While I think Morris Chestnut is a wonderful actor, not to mention extremely easy on the eyes, its unfortunate that he can't get any other roles in Hollywood. Tonight my friends and I saw the movie Not Easily Broken. The movie was watchable, but I really get tired of watching the same people in practically the same movies with different titles. Not only did this movie have the same storyline as other black films, it also had too many characters with open ended stories. Thus, their characters had no closure in the film; which left the viewer with questions. It was like mini-stories within the main story. Therefore, the movie jumped around a little too much for my taste. I think for the most part, I'm bored with seeing black actors and actresses playing the same character(s).
For black actresses, she's either a woman in an abusive relationship who feels hopeless and intimidated by everything and everyone throughout the movie. But at the end of the movie she builds up enough strength to move mountains and fight back like Layla Ali. Or she's an overbearing woman who's career driven and afraid to love someone. Or she doesn't know how to love someone; which black men refer to as not knowing how to "take care" of a man. For black actors, they're either an exceptionally gorgeous devout christian family man with a blue collar job that black women simply refuse to pay attention to because they're looking for love in all the wrong places. Or he has a successful career, but is abusive to black women in some fashion. There's no diversity for our black entertainers. Hollywood will never recognize actors like Morris Chestnut because either he isn't offered roles or he refuses to take roles that will allow him to play a different character.
Another problem our black actors/actresses have is the movies they're cast in are typically considered "our movies." Hence, the film writers may be lacking in diversity as well because all they write about is the so called "black experience." Movies they believe black people only want to see or will only pay to see. My imagination expands far beyond movies about drug dealers, the life of a rapper, failed relationships/marriages, and poverty/broken homes in the black community. I don't want to see a movie like Hustle and Flow. I don't want to see a movie like Friday. I don't want to see a movie like How To Be A Player. If black film writers want to be taken serious in Hollywood, then they need to realize that their writings need to become more diversified with more diversified roles for our black actors/actresses. Just ask Will Smith who draws a white and black crowd to his movies. Will Smith didn't allow himself to get caught up in black cinema, and look how well its paying off for him. By the way, I absolutely loved Seven Pounds, and I Am Legend. Diversity folks....It works....
10 Cool Jacob's Ladder Crochet
8 years ago
2 comments:
I couldn't agree more. I loved Boys in Da Hood, Hollywood Shuffle and Friday when they first came out mainly because I was excited to see Black people in movies. But now I hardly ever go to see movies with a majority black cast.
I really appreciate what Tyler Perry has achieved and I don't begrdudge anybody's success. But I'm tired of seeing that *#$&#!!.
One big problem though is that we don't go to see the movies that don't have those storylines. When the rare black movie comes out that's not a spoof comedy or a sterotypical Tyler Perry/T.D. Jakes production or does not feature Lil Wayne or T.I., we HAVE TO GO SEE IT. That's the only way they are going to start making more of them.
I agree with you about the old school movies. For a while, it was great because black movies were being seen on the big screen. I think its a shame that rappers are offered a part in movies instead of real actors. But I guess its all about drawing in an audience to make a profit within the first week of a movie release.
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