The 90's feel more like a two hundred years ago than a mere twenty.
In the 90's hip hop made you wanna shake your booty and pick up a book.
In the 90's Black Gen Xers began fulfilling the promise made by those that marched for us.
One promise fulfilled was the portrayal Black folks in film as multi-dimensional beings. I have the utmost respect for Bill Robinson, Hattie McDaniel and Ethel Waters. It’s heartbreaking to see talent such as theirs reduced to "yasssm" on screen. In the 90's filmmakers introduced audiences to multi-faceted characters thereby ushering in the second golden era of Black Cinema.
During the previous decade the highest paid movie star not only made money for various studios; he put Black folks on screen and behind the camera. In the previous decade our most prolific Black director not only opened our minds, he opened doors for younger Black directors. In the aughts, there seems to be no interest in reaching back and bringing others along.
Now the top earning actor in Hollywood (who happens to be Black) isn't even interested in pushing for a Black love interest in his films so I guess I shouldn't expect him to help green light the next Love Jones or Eve's Bayou? And while Tyler Perry has a very inspiring personal story and writes/directs very entertaining films; his is not the only perspective. Does he go to festivals? Has he not seen anyone else's work that's worthy of wide distribution?
The irony is Hollywood, like the music industry, continues to bemoan audience disinterest yet doesn't have enough awareness to examine what made them successful in years past. The head of Lionsgate knows the demographic for Diary of a Mad Black Woman. More importantly he knows $50MM domestic gross is pretty good on a $5.5MM production budget. Studio heads stick with a proven formula (see Judd Apatow) which is why it’s important for those with power and influence to promote talented newcomers. It's important. It's their responsibility. It's fulfilling a promise.
I don't expect studios to crank out Daughters of the Dust every quarter. I do however expect at least one Love and Basketball or Malcolm X for every Madea Goes to Jail.
Fight the power...
2 comments:
hi brooklyn. i think you give tyler perry too much credit. tyler perry is a retard. while i have always enjoyed movies and music, both industries have been historically run by white liberals. and nobody loves portraying a good stereotype like they do. they are not interested in showing black art in all of its arrays of love and talent. they decided long ago that truth doesn't sell.
thanks for visiting my blog. i like the way you write.
I don't know if I would categorize the people that run Hollywood and the music industry as liberals. Liberal would imply that they have a more open and inclusive worldview and obviously they don't for the very reason you stated.
I think the responsibility of updating our image in media is ours. The money is there however not since Eddie Murphy's heyday in the 90's have there been any significant, honest protrayals of us on screen. Black actors/directors with that kind of cash just don't seem to be interested in putting out the next Eve's Bayou or Othello.
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