Quote: (07-13-2011 02:55 PM)speakeasy Wrote:
Quote: (07-13-2011 01:29 PM)americanInEurope Wrote:
One, and I'm being a hypocrite here by going completely off topic, is that MOST movies in America are made for white people. People don't wanna admit it, but it is. That's why it's so important, when my white friends ask me why Spike Lee has to come so hard with the black message, or why there has to be a BET and not WET, to explain to them that for a loooooong time Hollywood was only about the white experience, and it's because of directors like the Hughes Brothers that the black experience was finally put into light. But there's still more work to be done. With the exception of a film by Oprah or maybe Tyler Perry, you'll never see a film where the majority of the cast is black being viewed all over the country by a white audience. Just ain't gonna happen. I try in vain to introduce my white friends to "Why did I get married" or something like that because I KNOW when they see the cover with all those black people they just assume it's gonna be about some gangbangin' bullshit or they won't be able to relate to it, but will make a non racial excuse why they won't watch it lol. But black people have been enjoying 100% white films for decades. Food for thought.
Yeah, it's always a joke when whites say "why can't you have white entertainment TV or a Miss white America pageant". It's like the saying about how the last thing a fish sees is water. A movie with an all black lead actors is a "black movie", but Inception isn't viewed as a "white movie", it's just seen as a movie. It's like if there's white people in it, it's just normal, not in any way ethnically white. For whites that think like that, they need to read some Tim Wise.
Hollywood very carefully calculates the races of its actors. For example, when Hitch came out with Will Smith, they were in a dilemma. Will Smith has mainstream appeal to white audiences, i.e. they can cast him as lead actor without the movie being seen as a "black movie." However, they weren't sure what to do about his love interest. If they cast a black woman, then the movie might be eschewed by white audiences as a black movie because there are two leading black actors. And if they cast a white woman as his love interest, that might make many whites uncomfortable and limit its mainstream appeal. So they cast Iva Mendez as a compromise. A similar thing happened with Disney's first black cartoon. They created a black princess for the first time. They've obviously had white princesses, Native American(Pocahontas), Middle Eastern(Aladdin), and now they had to do a black one to be PC. They don't cast the prince as a black guy, nor do they choose a white guy. They make him a sort of Hispanic looking guy and the voiceover was done by a Brazilian guy with a Portuguese accent. Same dynamic as with Hitch. Trust me, these guys carefully thought this stuff out when drafting these characters. They could not show 2 blacks and have it enjoyed by white audiences(money loser), nor would they show a black and white(they had no problem with an Indian woman with a white man in Pocahantas) as that would make whites not want to show it their kids and they would lose money.
I don't know if I blame Hollywood so much. They are just looking at this as a dollars and cents issue and trying to maximize their profit. What it says something about is our society and our supposedly post-racial(what a joke!) America.
I saw Tim Wise on youtube just now and... whoa. That just blew my mind. He very intelligently made the connection that a lot of whites and blacks miss. In the beginning, both whites and blacks were slaves and this whole skin color = status didn't exist until the elite pitted the two communities against each other. Who knows what would have been possible if people would have called bullshit and joined together centuries ago to help distribute the wealth. But then again, is it a kinship to whiteness and racism that causes things like white flight or discrimination in dating, or common sense? As a capitalistic American would you allow your property value to go down to be politically correct, or will you move away?
And regarding "normal" movies and "black" movies, I don't think the majority of the country (white people) see it that way. They naturally get defensive when you try to give them another perspective that's not 100% flattering to them. I would do the same thing. I suppose in Africa the same would go for example with a "normal" billboard advertisement on the street and a "white" one. Maybe. The effects of colonialism are a trip. But I think as time goes by America will be truly post racial. You already see the signs. But I don't think it will be mentally. At least not at first. It's been projected that in 2030 white people will cease to be the majority of the US. Maybe sooner. In California right now more than half of the primary school students are Hispanic. The rest of the country will follow suit, with the exception of the Sarah Palin-ville's across the country. The country will physically look different, but the fabric will still be very Eurocentric. White models will still be in the magazines as the epitome of beauty, *most* women of all races will still prefer to marry white men because they see that as a safe bet with status and wealth, and the police will still be overwhelmingly white. When that ceases to be that way, that's when I think all hell will break loose lol. America never goes thru change quietly or non-violently. Afterwards, I think the post racial mentality will truly set in. White families will be able to sit thru a movie with an all black cast and not even flinch. But this I think will be after they would have been accustomed to seeing black and brown faces in power for decades.
just my 2 cents...
Quote: (07-13-2011 03:16 PM)jariel Wrote:
There's no racial barrier to sex, and we've always known that, but it doesn't change reality that women by and large want to procreate and have relationships with men who are like them.
Even though American society has become incredibly liberal, we're still a very much segregated society. This so-called "boom" of interracial relationships is one that my eyes just aren't seeing, even though I'm banging all kinds of women, but then again that is just sex. What people do at 3 AM when no one is the wiser, and what they do in wide open society are two different things.
Ethnic men will continue to chase white women, of whatever culture, because to them white women are status symbols. However, and I see this from many Black American men, they are taking the white women that white men don't want, so I hardly consider that shit a "win". Besides, American society will still go out of its way to remind you that you are black; how white your woman is is irrelevant.
Using actors, athletes, etc. in examples of interracial relationships is a bad idea, because when you have any combination of money, power, fame, and status, you can transcend race.
What non-black woman would turn down the opportunity to marry Lebron James and bare his children?
True dat!
Wealth, power and status does transcend race. But for a normal dude can't it just be that a black guy just likes a white/Asian girl just because she's sexy? Most girls I date are poor students with no status anyway lol. And brother's that date these whale like white girls piss me off too. Usually it's the low self-esteem, no job having dudes.
No but seriously I do see what you mean. It is easier to penetrate white only culture and white groups of friends with a white girl on my arm than with a black girl. And that has power. That has advantages. But will I leave that white girl for a black girl that's 1) sexier, 2) smarter, and 3) better sense of humor? HELL YES. I think in my experience women date more for a person's status, men just usually like ass and titties