssey.
You would think that someone considered one of the most powerful players in Hollywood, a man who has made billions with blockbusters such as the "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" franchises, would have been able to get "Red Tails" approved without any hesitation. Yet many African-Americans have long known that in Tinseltown, the color of your skin -- or that of the people in the story you want to tell -- often falls victim to racial pigeonholing.
Oh, sure, Hollywood is seen as a liberal bastion where folks talk about equality and supporting civil rights, but when it comes to telling stories that have mostly black casts, Hollywood might as well return to the '50s and '60s and erect signs that say "Whites Only."
When Lucas approached the major Hollywood studios about backing "Red Tails," he was told: Thanks, but no thanks.
"There's no major white roles in it at all ... I showed it to all of them and they said no, we don't know how to market a movie like this," Lucas told Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.
Let's juxtapose that against some other facts:
-- In 2008, 69 million people voted for Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States;
-- The most talked-about woman in America over the past 25 years was Oprah Winfrey, who redefined the talk show genre;
-- Which athlete has the top-selling jersey in the NBA? LeBron James;
-- Who is considered the top-grossing actor? Samuel L. Jackson;
-- Arguably the greatest entertainer of all time is Michael Jackson;
-- The greatest golfer in the world? Tiger Woods;
-- The most dominating players in women's tennis? Venus and Serena Williams;
-- The top singer today? Beyonce;
-- And hip-hop, an outgrowth of black culture, is a worldwide phenemonon. And 80% of the consumers of hip-hop music in America are white kids.
So whites all across America have come to accept African-Americans in a variety of public media, but Hollywood continues to want to tell us that somehow seeing blacks on the big screen is anathema to their values.
Maybe what no one in Hollywood wants to own up to is that in many ways, it is a close-minded society where it's hard to find African-Americans in positions of true power.
In the history of Hollywood, no African-American has ever headed a major studio. Yes, we've seen Black CEOs at American Express, Time Warner, Xerox, Merrill Lynch, Symantec and other major companies, but the doors of opportunity are closed in Hollywood.
Does this mean African-Americans aren't hired? No. But those are low-level positions where they desperately fight the good fight, knowing full well they will never ascend to the top of the food chain in Hollywood.
Part of Hollywood's problem is that when looking at a movie that has, like "Red Tails," a mostly black cast, it is cast as a "black" film.
"Red Tails" isn't a black movie. It's a war movie. It's an action movie. It's a story of true American heroes overcoming great odds to succeed. That was the conclusion of Alabama head football coach, Nick Saban, who showed the film to his team the night before they demolished LSU for the BCS national title.
Did Saban conclude it was a black film? Not at all, and he gave it a resounding endorsement.
This racial fight may be new to George Lucas, but to African-Americans, this has been a long and painful battle.
A few months ago on my TV One Cable Network Sunday show, Washington Watch, I talked with actor Brian White, who has starred in "Stomp the Yard," "Fighting" and the critically-acclaimed TV show, "Men of a Certain Age."
He told a stunning story that shows the ignorance of Hollywood regarding an independent movie he starred in with Zoe Saldana, "The Heart Specialist."
"Dennis Cooper, the writer, director and producer, is a Caucasian man who had some friends," White said. "His friend David was the inspiration for Dr. Z and Dr. Howard -- a Harvard-educated doctor that was involved with the film. And Dennis sold this great script to the studios, but he left the character descriptions out.
"When the studios found out the leads were black, they didn't want to make the movie anymore, and Dennis had to go take his own money and his friends' money and make this movie himself and then start the long road to getting a distribution deal."
This isn't just the big studios.
The Weinstein Co. produced "The Hurricane Season," a basketball film about two teams coming together in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to win the Louisiana state championship. Yet the movie went straight to DVD, angering lead actor Forest Whitaker, and others in the film, including Taraji Henson, Courtney B. Vance, Isaiah Washington and the rapper Bow Wow.
The excuse given the actors? The Weinstein Co. said they didn't know how to market the film. Really. A movie with basketball at the center of the story? Folks, come on!
Hollywood defenders will be quick to say, what about Will Smith? Denzel Washington? Halle Berry?
What's interesting in Hollywood is that if you're Will Smith, Denzel Washington or a handful of others, you really aren't seen as "black." For them, they have crossed the post-racial threshold, and in Hollywood's eyes, white America will watch them.
But if you talk to them and so many other top Hollywood actors, they will also tell you stories of having doors slammed in their faces, and trying to get movies made featuring mostly blacks and were told, "Can't you make the characters white?"
What is also at play is that for Hollywood, having one black guy in a film that has mostly whites is never called a white film. But if it's one or two white guys in a film with mostly blacks -- uh oh, black film!
The latest excuse offered up by the Hollywood studios is that "black films" don't sell well overseas. What that means is that foreigners also don't want to see African-Americans. Again, I believe the problem is how the movies are categorized.
Let's take two black men dressing up as women. When Martin Lawrence does it in "Big Momma's House," that isn't marketed as a "black film." As a result, it grossed $117.5 million in the United States and $56.4 million worldwide.
Yet Tyler Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail," another movie featuring a black guy dressed as a grandmother, did $90 million in the U.S., and they didn't even bother to show it overseas. Maybe that's because Tyler Perry's "Madea's Family Vacation" only did $50,000 in ticket sales worldwide three years earlier, and $63.2 million in the U.S.
Now, if Hollywood knows how to sell white men dressed as women (Robin Williams in "Mrs. Doubtfire" and Dustin Hoffman in "Tootsie") along with largely white casts, they can't figure out how to do the same for a Tyler Perry?
George Lucas has clearly expressed his fears with "Red Tails," hoping it opens huge so it will send a message to Hollywood that a big-budget action film with lots of black folks can be successful. The downside? If it fails, it will be seen as a failure of ALL black action films.
Several Hollywood executives told me that when the Queen Latifah-Common helmed film, "Just Wright," didn't meet expectations and only grossed $21.5 million -- it was marketed as a black film -- the result was a virtual shutdown of all romantic comedies featuring African-Americans. Yet Jennifer Aniston can put out failed romantic comedy after failed romantic comedy, and no one says "white" romantic comedies should end.
Have we returned to the days of Jackie Robinson when he couldn't fail because if he did, the whole race would be set back? That's essentially what Hollywood is saying.
I want you to go and see "Red Tails" not because it is an historical depiction of a true period in America, but because it's one helluva film. The action scenes are first rate and the storytelling is superb. Are the main characters black? Yep. Just do as I do when I go and see a movie that features an all-white cast, which is most of the time: go for the enjoyment.
If so, maybe the libs in Hollywood will finally realize that great stories, when sold as such, and not as a "black" film, can bring people of all stripes to the movie theater.
There used to be a time when whites could sit downstairs, and if blacks were allowed in the movie theater, had to sit upstairs. Today, it's clear that such a racial divide is no longer in place in the seats, but now on the screen, and that's a damn shame.
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http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/opinion/martin-red-tails-hollywood/index.html?iref=obinsite (http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/opinion/martin-red-tails-hollywood/index.html?iref=obinsite)
By the way, Rotten Tomatos says the movie sucks, giving it a 33%.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red-tails/
Blacks make up a little over 1/8 of the country's population. It's not that they're underrepresented in movies, but overrepresented in music and athletics.
Why did you post this Siege? :huh:
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on January 22, 2012, 08:05:06 PM
Blacks make up a little over 1/8 of the country's population. It's not that they're underrepresented in movies, but overrepresented in music and athletics.
Yes of course. The question is no representation, but why white people can't enjoy movies with a full black cast, and whether this is racism.
I for one I dont' enjoy these types of movies because I am simply not interesting in stories about the hood, why is ussually the central topic in black movies.
But more importantly, I think is hard to relate to a character who is too diferent from myself.
And I don't think this make people racist. Its just that nobody is going to pay to watch a movie they are not interested in.
Quote from: Razgovory on January 22, 2012, 08:20:12 PM
Why did you post this Siege? :huh:
I don't know.
Maybe I found amusing liberal hollywood not green lighting black movies.
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 08:23:27 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 22, 2012, 08:20:12 PM
Why did you post this Siege? :huh:
I don't know.
Maybe I found amusing liberal hollywood not green lighting black movies.
It's your people who run it. If you have problems with it, take it with Malthus, JR and the rest of the Elders.
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 07:58:19 PM
By the way, Rotten Tomatos says the movie sucks, giving it a 33%.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red-tails/
Well, yea you can see that from the trailers.
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 08:22:18 PM
Yes of course. The question is no representation, but why white people can't enjoy movies with a full black cast, and whether this is racism.
I for one I dont' enjoy these types of movies because I am simply not interesting in stories about the hood, why is ussually the central topic in black movies.
But more importantly, I think is hard to relate to a character who is too diferent from myself.
And I don't think this make people racist. Its just that nobody is going to pay to watch a movie they are not interested in.
I've seen lots of movies with black protagonists and quite a few with mostly black casts, which is why I take issue with the article's assertion that Hollywood's not making them.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on January 22, 2012, 08:45:37 PM
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 08:22:18 PM
Yes of course. The question is no representation, but why white people can't enjoy movies with a full black cast, and whether this is racism.
I for one I dont' enjoy these types of movies because I am simply not interesting in stories about the hood, why is ussually the central topic in black movies.
But more importantly, I think is hard to relate to a character who is too diferent from myself.
And I don't think this make people racist. Its just that nobody is going to pay to watch a movie they are not interested in.
I've seen lots of movies with black protagonists and quite a few with mostly black casts, which is why I take issue with the article's assertion that Hollywood's not making them.
Eh, I thought Harlem Nights was funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLPI_p5RnR0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S8_sYRJi3E&feature=related
Any full cast black movie have ever been a big hitter at the box office?
I don't think so. Fact remains, that white people, being 71% of americans, do not watch black movies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV8uhgjrXwc&feature=related :lmfao:
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 09:04:36 PM
Any full cast black movie have ever been a big hitter at the box office?
I don't think so. Fact remains, that white people, being 71% of americans, do not watch black movies.
The Color Purple ???? to throw out there.
Boyz n the Hood did pretty well at the Box Office. Shaft did as well. If I recall House Party was a fairly big hit. Disney made an animated film where most of the main characters were Black (or animals).
Movies with full black casts tend to be either family movies or set in a very narrow set of neighborhoods around the country. How many huge hits are there about the Amish?
OTOH, there have been a lot of movies with black star and mixed cast over the past 10-20 years that have done pretty well.
Also, I'd like to point out that you're disagreeing with your article(as do I) that there's a large untapped market for these films.
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 09:04:36 PM
Any full cast black movie have ever been a big hitter at the box office?
I don't think so. Fact remains, that white people, being 71% of americans, do not watch black movies.
I Am Legend is in the top 100 All-Time for box office returns.
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 08:23:27 PM
I don't know.
Maybe I found amusing liberal hollywood not green lighting black movies.
Well there is a difference between the actors and the big money people who finance them :P
I am kind of surprised there are not more "black" TV shows and movies for the general audience out. It seemed like they were fairly common in the 70s and 80s. We all watched those shows and movies back then and we were certainly not less racist than are now.
They were mostly family sitcoms though. There's just much less demand for those nowadays.
Quote from: Valmy on January 22, 2012, 10:03:41 PM
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 08:23:27 PM
I don't know.
Maybe I found amusing liberal hollywood not green lighting black movies.
Well there is a difference between the actors and the big money people who finance them :P
I am kind of surprised there are not more "black" TV shows and movies for the general audience out. It seemed like they were fairly common in the 70s and 80s. We all watched those shows and movies back then and we were certainly not less racist than are now.
Different Strokes and the Cosby Show are why those of our generation are the core of today's enlightened society.
Quote
I for one I dont' enjoy these types of movies because I am simply not interesting in stories about the hood, why is ussually the central topic in black movies.
I'd agree here. Black people- no problem at all, I'm colour blind in what films I see.
African Americanism though-...well thats a different culture to the more familiar American culture and one which requires an exceptional movie (/a very boring day) to draw me into.
Quote from: Tonitrus on January 22, 2012, 10:02:04 PM
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 09:04:36 PM
Any full cast black movie have ever been a big hitter at the box office?
I don't think so. Fact remains, that white people, being 71% of americans, do not watch black movies.
I Am Legend is in the top 100 All-Time for box office returns.
I was rather fond of; The Pursuit of Happyness. Doesnt have an
all black cast however.
Quote from: Tyr on January 22, 2012, 10:27:22 PM
Quote
I for one I dont' enjoy these types of movies because I am simply not interesting in stories about the hood, why is ussually the central topic in black movies.
I'd agree here. Black people- no problem at all, I'm colour blind in what films I see.
African Americanism though-...well thats a different culture to the more familiar American culture and one which requires an exceptional movie (/a very boring day) to draw me into.
Shocking that you'd agree with an inability to relate to certain subcultures.
Well finding an all Black cast is going to be unlikely, simply because there aren't many stories that interest Americans where blacks are going to be the only characters you see. Not many stories about Pre-Colonial Africa that anyone is going to relate to (Black or White). There are plenty of films were all or most of the principal characters are African American.
Quote from: Razgovory on January 22, 2012, 11:54:13 PM
Well finding an all Black cast is going to be unlikely, simply because there aren't many stories that interest Americans where blacks are going to be the only characters you see.
True dat. There are a couple older movies that come to mind, A Raisin in the Sun, that might fit the bill...maybe.
QuoteHollywood defenders will be quick to say, what about Will Smith? Denzel Washington? Halle Berry?
What's interesting in Hollywood is that if you're Will Smith, Denzel Washington or a handful of others, you really aren't seen as "black." For them, they have crossed the post-racial threshold, and in Hollywood's eyes, white America will watch them.
I'm not interested in watching an actor who is primarily identified as "White". If you want actors to be seen as "Black" then they will remain niche. The same about movies. What do these people want? Do they want black movies to remain special interest movies and not very attractive or do they want them to be post-racial universal and studios happily making them?
Quote from: 11B4V on January 22, 2012, 09:16:16 PM
Quote from: Siege on January 22, 2012, 09:04:36 PM
Any full cast black movie have ever been a big hitter at the box office?
I don't think so. Fact remains, that white people, being 71% of americans, do not watch black movies.
The Color Purple ???? to throw out there.
Hell, that one still makes me tear up at the end.
Quoteand no one says "white" romantic comedies should end.
I do.
Quote from: 11B4V on January 23, 2012, 06:06:11 AM
Witness.... :huh:...no Kingpin.
Forgot about Kingpin.
I checked the byline on the OP--Roland Martin. He's the Reverand Al Lite CNN hired after Obama was elected. So no surprise he's beating the race drum.
If I'm ever forced to watch The Color Purple I'm gonna cry like a baby.
American Gangster dis really well at the box office. Not all-black of course, but not far off.
How many actors in Witness were Amish?
Quote from: The Brain on January 23, 2012, 07:34:04 AM
How many actors in Witness were Amish?
Not allowed to say, since the Mob is still looking for them.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on January 23, 2012, 06:22:21 AM
Quote from: 11B4V on January 23, 2012, 06:06:11 AM
Witness.... :huh:...no Kingpin.
Forgot about Kingpin.
I checked the byline on the OP--Roland Martin. He's the Reverand Al Lite CNN hired after Obama was elected. So no surprise he's beating the race drum.
Roland Martin is an annoying ass. I think he was one well before Obama was elected.
They made this movie at least once already. I thought it was an ok film. Lucas is filthnasty rich and didn't need anyone to specially approve of him making the movie. He could have easily gotten it made if he felt like it. You know....if he wasn't too busy screwing up Star Wars over and over again. :bowler:
Quote from: JacobL on January 23, 2012, 11:25:27 AM
They made this movie at least once already.
Yeah I remember a film on this exact same subject with Lawrence Fishburn and that dude from the Cosby show.
Quote from: Valmy on January 23, 2012, 11:29:17 AM
Quote from: JacobL on January 23, 2012, 11:25:27 AM
They made this movie at least once already.
Yeah I remember a film on this exact same subject with Lawrence Fishburn and that dude from the Cosby show.
That was a decent film.
Quote from: Razgovory on January 23, 2012, 11:51:47 AM
That was a decent film.
Yeah I remember enjoying it very much.
But I think it was a made for TV movie so I guess it doesn't count.
I think it is a myth that Hollywood is liberal. Some actors and directors are liberal, but overall Hollywood as a cultural fixture is painful mainstream/middle America. It shows people what they want to see.
For all its alleged left wing bias (which I suppose is mainly demonstrated by its propensity for sex and violence, I guess), it has shown a remarkable racism and homophobia for decades, for example.
Quote from: Martinus on January 23, 2012, 11:56:36 AM
I think it is a myth that Hollywood is liberal. Some actors and directors are liberal, but overall Hollywood as a cultural fixture is painful mainstream/middle America. It shows people what they want to see.
For all its alleged left wing bias (which I suppose is mainly demonstrated by its propensity for sex and violence, I guess), it has shown a remarkable racism and homophobia for decades, for example.
This is Siege and his ilk we are talking about. To them anything that is not Republican propaganda is left wing bias. But I do not think there is anything remarkable about its racism and homophobia, it is actually rather banal and ordinary.
Like I said, his people run it. What does he want from the rest of us?
Quote from: Razgovory on January 23, 2012, 11:59:38 AM
Like I said, his people run it. What does he want from the rest of us?
$
Quote from: Martinus on January 23, 2012, 11:56:36 AM
I think it is a myth that Hollywood is liberal. Some actors and directors are liberal, but overall Hollywood as a cultural fixture is painful mainstream/middle America. It shows people what they want to see.
For all its alleged left wing bias (which I suppose is mainly demonstrated by its propensity for sex and violence, I guess), it has shown a remarkable racism and homophobia for decades, for example.
The vast majority of Hollywood movies that take any kind of position on political/social issues come at it from the left. Sex and violence, however, make for good bipartisan fun. As for racism and homophobia- less than general public. Though at least we don't put them in extermination camps.
Quote from: Gups on January 23, 2012, 06:54:47 AM
American Gangster dis really well at the box office. Not all-black of course, but not far off.
That film really disappointed. It should have been great.
Quote from: Sheilbh on January 23, 2012, 12:25:11 PM
Quote from: Gups on January 23, 2012, 06:54:47 AM
American Gangster dis really well at the box office. Not all-black of course, but not far off.
That film really disappointed. It should have been great.
Kind of on the fence with this one.
I liked it. But then again it would have to be a pretty shitty gangster movie for me not to like it.
Quote from: Valmy on January 23, 2012, 11:55:32 AM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 23, 2012, 11:51:47 AM
That was a decent film.
Yeah I remember enjoying it very much.
But I think it was a made for TV movie so I guess it doesn't count.
Yeah it was an HBO movie.
FWIW, back when the movie The Preacher's Wife with Denzel Washington came out, I was still dating SocialWorkerGirl, and we went to see it. It was a pretty well attended showing, but I think we were the only white people in the theater. We also saw Ali in a packed theater, and there probably weren't more than half a dozen other white people in the audience.
You people forgot about Coming to America. Also, that movie starring The Fat Boys and Ralph Bellamy.
Quote from: Gups on January 23, 2012, 06:54:47 AM
American Gangster dis really well at the box office. Not all-black of course, but not far off.
Protagonist was Jewish, antagonist was married to a Latina, crooked cops were white, and the drugs were supplied by Asians = fails to qualify. :P
Good movie, though.
Gay Rights was a late comer to liberal ideology.
George Lucas may not be able to direct his way out of a paper bag, but the OP proves he still is a marketing genius - in this case suckering CNN, Jon Stewart et al to give his new flick lots of free pub in the guise of a news story.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 24, 2012, 11:28:58 AM
George Lucas may not be able to direct his way out of a paper bag, but the OP proves he still is a marketing genius - in this case suckering CNN, Jon Stewart et al to give his new flick lots of free pub in the guise of a news story.
Yep.