This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at DePaul chapter.
Recently, I have noticed a trend within the TV and film industry when it comes to the types of movies they release about Black Americans. It was more of something that I subconsciously noticed, but I didn’t necessarily have a name for it. It was a tweet about a movie trailer that brought it fully to my attention. Hollywood loves profiting off of the pain of Black people. Films and TV shows that focus on the hardships and tragedy of Black people are made too often.
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What Types of Movies Am I Talking About?
After Black Panther was released in 2018, there was so much backlash of the excitement for the movie. People were essentially wondering what the big deal was. The excitement came from – at least for me – it was something different than what I have been seeing. We are seeing an all-Black cast in this Blockbuster and isn’t an independent film that gets lost in the film festival circuit.
Anyways, the Blockbuster films that feature a Black cast at that level tend to feature the same themes. It’s the slavery movies, the Boyz in the Hood type of movie, the Civil Rights biopic, or the police brutality flick. Don’t get me wrong, these topics are important to discuss, but Black people are more than their struggles.
The Newer Form of Black Tragedy
Police brutality isn’t something new, especially for black people. Hollywood has always been obsessed with slavery for the longest time but as The Independent describes, police brutality has been the new Black tragedy that Hollywood has latched onto. Ever since the murder Trayvon Martin, kicking off the Black Lives Matter movement, Hollywood has been hyper obsessed with showing police brutality. Films like “Fruitvale Station” and more recently, “Queen & Slim,” highlight the tragic state that Black people live in.
It’s coming to the point where this newfound genre, just like slavery or the civil rights biopic, is extremely saturated. It’s a never-ending cycle: release the movie, garner up emotions, then nothing changes, rinse, and repeat.
As stated in The Independent article, it has come to the point where the intent isn’t genuine. It’s beginning exploitative as these movies are becoming quick cash grabs rather than an actual discussion.
Hollywood Politics
Manohla Dargis, co-chief film critic for the New York Times since 2004, and A. O. Scott, the other chief film critic for the New York Times, wrote an article in 2016 in the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. In the article, Scott describes a movie where a black man bounces from audition to audition and discovers the roles are “limited and limiting.” He can play a slave or thug, a thug, or a saint. Cast directors and filmmakers urge into what they think a black person is, which isn’t too accurate. Scott’s describing the plot of Robert Townsend’s “Hollywood Shuffle.”
Even though the film was released in 1987, the topic was ever so relevant in 2016 and it’s still relevant in 2020. According to the article, the top talent agencies of the film industry are 90% white; the industry is still run by white people. Even though there are individual successes like “Black Panther,” there’s still a systemic issue. Filmmakers and casting directors still have that bias when it comes to casting lead roles.
I mentioned it a bit before, but awards season is a huge part of the politics within Hollywood; awards season is a product of Hollywood politics. People will use it as a way to show the racial bias has been erased from the industry, but the #OscarsSoWhite controversy proved differently. With so much talent from the black community and none were nominated for an Oscar?
The Progress – Is It Too Slow? What more can happen?
There has been plenty of progress from the vaudeville days of Nickelodeons to the film industry today. But, the progress for people of color seems incredibly slow in comparison to white people. If Black people aren’t starring in their tragedies, they’re playing the supporting character to the all-good white character.
I can admit that we have been seeing more and more Black protagonists that aren’t revolved around slavery or a biopic of a famous individual. I just want that to keep happening on a regular basis. I don’t want there to be some sort of token film for the year and then everyone’s like “Are you happy, now?”
Chinyere (sha-near-ruh), a graduate student at DePaul University, has been writing for Her Campus DePaul since October 2019. She enjoys anything journalism-related and indulges in pop culture commentary and celebrity news.
