racism in hollywood - and how far it has come.

[MadVillainy]

I was supposed to see compton tonight...but everyone bailed on me. so now I don't think i'll go to the theater to watch it.

Just check it out by yourself if you wanna see it

 

[ThePreface]

Christian Bale played Moses and Russel Crowe played Noah in 2014. Hollywood still has a long way to go.

 

[warhorse78]

The three SOC leads did excellent work, and I am glad to see Corey Hawkins getting some roles, such as Skull Island. Jason Mitchell deserves an Oscar nod for Easy-E, and that is not me using hyperbole.

Agree 100%. The second he was on screen, he got your attention. I hope this movie opens lots of doors for him now. He's too good to be a one hit wonder.

 

[terry78]

^If you look at his IMDB, he really transformed himself. He's kind of a nerdy looking guy.

 

[pig2013066]

Considering that movies either have a cast that's entirely white, entirely black, or have more diversity than a school textbook meant to advertise to the widest possible group, I'd say there is still racism, or at least a creative limitation in hollywood. Are you making a "black movie" or just a "regular" movie.

 

[warhorse78]

^If you look at his IMDB, he really transformed himself. He's kind of a nerdy looking guy.

Hey, as soon as I got home, I googled the guy. He may be nerdy, but he's one of them cute nerds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[YT]ug1V9LNcyVc[/YT]

Considering that movies either have a cast that's entirely white, entirely black, or have more diversity than a school textbook meant to advertise to the widest possible group, I'd say there is still racism, or at least a creative limitation in hollywood. Are you making a "black movie" or just a "regular" movie.

My favorite TV show in history is Homicide: Life on the Street, and what's so great about that show, is that it evolved into one of the greatest Black tv shows in history, and it wasn't even trying to. Nothing feels shoehorned, fake or just tact on for diversity sake. You should really check it out, it truly is one of the best shows that was ever on TV IMO.

[YT]exMv8Zj6Z48[/YT]

 

[Venomfan]

with the race bending in recent movies, they say it is progressive, but is it not inherently racist as well in most cases? Usually the characters that get changed are ones that nobody cares so much about. People are against a black or asian spider-man, but are okay if liz allen has a race change. Isn't that subtly offensive? Does that not say, we need to have a more diverse cast, but ______ people aren't good enough for the main character, that role needs to stay white. I feel like to really be progressive, they need to put the best actor in the lead role regardless of colour. Off the top of my head, only Fantastic Four has changed a lead character.

Might be totally off base with this, it was something I was thinking about recently.

 

[DeadPresident]

A black/hispanic Spider-Man already exists so making Peter Parker another race would be kind of unnecessary. The problem with race changes is it does nothing but appease one demographic at the expense of another, and doesn't end up achieving anything in the long run. An inconvenient fact is that mainstream Hollywood's projects are aimed at primarily white audiences, it's not racist, it's a statistical fact. What people should be doing is supporting writers, directors and script writers of different demographies that will create authentic projects about stories unrelated to the general Hollywood crap that comes out in boatloads every year.

Changing a character's race is so superficial it astounds me that anyone thinks it's real progress. Another issue I see is that it's usually a white character changed to something else, which perpetuates the notion that there's something intrinsic about whiteness that should be desired and why it's the "most relevant" part of a character's identity.

As far as changing a minor character's race, yeah, I'd say that's trying to reach a middle ground of not changing a main character's race where it would make people defensive, while including another race so that some form of representation can be pointed to.

 

[Kar]

with the race bending in recent movies, they say it is progressive, but is it not inherently racist as well in most cases? Usually the characters that get changed are ones that nobody cares so much about. People are against a black or asian spider-man, but are okay if liz allen has a race change. Isn't that subtly offensive? Does that not say, we need to have a more diverse cast, but ______ people aren't good enough for the main character, that role needs to stay white. I feel like to really be progressive, they need to put the best actor in the lead role regardless of colour. Off the top of my head, only Fantastic Four has changed a lead character.

Might be totally off base with this, it was something I was thinking about recently.

No, you're right in your analysis. I feel the exact same way.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

As a white person, I feel I gotta see it in theaters with some black folks to fully enjoy the movie. Like I did Django.

why?

 

[Venomfan]

As a white person, I feel I gotta see it in theaters with some black folks to fully enjoy the movie. Like I did Django.

this reminds me, when a movie about civil rights is out, a lot of my friends feel the need to let our black friends know they have gone to see the movie. Like its giving to charity or something, I've done my part.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Just check it out by yourself if you wanna see it

na...I've gone to the theater by myself one to see a movie, and I didn't really feel it

 

[terry78]

****, I do it all the time. I actually see other people doing it at the theatres here in Chicago. It's not that I don't have people to go with, it's that the people that I have to go with would ruin the experience for me.

 

[MadVillainy]

Matt Damon Interrupts Successful Black Woman Filmmaker to Explain Diversity to Her

I can't watch the clip because Im at work, but the article summed it up as this:

Just so we’re clear, Matt Damon thinks that diversity in Hollywood amounts to simply hiring people of color to be in the movies—not allowing them any power to make the movies themselves.

As I said, I havent watched the clip but Damon trying to explain what diversity is and why an ethnic's view on diversity is wrong seems a bit silly to me.

na...I've gone to the theater by myself one to see a movie, and I didn't really feel it

Yeah idk... I personally think that's a bit overly co-dependent to not go do something like watching a movie, something where you probably wont be talking throughout, because your friends wont go. I think that's really silly to delay your enjoying something for that. But I guess everyone is different. I wouldnt go to a bar, amusement park, or sports game by myself.

But different stroked for different folks. Do you.

****, I do it all the time. I actually see other people doing it at the theatres here in Chicago. It's not that I don't have people to go with, it's that the people that I have to go with would ruin the experience for me.

The problem is nowadays for me none of my friends want to see movies anymore. They all wanna wait until it becomes available online. Or if they do wanna go, understandibly they want to go at night
Honestly with the amount of movies I see, I don't wanna pay $10 every time I go to the movies.

Nowadays I go early in the morning on Sundays when I dont have work. Theaters are usually pretty empty and it's only like $5 at that time around my way.

 

[cronosred]

I watched the Matt Damon thing on Project Greenlight last night and the woman wanted the diverse couple as the director's because they were diverse not because they were the best people for the job which is why she got rightfully interrupted.

Edit.

I was wrong.

Four episodes in and Effie has become the only person this season I like. It's sad how disrespectful people are to her and how they don't even seem to try to see situations from her point of view.

 

[terry78]

It's a very fine line you walk with this ****, man. I get the "best person for the job" argument, but when the best person is always a white dude.....yeah.

 

[MadVillainy]

It's a very fine line you walk with this ****, man. I get the "best person for the job" argument, but when the best person is always a white dude.....yeah.

Exactly.

Im all for getting the best person too, but is a bit suspicious in a lot of cases where all the best people for the jobs are white guys. Im not saying that could never happen but it seems really weird that, hell, even in the last 10 years in Hollywood that that is necessarily true.

 

[Sawyer]

Which is why I'm annoyed as hell when we have people on the Hype seeing things like Patty Jenkins and WB supposedly looking for female crewmembers and s*** for Wonder Woman, and they whine about how they don't feel okay with that and fall back on the old "Get the best person for the job" thing. Well, you know.... GFY. If there aren't people actively trying to change the narrative here, it'll just be the same crap over and over again and nothing will ever change.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Aziz Ansari on acting, race, and hollywood

 

[katie_girl09]

tl;dr at the bottom...it is of my opinion, that nowadays, black actors have equal opportunities for non-racial roles as white.

This is not true in the least. Anyone who knows anything about Hollywood and the way it works will tell you that. Hell, anyone who's ever read any of those leaked Sony exec e-mails will tell you that.

...now, onto the bad thing(s). there's a few things for me to say here. I said that black actors have equal opportunities for non-racial roles as white actors. the problem is that the same cannot be said for actors of other races. granted, I do not know of very many asian, brown, or hispanic actors, and that may play a part into why they are not seen as often as the rest, but the fact remains.

I don't see how that somehow translates to being a bad thing about more black people getting roles. The fact that we are beginning to see blacks a little more than before has nothing to do with any other group's lack of representation. More to the point, why do blacks have to get less representation in order for Asians, Hispanics, etc. to get more? Why not chip away from some more of the Caucasian representation (who, by the way, are ridiculously over-represented in the mainstream media)? I think you are thinking about this in the wrong way.

Also, conspicuously absent in your discussion is the status of black women in Hollywood. It's very telling to me that whenever this conversation comes up, no one ever even thinks to mention black women (specifically dark-skinned black women) and how Hollywood often goes out of its way to ignore them. And even when we do see a representation of a black woman, she often plays on people's stereotypical ideas of black femininity. That they are angry. That they are ****es and homewreckers. That they are welfare queens, etc. I suppose that is a reflection of their status as a virtual non-entity in Hollywood.

My two cents.

 

[BarryAllen]

This is not true in the least. Anyone who knows anything about Hollywood and the way it works will tell you that. Hell, anyone who's ever read any of those leaked Sony exec e-mails will tell you that.


I don't see how that somehow translates to being a bad thing about more black people getting roles. The fact that we are beginning to see blacks a little more than before has nothing to do with any other group's lack of representation. More to the point, why do blacks have to get less representation in order for Asians, Hispanics, etc. to get more? Why not chip away from some more of the Caucasian representation (who, by the way, are ridiculously over-represented in the mainstream media)? I think you are thinking about this in the wrong way.

Also, conspicuously absent in your discussion is the status of black women in Hollywood. It's very telling to me that whenever this conversation comes up, no one ever even thinks to mention black women (specifically dark-skinned black women) and how Hollywood often goes out of its way to ignore them. And even when we do see a representation of a black woman, she often plays on people's stereotypical ideas of black femininity. That they are angry. That they are ****es and homewreckers. That they are welfare queens, etc. I suppose that is a reflection of their status as a virtual non-entity in Hollywood.

My two cents.

No one's saying that you have to reduce the amount of blacks getting roles to focus on other minortiy groups. But it is frustrating when Hollywood claims to be wanting to be more "diverse", but what that really means is black males and white women.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

This is not true in the least. Anyone who knows anything about Hollywood and the way it works will tell you that. Hell, anyone who's ever read any of those leaked Sony exec e-mails will tell you that.

Eh, I'd say George Takei knows a thing or two about Hollywood, and even he says black actors have come a long way.

I don't see how that somehow translates to being a bad thing about more black people getting roles. The fact that we are beginning to see blacks a little more than before has nothing to do with any other group's lack of representation. More to the point, why do blacks have to get less representation in order for Asians, Hispanics, etc. to get more? Why not chip away from some more of the Caucasian representation (who, by the way, are ridiculously over-represented in the mainstream media)? I think you are thinking about this in the wrong way.

Also, conspicuously absent in your discussion is the status of black women in Hollywood. It's very telling to me that whenever this conversation comes up, no one ever even thinks to mention black women (specifically dark-skinned black women) and how Hollywood often goes out of its way to ignore them. And even when we do see a representation of a black woman, she often plays on people's stereotypical ideas of black femininity. That they are angry. That they are ****es and homewreckers. That they are welfare queens, etc. I suppose that is a reflection of their status as a virtual non-entity in Hollywood.

My two cents.

Keep in mind that I wrote the OP a couple of years ago. It wasn't right of me to say that black actors have made it to the same exact place as white actors, but they're definitely become much more mainstream. And I'm not saying it's a bad thing that there are more black actors in lead roles, if I even said that (I don't think I did) - that's awesome, and I hope it keeps happening. What is wrong in my opinion is that actors of other races are still far behind.

 

[SuperT]

George Takei may know a thing or two but I wouldn't take his opinions on black actors, their progression and struggles in Hollywood over, you know, actual black actors and actresses opinions. His opinions don't mean much when you have actual Af-Am actors that have been in the business as long as him saying otherwise.

Just because HE thinks African-American actors have come a long way doesn't make it gospel.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

George Takei may know a thing or two but I wouldn't take his opinions on being black in Hollywood over, you know, actual black actors and actresses.

Just because HE thinks African-American actors have come a long way doesn't make it gospel.

Sounds to me like you're just disregarding what he's saying like you don't want to admit it. If you disagree, then explain - how is he wrong?

I didn't say it was gospel but he is, you know, an actor of Asian descent - of which I don't know many of starring roles (but there are plenty for black actors) and I happen to agree with him because either way, in my opinion, if people can't tell that black actors have indeed accomplished a lot of feats in comparison to other minorities still left behind, then they're honestly kidding themselves.

 

[SuperT]

Well The Hollywood Reporter really stepped in it with today's cover story...

How can you have a legitimate conversation about pay disparities in Hollywood and not have any women of color involved in the discussion. These women may make less than their white-male counterparts but African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American etc. all make significantly less than these women.

Their follow-up article on why there weren't any woman of color on the cover was BS as well. "There are no women of color in the running for the Oscars so that's why we purposefully left them out." There not being any WoC contenders and pay disparities amongst Hollywood are two completely different subjects....

THR, maybe you keep perpetuating the problem with crap like this? You're telling me people like Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Lupita N'yongo, Lucy Liu, Rinko Kikuchi, Michelle Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez, Gina Rodriguez, Freida Pinto or Priyanka Chopra wouldn't have added any valuable insight into this topic?

Sheesh.