Not Buying It!

So, Hollywood doesn't green-light or financially back movies that can't bring in big dollars and doesn't have an overseas market. Really? Is that a fact.

I understand the need for George Lucas to be politically correct in his interviews about his new movie Red Tails. He may want to make other movies in the future so he might want to stay on the right side of Hollywood bigwigs. But, can I just say, come on...I'm not buying it. Last time I checked there were plenty of movies with all White casts that bombed at the box office. Yet films such as those continue to be made and distributed. That being said, the theory that it's all about the box office money that can be made doesn't ring true. How many times have you been in a movie theater during the coming attractions and thought "who gave the go ahead on making this film". As a person with great love and interest in film I am deeply bothered that I can always count the number of starring actors of color on one hand; and sometimes it takes no hands at all because there are no shades of pigmentation to be found. I remember last year having to turn off the Emmy's because it was so homogeneously White I became dizzy. And Im not just talking about the nominees which is always the case, I am referring to the audience as well.

Now, let's get to the real. It is easier to attribute the lack of support for films that spotlight actors of color to dollars and cents than it is to attribute it to the real culprit...good old fashion RACISM. I know this word makes many uncomfortable. It's like the pink elephant in the middle of the room. Everyone knows its there but no one wants to talk about it. However, I think our inability to have honest dialog about race makes us incompetent of its power and effects. Race is one of the greatest determining factors of power, respect, earning potential, and prestige in our global society. It also continues to be a factor for the way in which people are perceived, gain educational and professional access, and advance in ones aspirations. Sadly, it is also the means by which people are oppressed, marginalized, victimized, and forgotten.

Media can be used to address the pink elephant. That is what I believe George Lucas is doing with his new movie Red Tails. He stated that he was not making a film about victims but one about heros. He chose to make a movie that naturally will cause people to confront the ways in which they think about race. Conversely, media can also make one believe that the pink elephant does not exist. Film and television are the greatest perpetuators of racial stereotypes. Mass media is the medium where status quo seeds are planted and nourished. Then underrepresented and underserved people get to watch the status quo continue to grow. The issues George Lucas faced working to get Red Tails made is not a new struggle. I posit the issue is not that making a film with a predominantly Black cast can't make money, but more so, that telling stories like Red Tails cause American's to confront truths about this nation, historical and present day. Furthermore, positive stories and images of people of diverse cultural backgrounds allow people to see that all things positive in this country did not and do not begin and end with White individuals.