Letters to the Editor
-
I agree with notimpressed
Anonymous said:
" I think the whole "minstrel" show school of acting has become such a part of the way that black comedians act in movies (over the top, crazy, bug eyed) that it's become our particular humor."
Bullshit. I'm black. Don't include me in that "our particular humor" nonsense. You can call me a member of the Black Crusaders, too, if you want. I like Tracy Morgan a lot, and I don't have some set of requirements for what a "black" movie should and shouldn't be, but I hate that every time we see an all black cast, it's either clowning in some stupid comedy like this or one of those Madea movies that Perry vomits up with disturbing regularity. And for the record, I don't give a rat's ass what white people think about the black community. This is what I think: it's hard as hell to get decent movies made, period. It's even harder to get decent movies made about blacks, hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Eskimos, etc. because our life stories just aren't real to a disturbingly large segment of the American population. Movie producers' desire to appeal to this population dictates which movies get made and which don't. I've read interviews in which black actors and writers recount how they've been told by powers that be that substantive, character-driven stories about black folk just don't make money. The difference between the minstrel stereotype and the others you mention is that you can turn on the television or got to the theatre and see people from those backgrounds represented in a variety of circumstances. Not so with us. And do you know the history of minstrel entertainment in this country? Americans received a steady diet of it over many generations, and it has contributed to the one-dimensional way that our lives are perceived and depicted in every aspect of this society. Have you watched the MSM, BET, or read a blog post about Obama--conservative or liberal--lately? Have you noticed the way the media fetishizes Sharpton and Jackson, treating their burlesque asses like they're our tribal chiefs?
I know I've wasted too many words on this review. So, I'll just close by saying that the wasting of black talent on the silver screen and the lack of insightful depictions of black characters is not funny. I, for one, refuse to embrace modern minstrelsy as "our particular humor." In fact, Anonymous, for every black person in your 50% black city who you claim will be rolling in the aisles watching this movie, there are thousands of us, millions of us, who will refuse to waste our time with this crap.