Whassup peeps,
I don't know if this has been analyzed before, but I was wondering what constitutes a "black" film. Ignoring the obvious argument that there is no such thing because art is universal, what constitutes a black film?

A. Is it the producer/director: If the creator(s) of the movie are black, why is/isn't the movie a black film...if so, would a movie such as The Negotiator count?

B. Is it the cast: If the cast is predominately black, does that constitute a black film? Would a movie like Hoodlum be counted as a black film?

C. Is it the target audience: This is sketchy, because the audience can include anybody, so how does one target an audience? Why is Friday considered a black film, when everybody and their moms has a copy of the movie?

You can pretty much take the black out of the quotation marks and replace it with something else...for instance, why is Seinfeld a "white" show, as many people I know call it? What's the criteria?

Sparking some discussion, let me know what you think

Peace
Rex

Abdul Jabbar, Muggsy Malone you
I don't know what that means but you know what I meant when I told you (c) Sean Price

Usually, it seems, the production companies define what a black film is before you can, it seems...like blaxploitation films, many of which had white directors.

Yabbadabbadoozilla! (c) Bootzilla
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"People need to stop saying that there is one way to be--and then the issue will disappear." Ntozake Shange-interview in _Mother_ _Jones_

initially when i hear the term "blk film" i think of a blk cast...COUPLED w/blk direction...because i don't consider 'the color purple' a blk film...it was a film w/a blk cast...altho it was based on a novel by a blk author...the direction & the cast are essential in "qualifyin" the film as blk

& so u have it:D


>A. Is it the producer/director: If
>the creator(s) of the movie
>are black, why is/isn't the
>movie a black film...if so,
>would a movie such as
>The Negotiator count?

accordin to my interpretation...no


>B. Is it the cast: If
>the cast is predominately black,
>does that constitute a black
>film? Would a movie like
>Hoodlum be counted as a
>black film?

i wouldn't label 'hoodlum' a blk film no more than i would 'the godfather' an italian film

>C. Is it the target audience:
>This is sketchy, because the
>audience can include anybody, so
>how does one target an
>audience? Why is Friday considered
>a black film, when everybody
>and their moms has a
>copy of the movie?

i think ticket-buyers become ur target audience once ur film has made it to general distribution

>You can pretty much take the
>black out of the quotation
>marks and replace it with
>something else...for instance, why is
>Seinfeld a "white" show, as
>many people I know call
>it? What's the criteria?

i always thought 'seinfeld' a SMART show...& knowin blk ppl are smart too often wonder'd where OUR seinfelds were...hell all of television is "white" if u really watch it



u read what i said & u STILL want more??!!??

_____________
Kamikaze Genes
____________♌♀
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what we have is much more than they can see. - george benson
****************************************
august is what the fuck are ya'll talking about month.

i mean let the shit die down slowly.

America has imported more warlord theocracy from Afghanistan than it has exported democracy.

the story & the environment.

E.g. Seinfeld is about white people in a white neighbourhood while Soul Food is about the love & struggle of a black family...

-------
Why must my arms feel so empty 4 what my heart still holds? -Musiq

U couldn't hang if u was a poster. -Common

-------------------
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so was Romeo must Die a black film?

I really dunno. kinda boarderline. What do u think?
(why must we label every friggin thing anyway?)
-------
Why must my arms feel so empty 4 what my heart still holds? -Musiq

U couldn't hang if u was a poster. -Common

-------------------
No I'm not new, my login just expired! that's not right, they're not my friends anymore

>I really dunno. kinda boarderline. What
>do u think?
i would say not because I dont think the target audience was just black. I think it was mainly black because DMX and Aaliyah were in it. Plus it had a white a director (not that it means much) and it just doesn't seem to fit within the whole blaxploitation loop.

>(why must we label every friggin
>thing anyway?)

good question. maybe we're so possessive because our forms of expression have been stolen and plagiarized several times in the past.

-=//> Suspekt <\\=-

I think a "black film" chronicles the going-ons in the lives of a black cast. A black director/producer doesn't necessarily make a film "black" by definition. Although "Hope Floats" and "Scary Movie" were both directed by black men (Forrest Whitaker and Keenon Ivory Wayans respectively) the resulting films did not reflect black life, per se.

"We live the now for the promise of the infinite" --Mos Def

"I'm tryin' to soar to altitudes unknown to man, woman or the most agile of birds" --yours truly

"your people first. a quiet strength. the positioning of oneself so that observation becomes reaction, where study is preferred to night life, where emotion is not seen as a weakness. love for self, family, children and extensions of self is beyond the verbal"
--Haki R. Madhubuti

I don't know what defines a black film, but i did take a course in Asian American films and what I learned there might help you define what a black film is. I learned that in film, there is an aesthetic. It is the way the film is shot, how the lens of the camera depicts cultural values. For instance, we were watching this film that spoofed an American detective show. THe two characters in the movie were trying to solve a crime, but in the end, never found the culprit, and they were right back to where they started. According to my professor, in many Asian cultures, life is circular and that sometimes, there isn't a definitive conclusion or answer to everything. If this were an American film, than they would have come to some conclusion.

I would suggest, that in defining a black film, look for qualities in the film that reflect black culture, values and ideals.

hope that helps.

Wayne Wang.

Good flick.

RED
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In my mind, what people talk about when they talk about black movies is movies made by black people about something specific to black life in America.

By "made by black people" I mean movies with the main creative force driving the project being a black person or persons. Unfortunately, this doesn't include writers, since writers are rarely, if ever, the driving force behind a project. (I say unfortunately, because I am mainly a writer.)

By "specific to black life in America" I'm refering to movies with subject matter or themes designed to speak to situations, behavior and/or locales known and experienced by black americans. This may seem narrow to some, but to others this is an expansive, inclusive definition. There are a lot of situations and behavior that blacks can relate to. The job of the filmmaker is to show the connection, to make the audience understand who the story is about.

Of course, nothing in this definition speaks directly to target audience. Really, if you're making a movie, you should hope that everyone wants to see it, whether it's about them or not. This is, in part, why there is no such thing as a "white" movie, in terms of marketing. Movies are made with all-white cast and subject matter, and whether or not black people go to see them depends on how they relate to the actual subject of the film.

I'm black. I loved Seinfeld, but most of my black friends talk about how they couldn't relate to it. I saw and enjoyed "The Brothers McMullen", pointed out by some as the quintessential "white" movie. But I identified more with that movie than I did with "Menace II Society." That's just my experience.

I've been trying to raise this question on the boards from time to time, getting little response each time. But I am a black writer/filmmaker. I tend not to write about the "black experience." To the extent that I write about my own experience, it can be argued that my stuff can still be considered black stories or movies. But I disagree. My material attempts to be more universal.

Some try to say that the black experience IS universal, and that is true in many respects. The goal of much of my stuff is to show how these experiences of a black man are the same or similar to those of men of any race in America. So from that, it can be said that I am writing about an American experience, perhaps from a black perspective.

But from a film-marketing sense, "black movies" really are narrower. It's a genre. We would hope that non-black people would want to see movies from that genre, just like people want to see horror films or war films or any other genre. But I can't be mad at them if they don't. I don't relate to war movies, and no one gets mad when I don't want to go see them. And I don't relate to most black movies, either.

My current project, a feature film, has one black person in a cast of eight. It wasn't a conscious decision; in fact I tried to cast more black people, but they didn't show up at my audition. The thing is, since I didn't write the characters to be race-specific, it was a simple thing to cast just the best actors who showed up. Still, however simple it may have been, it was not an easy decision. But my goal is to make good movies, not black movies. So I moved on.

In my opinion, the burden isn't on the audiences or the media to stop calling these movies "black" or to stop trying to label everything. The burden is on the black filmmakers to make movies people want to see. Make better movies. Make more accessible movies. Make them about the "black experience" if you must, but show non-blacks why they should care about the black experience. Or why they should get excited about it.

Either that, or accept the fact that you're making movies for limited audience and move on.

RED
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RED
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I've always wanted to tackle this, but I was afraid to get bashed.
By the way,...... you do independant flims?
Where are you?

"Apathy is a solution.
It's easier to lose yourself in drugs than to cope with life.
It's easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it.
It's easier to beat a child than it is to raise it. Hell,... Love costs, it takes effort and work."- from "Seven" (M. Freeman)

But I'm from Oakland.

I've made a couple shorts, but this is my first feature.

Mostly, I just write.

RED
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<<In my opinion, the burden isn't on the audiences or the media to stop calling these movies "black" or to stop trying to label everything. The burden is on the black filmmakers to make movies people want to see. Make better movies. Make more accessible movies. Make them about the "black experience" if you must, but show non-blacks why they should care about the black experience. Or why they should get excited about it.>>

Why is is that black people always have to be the ones to settle? Hollywood, for the most part is an instiution built on the foundation of white superiority. It's funny to hear black directors sell their films as stories that "everyone can relate to". In other words the story line has been compromised to accomodate "non-blacks" and achieve cross-over appeal. In all seriousness, the bottom line is, that if non-blacks "cared" about black films, then box-office numbers would reflect that and "bankable" black actors *emphasis on the masculine form* wouldn't have to be paired with white co-stars to ensure moderate successes.

Does Ang Lee, The Cohen Brothers, Penny Marshall, etc.etc.etc. keep their black audience in mind when creating/casting/directing films? I think we all know the answer to that one. Of course film production is a very expensive process and many filmmakers loose control of their projects in exchange for distribution. But I'll be damned if I make a film that doesn't speak to and for my people--to me it would be a waste of time, money and energy. Most all groups or "non-black" people can enjoy movies made for them in their languages with stars that look like THEM on a consistent basis. African/African-American cinema-goers have never been afforded that luxury. Which could be directly linked (among other things) to negative self-images many of us have of ourselves individually and as a group.

"We live the now for the promise of the infinite" --Mos Def

"I'm tryin' to soar to altitudes unknown to man, woman or the most agile of birds" --yours truly

"your people first. a quiet strength. the positioning of oneself so that observation becomes reaction, where study is preferred to night life, where emotion is not seen as a weakness. love for self, family, children and extensions of self is beyond the verbal"
--Haki R. Madhubuti

>Why is is that black people
>always have to be the
>ones to settle?

How can you look at making better movies as settling?

Hollywood, for
>the most part is an
>instiution built on the foundation
>of white superiority.

What does that have to do with sticking to fundamentals of good storytelling? If more writers did that, be they black or white, then there would be better movies. Once they movies get better, then we can talk about the fact, which I don't deny, that non-blacks may be biased against seeing movies "about blacks."

It's funny
>to hear black directors sell
>their films as stories that
>"everyone can relate to". In
>other words the story line
>has been compromised to accomodate
>"non-blacks" and achieve cross-over appeal.

"In other words?" Are you saying that those two statements are the same? You want to talk about compromise? Let's talk about the writer who compromises his integrity by telling half-assed stories. Let's talk about the filmmaker who doesn't want to do the hard work necessary to tell a story that, though it may be speaking to a particular audience, is comprehensible to everyone.

Let's not talk about artists. Don't talk about the Charles Burnett's or the Julie Dash's of the world. For everyone of them, there's a dozen or more white filmmakers who can't get their film made, or their films don't make any money. Yes, black art films have a limited audience. But face it, all art films are similarly constricted.

(The only signiicant difference I see is in foreign financing/distribution. Burnett may be out of luck if he can't find US money, but Jim Jarmusch, who hasn't found US financing in decades, can still find overseas money for his movies.)

But what about the people making what can only be considered commercial movies? If your goal is to make movies that make money, then you have to make them accessible to the widest possible audience. To do that, there is some compromise. But that's nothing special to blacks. Luck aside, anyone who wants their movie to be seen by a wide audience has to compromise. Of course, if you only want to speak to a black audience, then you can't complain when only black people show up, and in small numbers. Hell, black people want to see good movies too.

It's hard as hell to tell a good story. But when it's done, it will appeal to anyone. To not do the work necessary to tell a really good story, that's settling. That's compromise.

>In all seriousness, the bottom
>line is, that if non-blacks
>"cared" about black films, then
>box-office numbers would reflect that
>and "bankable" black actors *emphasis
>on the masculine form* wouldn't
>have to be paired with
>white co-stars to ensure moderate
>successes.

I don't deny that this is the case. But we can't keep looking at the sensationalized story. You can't blame lousy black movies like "3 Strikes" or "Trois" (which I did appreciate) on the fact that white people don't want to see Denzel Washington kiss white women on screen.

>Does Ang Lee, The Cohen Brothers,
>Penny Marshall, etc.etc.etc. keep their
>black audience in mind when
>creating/casting/directing films?

Why should they? Or, they real question is, why should WE? If you're a black filmmaker, then that will influence you're creative choices without you having to keep it in mind. I don't have to remind myself I'm black. If you're making a commercial movie, why are you only considering one segment of the marketplace? Unless, like I said in my previous post, you know you're making a genre film designed only to reach that one particular segment. In which case, how can you complain about reaching a limited audience, when you only aimed for a limited audience?

>But I'll
>be damned if I make
>a film that doesn't speak
>to and for my people--to
>me it would be a
>waste of time, money and
>energy.

Here's the mistake I see you making. It's the lazy filmmaker who thinks making a film that speaks to "his people" automatically means it won't speak to others.

To use your Ang Lee example, Lee (and James Schamus) decided to make a movie about the a culture and a people he identified with. Does that mean it only spoke to Chinese people? I know many in China call it "watered-down," but many Asian-Americans have connected to that movie. But a good filmmaker can make a movie that speaks to "his people" without excluding others. That's what more black filmmakers need to do. Not discounting the fact that there is some cultural bias in this country against blacks on film, but when it's done right, a black film will draw in a "crossover audience" without losing its black connection. "Eve's Bayou" is the obvious example. But there have been more.

Yes, there is a cultural bias against seeing us on screen. Yes, whites appear to be more comfortable seeing Asian cinema or some other ethnic group than seeing black cinema. Yes, white audiences (and studios) have yet to fully accept black actors in all types of lead roles.

That is not the concern of the filmmaker. The filmmaker's only responsibility should be to the story he or she has to tell. You have an obligation to tell it it the best way possible. When that is the focus -- as opposed to correcting social injustice or representing "my people" or making a bunch of money -- then the result will be better movies, movies that more people want to see. As far as I'm concerned, anything short of that is settling.

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for black actors and actresses when black writers/directors
create projects without black characters in mind. Granted, it is a rareity to see films with black themes and good films can be counted on slim fingers. But why criticize those handful of "black" films if you plan on doing nothing about it. Black cinema (cast/writers/directors)in itself is a relatively new phenomenon that hasn't fully evolved. Other cinemas have been at least half a century in the making (French/American Cinema history is nearing the century mark)... A wise person said "If you're not a part of the solution..."

"We live the now for the promise of the infinite" --Mos Def

"I'm tryin' to soar to altitudes unknown to man, woman or the most agile of birds" --yours truly

"your people first. a quiet strength. the positioning of oneself so that observation becomes reaction, where study is preferred to night life, where emotion is not seen as a weakness. love for self, family, children and extensions of self is beyond the verbal"
--Haki R. Madhubuti

...and guess that you're not a writer or filmmaker.

But writer or not, I don't need to be reminded who I am, nor do I need to make any special effort to keep black people in mind when I write.

If you can't write stories about black people without post-it notes stuck to your computer screen that read "Write Some Black Characters" then you need to hang it up.

The problem I see with too many black films and scripts by black writers -- and, yes, I've read quite a few -- is that they want to scream to the world "HEY, LOOK AT ME! I'M BLACK!" But as you already pointed out, no one cares. But the poor writer/filmmaker has used up so much page count and screen time "speaking to black people" that he didn't manage to find time to develop the story. As a result, the movie bombs. Or worse (or better), the script doesn't get bought or made. The writer wants to cry racism because no one wanted to see his movie that spoke to black people. Or no one is giving him credit for "keeping black characters in mind." Instead of keeping blacks in mind, they should have kept story structure in mind. Instead of making their characters black, they should have made their characters real. If they happen to be black, so be it.

But I don't have to consciously think about black people to write about black people. Like many writers, much of what I write is about myself. I'm black. I may not be black like you, but if I write a character based on myself, then to a large degree, that character reflects the black experience. Now, the fact that a white actor can step in and play the character I've written speaks not to how black I am, but to how universal my experiences are. And it speaks to the quality of the actor, because they can read the slang I may have used, read the lines when I slipped up and went "ghetto," find the truth behind that and identify with it. And that, as much as anything, speaks to the quality of the writing.

In regards to my specific project, I had to make a decision about whether to move forward with production with the best people available, or shelve my project because -- as the only black woman to show up at my auditions told me -- it's hard to get black actors here to work for free. In making the decision I made, I came to the conclusion that I could contribute more to the state of black filmmaking by getting a feature film done with whoever in the cast and worry about PAYING black actors on my next film, than I could being just another guy sitting at home complaining about the state of black film. So I am trying damn hard to be part of the solution.

The question then becomes, which are you? Because sitting on the sidelines bitching about who ain't representing our people ain't putting a damn thing towards the solution. If you are a writer, then writing half-assed scripts that "speak to your people" ain't contributing anything either. Come with quality, or don't come at all.

RED
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<<The question then becomes, which are you? Because sitting on the sidelines bitching about who ain't representing our people ain't putting a damn thing towards the solution. If you are a writer, then writing half-assed scripts that "speak to your people" ain't contributing anything either. Come with quality, or don't come at all.>>

Let me ask you a question: Why do you presume that because a script is written for a black-cast that it is, by default "half-assed" or lacking quality?

Moving on...

Writers usually create stories/scripts based around characters for whom they have an extensive (or at least basic) understanding of: Gender, Height, Age, Hair Color, weight, race, family History, educational background, Sexual preference, favorite ice cream, car--etc, etc., etc., This information is essential to how characters relate to situations that may arise in the story and form the plot...It must be awful hard to write a script that doesn't keep such things in mind.

It is my understanding that many directors write scripts for an "ideal" actor or actress, but if things don't go so well (and many times they don't) the closest candidate gets the part (ie: Julia Roberts>Sandra Bullock, Denzel Washington>Wesley Snipes>Will Smith). Budget doesn't take anything away from this process...If "Sally" was written to be a Swedish Foreign Exchange student, 9 times out of 10 a thick black chick with a 'fro WONT be cast in the role. My point from the beginning was, that with so few opportunities for black actors and actresses in Hollywood, the fact that black writers/directors don't have them in mind when creating/casting a film doesn't help the situation. It also speaks volumes about how the INSTITUTION of cinema (in itself) has affected black people's perception of themselves on-screen and off.

Oh yeah, and uhm...I can say with CERTAINTY that I live by the quote posted earlier.

"We live the now for the promise of the infinite" --Mos Def

"I'm tryin' to soar to altitudes unknown to man, woman or the most agile of birds" --yours truly

"your people first. a quiet strength. the positioning of oneself so that observation becomes reaction, where study is preferred to night life, where emotion is not seen as a weakness. love for self, family, children and extensions of self is beyond the verbal"
--Haki R. Madhubuti

>Let me ask you a question:
>Why do you presume that
>because a script is written
>for a black-cast that it
>is, by default "half-assed" or
>lacking quality?

I did not make that presumption. I said writing half-assed scripts that "speak to your people" doesn't help. The point I'm trying to make is that when speaking to any audience or issue is your primary concern, your script is going to suffer. That should never be your main concern as a writer. A secondary point is that I don't have to think consciously about writing for black people. That comes naturally.

If you read screenwriting magazines, look for the current (next) issue of scr(i)pt magazine. There's a good article by Reggie Bythewood about how he wrote HBO's Dancing in September. It's only two pages; you can read it at the newsstand. He talks about how he started with a "message" to tell, but realized that the script only came together when he got away from writing issues and races and stuff, and made the characters real people with real situations. That doesn't mean he forgot that some of the people in the story were black, nor does it mean that he would have cast whites in those roles if they had better auditions that the black actors. What that does mean, though he only implies it in the article, is that the script and the movie would have sucked if he focused mainly on writing black people and black issues.

Another obvious example of what I'm talking about is Eve's Bayou. There's no question that she wouldn't have made the movie with white people if she couldn't get any black actors. But that movie was as good as it was, and as successful as it was, because she wrote PEOPLE, not just black people. Real characters that anyone could identify with, not just blacks. She could not have done that if she had as her primary thought the idea of "speaking to her people." Her movie speaks to black people, but it also speaks to whites.

But as a side note of speculation, however specific that movie seems to be in regards to the black experience, you COULD take that script and use white actors and make that same movie with very little change needed. Not to say anyone would want to. But that is the sign of a well-written script.

And that's what I'm getting at. Only when black writers and filmmakers commit to doing the hard work necessary to start writing with that level of quality will things in this industry start changing.

(Once again to speak about my own project, I tried to hire black actors. I couldn't afford to pay anybody. Only one black person showed up and was willing to work for what I was paying. I ended up casting a different black woman who was a friend of my producer. But instead of scrapping the whole project, I decided -- and yes, it was a conscious decision -- that I could make more of difference in regards to blacks' representation in the industry by being a black filmmaker with a movie under his belt than being a black writer with a just really good script. If you can't appreciate that difference, I'm sorry. Hopefully my point will be made when I'm able to make another movie because of this one, and I'm actually able to pay people. Of course, those black actors who wouldn't work for me for free can kiss my ass. )

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>for black actors and actresses when
>black writers/directors
>create projects without black characters in
>mind.

Nope. If the plot calls for a black character, then yeah, you're gonna cast a black character. But if you cast people based on their skin, it means you're not casting them based on talents. Which means your not going to create the best piece of art (product for some) that you could have. Which means you're not that great of a director.

What am I supposed to do? Settle for someone to make a colour-quota? If you're a good actor, you're in, end of story.

And, at my school, many of the best actors are minorities, so there you go . . .

Just thought I'd throw that in there . . .

Giving you true calcio since 1986

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<<But if you cast people based on their skin, it means you're not casting them based on talents. Which means your not going to create the best piece of art (product for some) that you could have. Which means you're not that great of a director.>>

What about when white writers/directors seek to cast a blonde, red-head and brunette? On paper, that doesn't sound like race specifics, but more often than not such classifications exclude non-whites (with the exception of maybe an occasional Latino/a). Would it be more politically correct for one to cast dreaded, braided and Afro actors/actresses in productions?

<<What am I supposed to do? Settle for someone to make a colour-quota? If you're a good actor, you're in, end of story.>>

In a perfect world...

<<And, at my school, many of the best actors are minorities, so there you go . . .>>

"minorities?" *shuttering*


"We live the now for the promise of the infinite" --Mos Def

"I'm tryin' to soar to altitudes unknown to man, woman or the most agile of birds" --yours truly

"your people first. a quiet strength. the positioning of oneself so that observation becomes reaction, where study is preferred to night life, where emotion is not seen as a weakness. love for self, family, children and extensions of self is beyond the verbal"
--Haki R. Madhubuti

>What about when white writers/directors seek
>to cast a blonde, red-head
>and brunette? On paper, that
>doesn't sound like race specifics,
>but more often than not
>such classifications exclude non-whites (with
>the exception of maybe an
>occasional Latino/a). Would it be
>more politically correct for one
>to cast dreaded, braided and
>Afro actors/actresses in productions?

Ummm, I've never heard of anyone casting someone because they have blond hair. If they do, it may be because there's some weird aspect of the script that calls for someone with a cerain colour of hair, on some sort of symbolism. Or if it's an adaption the character could have had a certain colour of hair in the book. Example: Kirsten Dunst is having to dye her hair blonde in the Spider-Man movie.

><<And, at my school, many of the best actors are minorities, so there you go . . .>>
>
>"minorities?" *shuttering*

Yeah, sorry bout that. I was actually sitting there thinking of an altenative cause I don't like that term either. But then again I don't like "non-whites" or much else.

Actually, I just don't like race, dig?

Just thought I'd throw that in there . . .

Giving you true calcio since 1986

"T-Dot drinkin Bakardi, T-Dot rockin the party . . . " - Kardinal Offishall (I love that joint)

AIM: Marinera81
MAIL: jonah_b27@hotmail.com

Check out http://www.greatergood.com Help end world hunger, save the rainforest, help stop AIDS in Africa, help children survive in 3rd world countries, stop breast cancer, and give treatment to landmine victims in less than a minute a day! FOR FREE! NO FORMS TO FILL OUT AND NO STRINGS! REALLY!!!

most of the scripts im working on now deal with the very aspect you brought up redeye...

if anything, my scripts (if they're produced and made into feature films) are multi racial---i.e. blacks, latinos, asian/asian americans, etc. will make up the bulk of the main and supporting casts..UNLESS i specifically call for it, ANYONE could play the roles.

the two ideas im working on now, BOTH have black men as leads but the cast itself is comprised of characters of different racial backgrounds...

a thriller i plan to work on has three main characters--a black woman, a white man and an asian man....this isn't specific now...it will probably change..but, i always write with the thought of casting the BEST actors for the job...i just hope it's colored folks that take the roles...

Ryan



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Black movies are about a facet of American culture. And since we're all Americans (well, expcept for us Canucks, but some could argue on that), black movies should be considered American movies. Just as black history is American history. And they should be viewed by all people, regardless of colour. Calling them black movies puts them in their own category, and thus doesn't allow them to be compared as they should with other great American works of cinema.

I'm sure you'll agree with this.

>I've been trying to raise this
>question on the boards from
>time to time, getting little
>response each time. But I
>am a black writer/filmmaker. I
>tend not to write about
>the "black experience." To the
>extent that I write about
>my own experience, it can
>be argued that my stuff
>can still be considered black
>stories or movies. But I
>disagree. My material attempts to
>be more universal.

Writing commandment #1: Thou shalt write what thy know.

>Some try to say that the
>black experience IS universal, and
>that is true in many
>respects. The goal of much
>of my stuff is to
>show how these experiences of
>a black man are the
>same or similar to those
>of men of any race
>in America. So from that,
>it can be said that
>I am writing about an
>American experience, perhaps from a
>black perspective.

Forgot to mention that above: "from a black exprience."
>My current project, a feature film,
>has one black person in
>a cast of eight. It
>wasn't a conscious decision; in
>fact I tried to cast
>more black people, but they
>didn't show up at my
>audition. The thing is, since
>I didn't write the characters
>to be race-specific, it was
>a simple thing to cast
>just the best actors who
>showed up.

That's what I plan on doing as well. Unless the plot calls for a character to be of a certain race, I will simply cast the best/most suitable actors. If you're good, you'll get the part. If I was blind I'm pretty sure I'd still make the same decisions.

>Either that, or accept the fact
>that you're making movies for
>limited audience and move on.

Man, black movies aren't limited . . . Italian-Jewish movies, THOSE ARE LIMITED!!!

Just thought I'd throw that in there . . .

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Check this film out. It comes highly recommended for the following reasons:

You may have already heard about this...
A new movie by Tim Reid is coming to select theaters. The movie is called "Asunder" and stars Blair Underwood and Michael Beach (Guy who got his car burned up in Waiting to Exhale; He also played Vanessa L. Williams' husband in the movie Soul Food). This is the first movie in 55 years written, directed, and produced By blacks AND made in a black owned studio AND distributed by blacks with a book written by a black person.

You may remember Tim Reid from WKRP in Cincinnati "Venus Flytrap", Simon and Simon, Frank's Place and Sister Sister. Tim also directed and produced the movie "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored" – an excellent family movie.

He has been very vocal in recent years about the plight of black films, shows, and actors. His own show "Links" was dropped by ShowTime; it was also filmed in Virginia at his studio. A lot of well known names have talked about blacks owning and distributing their own stuff but he actually did it. As you know if we don't support the project the 1st week it's out (the big box office debut), it makes it that much harder for our films to get out there. When you look at the big picture and the influence black actors and Films have on our community, we can't afford for that to happen. As it stands out, over 500 films released each year only 8 are black films. That's not even 2%!

Please support the effort!

Pass this on and Have a great day!

paz
junior
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I would say all three factors need to be present.

Shit happens