Imagine that blacks took over Hollywood and ran it in the same racist way that whites have:
First, you do not see many whites on television. The few you do see are mostly rednecks living in trailer parks. They talk like cowboys, not like anyone with an education. Their men drink too much, carry shotguns, get into senseless fights, drive pickup trucks and always seem to be out of work. Their women are loudmouthed fat cows who cannot control their children. Why do they have so many if they cannot control them?
You rarely see any beautiful white women and not even many middle-class whites. Because, you know, most whites are poor and ugly. That is just how they are.
Think “The Dukes of Hazzard”, “Roseanne” and “8 Mile” – done to death, written and produced by blacks for blacks. There was the “Brady Bunch”, written and produced by whites, but people said it was “unrealistic”. Much more realistic was “Yee-Haw”. True, it was written by black writers, but it was set in a trailer park and had an all-white cast, so it was closer to the true white experience. There is also “The Feud” on HBO. That is supposed to be very realistic.
Country music is “true” white music. Country music videos are full of cowboys and women dressed like Daisy Duke. That is just “how whites are”. The few whites that blacks know first-hand are nothing like that, but that is because they are “not like other whites”.
But not only do blacks buy into the stereotypes – so do many whites. So much so that middle-class whites who speak proper English and listen to hip hop are told that they are not “white enough”.
I forget what they are called, but there is a black youth subculture where they dress and talk like cowboys. From their overuse of cowboy slang some of it has entered mainstream English.
Angelina Jolie gave up her Afro and now has dreadlocks. Photographers do not follow her. I mean, she is good looking for a white woman and all, but what has she ever starred in except for some “white” films that no one watches? The best Angelina can hope for is to play Gabrielle Union’s best white friend.
She did try out for Tiger Woods’s wife in “Tiger”, but Thandie Newton got it instead. One time Jolie was told, “Angelina, you gave the best read! If we decide to go white, you’re at the top of the list.”
There is some good news, though: Disney is going to have their first white princess! After having five black princesses and one each from Asia, Native America and the Middle East. “Reindeer King” was set in Europe, but there were no people in that, just penguins and stuff. And, come to think of it, the white princess will be a frog for most of the film. Oh well.
OMG! Penguins!!! That would be beyond awesome! Seriously…
LOL @ the “Tiger” film – Thandie is biracial but in this other universe it will make her “white” (one drop white rule? although using that logic, a lot of America including African Americans have this one drop white blood thing) allowing her to play the part of a Nordic woman. It really irks me how in the past (and today) the parts of Asian, African American and Native American characters were either given to white people in yellow/black/red face or to biracial people who are half Caucasian.
To be honest, apart from the penguins… I think this alternate universe is just as bad and the real one we live in…
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Am I the only to find A.Jolie better looking in black woman? I don t find her special most of time, but in this pick she kinda rocks!
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this was soo funny to read but so true which makes it so sad
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Abagond. This is a very white thing to do. lol
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lmao that was awesome
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Here’s a ad from SA about reversing roles. Enjoy.
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Nubiah,
I said the same thing! When I first saw the picture I was like, “Who’s this hottie?” then I realized that it is a dark-skinned version of Jolie! Maybe Jolie should try deep tannning more often. LOL.
This entire article is brilliant. Very good idea.
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mynameismyname
You just admitted a little racist comment that you find Ang hotter as a black woman. I find that quite amusing considering so many black people on this blog do not think she is that attractive.
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WoW..is that Angelina Golie? I had to look hard at that pic. LOL
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Wow, that was awesome!!!!! Brilliant!!!!! And sadly, much to true to life….
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Wayne:
First, thank you so much for that video. It was beautiful. They had the same idea I did in writing this post: to show how racist whites are being by by changing up the races.
It is a very white thing to do, like you said, to change the races to prove racism: “If a white person did that…”, etc. But strangely it is rarely applied to whites themselves.
Why is the video banned?
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Wayne said:
mynameismyname:
You just admitted a little racist comment that you find Ang hotter as a black woman. I find that quite amusing considering so many black people on this blog do not think she is that attractive.
I doubt he is being racist. It is probably just what he likes in women. Speaking for myself, pale skin on women is just not that good-looking, all things being equal. I think Angelina Jolie is beautiful even as a white woman, but she does look better with darker skin.
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That was a funny read, kinda sad too.
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I understand the point your trying to make …but I find a distinct difference between country culture and trailor park trash. You can be a country girl (which I am) and have class and culture. You can be poor and have intelligence and poise.
I dont find cowboy culture as an ignorant culture. I like country music. I also love classcial music etc.
My grandfather considered himself an “old horse theif” and was a brillant genius – to this date the highest paid blue collar worker in Lockheads history – and he never graduated from high school.
Spending days out in nature on horse back lends to deep thoughts and a very philisophical nature.
you have real country folk and you have white trash. there is a difference. Just like I am sure you have honest hard work black folk – very much like country folk – and you have ghetto culture. I find Trailor park trash and ghetto type cultures very similar in fact.
Again I understand your point – that the honest poor hard working country black folk are rarely seen in Hollywood…I just had to point out that not all country folk are dumb ass redneck hicks…
Even in my own family there are people I consider country and some I consider white trash…
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So, your other blog about how white men put their woman on a pedistal also applies to black men. When I first saw the picture of black Ang I though she was attactive but I think she is more attractive in her natural colour. Diferent folks, different strokes. There is no wrong or right, so why create a blog about what white men like?
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Darkening every white woman would not work. I doubt, for example, that it would make Lindsay Lohan or Megan Fox look any better. But with Angelimna Jolie, and maybe with most women with a Mediterrenean look, it does work.
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Wayne,
I don’t really understand your point,
I don’t find Angelina jolie beautiful neither Halle berry nor Rihanna.
I prefer the young Raquel Welsh, Kenya Moore, kelly Hu, Gong Li,Tia Carrer,Gabriel Union, Monica Bellucci etc…
in the pic above, I barely recognized Angie at first view and it s true this version of Angie it’s more my cup of tea.
That’s nothing to do with her skin or race, I just think this color suits better her features to me ( of course).
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Davida:
I misrepresented and underrepresented whites on purpose because that is just how blacks are shown on television.
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I gotcha – I would say though that most people think of cowboys and rednecks (white city dwellers, suburbanites as well) as white trash. I have had many a discussion with white “intellectual types” who think they know about the christian country types…and most of what they know are stereotypes…Hollywood does not represent white christian country folks any better than they do the black community.
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“That’s nothing to do with her skin or race, I just think this color suits better her features to me ( of course)”
You just contradicted yourself!
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18. Nubiah
And I doubt you ever will.
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Wow.
Abagond, have you ever heard of the book “Noughts and Crosses” by Majorie Blackman? It’s set in a world where Blacks (Crosses) were the ruling, dominant race and culture and Whites (Noughts) were at the bottom rung of society. Much like you illustrated in your reverse post and as seen in that SA commercial.
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Davida said:
Hollywood does not represent white christian country folks any better than they do the black community.
Excellent point.
The stereotypes of poor blacks would remain – out of classism, not racism – though it would be more August Wilson and less “Good Times”. Because there would be enough people in Hollywood who would remember what it is like to grow up black and poor. The image of poor whites, meanwhile, would lose whatever nuance and sympathy it still has.
But the white middle-class would all but disappear from television. In their place would be stories about middle-class blacks. Show after show would have nothing but black middle-class characters.
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Peta;
I have not heard of “Noughts and Crosses”. Thanks!
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First of all, you are right that black culture is alot of times mis represented on tv. although it is not always the fault of white people, an example is music videos, most times they are produced by those who are closest to the artist and the arist thmselves and they often project the “ghetto” lifestyle. also, like i’ve said in previous comments, continuing to dwell on the traces of racism that do exist in todays society allows for breeding of racism in future generations.
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Right, and in my alternate universe I am sure you would be able to say:
you are right that white culture is a lot of times misrepresented on TV. although it is not always the fault of black people, an example is music videos, most times they are produced by those who are closest to the artist and the artist themselves and they often project the “trailer trash” lifestyle.
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Leah says:
continuing to dwell on the traces of racism that do exist in todays society allows for breeding of racism in future generations.
First, I think it is more than a matter of “traces” that “do exist”.
Second, the sweep-it-under-the-rug approach that whites have been trying from like 1972 to 2009, from Nixon to Bush II, does not work. It just keeps everything the same and lets whites off the hook.
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abagond
You have a answer for everything. I’m asking you a simple question here.
What in your opinion, do white people and USA as a country have to do to wipe the slate clean?
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Wayne,
I meant the fact I don’t find her pretty, it s nothing to do with her skin or race but having a darkest skin to me suits her better( after all she’s half creole, LOL)
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Yeah right, and Obama’s half black or half white depending where you comming from!
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Wayne,
If you think I am those who think only type of woman is beautiful, you are wrong.
Some may find Angie only pretty as white woman and if I had said that,you would have said nothing.
As I said above Angie is multiracial so with a good makeup you can bring to light some of them.
I don’t know why some people want to link everything up with racism.
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Nubiah and Aba,
Don’t waste your breathes, guys. Wayne is doing the typical trick of “flipping the script” in order to rationalize white racism. As if blacks and whites are equals in the U.S. (and western world, overall). That’s the point this very entry.
I don’t find Jolie all that beautiful either. Not because of her skin or whatever. She just looks rough without makeup, like damn near all famous women.
Aba,
In the alternate universe, would execs tell whites that “white films” don’t sell? For example, there couldn’t be a white couple in a Hollywood film in fear of it being perceived as a “black movie”? So, if Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp are the rare white male movie stars in H-Town, Gabrielle Union, Sanaaa Lathan and Jennifer Hudson have to play their love interest. If not, it would alienate the “mass audience”.
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lmfao
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Movies were created by whites. Black people have no right to be in our films. We are the inventors of all movies. Film is a whiteart form.
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To Abagond:
First, you do not see many whites on television.
Per a study sponsored by the Screen actors guild approximately 16% of the characters on Television are black which is greater than their percentage of the US population at 12.5%.
” While Blacks make up 12.2 percent of the U.S. population, Blacks accounted for nearly 16 percent of the characters seen on the six networks during the review period.”
Imagine that blacks took over Hollywood and ran it in the same racist way that whites have:
The few you do see are mostly rednecks living in trailer parks. They talk like cowboys, not like anyone with an education.
You mean like Omar Epps who plays a Doctor on House..? Or Taye Diggs in Private Practice or Hill Harper in CSI NYC, or James Pickens, Jr and Chandra Wilson on Grey’s Anatomy..? So do you think these actors are portraying the black equivalent of slack-jowled rednecks..? Does Dennis Haysbert portrayal of a US President on the show 24 equal redneck to you..? How about one of my favorite character T’ealc on Stargate SG-1 portrayed by Christopher Judge..? Or Joe Morton’s character on Euraka, Dr. Henry Deacon..?
You seriously think the majority of shows portray blacks as the equivalent of white trailer trash..? Can you give me a list of shows and characters..? Admittedly I don’t watch too much TV so maybe I am missing something. (or not missing something..)
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Your best post yet.
What up with my Review man?
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cool post abagond…anyone who doesnt understand this blog, obviously doesnt live in reality.
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anyone who doesnt understand this blog, obviously doesnt live in reality.
What if you understand it, but don’t agree with everything that Abagond writes..?
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well thats a shame for you, because what abagond wrote was true.
you can deny it…but that wont change reality.
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well thats a shame for you, because what abagond wrote was true.
Is it this blog post that you are commenting on or previous blog posts..? There are times when I agree with him and times when I don’t .. and then there’s a whole lot of gray area..
by the way.. I think that’s also the case for some of his black poster’s as well.
you can deny it..
If your comment is pertaining to this blog post then look at my post above and offer your rebuttal.
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abagond’s post is true. and i am not fighting over it.
i came here to give him kudos for it.
if you dont like that, well tough.
im not arguing over it, when its clear as day that his post hit everything dead on.
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if you dont like that, well tough.
It’s not a matter of liking his blog entry or your post.. it’s a matter of Abagond or you, if you so chose, supporting his point about blacks predominantly being portrayed as the equivalent of rednecks. Effectively your entire response is a logical fallacy. Perhaps Abagond or some other poster can support or at least elaborate on the point I find unsubstantiated.
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im not arguing over it, when its clear as day that his post hit everything dead on.
So the characters I have seen in movies and television such as lawyers, doctors, computer programmers, physicists, fighter pilots, scientists, etc.. are all a bunch of black rednecks…?
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for starters, i dont debate online, because people dont know how to conduct themselves properly, and there are no moderators to keep people on the subject at hand. so i dont waste time “debating” online….
on top of that, there is no need for debating, as what abagond said is the indisputable truth. anyone that says different, just want to cause some kind of problem, because they cant accept the truth and dont want to accept the truth….
as a black person, i have seen blacks go underrepresented in the industry. all i ever see are gangsta blacks and rappers, and people are stupidly thinking that is what black culture is.
so dont tell me what im not seeing is true.
only a few times do you ever see a regular proper black person on tv. and they always play the token black person.
in the end, abagond hit everything head on, and the only people who have a problem with it, are the same people who want to deny what is really going on in the real world.
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for starters, i dont debate online
on top of that, there is no need for debating, as what abagond said is the indisputable truth.
Actually you second point is a form of debate.. albeit a logical fallacy…I feel as if I am debating with someone about the divinity of Jesus.
all i ever see are gangsta blacks and rappers
You have never seen a black doctor, lawyer, scientist, pilot, engineer, government agent, or computer programmer portrayed in movies or on TV..? Would you like me to provide a list..?
Grey’s Anatomy, Omar Epps in House, Will Smith’s characters I am Legend, Enemy of the State, Independence Day – Denzel Washington’s characters in Philadelphia, The Manchurian Candidate, Man on Fire, The Great Debaters, Almost all of the characters of Bill Cosby have been very positive portrayals, the same goes with Danny Glover.
so dont tell me what im not seeing is true.
I am asking you or Abagond to support his thesis about blacks being predominantly portrayed like rednecks.. apparently you are unwilling or unable to do so.
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in the end you are saying what im seeing is wrong. as a black girl, i pay attention to how i see blacks portrayed on tv.
abagond sees the same things as me.
either its a gangsta black or a token black.
there is nothing to debate. so stop harassing me. because in the end, abagond’s post is correct. and you are just going to have to deal with that.
keep denying the truth…but that wont be any help to what is actually going on. if you want to be part of the problem, instead of the solution then fine.
now leave me alone. i came here to give kudos to abagond for writing a post that is very true. not debate about something that isnt debatable.
i will not waste my time debating with a moron online.
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find someone else to pick a fight with. because i will not debate online with you, when there is nothing to debate about. what abagond said is very true. and i cam congratulating for it. and you want to pick fights with anyone that agrees with him.
go look for someone who actually wants to debate online, or better yet, why dont you go find a black person to debate face to face for once?
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either its a gangsta black or a token black.
Predominantly I see black characters which are cops, lawyers, doctors, etc. Which shows and characters are you referring to which you consider “gangsta”. If there is a black gangsta character there is invariably at least one or two black detectives portrayed.
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when there is nothing to debate about.
I am asking for some supporting evidence to the notion that black characters in TV and movies are predominantly the equivalent of rednecks. I’ve offered my examples to rebut your statement.. but you keep on repeating the same line without offering any examples.
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unless you cant read, i said I CAME HERE TO GIVE KUDOS TO ABAGOND, BECAUSE HIS POST IS TRUE.
I DID NOT COME HERE TO DEBATE OVER THIS, AND I WILL NOT ENGAGE IN DEBATE. BECAUSE I HAVE NO REASON TO DEBATE OVER IT, WHEN I KNOW WHAT THE AUTHOR SAID WAS TRUE.
and if i am going to waste my life debating online, im just going to debate with the author of the post only. not with some person that like yourself that comes along picks fights with people simply because they have nothing better to do with their life.
you are trying to debate with the wrong person. if you have such a problem with abagond’s post, then why dont you take it up with him, instead of harassing everyone else?
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im not going to offer examples, i have no reason to. i know what i have seen. and i am not debating with you.
showing examples would mean im engaging in a debate. and i dont debate online.
you cant respect the fact that some people simply want to drop by and give their kudos to the blog post authorer.
you have no life, so you pick fights with anyone.
get over it! not everyone who comments, does so to debate.
if i wanted to debate, i would be debating!!! its that simple!
there are comments, i want to say something to, but i dont, because i dont want to debate the issue.
get out of that close minded process you got going on.
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I CAME HERE TO GIVE KUDOS TO ABAGOND,
And you also replied to my post so I replied to yours.
I DID NOT COME HERE TO DEBATE OVER THIS
But you chose to debate anyway.
not with some person that like yourself that comes along picks fights…
I am asking for some examples to support the notion that the majority of black characters on TV and movies are the equivalent of rednecks. You chose to go off about your belief systems instead of offering a response. Your prerogative I suppose.
then why dont you take it up with him
I did.
if i wanted to debate, i would be debating!!! its that simple!
By definition, you are debating albeit in an indirect manner.
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Alwaysright101:
Thank you for your kudos. Do not feel you have to debate with Uncle Milton unless you want to.
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in the end. i have examples. i wont provide them, because i will not debate about this.
i came here to say i liked abagond’s post. and that i agree with him.
in the end, if you are so obsessed over this issue, then go back to debating with abagond, or debate someone else.
i wont be debating about this.
i told you where i stand. and i have no reason to justify it or explain it. as a black girl, i know what i see on tv…and there is a need for more positive images and its not happening.
so you might as well stop commenting towards me.
because you wont see me debating about this.
respect the fact that some people who comment, are not doing it to debate.
when a person says they dont debate, then stop harassing them into it….
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thanks abagond.
im out now.
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To alwaysright101
in the end. i have examples. i wont provide them..
Fine.. I’m open to hearing about them…
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Uncle Milton:
That is interesting. I never sat down and like counted how many blacks there were and of what sort. That would be an interesting exercise.
On the other hand what I am saying is not delusional or made up. If Alwaysright101 says I am “dead on” then she is seeing the very same thing. She said, “either its a gangsta black or a token black.” That is just the way it seems to me too.
So whatever a strict count of black television characters might show, something is driving our perception.
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Uncle Milton:
As an experiment for you, try going for one week watching ONLY one-hour dramas with interesting, nuanced black characters with their own story line, like Gloria Reuben on “ER”. Throw out any show which does not have an interesting black-on-black love story in it.
The following week repeat the experiment, this time with white characters.
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As an experiment for you, try going for one week watching ONLY one-hour dramas with interesting, nuanced black characters with their own story line, like Gloria Reuben on “ER”. Throw out any show which does not have an interesting black-on-black love story in it.
I believe I have stated on the thread about “Why white men won’t marry black women” that I agree that black women are under portrayed as love interests in both movies and TV. One exception that comes to mind is Cuba Gooding Jr’s relationship with his wife in “Jerry McGuire” especially in contrast to Tom Cruise’s character. I’ve made a joke on another blog where a screenwriter is writing a script.. there’s a part where one of black male lead characters has a wife or girlfriend. When the screenwriter’s word processor gets to this point a subroutine in the word processor automatically calls Eva Mendes’ agent.
My contention was with assertion that black characters in movies and TV are generally the equivalent of white rednecks. For the most part I see an under representation (which I understand and have no problem with) of black people as murderers (50% of the killers in this country are black..) and high percentage of characters which are honorable. Bill Cosby, Dwayne Johnson (who twice has played a person who in real life was white..)Danny Glover, Laurence Fishburne, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Don Chaedle, Cuba Gooding Jr. almost always have portrayed positive characters. (I know there are a few exceptions..)
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To Jack:
Movies were created by whites. Black people have no right to be in our films. We are the inventors of all movies. Film is a whiteart form.
I take it then that you are against whites using written language (originally from Phoenicians/Lebanese), steel (Hittites/Turks), and gun powder (Chinese)?
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Uncle Milton:
Excellent point about black characters who are, if anything, “too good”. Denzel Washington feeds his family playing such characters. Which is part of what made “Training Day” (2001) so good. Good point also about Miss Mendes.
There is so much more to say on this subject that it would be better to do it in a post than here in the comments. So I am not putting you off, but wanting not to deal with it in a piecemeal way.
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Yeah, Uncle Milton, things are complicated. There are several examples of positive black characters on mainstream television and film. Yet, that doesn’t exactly discount what Abagond was saying.
I think Eva Mendes has moved on! She hasn’t played a superstar black actor’s love interest in a few years now.
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TO ABAGOND:
Maybe I was mistaken in use the word “traces” when discribing the amount of racism in todays society. And I was not implying that we try to use the “sweep it under the rug” method. I’m saying that in the bible GOD says that we should forgive and forget, no matter how bad the sin is, AND blacks today are in no way the same blacks that were in slavery, and yes there are ALOT of white people who need to shed their misconceptions about black people. Now I remember a post of your that was a letter to your mother talking about how you “educate” your children about the way that white people think about them. I believe that doing this is complete wrong. To teach them that white people hate them is teaching them to put their guard up and look at white people as if they can’t be trusted. And if they grow up having these beliefs then they will teach their childen and thus they will teach their children after tham, therefore keeping racism alive.
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Also, just to let you in on why i’m so passionate about my beliefs and the things i’m saying on here… I believe that maybe you are right, I may be a little ignorant to the amount of racism in todays society because of the way I was raised, and my religion, ever since I was a child I’ve been babysat by african american women, my best friend was Mexican/Puerto Rican. And in my religion racism has NEVER been an issue, I remeber a very old, elderly friend of mine(who was white) telling me about sitting at a religious convention when she was young and all races being intermingled, but that day the segregation law was passed and in order not to be shut down they had to seperate, what stuck out to me the most in this story is whats next, She said she sat there and cry and watched others around her do the same because the recongized how unjust those laws were. So like I said, I am one of those people who truly DOES NOT look at someones race as a factor in the type of person they are. So I may be blind to alot of they racism in the world today, but I would rather be ignorant, and love everyone the same, than pick out all the flaws in everyone.
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Leah,
Thanks so much for your honest, heartfelt comment. I DO believe you when you say that “I am one of those people who truly DOES NOT look at someones race as a factor in the type of person they are” and I’m thankful that in my life I have met others like you.
I was raised by parents who taught me to honor God and my fellow human beings by not descriminating against them on the basis of race/skin color. When my parents immigrated to the U.S. in the 60’s, I have no doubt that they experienced racism based on their race/skin color but they still modeled a non-racist way of relating to EVERYONE. My sisters and I saw them establishing friendships with open minded, non-racist people of EVERY RACE.
Throughout our lives, my sisters and I have experienced racism from people of ALL races but we continue to follow our parent’s excellent example of non-racism in how we conduct our relationships.
If people from EVERY RACE who HATE RACISM would band together against ALL RACISTS maybe we could destroy this evil. Helping to get rid of racism in Hollywood and the media world is an excellent start.
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To laromana:
Thank you very much, I am glad to see that you feel that way it is very commendable.
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To Uncle Milton: Phoenicians/Lebanese), steel (Hittites/Turks), are white people. I’m just doing what blk folks do when white people join a blk art form. Everybody has a right to make movies but the art of the filmmaking was invented by whites ans is a white culture.
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Say whatever gets you through the day…Jack even if it’s crock.
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What did I say that’s crock?
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To Leah and Laromana:
It’s ironic that I chose today to catch up on Abagond’s posts. My dad and I were just talking about this today! He asked me how I thought the US would rid itself of it’s ugly pathology. I said by people like me doing what he did as a parent.
I was raised and am raising my son in the same ways that you two were raised and live your lives (believing that every human is fearfully and wonderfully made and is deserving of respect and brotherly love). The result has been the same. I don’t look at the exterior of a person and make judgments about who they are. One of my mantras is ‘each individual informs me as to who she/he is based on their actions and ideologies, not their appearance.’
Hopefully, our children will relate and communicate with each other much better than many do now.
On a sort of related side note: I have six bi-racial nieces and nephews (not all from one couple) who will be a part of this next generation who will help to change the racial climate in this country -along with a whole bunch of other mixed race kids.
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I disagree. Profoundly. But that will have to wait for another post.
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mynameismyname Says:
“Don’t waste your breathes, guys. Wayne is doing the typical trick of “flipping the script” in order to rationalize white racism. As if blacks and whites are equals in the U.S. (and western world, overall). That’s the point this very entry.”
Flipping the script! Why not! What applies to one should apply to all. Do you as a black person think you have extra privilage to say what you please because of your past history?
Black people think they are entitled to be racist while white people must do all they can to deny it!
I’ve asked Abagond to tell me what he thinks what would wipe the slate clean between white and black, which he obviously ignored because he is so stuck in the rut of blaming white people for everything that is wrong in black society.
So typical of all racial blog sites! You all stuck in limbo and your own predijuce!!!
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wayne what would wipe the slat clean is for white boys to stop being so jealous of black men and then they wont feel the need to be racist because they would be happy with themselves. thats all it boils down to. jealousy and envy. next question of course is gonna be “WHAT DO WHITE MEN HAVE TO BE JEALOUS OF” ?? be honest with your self white boy you already no the answer.
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jasmine
What a pathetic answer!
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It is hardly a pathetic answer. I do not think it is the whole answer but it is certainly a good part of it. More here:
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abagond
I don’t have to see MORE HERE. This is just another blog and is only based on every person’s comments, depending on their views. Why don’t YOU answer my question!
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I found this quote by Josephine Baker that I thought is worth sharing:
“Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than the skin tone, when religion is seen uniquely as a way to speak one’s soul; when birth places have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are born free, when understanding breeds love and brotherhood.”
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Wayne said:
What in your opinion, do white people and USA as a country have to do to wipe the slate clean?
Forty acres and a mule. Or whatever that comes to nowadays. Probably a free university education for a whole generation – say for every black child born from 2010 to 2045. “Black” would have to be determined somehow, maybe by a DNA test.
The GI Bill did the country a world of good. So could this. It would be understood as reparations for slavery, making good for a past wrong. Which whites will do if they have any honour. It would also more than pay for itself in the end with higher tax revenues and lower prison costs.
But that alone will do little good unless it goes with three other things: education and prison reform and for whites to face their inner demons, their hang-ups about black people, which are considerable but are buried under politically correct noises and thick layers of denial.
From living in New York it has become so utterly clear to me that not even something as simple as city services are equal. Every citizen of the city, regardless of income or race, should get the same level of service. Not so. Not even close. And the two most serious offenders are the schools and the police.
It is hard to change how people feel and think, I admit, but provision of government services is something that can be changed, measured and got right.
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To Abagond:
I agree that education is a key toward ending racism, but in a different way. If textbook authors would record a balanced and truthful history, it would result in all ethnicities developing more respect and regard for the contributions that have been made in this country.
I also think White Americans who are still segregating themselves, need to get out of their environments and grow culturally. It’s not enough to have chance encounters with people of other ethnicities in the grocery store or at work, or as your post suggests – defining people based on images they see on tv, but to really establish genuine friendships with others.
Unfortunately, there is no desire for many of them to do this because nothing about their life changes very much if their world is homogenous. As you always say, the country’s system is designed to accomodate their needs and interest.
But, I’m optimistic that things are changing, however slowly, because I see proof of it in my own neck of the woods. My family is an inspiration to me. And, I have genuine relationships with people of many different ethnicities. We talk about race, and sometimes it’s quite uncomfortable but I have learned how to be honest without condemning. What generally happens is it is easier for my friends to admit their stereotypes and biases and then move beyond them.
I don’t want to paint a rosey scenario. Sometimes it’s nerve-racking and wearying. But…
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If this would be done, do you think that black people in the USA would then drop their hang-ups about slavery and the past or would it continue, as it does today?
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It would become a fringe opinion. What keeps it alive is that too many blacks continue to experience racism at the hands of whites.
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ndependant:
I agree completely about the whitewashed history books.
Something I think would help understanding between the races is if they had some kind of student exchange or stale air kids programme for those in high school.
If enough whites growing up found themselves for a year or a summer in an all-black environment they would have a completely different understanding of blacks and race.
What I think they would learn:
1. What it is like to be a minority, to be the only something in a room. That it is both worse and better than they imagine.
2. That blacks deep down are not all that different than whites. That people are people wherever you go. That “black people” should not be used in the same sentence as “purple people”.
3. That most black people are not like the kind you see on television. Just like most whites are not like the ones in my post.
4. That blacks are not just brown-skinned whites either. They are different than whites, it goes beyond just their looks, yet they are still most certainly Americans and therefore their lives matter every bit as much as that of White Americans.
I think they would also learn that racism is not just something blacks arte making up.
Of course some will have a bad experience and learn all the wrong things, but I think they will be outnumbered by those who have a deeper and truer understanding of race in this country.
Black students, likewise, should be sent to live with white families.
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Sure! In a perfect world we would all be civilized, treating each other with respect and dignity. The Tooth Fairy will also exist!
There is also reverse racism (I dont know why they call it that, as racism is racism) at the hands of blacks, but regardless of who instigates it, there will always be a tribal conflict. It’s human nature to protect your clan, it’s what made us the top of the food chain on earth.
Whenever there is a rape, police beating or murder done to a person from an opposite race group all hell breaks loose with riots and civil unrest occuring. Tit for tat, and it happens in a heartbeat! Genocides have been happening for thousands of years and will continue, until we finally become a cilvilised people
That is the reason I don’t believe that countries with a mixed population will ever succeed at present, there is no unity and spirit
Look at the Middle East and Far East for an example. They do not easily allow other races (especially blacks, lets call a spade a spade) into their countries and become citizens. They will eventually have top spot on this planet in the near future, because they are not a divided nation and work towards a comman goal for their team.
The USA is a divided nation, just as South Africa and it’s just a matter of time before the shit hits the fan.
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If enough whites growing up found themselves for a year or a summer in an all-black environment they would have a completely different understanding of blacks and race.
I spent 5 years living in Oakland California in a neighborhood where I was a distinct minority. I was assaulted by drug dealers my third year there which left a scar on my face. I moved out two years later.. because I didn’t want to be chased out. I had tenants who were assaulted two blocks away from my house three years after I was assaulted. I was called names, had things thrown at me from cars, and twice had to run away from a group of individuals who were threatening me in such a way I knew I was about to be attacked. A friend of mine moved to Portland, OR. (from Oakland..) after she had been threatened repeatedly by drug dealers and had her car torched. Another woman I know in Oakland, was knocked down in a home depot parking lot and knocked unconscious.. when she awoke her purse was gone. The victims I listed above were all white but a tenant of mine, who is black was recently assaulted in front of the place he rents from two weekends ago at 3:30 pm. He is so freaked out he hasn’t been back to the apartment. I am cutting him and allowing to skip a month’s worth of rent and letting out of the lease. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have insurance so he also has a hospital bill to pay. Make no mistake, I know there are some very nice people in the neighborhood, especially the elderly, who, almost uniformly are polite and cordial, however the level of violence and threats among the younger demographic is over the top. Certainly not everyone and not even the majority but enough to make me never want to live in majority black neighborhood ever again.
I now live in a neighborhood and apartment building that is majority Asian. My workplace is majority Asian, so I am also a minority now for much of my waking hours. I have not experienced one act of violence nor any threats. The streets are much much cleaner and there are no booming stereos or screeching of tires, or guys hanging out on of the street corners.
Yeah I know I sound like I am spewing a bunch of bad stereotypes.. but that was my experience sorry to say.
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To Uncle Milton:
I’m sorry those things happened to you. I sincerely am.
I don’t know that a person has to live in a homogenous ‘other’ neighborhood. I was always raised in intergrated neighborhoods. Growing up, there were Asians, Whites, Hispanics, etc.
The neighborhood I now live in – the one in which I’ve raised my child has Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Middle Easteners, Asians… There have never been any incidents in our neighborhood because we are all of the same socio-economic level and are not threatened by perceived differences. We moved here when my son was in 5th grade. He made fast friends with other boys here. They have reached various milestones together – from playing varsity sports, to getting first jobs, to getting cars, and starting college. We used to joke that they could be a United Colors of Benetton ad. The group of them were White, Black, 2 Hispanic boys, and an Asian. They’re still friends.
My neighbors on either side and in front of me are all White. They watch our house for us when we are out of town. We look out for each others’ children. There are no issues.
And, I would not live in an all any kind of neighborhood. This is the best environment for me.
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uncle milton: i would like to know how i’ve lived in 100% black neighborhoods all of my life and never so much as been touched by a damn person trying to hurt me?? but you’ve had all of this harm done to you. you even got a scare on your face to prove it! white boy i dont believe a damn word you are saying!! your just on here lying as usual trying to make yourself feel good about being white. yiu know you hate what you see when you look in the mirror. all that pale. then you go outside and see your white women with the handsome black man or the white women alone with their mixed breed kids and you wonder “wow, she would rather be single raising her black kids then be with a white guy like me”. well thats your precious pure white woman for you. she wants zero to do with your loser white race. be mad at her not the black race.
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Jasmine, that was completely unnecessary. I have never been hurt either, but he is talking of cases where he lived in places where most of the neighbours were a different race than him. So he could be more easily singled out. He knows it is just his experience. Based on his past comments, I doubt he is lying. He tends to be pretty careful about sticking to the truth as best he knows it, though I do feel there is more to the story than he is saying. It is also unclear how much his race entered into it and how much of it was just plain old crime.
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she wants zero to do with your loser white race.
Oddly enough white women aren’t getting your message:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States#Census_Bureau_statistics
In fact there are more white men married to Asian women than white women married to black men. (A ratio 2 to 1 ..) And the number of white women married to white men is 50 million. Sure there are some women that date black men, sometimes exclusively and sometimes as an experiment.. and sometimes they have kids with them… My attitude is that’s their life and business… if the relationship is positive fine.. I am certainly not in a position to judge… the majority of women I have dated in the past decade have not been white.. (although I am meeting a women tomorrow for brunch who is white and I get the impression it’s a date…) I traveled overseas a few years with a black man who had dated white women (and black women and Asian women..) he eventually married a Filipina. I didn’t care who William dated as long as they weren’t insane or evil. (he could handle himself so everything was copacetic between him and the women he dated..) It sounds like you are projecting you own attitudes towards me.
you even got a scare on your face to prove it!
It’s spelled scar.
I was treated at the Alta Bates medical center of Telegraph ave:
http://www.altabates.com/visiting/summit_directions.html
the year would have been 2002, I think it was September. Around 1 am in the morning.
The scar has faded but is still visible in photographs.. I could send Abagond a photo of it…many with a small note in the photo saying something “hello Abagond” so you don’t think I snagged it from somewhere on the internet.
By the way… Oakland has no shortage of black victims (killed by black people..) including Huey Newton:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_P._Newton#Death
and recently the journalist Chauncey Bailey:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauncey_Bailey#Assassination
Quite a few murders in Oakland in the past few years:
http://www.sfgate.com/maps/oaklandhomicides
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thanks for telling me how to spell scar but i had several typos in that post, did you miss them? anyway yes i do believe you are lying about being attacked by black people. i believe you made it up. i always noticed skin heads always use that same senario of being beat up by black people and thats why they are prejudice.
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another thing, your post was too long trying to explain the situation and when men lie they usually have a long drawn out story with extra details.
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To Jasmine:
thanks for telling me how to spell scar but i had several typos in that post
Changing the spelling of scar to scare changes the meaning of what happened.. that’s why I corrected you.
i always noticed skin heads always use that same senario
My father is Jewish, aside from my absolute lack of desire to join any such organization such as Nazi skins I am quite sure they would never accept me.
another thing, your post was too long trying to explain the situation
You made several false accusations, not just one.
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Uncle Milton,
I sincerely feel for you, due to your past experiences in the famously crime-ridden Oakland, CA.
Yet, if it feels better, there’s many black people who’ve lived in lilly white environments who have had equally traumatic events happen to them. Unfortunately, bigotry and crime know no race.
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LMAO!!!!!!!!! That was so hysterically funny. You are positively brilliant!
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Wayne Says:
Thu 23 Jul 2009 at 20:52:10
abagond
You have a answer for everything. I’m asking you a simple question here.
What in your opinion, do white people and USA as a country have to do to wipe the slate clean?
I know im a few days late on this but may I respond Wayne?
What you asking is a very complicated question. But I think White America can start by realizing (or admitting) that America does not belong to them.
In his book “Race Matters”, Dr. West explains this problem society seems to have with black people, period, as such (in my words, not his): While this country was not founded by White America, it is apparent as well as evident that it is viewed as such. So anyone outside of this ethnicity and happens to dwell on the same land is considered and treated as a permanent guest. In his book, he writes “…Hence, for liberals, black people are to be “included” and “integrated” into “our” society and culture, while for conservatives they are to be “well-behaved” and “worthy of acceptance” by “our” way of life.”
Surely, Dr. West doesn’t have all the answers and its to take more than one book on the subject to get a better of idea of why race relations are the way they are in America, but Dr. West definitely has an intelligent and articulate start.
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Wow, what a great answer!
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Hollywood most certainly stereotypes Italians.
But keep in mind there is an important difference between ethnic and racial stereotypes: when you walk into a room everyone will know your race but probably not your ethnicity.
Whites are presented on television as just people, not as “whites”.
Blacks and Asians, however, are presented as “blacks” and as “Asians” like 80% of the time.
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ThatChickNik:
Eventhough my bloodline have been in Africa for over 2 centuries, most blacks in Africa and USA think that whites do not belong here. Iv’e seen this on many blogs and youtube.
Whites here have the same problem blacks have in America. Reversed roles because majority always rules.
Racism is worldwide. As soon as you understand that and let go of the victim mentality it does’nt seem to worry you as much!
You can’t deny that Europeans have shaped and formed the USA, that is why they feel entitled to view it as their own!
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But Wayne, that’s one of the greatest lies ever told: that Europeans shaped and formed the USA!!!! That’s the steady diet that is fed to Americans, and it is what perpetuates racism! Native Americans, Blacks, and the Japanese were fundamentally responsible for the shaping of America… probably moreso than Europeans. If that was taught in the history books, no one race would think themselves superior to another!
We won’t even discuss the victimization of other races at the hands of Europeans – the stuff that is routinely and carefully left out of those books. Can’t you see how twisted and divisive that is?!
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ndependant
Please give me a reason to change my thinking. “Who and how” from Indians, Blacks and Japanses made the USA what it today?
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Wow, Wayne- I pray to God you are not American. Your ignorance is overwhelming.
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Wow@Wayne. Just wow. Umm, let’s see… ignorance is free of shame so I wont come down on you about your comments. I understand that you legitimately don’t know any better.I’ll try to come from a “loving” place and gently steer my fellow man on the right course. Allow me to take another stab at it…
1. How is pointing out to you that America does not belong to whites, somehow a victim mentality? Its truth Wayne. Perform a simple google search: type in “the birth of america”, then go to reputable sites (preferably educational and history sites ending in “.org”)
2. You rebut my response by comparing the history of Africa with the history of the U.S. Im sorry dear, but we initially began the dialogue with your question “What in your opinion, do white people and USA as a country have to do to wipe the slate clean?” Being born and raised in America, I know hardly anything regarding Africa. Then again, I try to stay on topic.
3. No one is denying that racism is a global disease. But we are choosing to discuss USA, right? Wayne, I strongly encourage to READ, versus net-surfing and watching you-tube videos. Visit the library, study African-American history and literature as it pertains to America. I particularly want you to read Dr. Cornel West’s book “Race Matters”.
And ndependant is right with her comment: It’s all a big lie, dearheart.
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To Mynameismyname:
I sincerely feel for you, due to your past experiences in the famously crime-ridden Oakland, CA.
Thank you for your sympathy… as I pointed out in my previous post, violent crime in Oakland is most assuredly not just directed towards whites. The black community suffers the worst effects. (with the vast majority of the perps also being black..) That’s why I posted the links about the deaths of Chancey Baily and Huey Newton as well as mentioning the assault against one of my tenants. (who is also black..)
Yet, if it feels better, there’s many black people who’ve lived in lilly white environments who have had equally traumatic events happen to them.
Well it certainly doesn’t make me feel better.. I get the impression that in 1960 and before most of the racial violence was white on black. I am aware of some of the modern incidents such as dragging case in Texas but in general from 1970 onward, from reading murder figures and from anecdotal evidence… it seems that black on white (without adjusting for population numbers…) racial violence is more prevalent.
I can logically make the argument that the majority of the black populace in Oakland does not hate whites nor do they engage in violent behavior. That said, emotionally at least, even if only 1% of the population is gunning for you, hurling racial insults, and intimidation your way.. it just simply feels very unsafe. The behavior is such that the people who are doing feel there is little or no recourse against their behavior. And I are sure there are a number black people who have experienced this sort of behavior from whites.
Unfortunately, bigotry and crime know no race.
Certainly true… my point to Abagond was that having some sort of cultural exchange wherein whites live amongst a majority black populace may not turn out the way he expects. It was a knee jerk reaction on my part but every white person I know who had lived (and previously enjoyed living there..) in Oakland and has experienced violence (except for one..) and in some instances repeat violence has moved to areas where there are substantially fewer black people. I would describe all of them as liberal to leftist. Two were Lesbians and one for many years had a black partner. Certainly the people committing crime against whomever in Oakland are not the majority but it is enough to make it a toxic environment. Add in comments such as “Get the fuck out of my neighborhood you white m*tha f*cka” and one invariably gets the sense you are a target.
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Wayne:
There isn’t time or space to list all of the contributions, but day-to-day life as Americans know it wouldn’t be nearly what it is if it weren’t for Black people. The board you use to iron your clothes every day was invented by a Black person. The carbon filament that makes the light bulb stay illuminated was created by a black man, Thomas Edison’s assistant. Refrigerated trucks that ensure that our food arives to us fresh was invented by a black person. Blood banks were the brain child of a Dr. Charles Drew. The first successful open heart surgery was done by a black person: Daniel Hale Williams. Two of the most reknowned neurosurgeons in the world are black: Ben Carson and Keith L. Black. I haven’t been able to verify this, but our beloved cell phone is thought to be invented by a black man: Henry Sampson. Things such as lawn mowers and train engines have been improved by black men. Elijah McCoy created the self-lubricating train engines which allowed trains to run without having to stop frequently for re-lubrication. The phrase “the real McCoy” came from engineers’ requests to have his self-lubricating engines rather than the sub-standard facsimiles.
These are only a few things. There are an impressive number of other inventions by Blacks that have made life in the US what it is. This is basic Black history that only our people know.
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Here’s a link to more:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmscientists1.html
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102. ThatChickNik
Thanks for the comment angel. I hope you forgive my ignorance about American history, as I’ve never had any interest in it. European, Far East and African history hold my attention. It’s just much more fascinating!
My comment about whites in South Africa at present was to illustrate the similarity between minorities across the world regardless of colour, so if you seem to think that I’ve strayed off course, that’s your opinion. The USA is not the world, as most Americans always seem to believe.
Let me put this into simple terms for you regarding who built the USA into what it is today.
If we take Europeans out of the picture.
Native Americans will still be hunter/gather/farmers.
Blacks would still be in Africa doing exactly as above.
Japanese “ndependant” isolated themselves until the late 1800’s so I don’t know why they were even mentioned.
Europeans are the backbone of USA. What’s their percentage, about 80% of the population and even more so as we go back in time!
By the way, I do have a library membership card, which I use extensively my dear.
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“Its only ok in their opinion to mistreat and typecast non-white people but whites are supposed to be treated like royalty.
Same old, same old.”
I’ve noticed more and more comments on the Internet from white people complaining about “all of the black women” in films and novels nowadays. They say things like, “I’m not racist but I find it difficult to empathize with these black women.” That’s so completely hypocritical that I don’t even know where to start. Black women have been attending films starring white women for the longest time!
Strangely, I never see these comments directed toward black MALE actors. I wonder why not?
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@ Black and German
Are you serious? Where have you read these comments from?
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I’ve read the comments at the bottom of film reviews on sites like IMDb, Amazon, YouTube. They’re common enough that I took note of it.
It’s as if a black woman said, “I can’t relate to Jane Eyre at all because she’s white.” Whatever happened to empathy?
Although I think we can’t take the comments at face-value. I think it’s just a cover for what they’re REALLY thinking; racial competition.
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ndependant:
No doubt there are very gifted black men in science, music (bar rap) etc. You find these people in all races. I’m not arguing against your comment at all but you should delete the one about “successful heart transplant”. That belongs to Chris Barnard who is a white South African!
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“but you should delete the one about “successful heart transplant””
Daniel Hale Williams was the first to successfully complete open-heart surgery, but that is debatable as there are others claiming the title.
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Black&German
You spot on! It’s debatable!
I know what the world believes and it’s not D Williams. C Barnard did the the first succesfull heart transplant, whether you believe it or not. No one cares!
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Wayne:
Why did you have to say “You find these people in all races”? That supports my initial point! You ABSOLUTELY CAN find these people in all races, but you CAN’T find them documented in US History books.
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ndependant
History is written by the winners. You should know that!
Anyone can write a book, just as anyone who reads it, believes that it is the truth they are reading.
Just take care not to be gullible and believe everything you read! There are lies on both sides!
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Right, so it is only common sense to suppose that white people are not nearly so good nor black people nearly so bad as the history books make them out to be.
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That also applies to the other side as well abagond. You should read your statements and see that they are somewhat hypocritical. There are good and bad in this world!
Don’t you ever get tired of the negativity of this blog. Don’t you realise that you are getting sucked into a world of anger and despair because you surround your life with racism.
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Racism in America is not something I can just wish away.
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First get the stick out of your own eye before you worry about others!
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Wayne:
You should read this post:
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“C Barnard did the the first succesfull heart transplant”
If you read my comment it was not specific to transplants, just open-heart surgery.
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The reason why angelina looks good black don’t forget her mother is half white and canadian native tribe ,so she is not all white. and magan fox is part native amarican so you know they are not pure white .and so is many many more of white american who is living on the white side.
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The reason why angelina looks good black don’t forget her mother is half white and canadian native tribe ,so she is not all white
Take a good look at Burt Reynolds and Tommy Lee Jones who are 1/4 indigenous. (and did know their Native American relatives…)
Reynolds:
Jones:
You can see the native heritage in both, especially in Jones even though they are only 1/4 indigenous.
Now take a look at the photo of Marcheline Betrand:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcheline_Bertrand
Half Iroquois..?
Note this quote from Jon Voight, Jolie’s father:
“Jolie is of Czechoslovakian and German descent, and on her mother’s side she is French Canadian and is said to be part Iroquois. However, Voight has claimed Bertrand was “not seriously Iroquois”, and they merely said it to enhance his ex-wife’s exotic background.”
No swipe against Jolie, but it has been very fashionable for whites for the past 35 or so years to play up their native heritage.
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“Imagine that blacks took over Hollywood and ran it in the same racist way that whites have”
This is the type of racist comment one expects from african-americans.
They are the true racists of this world.
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^ Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
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If blacks ran Hollywood, you would have Zimbabwe or South Africa…
just like everything blacks run, they eventually ruin it.
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Wow. I haven’t read the comments, but this post is hilarious. And actually…a bit scary in that it’s hard to imagine white people in that situation coz I’m so used to seeing them dominate the movies. This thought experiment thing is interesting.
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I think Abagond’s perceptions of blacks in contemporary American film and television is ridiculously outdated. If anything, the most stereotypical portrayal of blacks in movies these days comes from blacks themselves. Look at Tyler Perry’s movies. Look who wrote and directed “Soul Plane”, the most sickeningly stereotypical black movie I’ve seen released in my lifetime. Who wrote and directed “Menace 2 Society” and “Boyz in the Hood” as well as a bunch of other films with a ghetto backdrop written and directed by black people.
Furthermore, even if black screenwriters started making more cerebral black films displaying black folks in non-comedic/buffoonery roles, these films aren’t going to draw large black audiences the way Tyler Perry’s nonsense will, or any other movie with Snoop Dogg in it. It’s like the same thing in hiphop, the intelligent hiphop music with consciousness and depth doesn’t get any play in the clubs and has lackluster record sales compared with the stuff talking about violence, bling and ‘hos. Tell me who is to blame there?
I’m new to this blog and have been browsing around. I find the articles pretty interesting overall, some I agree with, some not quite(such as this one), but I think posts like this are pretty useless. Ranting about boogeyman issues that have no relevance to black progress is pretty futile and waste of time and energy.
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Careful, I think Tulio is black.
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Tulio:
Just because blacks stereotype their own (BET, hip hop videos), that does not make it right or excusable for whites to do it. Blacks also sold slaves. Was the slave trade a bogeyman issue too?
Whites produce way more Hollywood content than blacks, so their stereotyping matters more. This is even more true if you count just the stuff whites see. I doubt many of them saw “Soul Plane” or watch Tyler Perry’s output. (Though apparently many of them see BET and think that is a true picture of blacks. But that is another post.)
Hollywood stereotyping of blacks is hardly a bogeyman issue. Most whites do not have enough first-hand experience of blacks to know how off-base those stereotypes are. So it shapes how they view ALL blacks. It is why they say things like, “You are not like other blacks”. The “other blacks” in most cases are not their 12 other black friends whose cookouts they went to but people they saw on television or heard about through racist anecdotes.
As to hip hop, it became gangsta and politically unconscious just as the customer base became mostly white. Hip hop these days is little better than a minstrel show.
There will always be blacks who sell out. And whites will hold them up to the world and say, “See! We were not wrong about blacks!”
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Brittany Murphy may have died from dabbling too much in drugs, but I’d say that girl was probably anorexic. Am not sure how up to date British news is, but there were pictures of her just last month looking soo emaciated, with the trout pout(collagen injections I’m sure, how sad are these girls)
Maybe her poor heart just gave out. She may have had a heart mumur they said, well a lot of these fad diets can induce heart attacks.
White Hollywood sets a standard that is attainable by so few, small time actresses like Brittany Murphy pay too high a price. Bet they’ll do another Heath Ledger and spin it different to what it actually is, after all we can’t have a pretty young white girl’s name sullied.
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Angelina looks very creepy in that picture, her lips are so pink and her eyes are so blue it just doesn’t work with dark skin.
The South African commercial was great, I’ve been kickin around the idea of teaching English in Asia, that commercial is a good example for what I would have to prepare for.
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I am not sure how “white” people run Hollywood. I don’t see it that way. I am assuming since you stereotyped white people in your thesis statement lacking article your belief is that the African American actors are stereotyped.
Let me just say (and I know that you’re not going to like this), that most stereotypes are exaggerated truths. Basically, for a stereotype of a society to be created a pattern of behavior has to be established. If you don’t want a culture to be stereotyped a certain way, said culture should not act a certain way. Unfortunately, a culture can change and a stereotype can be slow to follow.
Stereotypical “black” films in my opinion or movies like ATL, Drumline, Step Up, etc. These in particular that I have used as an example were directed or worked on by black men or women.
Other movies with black people in them that I believe you’d not find stereotypical are Bruce Almighty (Where Morgan Freeman plays God), Hitch (where Will Smith plays a successful man who is for all purposes culturally generic) and others like these. Films such as the ones I’ve mentioned show intelligent men and women in non-culture specific roles (roles that could probably be played by any ethnicity)
From the movies I’ve seen recently, I’d say that Hollywood overall does not put an emphasis on race unless it is an issue in a certain film.
Furthermore I’d like to add one more thing. There’s a difference between being RACIST and pointing out cultural differences in society now and societies past. Please do not get the two confused. I’m tired of people claiming racism when they clearly mistake the issue.
As in other areas of our lives, Disney has been trying to be more culturally conscious and politically correct. Don’t fault them for something they did that you’ve wanted them to do. Though it might have taken a while, they finally have a “black princess” with perhaps more to come … so stop whining and enjoy the film.
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Anonymous:
Assuming that you are white, would you be fine living in country with a Hollywood like that? Where blacks run the country and assume you are a redneck because of what they see on television? I mean, if whites do not want to be stereotyped as rednecks, then they need to stop acting that way, right? And what if you told some black person about how stereotypical Hollywood is and he said, “Stop whining”? How would you feel? Instead of being so busy defending white people – as if they need help in that department – what about trying to put yourself in other people’s shoes and increase your understanding?
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Anonymous:
Some of what blacks produce in Hollywood is stereotyped AGAINST blacks. Sometimes the stereotypes are WORSE than anything a white person would do. That does not make it right – or excuse what whites do.
A good black-made film that is not stereotypical is “Love & Basketball”:
If whites had made that film with white characters it would almost be the same, but if they made it with black characters, then they would be way more “hood”: the slang, the clothes, the mannerisms, the stock stereotypes, etc. It would be half the way to a hip hop video, a Black Wigger Show.
I agree, some of Will Smith’s roles do show progress.
By the way, Morgan Freeman in “Bruce Almighty” is a stereotype or, rather, a common plot device: the magical Negro:
Also: whites tend to make blacks into important-seeming cardboard characters, like judges and doctors.
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I have never heard the “magical Negro” before. It is an interesting opinion. Perhaps a coincidence (that might be the actor who best fit the role or had the talent to complete the requirements of the character) or stemming from the unconscious or conscious need of white people to show everyone how politically correct they are. I don’t think stereotype is the correct word to describe that.
I was in theater in high school and we put on the show, Fiddler on the Roof. In it we had to be overly Jewish. How? We used the Jewish stereotype (Cultural accents, fashion stylings etc.) This is a theatrical tool to help the audience understand which culture without having to say it outright. This exaggeration helps the audience understand where the characters come from. Again, I refer to my previous point about Racism vs. Culturalism.
From this I must conclude that black directors aren’t trying to stereotype other black people. Just showing a certain side of the culture. For example, movies that take place in the Bronx will exaggerate the overall experiences of the people who live there.
Another example. I live in Alabama. We’re thought of as redneck country hicks. Yes, there are those here, but we have incredibly intelligent people too. However, just look at movies that portray people from Alabama (Forest Gump, Sweet Home Alabama etc.) Personally, I take this in stride. It has no effect on my personal life or career.
All in all it’s not that crazy of a big deal. Hollywood is moving to a more politically correct and culturally acceptant place. One just needs the patience to wait.
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Any y’all remember Uncle Floyd from New Jersey, had his own show?
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That was scathingly funny.
Very well written satire! 🙂
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What, those are stereotypes about white Americans? I thought it was reality…. 😀
I suppse that it would then be the only white guy in a group who is always the first to get killed in horror flicks, freak accident or eaten by a crocodile etc.
Then for the role of the evil guy, I’m wondering if they’d still have to recruit overseas just to get a credible foreign accent and an unfamiliar face. Someone the average audience is looking forward to seeing killed in a freaky or hilarious way after he stood back up from the half-dead a couple of times. Just in case, there are some really good black French and British actors. Or how about Nigerian Nollywood actors? 😉
Hopefully those films of “the local hero vs the foreign evil” would then become a thing of the past. Actually I wouldn’t mind if those flicks disappeared immediately 😉
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Seriously this was the last area I would expect blacks to complain against racism….
Do you know what films are??? Films are FAKE!!!! Its not like they got a camera and and just randomly started filming real life situations.
So whether blacks whites yellows reds browns ran Hollywood, I (a white person) wouldn’t care as long as the film was entertaining and I got my moneys worth.
I am a Croatian and in many films we and most of Eastern Europe are negatively portrayed as nations of war, nations of mafia and drug dealers, and nations of poverty.
Does this draw any parallel lines to what blacks or african nations are portrayed as? Yes, so don’t get me wrong I experience the same type of steretypes as you do.
BUT it doesn’t bother me because: its a film and its not real
And yes, you may say that even though its not real it does influence society’s idea or image of a certain race or nation, but I disagree, because people who believe or are influenced by what they see on the big screen, are idiots and their opinion doesn’t even deserve to be heard.
What DOES bother me however, and what this article should be about (and then i would agree 100 percent with your arguement) is Documentaries and News media. Because unlike films, poorly researched documentaries and biased News Media can cause a lot of problems as it gives the viewer a sense of authenticity of what they have seen and heard, because it is a ‘documentary and therefor correct’. In this regard I would understand your article better, because a lot of well meaning and intellectual people are fooled or misinformed by what they are told from ‘reliable’ sources.
All the best to you and your fight for truth for the black people, but please limit your complaints to realistic and more important situations and not entertainment sectors like film. As I said anyone who believes a film is an idiot so you shouldn’t worry about it 🙂
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All the best to you and your fight for truth for the black people, but please limit your complaints to realistic and more important situations and not entertainment sectors like film
So…you’re telling us how we should react to racism? Someone flunked racism 101.
Films make an impression on a people, especially their children; they’re supposed to be an expression of the times. They’re supposed to embody the art of the people, and needless to say, Hollywood has failed miserably in that regard.
And by the way, denying Hollywood’s visual influence – on Americans in particular – is like denying the sun rises and sets on a daily basis. American society is obsessed with Hollywood; it’s possibly the most dominant aspect of white American culture.
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petar said:
And yes, you may say that even though its not real it does influence society’s idea or image of a certain race or nation, but I disagree, because people who believe or are influenced by what they see on the big screen, are idiots and their opinion doesn’t even deserve to be heard.
RDKirk responds:
If Croatians are able to let the messages (both intented and unintended) bounce completely off your consciousnesses, then bravo to you as a culture.
However, it’s easily shown that Americans do not have the same mental invulnerability to media bullets (research the social effects of “Birth of a Nation”). We can look at things like “Triumph of the Will” as well.
Film works well for propaganda, which is why propagandists leaped upon it immediately.
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“So…you’re telling us how we should react to racism? Someone flunked racism 101.”
Ankhesen Mié, I would call it advising rather than telling. Racism is a horrible concept and I don’t want people to mis-interpret my words. As I stated previously, this arguement against Hollywood is in my opinion irrelevant, in a sense that it is against an entertainment (fake) industry based on $$$ as opposed to something meaningful such as news media and documentaries, which is one of the sources of stereotypes. Not hollywood, hollywood just uses these stereotypes, they do not create it and that’s why this article misses the point.
The majority of producers don’t produce films with the purpose of sending a message to society, if anything they even use the ever present ‘sentimental’ or perhaps ‘sacred’ ideas and themes in society to their advantage (think of the number of Sep 11 based films, are they really making the films to raise awareness/patriotism/rememberance etc to what happened that tragic day, or are they using the awareness and patriotism already present in people, to bring them to watch the film?)So often when studying films in high school and college we are told to look and expand upon the theme(s) present in the film, and what the producer is trying to present to us. I remember sitting in classes back then thinking to myself, and I still hold that thought now, that it is often completely opposite, in the sense that the producer develops a theme based on US the viewers, a theme already present in society and what we are interested in that will bring us to watch the film. How is this relevant, because it leads me to my point in that the racism and stereotypes that are used in hollywood are based on society’s already present idea, and not the other way around (that hollywood ‘creates’ it). What do I mean? well for example Russian’s are stereotyped and known as being heavy drinkers and a country full of mafia control and influence, so Hollywood is going to use and expand on that notion that is already present. They aren’t going to be stupid and use for example a Swiss man as the mafia, vodka drinking type(once again society’s notion of the Swiss are that of a civilised, calm, wealthy people). Again, if the producer is going to shoot a prison scene, he/she WILL use blacks,(providing we are talking about a multicultural society such as America where there are numerous ethnicities that could be chosen in the prison set) as the majority, then maybe hispanics, because that is peoples idea of prison. Once again the producer isn’t going to be stupid and fill the prison with Asians or whites for example (why? again because it is an already present idea and expectation that they wouldn’t be in the prison). Hopefully by now you are getting the idea.
Hollywood is based on the dollar, and anything that is used to make the film better to get that dollar will be accepted. Stereotypes (and the resulting racism) is included.
So this is why I say that complaining against Hollywood is in a sense ‘irrelevant’, because Hollywood doesn’t create ideas and stereotypes, it USES them. And hence to stop them being used, the idea of them within society needs to be removed.
Which FINALLY brings me to what I said in my first post, and I will repost that exact paragraph again:
“What DOES bother me however, and what this article should be about (and then i would agree 100 percent with your arguement) is Documentaries and News media. Because unlike films, poorly researched documentaries and biased News Media can cause a lot of problems as it gives the viewer a sense of authenticity of what they have seen and heard, because it is a ‘documentary and therefor correct’. In this regard I would understand your article better, because a lot of well meaning and intellectual people are fooled or misinformed by what they are told from ‘reliable’ sources.”
This is one of the sources of stereotypes, this is one of the sources that gives people a notion or idea of a certain race, this is one of the sources of stereotypes what Hollywood USE. And to RDKirk, I would say that news media and ‘documentaries’ are used tenfold by propagandists than films and I believe this is well known. You do raise a good point about the film “Birth of a nation” and its effects on society, but I think you would agree that films were in a small abundance compared to the thousands and thousands that are produced today, and that particular film would have had a far greater impact for that reason.
Ankhesen Mié, I don’t deny completely that hollywood has an influence on society, but I deny it in a sense that it is only building on what is already present in society and therefore the sources of these ideas present in society needs to be attended to for the fight for racism and stereotypes to end, as opposed to fighting the result of it.
So when I was “telling” you how to react to racism, I didn’t intend to, rather I was advising/making aware and trying to help because 1) hollywood is always going to USE what will help them get $$ and if stereotypes/racism is one of them than they will use it (look at my examples about the russian and swiss man, and the prison setting) so 2) why is it already present, why does producers have a stereotype to use in the first place which leads to 3) stopping the real sources and I used biased/false news media and documentaries as an example of one of those sources and finally 4) like I said in my first post people who believe and are sincerely influenced by entertainment and ‘fake’ films which they see on the big screen from hollywood, are idiots.
Petar,
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Petar:
Do you think the NAACP was wrong and misguided to protest against the use of blackface? After all, it helped to make Hollywood money (think Al Jolson) and Hollywood certainly did not create blackface – it goes back to at least the 1750s.
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Ankhesen Mié, I don’t deny completely that hollywood has an influence on society, but I deny it in a sense that it is only building on what is already present in society and therefore the sources of these ideas present in society needs to be attended to for the fight for racism and stereotypes to end, as opposed to fighting the result of it.
It is preserving and strengthening what is present in society, giving a platform and enabling it to reach billions. The problems may already be in society, but Hollywood has gone and magnified, amplified, airbrushed, and glamourized them.
Racism and sexism may precede Hollywood, but so what? Slavery and genocide preceded Jim Crow. The KKK preceded the NRA, which preceded the Tea Party. Each is not a “result” of another, but a deliberate continuation.
So Hollywood is not a “result”. Hollywood is a willing accessory, and should be held accountable as thus.
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Hollywood seems like a joke compared to Jim Crow and similar things. However, it’s incredibly powerful. It shapes views of people all over the world. Due to globalization, people all over the world watch Hollywood movies and buy into images and messages they send.
Hollywood also have a set of pathetic excuses when it comes to justifying what they do and stereotypes they feed and create. They say audience like this and dislikes that, and all they need, like any other company, is to make money. Fair enough (about making money)… But it’s not really they way they claim it to be.
They force people to watch same old stereotypes without really asking whether people want it or not. “Audience doesn’t like black women or Asian men as romantic interests”, “audience doesn’t like when most of the characters are black/POC” or even “audience doesn’t like sad ending”, etc, etc. But this is a crappy excuse because MANY people (of all races, genders, groups) complain about it (remember “The Last Airbender” mess?) And yes, they refuse to do anything about it.
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Hollywood also have a set of pathetic excuses when it comes to justifying what they do and stereotypes they feed and create. They say audience like this and dislikes that, and all they need, like any other company, is to make money. Fair enough (about making money)… But it’s not really they way they claim it to be.
They force people to watch same old stereotypes without really asking whether people want it or not. “Audience doesn’t like black women or Asian men as romantic interests”, “audience doesn’t like when most of the characters are black/POC” or even “audience doesn’t like sad ending”, etc, etc. But this is a crappy excuse because MANY people (of all races, genders, groups) complain about it (remember “The Last Airbender” mess?) And yes, they refuse to do anything about it.
Thank you, Mira – very well said. It’s what I was initially trying to say. Hollywood insists that this is what people – read: white people – want to see and that they’re just following orders. Bull.
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You think Hollywood will make a movie about the black mobs assaulting and looting all over America. I bet they don’t, soooooo rayciss…
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You think Hollywood will make a movie about the white mobs…err..”Sports Fans” destroying and looting all over Canada and Europe? I bet they don’t soooooo rayciss…
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“The few you do see are mostly rednecks living in trailer parks. They talk like cowboys, not like anyone with an education. Their men drink too much, carry shotguns, get into senseless fights, drive pickup trucks and always seem to be out of work. Their women are loudmouthed fat cows who cannot control their children. Why do they have so many if they cannot control them?”
Isn’t that pretty much most of the United States east of California and west of New York?
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@ Ian
Prepare to be attacked by the Chicagoans (and deservedly!)
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angela jolie, looks better a darkie/chocolate. lol but anyways, if hollywood was ran by blacks you wud still be thinking the white boy ran it. black people are mentally ill. i think they subconsciously think they are inferior sometimes. colonization, and slavery has took its toll. and white supremacist systems have accomplished their goals on blacks minds.
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One thing I’ve noticed in the past two or three years, is the plethora of ‘whites-only’ shows on everything from TLC (no longer The Learning Channel, LOL) to National Geographic to the History Channel (lately I’ve been calling it the Hitler Channel because he’s the main topic every other day)…you have shows like Ice Road Truckers and Hillbilly Handfishin’, for starters; this morning I saw an advert for a new show called Redneck Rockets or something like that – sorry, but to me, ‘redneck’ is just another term for ‘inbred, racist white trash’ and people who are ‘redneck and proud’ might as well just start screaming ‘sieg Heil’ and throwing out their arms in the WP salute! Don’t get me started on the southern cross ‘stars & bars’…
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I’m just wondering, the idea is Black Hollywood, not Nollywood, but Hollywood, not the USA taken over by blacks. What would the White Yankees be watching? European imports? Nothing? Blanxploitation?
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@ Teddy:
To maintain the analogy whites would have to mainly watch the output of Black Hollywood.
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You almost have me drooling when I consider what Black Hollywood could have made of Tarzan of the Apes…
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@ Teddy,
Wasn’t Tarzan supposed to be the son of a British Lord? I think the whole idea was supposed to be the idea of a White aristocratic line becoming the King of an anthropomorphized ape culture. I don’t think those seminal ideas would translate in the same way, if Black Hollywood cast it.
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Ah, but Tarzan of the Apes is literature, son of British aristocracy, the flower of white manhood, yes, but also a serial killer of black men, a beast at heart, a mere victim of circumstances. If Tarzan is White Man at his best, he is also white man at his worst. I mean, a black man disappears up into a tree, and is thrown out of the tree again with a broken neck, stripped naked and robbed, Tarzan, the son of British aristocracy is a one man lynching mob, without mercy, without justice, just with vengeance… Definitely, not the same way, indeed.
Black Hollywood, could create a very accusing movie, while staying closer to the book than “white” Hollywood ever did.
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Ha, I see you point.
What do we do about Jane?
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Oh, we keep her in, Esmeralda we just make a bit younger, probably using a light skinned actress, compared to the actors who play the natives driven from home by the Belgian colonial empire into the realm of Tarzan, Tarzan falls in love with Jane,saves both girls from the lioness, both girls fall in love with Tarzan. But Terkoz, the ape, abducts Esmeralda, not Jane. French navy ship arrives, a black girl lost in Angola? Domage, mais on ne peut pas…, seulement une noire, domage… So Tarzan rescues Esmeralda instead, and she teaches him English, and reads him his father’s diary. (We get rid of Tarzan talking French all the time). Go back to the cabin, trip to port, Tarzan stops the criminal and kills the lion for the bet, they get money, cross the Atlantic Ocean, Tarzan gets the information on his true identity, standing in front of Jane, about to marry his cousin, and he lets him keep her, his money, his title, his possessions. Claims that his mother was an ape, and falls in love with Esmeralda, closing scene with a long interracial kiss.
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Ok man, I like a lot of your sentiments, but really, say I was white, what am I going to do about racism, assuming I’m not contributing to it, whites aren’t one big monolithic group, one can’t just say to the others: “You know guys, we’re really gonna have to treat blacks better.” and all of white America would just listen. Change isn’t going to come from trying to make the few whites who even care to know about things guilty, I know damn well, it’s us brown, black, and yellow people who are going to have to fight for ourselves, not just bitch that whites are racist. Ya, the media and the system aren’t big fans of blacks, latinos, asians and others, but the only ones willing to put shit on the line to change that is us.
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@ AJ
from http://www.rc.org/uer/index.html
“The Role of White People in Ending Racism
Racism is contrary to the fundamental nature of every human being. All human beings begin life caring deeply about all other human beings. Until we ourselves are hurt – put down, ignored, threatened, beaten, criticized, isolated, and so on – each of us wants all people to be treated well. None of us, including white people, would ever participate in the racist mistreatment or oppression of other humans unless we had first been hurt. However, once hurt, we are vulnerable to hurting others – by participating in oppressive systems and acting oppressively as individuals.
In an oppressive society, few people escape being hurt in ways that leave us feeling scared and bad about ourselves. It is when we are scared or when we feel bad about ourselves that we are most vulnerable to believing racist messages.
In a racist society there is a constant barrage of racist messages and practices – from family, friends, acquaintances, schools, the media, and many other institutions. No one can grow up in such an environment and escape its effects. In this way the society installs racism on every white person. It does so regardless of how strongly or for how long we actively resist.
White People Act as Agents of Racism
As a result of these hurts, all white people have been conditioned to accept the lies of racism and to carry racist feelings. Some white people stop questioning these feelings and act out these “beliefs” in hateful and oppressive ways. Other white people intellectually reject the content of racist messages and try to treat people targeted by racism respectfully and as equals. But even when those of us who are white act with goodwill toward people targeted by racism or actively engage in fighting racism, attitudes connected with racism (unjustified fears, the seeking of approval, feelings of superiority, etc.) surface from time to time and must be battled in order for us to act consistently according to our best thinking.
We white people are pulled to act on the basis of the racism we’ve heard and seen, acting sometimes subtly and unawarely and other times overtly and harshly.
Racism Hurts White People
Racism greatly damages the lives of people targeted by it. Racism also hurts those of us who are white. (This is true of any group that acts out oppression at another group.) This is far from the damage inflicted on the targets of racism, but it corrupts our humanity and compounds the ways we already feel bad about ourselves. Not standing up against racism erodes our integrity and undermines our sense of goodness and self-worth.
White people become separated from the majority of the world’s people, know little about them, and miss close involvement in the lives of a rich variety of people. Racism also erodes relationships between white people – we do not want to be associated with “that white racist” or “that white liberal.” Racism leaves us feeling hopeless about actually eliminating racism and creating a just and equitable society.
White People Ending Racism and Healing from the Hurts of White Racism
United to End Racism and Re-evaluation Counseling have valuable experience and tools for white people to use in ending racism. We have learned that any and all “oppressor roles” (the role played by a person who has been conditioned to be an agent of oppression) are installed by hurting people very deeply. White people’s oppressive behavior arises from deep emotional damage. Sustained emotional work is therefore required for those of us who are white people to free ourselves from racism. To create a just society, white people must not only inform ourselves fully about racism and take action to end it, but must also heal from the damage caused by being exposed to racism and by having participated in it.
United to End Racism has found that white people taking turns listening to each other in pairs and in groups is an effective way to do this emotional work. Those of us who are white need to remember and to tell our stories about the racism in our lives and assist one another to release the intense feelings that underlie these stories. These stories can include early experiences with racism, the racist lies we were told, the times we acted out racism, and the racist attitudes that were held by the people around us, as well as the successes we’ve had in fighting racism.
To do this work, we white people need settings in which we can be open about racism without being blamed or shamed, where we know we are cared about and respected. Under these conditions, we can remember and tell what happened to us with regard to racism and release the painful emotions from these experiences. And we need to learn to do this work with one another as white people. It is the job of white people, not people targeted by racism, to do the work to both stop white people from perpetuating racism and to help white people heal the damage we carry.
With emotional release, white people are able to think afresh about these experiences. We become partners with people targeted by racism in their efforts to heal from having lived in a racist society. We begin taking effective steps to end racism along with freeing ourselves of the effects of racism, all of which improves our lives in countless ways.
White People as Allies to People Targeted by Racism
An important part of ending racism and all other oppressions is to develop alliances between those targeted by the oppression and those outside the targeted group. Eliminating racism requires the development of strong alliances among groups of people targeted by racism and also with white people who are committed to ending racism. These white allies are people who have decided to work for the liberation of all people targeted by racism. We, white people in this ally role, demonstrate by our actions and words that we support the goals and visions of groups targeted by racism and work alongside them. In United to End Racism, we have learned a great deal about building these alliances and about white people becoming effective allies.
Steps Toward Becoming White Allies
There are many ways for white people to work as allies in eliminating racism. Some of these include:
Taking visible stands against all forms of racism by both backing anti-racism organizations led by people targeted by racism as well as standing independently as a white person against racism;
Working on and eliminating our own racism and healing the places we have been silent and passive about racism;
Standing against one of the effects of racism by reminding targeted people of their goodness, intelligence, competence, and the importance of their relationships with one another;
Actively seeking correct information and healing from the ways we have been unaware and uninformed;
Building long-term friendships with people targeted by racism and challenging the racist messages of separation, difference, and fear;
Training and building groups of white allies committed to eliminating racism by assisting other whites to heal the damage done to us by racism;
Understanding that being allies to people targeted by racism is for our own benefit since it involves reclaiming our full humanity and having a world right for everyone, a world where everyone matters.
For more information about white people healing the damage done by racism, see the pamphlet Working Together to End Racism, a publication of United to End Racism.”
*********************************************
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@ Anonymous
“Let me just say (and I know that you’re not going to like this), that most stereotypes are exaggerated truths. Basically, for a stereotype of a society to be created a pattern of behavior has to be established. If you don’t want a culture to be stereotyped a certain way, said culture should not act a certain way.”
This is very interesting!
We must therefore postulate from that quote, that in general, white people are racist and bigots, since it can be argued, that they’ve developed a very long and decidedly brutal culture with respect to people of colour in this hemisphere, behavioural characteristics that created so much pain and suffering to people of colour, even to this day, albeit be it, a little more subtle in North America today OR are we to assume that stereotyping is the purview of whites only, and they are the only ones who are imbued with the power to do that.
I guess, people of colour have not yet been given the rights by whites to stereotype anybody, especially whites. (We would certainly like to know when you elect to pass on those rights).
It would appear that you vitiated your own argument by concluding: “I’m tired of people claiming racism when they clearly mistake the issue.” I guess you’ve forgotten/discounted the “established” “pattern of behavior.”
Your post is duplicitous. In other words, you are speaking from both sides of your mouth, but it’s not like people of colour have not seen and heard that before.
With respect to race, and especially racial stereotyping, we MUST never forget that it is one way street – it must and can only be done by whites, thus comporting to the Dred Scott Doctrine.
My two cents!
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“Reindeer king”. Brilliant!
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You must have a completely different set of movies than I do.
I keep seeing Black doctors and scientists on TV, good, honest, pure folk standing up against evil whites–sometimes even white superheroes retconned to magically be Black (Or Moslem or queer or whatever the sympathy figure of the week is). No explanation given IN universe, so it must be a sales gimmick, right? (Would Nick Fury turning magically Black be countable as part of the “Irish Have It Bad Too” argument?)
I haven’t heard of any new Golan-Globus movies in DECADES, and the newest Seagal movie has a gang of black militants as the GOOD guys, and COPS as the bad guys!
Even Equalizer got the reversion treatment!
Hell, even Death Wish, THE Vigilante movie, retconned the thugs into being whites and…IRISH!
That’s right, people who look like US are the bad guys, people who look like you are the good guys! Talk about alienation in our own nation! I keep wondering if I’ve fallen into the Goatee Universe! Or maybe what I’m seeing is a temporary distortion in reality? I want more “temporary” and less “distortion”, please?
Then I look into reality and I see more people killed in Chicago than Afghanistan, Black thugs burning down whole cities, a President taking the side of the thugs over the cops, Blacks finally taking more Welfare in ABSOLUTE numbers, rather than just the “proportion” thing that Liberals don’t get…And to put the cherry on it, a Mulatto thug shooting up a school–BUT being selective enough to ask what their religion is, and only shoot CHRISTIANS! This shows malice aforethought.
I have to wonder what the movie-makers are on! “Where have all the good blacks gone, and where are all the gods?” so to speak…
I notice you have no trouble using the “White Trash” stereotype, but you’d bristle if “Ghetto Thug” was the ONLY archetype available to Blacks. AND YET, Rank&File Blacks identify so strongly with ghetto thugs, they’re willing to burn down whole cities over one’s death! Why is this if not all Blacks are thugs? If not all Blacks are a “Cracked Monolith of Evil” or whatever?
Shouldn’t they be giving applause or at least a slow-clap like whites do when cops shoot a white criminal?
(Even when BLACK cops shoot white criminals, if that makes a difference?)
Or if Blacks have too much spare money and energy, hire Gilbert Gottfried to do a roast for the cops who stop the thugs.
“WOW! You really killed ONE thug all by yourself? Without artillery? Without Close Air Support?
“Of course, killing ONE thug is like killing ONE cockroach…except cockroaches don’t get YOUR money to help them keep breeding!
“Keep it up, you’ll clean up the whole country in only 600,000 more years!”
(Etc. in that vein.)
I think ONLY Gilbert Gottfried has not only the VOICE, but also the sarcastic MINDSET to make anything he says sound like a dire insult. He could even make “Oh, God, My Christ” sound like a dire insult–and in fact HAS, in an old murder mystery!
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@ EPGAH
The post says nothing about Blacks playing good guys or bad guys. That is a straw man argument.
Sometimes it seems like you are talking to imaginary people, especially when you do not say who you are addressing your comments to.
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^^^He won’t. Best advice is to make a repeat joke of him as he is glad to be a clown.
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EPGAH is trolling my blog as well
That in and of itself would provide endless hours of hilarity!
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This is the most antisemitic post I’ve read in my life.
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