ThinkProgress: At an event the Congressional Black Caucus put together to honor the Tuskegee Airmen and to promote George Lucas’s new movie about them, Red Tails, the movie’s stars, Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr., had some pointed things to say about the way Hollywood approaches black actors and directors. Howard said that Lucas had put together the movie with his own money, and that it would be a critical litmus test for a system that systematically devalues black actors and black stories.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. On Racism in Hollywood
ThinkProgress: At an event the Congressional Black Caucus put together to honor the Tuskegee Airmen and to promote George Lucas’s new movie about them, Red Tails, the movie’s stars, Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr., had some pointed things to say about the way Hollywood approaches black actors and directors. Howard said that Lucas had put together the movie with his own money, and that it would be a critical litmus test for a system that systematically devalues black actors and black stories.
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4 comments:
It is so subtle but this article does bring to light the little bit of racism that we are still experiencing in America. To be able to say, "that movie won't be profitable to a large audience because it deals with the issues of African Americans", is wrong. It shouldn't be that way and in a perfect world it wouldn't be that way. I guess that it is exponentially important that this movie, "Red Tails", gets a large audience and an even larger amount of fans. While that is important and good to see as a suitable goal, there was something else in the article that really bothered me.
When the writer begins to talk about the topic of money and the paycheck of a black writer or actor, it was disturbing to see some of those facts. Facts like, a white actor with a white director will be paid more than a black one. The support for that argument is the popularity of the black movie but that doesn't seem like a feasible argument. It is similar to paying a woman less than a man because she is a woman and then all of those assumptions for women come into play. Racism and sexism still play a part in our society even in these continuously changing times.
To know George Lucas put $30 million into distribution for this film is amazing and it will definitely be a test to see how audiences respond to a cast of mainly black actors, where the villains are white. Most black actors strive to get a role in movies predominantly casted with white well-known actors; because they do get paid better than if it is an all-black cast. This is a known fact. This is due to a reality that it is harder for black casted films to get funding for their movies. It really is sad to know that producers in the industry think that black films do not have international appeal, yet there is a huge surge of Bollywood films being funded in India as well as in America now; yet it is harder for Black American films to get funding. This does highlight the fact that racism is still present in Hollywood and I do think that it will be there for a very long time. I however don't think that the future of black independent film makers depends on the success of Red Tails. It however will be a stumbling block as the article states. It will also be a major indicator of whether or not change is possible; but this change is only possible when producers value and respect black films in the same light as white films.
This article is a great representation of how even though we have come so far, we are not a perfectly accepting society. It is definitely disturbing that Black actors and directors make less money than their white counterparts. I think that everyone is very quick to say that we are an equal society, and race is no longer an issue, but the truth of the matter is that we are all just lying to ourselves. I hope that this film helps make black actors and films more mainstream. I would like to point out how much Spike Lee has done to make black films more mainstream, at least in New York.
Nice blog..
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