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Push the button, don’t push the button / trip the station / change the channel…
So there has been some talk about the sameness of certain black films, i.e. The Brothers, The Best Man, Brown Sugar, and how all seem to deal with the same themes and star the same core group of actors. There was for a few years a boom in this type of film, where the black relationship was explored rather than the so-called “hood” films that preceded them. They usually star Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson, Vivica A. Fox, etc.
The complaint is, “Can we get something new?”
Although I am a proud owner of these films and adamantly refuse to buy into the idea that they are tired, I will offer this bit of info. We do need a wider range of themes in our films, but it won’t be easy. You see, every five years or so, there will be a popular black theme in film and we’ll get about 10 of those films within that period. The reason for this is, whenever a black film gains popularity and that door is opened, we have no choice but to milk it. For a lot of actors, these are the only options that keep them paid and employed, and there aren’t enough blacks behind the scenes right now to enable us to have more movie-going options.
And let’s keep it real. Anytime we step outside of the box, it usually goes straight-to-video or straight-to-BET because the theater-going public still has yet to grasp that we aren’t all the same and can pretty much tackle any role or idea. They would be fine if we are always portrayed as the wise-cracking sidekick, the token black girlfriend that’s killed within the first five minutes of a horror movie, or the petty criminal. Another side to this is that when we actually see ourselves portrayed as doctors, lawyers, members of high society or people that are just well-off and successful, we have to deal with the black community screaming foul because this also isn’t a fair representation.
You cannot please everyone at all times. We must first understand why things are the way they are in film. You will get several romantic comedies with an all-white cast any given year, simply because there is a market for it and because the people running things are mostly white. Deliver Us From Eva was originally intended for a white cast until it was handed over to Gary Hardwick. Can you imagine how much more this movie would have made if they’d gone with the original idea? I showed the film to a white friend of mine and he loved it. More importantly, he “got” it. I didn’t have to explain to him what certain bits of slang meant or anything else that could’ve come of him viewing it. What I am trying to illustrate is, he got it because the themes weren’t exclusive to the black community. We have decent jobs, relationships, and have sex just as all people do. Unfortunately, everyone isn’t this colorblind.
I think that’s what these movies set out to do in the first place, they could’ve all easily been played as white. The makers of these movies wanted to show that this isn’t a black relationship, it’s a relationship. We need to be thankful we have these movies, however repetitive they may be. They just might be trying to drive the same point home, not for us as black people, but to the masses. And to express disgust over these films, especially since they aren’t (on the surface) doing us any harm is almost like expecting Hollywood to give us a free pass. Don’t hold your breath.
PLUG: The First Installment of my Serial