With another release of a "look-at-the-successful-black-people" movie in 'Something New' I'm itching for a rant.
I'm so sick of these "look at all these black people...so successful" ass movies! We're not all successful, we're broke, goin to school, raising kids, marrying and divorcing! I know we want to escape but not in EVERY damn movie about us. The movies about poor or regular people likin the last 10 years are usually cooning comedy or just shitty movies. Eff that shit why can't we have regular everyday people in a movie!
I will admit there are alot of exceptions but it doesn't seem like any in the last 15 years. Ever since 'Soul Food', everything has been soul food! Successful black people living their lives! With the same damn actors over and over! How many times have Sanaa and Gabrielle played the "successful black woman" how many times has Morris and Blair played the "successful black man"? Typecasting us as something more positive is still TYPECASTING!
I just want a representative of real black people. There's no way in hell you and all your successful friends/sisters are EXCEEDINGLY georgous. One will be thick/fat now come on. One will have a bunch of kids. One will have a husband thats no good. One will have a bangin job, and one might work at mcdonalds. Let's get some reality into our movies!
Want an example? Love Jones. Nina wasn't even living in her own house, even though that joint was bangin. Larenz a struggling writer, Nia a struggling photographer. They didn't drive benz's they were on a motorcycle. Their friends had a multitude of jobs and none of them was ballin like these movies show. Why can't we be ordinary people ala John Legend?
2. "RE: you got something against successful black folks?" In response to Reply # 1
I don't mind one or two....but damn every movie after soul food?? gimme a break.
No I got nothing against successful black people, but i do have a problem with rehashing a formula. It seems that successful black people is the formula that we're fricking stuck with. True it's better than "all black people are coons" formula but a formula none the less.
3. "WHERE IS THE BLACK PAUL GIAMATTI??????" In response to Reply # 0
Where is the ugly black actor? The day we start seeing ugly (ugly as in, not H'wood approved attractive) black actors, then you (shit, all of us) got a better shot at those real black movies. You know, someone who'll play Philip Seymour Hoffman parts. So here's the plan, we find the ugly black actor, we make a bunch of real black movies, THEN we can make real movies that aren't based on skin color. Who's with me?
"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams
48. "He doesn't play the ugly guy/loser" In response to Reply # 8
He plays the "socially acceptable to have this secondary character be a black man so to keep Jesse from calling, he'll be black." Sorta like the cop in Die Hard.
"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams
5. "Here's where the buzzer sounded on your rant:" In response to Reply # 0 Fri Feb-03-06 11:14 AM by ZooTown74
>Want an example? Love Jones.
Those characters were just as "unreal" as the others you described. And just as corny, too. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ i'm a fool to do your dirty work oh yeah i don't wanna do your dirty work no more
10. "RE: Here's where the buzzer sounded on your rant:" In response to Reply # 5
I don't believe so at all. They actually went on dates, dates that real black people go on. They had conversations that real black people have. Yeah they were all attractive, but they were all different kinds of attractive at least. Yeah the poetry was corny I'll admit that but this movie kept it much more real then the stuff we have now.
Darryl_Licke Member since Jun 06th 2002 70279 posts
Fri Feb-03-06 11:29 AM
7. "shut up and make a movie then" In response to Reply # 0
take it to sundance.
but there is nothing wrong with being odd. i mean you arent inkast or adwhizz odd. - VABestBBW Binlahab is a bitch. I wouldn't trust okp, some of them don't even get any anymore since the Re's stopped - Anonymous OKP
11. "i will and i may have access to one day" In response to Reply # 7
this is just the rant of a college student/working woman wanting to see reality in movies right now. Not 5-10 years from now when I may be able to lol.
13. "It's just entertainment" In response to Reply # 0
> >I'm so sick of these "look at all these black people...so >successful" ass movies! We're not all successful, we're broke, >goin to school, raising kids, marrying and divorcing! I know >we want to escape but not in EVERY damn movie about us. The >movies about poor or regular people likin the last 10 years >are usually cooning comedy or just shitty movies. Eff that >shit why can't we have regular everyday people in a movie!
I'm broke, goin to school and I don't have my own family but I do help my mother out. I don't need to pay $10.00 to have the same situation mirrored back at me.
Being broke, going to school, marrying...etc. are not conditions exclusive to black people. In my office we have broke white people, broke spanish people and even a broke asian. We also have other adult learners with children that attend college (I work for Stony Brook University Hospital so there are a lot of college students).
Bottom line its just a movie. I would rather see rich black folks in the screen than I don't know a movie like State Property. Now I'm not saying I never want to see poor people on screen, I'm saying I don't want them to act like fools.
18. "it's the extremist view of both hollywood & black writers" In response to Reply # 15
we're always either coons, thugs, hoes and con-artists or we're incredibly rich, living the upper-middle class lifestyle. hollywood (and a good number of black writers) consider the average black person to be boring, but it's been proven to be a success in both film and tv. (claudine, frank's place, sanford & son, etc.) unfortunately, nobody has broken thru with a film about the common black person.
inaugural member - okayplayer sports hall of fame.
what i'm digging right now:
chocolate butterfly - self-titled laura jane - welcome to my planet boo me & this japanese guy - waiting for the miracle wade3 - dreams tracey amos - who are we really?
20. "Hollywood black writers don't consider real people boring," In response to Reply # 18
*real people* consider real people boring. Plain and simple. For further evidence, see movies like Fresh and TV shows like Frank's Place. ______________________________________________________________________ i'm a fool to do your dirty work oh yeah i don't wanna do your dirty work no more
23. "Um, it's not like white people are all for it either" In response to Reply # 21
While you might hear more about movies like American Splendor, most of those movies do not do that well in the box office. Hell, Fresh came out a decade earlier and STILL made more money than Splendor did.
Most people view film as escape and entertainment, not art. They want to see shit blow up or funny stuff happen to outlandish people.
25. "so, people didn't like million dollar baby & mystic river?" In response to Reply # 24
gtfohwtbs. the fact is, most movies of average, everyday people aren't promoted by their companies. the promotion or lack of, always depends on the producer and the director. a good movie is a good movie. people will watch them if they're promoted as much as "speed" and "lethal weapon".
inaugural member - okayplayer sports hall of fame.
what i'm digging right now:
chocolate butterfly - self-titled laura jane - welcome to my planet boo me & this japanese guy - waiting for the miracle wade3 - dreams tracey amos - who are we really?
26. "Even if this is true" In response to Reply # 25
My point stands. This isn't a problem with black audiences. That's what I was trying to convey. People seemed like they were picking on black audiences for overlooking movies like Fresh when, in reality, similar movies fair as poorly if not worse.
Although I stand by my comment that movies like Big Momma's House 2 will usually do better than films like Munich, regardless of promotion.
>My point stands. This isn't a problem with black audiences. >That's what I was trying to convey. People seemed like they >were picking on black audiences for overlooking movies like >Fresh when, in reality, similar movies fair as poorly if not >worse.
agreed. but there's a reason for it. not that the movie audience just doesn't like those films.
>Although I stand by my comment that movies like Big Momma's >House 2 will usually do better than films like Munich, >regardless of promotion.
so true. but your "big mommas house 2" comedies, action and adventure flicks have much larger budgets, so there's more at stake. that's why their companies go all out to promote them. films on everyday people on the other hand, usually have much smaller budgets so they don't get as much love in the promotion department. also, most of the producers and directors in those flicks are usually unknown by the general movie audience. it's why a flick like "eve's bayou" can be a great flick, but people are reluctant to check it because they don't know who the director is. throw in the fact that it's poorly promoted and it's almost guaranteed that it won't do well at the box office.
inaugural member - okayplayer sports hall of fame.
what i'm digging right now:
chocolate butterfly - self-titled laura jane - welcome to my planet boo me & this japanese guy - waiting for the miracle wade3 - dreams tracey amos - who are we really?
"not that the movie audience just doesn't like those films"
I didn't mean to say that people don't like those films, just that they don't go to the movie theaters to see them. Most films like that will be discovered on video or on cable. When most people go to the movies, they'd rather see a popcorn movie than an small drama.
28. "RE: those kinds of movies historically don't make that much money." In response to Reply # 27
it's only a fact in that most film companies don't take the time to promote those films. case in point: "claudine was uber-promoted when it came out, and it racked up at the box office. most films about everyday people are only promoted to a certain movie-buff audience, while action and adventure flicks are promoted across the board. it hasn't nothing to do with the film itself more than the money put behind it or the lack of.
inaugural member - okayplayer sports hall of fame.
what i'm digging right now:
chocolate butterfly - self-titled laura jane - welcome to my planet boo me & this japanese guy - waiting for the miracle wade3 - dreams tracey amos - who are we really?
It is a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Studios budget movies at what they think it will make, the niche films get smaller budgets so when it comes promotion time, the studios look and say, well we sank more money in the action film so we need to promote it more, then the action film does better.
32. "jah. you're just wrong." In response to Reply # 28
even when more critically acclaimed movies are heavily promoted--Munich, Brokeback,etc--they just don't make as much money as more popular fare.
out of the top 20 grossing movies in 2005, only one of them--Walk The Line--is what people would refer to as a serious, adult movie.
based on your logic, the studios behind Jarhead, Cinderella Man, Memoirs of a Geisha, Crash, Syriana,etc. put millions of dollars into casting and production and then just fell asleep at the wheel when it came time to promote those movies.
people like shitty movies. they like shitty movies when they star black people and when they star white people.
33. "I wouldn't say they like shitty movies" In response to Reply # 32
I think a) most people are not as picky about their films as people who "love" film and b) I think it takes more convincing to get them to go to a drama. I have to admit, I'm the same way. I'll head out to Batman Begins or War of the Worlds a lot quicker than I would sign up to see Brokeback or Munich. In fact, I haven't seen either of them and I really doubt I will.
If someone's going for a night out or a date or a night with friends, Constant Gardener or Proof isn't going to be at the top of their list. They'll see something not quite as heavy.
On a depressing side note, besides Idlewild there really isn't much that intereted me at first glance of the upcoming movies. Not until the Summer Box Office opens. Chappelle's Block Party seems like a rental to me.
34. "thank you, actually neither one of us are wrong" In response to Reply # 33
it's a fact that shitty movies fare better at the box office, and it's a fact that most every people movies don't get a lot of fanfare.
inaugural member - okayplayer sports hall of fame.
what i'm digging right now:
chocolate butterfly - self-titled laura jane - welcome to my planet boo me & this japanese guy - waiting for the miracle wade3 - dreams tracey amos - who are we really?
50. "RE: thank you, actually neither one of us are wrong" In response to Reply # 42
if you're even suggesting that eve's bayou gets the promoting dollars that "star wars" or "lord of the rings" do, you're just insane. which makes this, "the worst reply ever".
inaugural member - okayplayer sports hall of fame.
what i'm digging right now:
chocolate butterfly - self-titled laura jane - welcome to my planet boo me & this japanese guy - waiting for the miracle wade3 - dreams tracey amos - who are we really?
22. "fresh & frank's place are both critically acclaimed" In response to Reply # 20
and frank's place did pretty decent in the ratings. fresh wasn't promoted and advertised nearly as much as new jack city or boyz in the hood.
inaugural member - okayplayer sports hall of fame.
what i'm digging right now:
chocolate butterfly - self-titled laura jane - welcome to my planet boo me & this japanese guy - waiting for the miracle wade3 - dreams tracey amos - who are we really?
35. "They were both failures, bottom line." In response to Reply # 22
I didn't say two words about critical acclaim or marketing; all of that's pretty much irrelevant. The simple fact is, these shows were presented to the public (yes, both black and white folks, SoulHonky); the fact is, both were failures. With the public. Just because Siskel and Ebert, and/or Tom Shales throw critical roses at programs doesn't mean the public's willingly going to tune in. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ i'm a fool to do your dirty work oh yeah i don't wanna do your dirty work no more
36. "uhm... have you seen, uh, any movies before?" In response to Reply # 0
because that's what they're all like. White, black, or indifferent.
- Bullseye with Jesse Thorn A public radio show about things that are awesome. http://www.maximumfun.org "This is the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world." - McSweeney's
41. "Hollywood actors and writers and directors ain't 'keeping it real'" In response to Reply # 39
Except for Love Jones, which is about as real as it gets, what with its pretty poets, impeccable apartments and gear (no matter how these poets earned the money for all that pretty stuff). ___________________________________________________________________________________________ i'm a fool to do your dirty work oh yeah i don't wanna do your dirty work no more
45. "See, and I would remember that as I'm sitting in the barbershop" In response to Reply # 44
waiting to get a cut... lol... ___________________________________________________________________________________________ i'm a fool to do your dirty work oh yeah i don't wanna do your dirty work no more
49. "i agree, but you're on the wrong site for this rant...." In response to Reply # 0 Sun Feb-05-06 02:45 PM by Torez
most folks on here don't relate to the 'regular black folks' you're talking about, and give tacit acceptance to the 'superbeautiful' style black movies. for them, fake hypersucceful black moveis are better, because they come the closest to validating their middle class experience.
the best 'regular black folks' movie i've seen lately was ANTWONE FISHER, which almost everybody black liked. the 'problem' is that it made no attempt to market itself along class lines, instead being content to just be a good movie.
folks watched it, enjoyed it and k.i.m., never realizing that they'd just watched a regular black movie about regular black folks living their lives and helping folks along the way.
<--- blowin' up the spot like old ass plus skunk meat... (c) doom
* all comments made about women apply to the formerly single TOREZ only
52. "all these NEGATIVE images & u gone fix your mouth 2 complain" In response to Reply # 0
about "successful black people" in film?
please tell me you're joking.
Considering the disproportionate representations of gangstas, hustlers, pimps, hoes, bitches, STRUGGLING non-self determined victimized portrayals of black people, which is the NORM...
"successful black person" feel exactly the same way.
"Real black" people? <--I'm not even gonna get started on fuckedupness of this remark.
btw, Big Mammies House 2 OUT-Performed Something New...thats a tragedy in and of itself.
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