#racism #blm #film #acting #tv #BradPitt #bias #prejudice
Based on another thread discussion about racial bias in film (https://qoto.org/@tripu/107128812553422948), here's a peudo-random list of ten films to critique regarding how they treat black actors/characters.
Lion (2016)
Logan (2017)
Looper (2012)
Mad Max:Fury Road (2015)
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Moneyball (2011)
Moonlight (2016)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Of those on the list that I hadn't seen yet, only Lion and Moneyball are available for free (that I could find). Lion is about a guy's journey back to his family in India. In a quick scan of the film, I didn't see any black people, mostly Indian actors, Nicole Kidman and another white guy.
**** Spoilers *****
I watched Moneyball and it's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. It's extremely biased against black people. It's a film about baseball. In real life there are a lot of black people in baseball, but in this film the screen is nearly always filled with white faces. There are only a few bit parts by black actors in this dialogue-heavy film and one other black character (small part), a player who got about a dozen lines -- mostly negative and largely in opposition to the protagonist.
The first black actor with lines didn't come until more than a half-hour into the film. In the scene, he was the only black person in a room with about a dozen other white guys. He has a couple of lines and was questioning/opposing the protagonist. The next black bit part had 2-3 lines and again contradicted the protagonist. Later, when the black character/player is being interviewed by a reporter, she interrupts him as he begins to speak. The reporter says, "Excuse me. Could you please get out of my shot.", (speaking to a random extra who was placed into the scene specifically for the reporter to utter that negative line). And there were a couple more bit parts, again same negative tone.
When the team wins its triumphant record-breaking game, it was a white guy who hit the home run, but when the team suffers its crushing loss, it was a black guy who hit the pop fly for the game-losing out.
This is what I talking about -- the racial bias in film. These films are not outliers, they're typical. I'm sure we'd see the same sort of thing in other films in that random list.
Here's a frame from "Moneyball", showing a black man blurred out while the white guy is in focus:
@Pat
White people face constant discrimination in baseball and are stereotyped as being bad at it. This movie strives for representation and racial justice in professional baseball by focusing on the often ignored achievements of white players.
You are just a racist who can't handle other races being portrayed in a positive light.
🇳🇱
lol, I'm not one to like affirmative action for any race, and certainly not whites. So even if this were true I'd find it a bad reason.
That said while Pat's point is valid that there is bias against blacks to some degree I want to point out when i see movies intentionally made all black, like that all-black version of wizard of the oz I personally find that equally unacceptable.
To me a good measure is where race isnt really a big issue (except to achieve accuracy with a setting_ The screen should be a relatively honest representation of the same demographics we would see inr eality in the same setting. Again unless the plot is somehow explicitly about a race in an unusual setting for that race.
I havent watched this move but if your comment is serious then it would depend on if the movie really does sell that narrative, of a white guy who is experiencing resistance in baseball due to his race. Like white men cant jump movie, that is partly that, so having a white man as the main character made sense despite blacks dominating that sport.
