Why THE HELP?
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- 'The Help' trended in Netflix's Top 10 in the wake of recent protests. I took a look at 'The Help' and films like it to understand how Hollywood packages racism as entertainment and why the industry is...not good at it.
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"Entertainment cannot replace education." Very well-said.
But golly, does it!
As one of the people who learned about the Tulsa Race Massacre from The Watchmen... yeah I agree, even as a white guy I felt insulted that my American public education covered this up.
@@davidbjacobs3598it was a riot. Massacre my ass
Pro-Palestinian riots on campus throughout America has become the civil rights of 2024!!😡
“Some guy was found guilty. I don’t know who he is.”
Honestly it is the shade he deserves.
As long as you're willing to ignore his productions as well
Christopher Brown oh no a guy with a valid criticism of is not a saint.
@@piranha5506 excuse me?
This is why a lot of black films that were critically acclaimed in 2019 (us, Luce, waves, dolomite is my name, the Atlantic’s, clemency, queen and slim, the last black man in San Francisco) were snubbed from the academy awards and other major film awards bc they didn’t have a white savior narrative and or the feel good sense as other race films that were awarded. They wouldn’t nominate Lupita Nyong’o for Us for best actress despite the fact that lupita won the best actress awards than any of the Oscar nominees bc her performance challenges the notion of specific roles/performances that are usually given to black actresses
Waves was so fucking good. Probably the biggest snub of last year. The Cinematography and Acting at the very least should've been recognised - but no. Although, Waves in particular didn't get any nominations because it wasnt pushed for consideration by A24. They instead pushed Uncut Gems, which also failed to get any nominations. But i think it should be the job of the academy now more than ever to actively seek out alternative films from creators that don't have the money for a full oscar campaign. The traditional way of doing things - nominations more or less being only given to those with the money to campaign is outdated. Its should be the academy's job to recognise film, and not the creators job to spend millions of dollars just for them to take notice.
this is why we have the independent spirit awards
Flynn.exe I agree I love waves it was one of my top 20 favorite films of 2019 I personally thought sterling k brown should’ve been the real front runner for best supporting actor than braid Pitt but this year oscars was about giving career awards
I think waves is a perfect example of another issue. The movie isn't "enough about race" for some people. There's lots of people (mainly white) who would watch Waves and just call it a drama about a family that happens to be black, and think that it's somehow less valuable because of that. The movie doesn't have many white characters, there's no scene where a white character gets called out for their biases, and it breaks this unwritten rule that every movie with a primarily black cast must be about race explicitly.
I adore waves, and it saddens me that it would've gotten more coverage if it didn't have many of the elements that made it so interesting.
Errant Times it was a combo of both. The same reason for toni Collette snub which is the academy even after all these years and decades still haven’t taken horror genre as a serious art form (despite being one of the most innovative and evolving genres in cinema history) but there’s also for the #OscarSoWhite situation they rarely nominate black actresses and actresses of color that have both their performances and their films that either challenge or break away racial typecasting.
What to watch instead of “The Help”, ”Driving Miss Daisy”, ”Crash”, ”The Blind Side”, and ”Green Book”:
1. Do the Right Thing
2. 13th
3. Judas and the Black Messiah
4. Malcolm X
5. The Color Purple
6. The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till
7. When They See Us
8. The Central Park Five
9. Dolemite Is My Name
10. Fruitvale Station
12. Selma
13. BlackkKlansman
14. Da 5 Bloods
15. If Beale Street Could Talk
16. Sorry To Bother You
17. Get Out
19. Us
20. Blindspotting
21. Beasts of No Nation
22. Widows
23. Mudbound
24. Imperial Dreams
25. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
26. Moonlight
27. Beast of the Southern Wild
Watched and love all these films you listed
Great list! Sorry to bother you is one of my all time favourites!
The Blind Side is so hilariously tone-deaf...
Daughters of the Dust is a must 💕💕
Glory?
The Green Book is a lot more overtly offensive than The Help though. I mean that chicken scene alone. That movie completely centers a white man who feels he's "blacker" than Don Shirley, because he he eats fried chicken and listens to Aretha Franklin or some shit. The Help seems to push this message of, "we're all women, we all have it rough. Some of us are black maids getting paid next to nothing and have to deal with the constant fear of being lynched in the deep south and some of us are being criticized for not getting a man."
Well... Ease it up a bit bud. The film portrais it as a ridicilous scene. It IS not taken seriously in that scene. You laugh ať it because it IS ridicilous.
Also I don't see much issue with Green Book as a white savior movie honestly. It IS a story where both learn from each other And become friends. Mahershala Alis charakter learns no lt to be so uptight And Viggo Mortensen learns to be moře že der And to maybe sometimes think what his words will mean And how him being moře tender can open different side of him and by that a different side of the relationships he has or he will have. And yes it IS also about him brealing from the chains of xenofobia he feels towards black people in general.
I agree with your point about "The Help". It does have messages beyond main narrative of racism. There are narratives such as tragic loss of a child, domestic violence, not being able to have children, caring for a sick parent and not being accepted for different reasons. These subplots give the viewer a window to identify with a character even if the viewer is a different race. I do believe it has white savior moments but those are not as overt as in the Green Book and the Blind Side. I wonder if the Help focused on more African American women and less on the white women if it would be viewed differently (2 main AA women storylines, compared 4 to 5 White women story lines)?
Agree, the Green Book was offensive. The Help was also regressive.
Well, Don Shirley does call him out for saying that after the prison scene.
Yeah “white saviour” in green book was outright racist, not to mention that slur controversy during the promotion of the movie. At least in The Help Emma Stone’s character has good intentions and not seen as a racist initially. Prejudice she had towards the help was class prejudice.
I think that's why I loved Black Klansman because while it's a true story that takes place in the past, Spike Lee ends the film with riots that happened in modern times as well as news footage of the Klans leader David Duke to show that racism is still alive. Very powerful film!
I haven't seen "Black Klansman" in its entirety, but I have seen that ending scene. It completely caught me off guard in the best, most horrifying way possible. My heart dropped into my stomach when it showed the Klan rally with audio from Charlottesville and then cut to modern-day footage of the march itself. Absolutely horrible, and a wake-up call to people who like to think that, "Well, because we don't have Jim Crow anymore and have had a black president, racism is over now."
I agree on that but blacklannsman i like too
@@taknighisbeauvoir2996 I'm dying for him to do a sequel to "School Daze", because black colleges are actively recruiting "non-traditional" students to stay alive and I'd love to see how Mission College would deal with that.
Of course he would justify destructive behavior that destroys thr community
@@AliciaNyblade Agreed, and that hard hitting realness is why Blackkklansman was snubbed for best picture in favor of the Green Book. It was too real for the Academy as they prefer overly sanitized and simplistic movies about race.
As a mexican, we're not usually taught about black history so when I learned about the Tulsa massacre on Watchmen I was horrified about it and did a lot of research about that topic and about slavery. Now I get the civil rights and the black lives matter movements.
Don’t feel too bad. I’m a black person who went to American public schools and a private college. I saw Rosewood as a child, but didn’t learn about Tulsa till I was an adult
Same for Brazilians...I had no idea so many of these things had happened.
Yes and watching the new season of The Umbrella Academy, I was shocked by the scenes with Alison during the 60s.
Same here, I'm panamanian, but this is US history, I think a lot of importance is given towards racism in the United States and it inevitably leaves a lot of the racism in other countries go unseen because "at least is not as bad as in the US" I think is also important to research racism in the countries that we live in, so as the people who are systematically oppressed in our homes don't go unseen.
Agreed, as a Puerto Rican, the same happened to me!
I literally just dug up a comment I posted a year and a half ago to a commentary about "Green Book"'s best picture win which says virtually everything you cover in this video essay:
"[...]I'm generally tired of any and all movies like this which portray racism as some absurd oddity from a bygone era as manifested through people who just needed to get to know some coloreds to change their minds. Racism is here and now. It's systems and structures and institutions. It's both the folks yelling 'build the wall' and the ones who just moved into the historically black neighborhood last month and already are trying to rid it of the guy who's been selling his art on the street corner for the last decade."
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I always felt like Emma Stone was so forgettable in The Help. I only remember it for Viola and Octavia’s performances.
BALD CAT right and it’s sad bc her best film performances are roles that are non stereotypical. I personally felt she should’ve been a best supporting actress contender for her performance in Luce last year she was amazing in that film
Literally the only thing I can remember about Emma Stone is the hair, and that is NOT a good thing. My god, that hair.
LOL- I thought she was Amanda Seyfried when I was telling my friend about the film! I remembered Viola, Octavia and Aunjanue, tho.
I think that was intentional.
@render dot She wasn't dumb at all. Hattie neither.
Remember that time Whoopi didn't win for Color Purple? That hurt, it's one of my favorite movies.
It was a two way f**k-up by the Academy. Firstly they didn't award Whoopi and secondly they snubbed Geraldine Page time and again only to award her at the cost of letting a woman of colour lose for an extremely deserving performance. If Geraldine wouldn't have won that year, then she would've died Oscarless. Just like Peter O' Toole. Glenn Close will win for a less deserving role and that too over an actress of colour. Mark my words.
And Angela Bassett!! Breaks my heart!!
@@angelajohnsonkeys4199 No one was beating Holly Hunter that year.
Whoopi Goldberg SHOULDVE been the first African American woman to win & Angela Bassett the 2nd.
@@arthurfleck816 Cicely Tyson should've been the first one
In Hollywood, I've noticed that POC only ALWAYS win Oscars for acting in typecasted roles. Black actors have won Oscars for playing slaves, shady crooks, a Mammie, or an abusive parent. Latinex actors also get it bad because they always get nomimated for playing the shady drug dealer or mafia/mob leader. But when POC do act in roles that don't paint them in a negative light, but in more of an empowering role, they ALWAYS get passed up. It's why movies like Us, Dolimite is my Name, Waves, and Queen and Slim would NEVER get nominated for an Oscar. Because in the eye of the Academy Awards, they're not some kinda white saviour or slave narrative. It would just be seen by the Acdemy as a family drama to watch on the side. Hollywood claims it's so "diverse" and trying to fix the "race problem," but it's not.
Unlike Broadway, Broadway actually IS fixing it's race problem. We've seen such an increase in diversity in all of it's major acting categories with actors acting in roles that are actually positive and not too self deprecating. Just in 2016, all 4 of the major musical acting awards went to POC for their amazing work.
Very true Denzel washington gave his best performance in malcolm x but only won an oscar for playing a slave and a corrupt cop
One argentinian actor refused to be part of Hollywood productions because all the roles they offered him were mexican drug dealers.
Broadway still has quite a ways to go fixing their problems. But, they are trying.
What is latinx?
Lachelle Lewis Oh jeez lol. Of course it is 🙄
This is the same issue with Native American people in cinema, they're shown as history always in the past tense while the good guys are always Americans, ignoring how the american government has oppressed them with their propaganda which the same thing cinema has committed too. There is something called Fourth Cinema to combat this, is there a movement for cinema and black people that frames stories outside the classical white hollywood First Cinema?
Maybe all those rich Black actors can pool their money and create their own studio and make their own movies.
Would blaxploitation films fit into what you're thinking of? Though those movies were made in the seventies era, I can think of a few Black movies that could fit into this category today. Definitely not the same thing as the Fourth Cinema, as blaxploitation films seemed to rely more on stereotypes rather than telling more true-to-life stories, but they were films made by Black people for Black communities (at least initially, I believe?), similar to fourth cinema movies being made by Indigenous Americans for Indigenous communities. I'd be interested in seeing more about minority film cultures/movements on this channel, or anywhere else!
@@MiBones Tyler Perry has a new studio now in Atlanta & seems to intend on making movies focused on Black stories!
So @MiBones, basically you are calling for more segregation to heal a problem that started with...segregation. You commented on my post as well. And the tone that I get from your comments indicates that you really don't understand the problems hearing unfortunately, which I promise is not meant to be an empty insult but an invitation to educate yourself further. By "their own," to me, it sounds not great. Don't let "them" into the global national media platforms, what's wrong with that? Yeah, you are missing the point entirely.
@@MiBones Hi. They do. Will and Jada, Oprah, Spike Lee and others have production companies. Although outside of Oprah and Tyler Perry few have the power to fund wide release distribution and in some cases may need to do a co production to cover costs they their own companies cannot manage. Even to that end, that doesn't mean the Academy will even watch their films. Award shows help with visibility. Even getting nominated can raise your film's profile.
Also saying 'make your own shit's doesn't really solve anything. Of course I believe Black people should have their own apparatus, hell I own my own production company, but this does not address the systemic influence white people in our industry still hold over us. There simply are not enough Black entertainers with the capital to start their own production AND distribution companies and studios to offer gainful employment to the millions of Black people in our industry.
Also if you like this comment please subscribe to our channel to support our production house which employs 90 percent Black and POC cast and crew.
I like watching The Help with ESL students at the beginning of dealing with race relations. It's funny, well acted, has amazing actors in it and it warms them up. Then as we progress deeper into the issue, you can see students coming back to the movie and start to question the narrative. That's the best way to use it imo.
I have been so blind.I ask forgiveness for all whom I may have offended and wronged. Please forgive me.
what a coincidence because my english teacher in secondary school also showed us that movie. the teacher showed us that movie to introduce to us race issues in america as well as the southern accent which we had never heard before that time.
we enjoyed the movie (and since we were a bunch of juvenile 15-year-olds with a poorer grasp of english, we especially couldn't get enough of "eat my shit" and "you is kind. you is smart. you is important" haha)
but now that i'm older and more aware of racist issues/stereotypes/tropes, i agree that "the help" is kinda questionable and superficial in terms of tackling the deeper root of racism
I love how you do this. It allows your students an introduction to these more complicated topics from the perspective of where they are starting, instead of plopping them in the middle of this issue. From there, you can continue the conversation and your students will have a deeper understanding for how inequality has been ingrained in our culture and how to be conscious of the media they consume. Fantastic teaching method
White people like White Savior films. It's comforting.
And for a great percentage of black people found them comfortable: the system is f-ed up, but there’s always gonna be some white folk down for us. Only over the last decade has that perspective become widely challenged.
@Michael Freed oh no, you are a spamer...
Oscar Jordan White people can have one white saviour movie a year as a treat, every other win should be different :D
@Michael Freed maybe "hierarchical system(s) of oppression" could stand in for the word "narrative" when we're talking about real life. Maybe thinking of our history/present as a narrative is a useful, and can empower us to change said narrative. Focusing on individuals is important to inspire empathy, but -- to paraphrase the late, great, reverend doctor Forrest Gump:
systemic problems is
as systemic problems does.
They take the face of aunt Jemima off the syrup and say cuz it's racist. Well whose face is gonna be on there now a white ain't Jemima or maybe she's just light skinned. My ancestors were peasents in the Ukraine and that's the way it is. We all have a past and no one's perfect but destroying crap that's not yours burning and killing is bullshit. And defund forget it. The race issue isn't an issue where I live.
The Take made a video about the white savior films and added the help, they actually made it the thumbnail and a lot of white people came up to its defense. I was like "really? You don't see it? It's so obvious, how could you not?"
I still don't get why they don't get it lol
Sigh.. .
There seems to be a problem reconciling the fact that something that they enjoy and that seems good, can be problematic. I think even Viola Davis came out saying she was hesitant to take the role but had her bills to pay.
@@fattysl26 she also said she axtively regretted taking the role, which i understand; it raised her exposure greatly, but what meaningful film roles has she played?
@Michael Freed ok but how about you make it a comment of your own instead a reply to mine? please, thanks, bye.
@@maggiemcfly5267 YAAASSSS 🤣 READ HER!!! This person copy-pasted their dissertation all over the comments' comments section. Clearly, they need to feel heard. We all do, sweetie. Leave other people's threads alone, lol
Basically trying to stay on the safe side they want everything to be peaceful but people need to realize protests and change are not comfortable or peaceful 😧
Protests and change does not mean the destruction of society. It doesn't mean tearing down your own people's livelihood.You want change? Where does change really happen? In the laws enacted by government. President Johnson enacted the great society. It sounded great, but it was meant to keep Black Americans tied to the Democrats. See how well that has been working out. Many people talk about helping the downtrodden, but their angle is to keep themselves in power.
that Spike Lee clip on loop for 2 hours provides a better filmgoing experience than The Help or Green Book
That + when he told reporters at the end of the night that “every time somebody is driving somebody, I lose”
I am afraid to read the comments. I'm an emerging filmmaker. I just wanted to say thank you for making this video and your perspective on this.
Just a thought. Most people just want to be entertained and escape from the everyday pressures of their lives.
@MiBones, If you think, the movies and television that you watch doesn't have any type of impact of the cultural, political and social trajectory of the entire world, I just don't know how to help you. Check out the documentary "Out of Shadows" to start with.
Kerra, I also am interested in filmmaking and the history of films. Hopefully, those of us who know more and take the time to educate ourselves can bring about the changes that this industry so desperately needs.
@@jenme2390 I know the media has an impact on culture, politics and society, that is why there is the saying, "go woke, go broke". Social commentary has always been in the media, people just don't want it shoved down their throats.
@@MiBones except the "go broke" still hasn't happened.
This conversation has been going on for a little longer than most people realize. Do you remember the American Indian appearing at the Oscars in 1972 (I think that was the year) to accept Brando's best actor oscar? And how she was BOOOOED. If not, please google that. Brando later explained that on the Dick Cavett show in a very poignant way. And it's 50 years later and Green Book wins Best Picture. So PLEASE stop watching the Oscars. They suck. They're anti-equality, anti-progressiveness, anti-inclusiveness, anti-everything.
Most/ all of these award shows are especially when it comes to music
Fun fact, they later found out that she wasn't a real Native American, but an actress
@@rocco3941 Not true. She was an actress granted but she definitely was half Apache.
I stopped watching award shows a while ago and I regret nothing
@@tionnajohnson8430 it's gotten to the point idek who most of the artists are 🤦🏽♀️
I recently got into a heat of argument about this on Facebook, when Viola Davis did the Vanity Fair interview, and said that she regrets making The Help. A while woman posted with a comment: ‘’Viola Davis in 2020 is regretting the very role that made her a star. I find her so rude for saying that, because this movie isn’t racist, and the fact that she enjoy many awards for her role in this film makes her a hypocrite”. Among the comments were stuff like “I don’t even know her lol”, “an ungrateful woman” as examples. Therefore I commented with just a generic description of white savior narrative and the idea of movies about racism without a white character in it. In response I basically got a cocktail of insults, people told me I’m rude and that I’m calling the girl who made the post stupid etc.
Thank you so much for this vid, because for the past months I felt like I’m literally the only white person around me (I live in Poland) who gets the problem. You put all my thoughts in a professional, eloquent piece and I’m so freaking grateful for that ❤️
IKR. Bringing to light that a film might have problematic topics while still enjoying the film under a critical lens is so polarizing like we can't separate the art from the artist. It's not like we can't enjoy Wagner because his antisemitism was so bad that Hitler played his music at his rallies to glorify his agenda.
I bet you the people commented all those insults also told their friends that The Help is "so important" and that they "didn't even know it was that bad in the past" but now they can't handle that they're more the Bryce Dallas Howard of the movie, not the Jessica Chastain.
urgh I remember how angry people got at her for saying that. And none of them want to acknowledge the fact that The Help did NOTHING for her career. All her post-The Help films are the exact same as her pre-The Help films. She has worked consistently her entire career. She knows what she's doing. She had her reputation. She did that, not The Help.
I bet these are the same people which find offensive the criticism of Green Book (cough Sasha Stone cough David Poland cough) cause racism can be solved by changing minds in magic realism, even if the film is so problematic related to race, homophobia and his off screen drama (Nick Vallelonga being called for his 9/11 tweets and using Mahershala Ali the Muslim actor as a shield like his father did with shirley). Winning that Best Picture over that lineup which had films about Latino Indigenous people in a hidden part of Mexican story (Roma), a key episode of black fight against KKK (Blackkklansman), a genre dynamics of power between feminism and LGBT (The Favourite), a popular diverse franchise film (Black Panther)... Even A Star is Born, a 4th remake of a 1930s film offered a new angle of the story with the antihero and the real struggle with demons instead male ego
@@jibrilleo Agreed. I hated how they chose a romanticized film about racism as being of the past, not of the present. I mean, BlacKkKlansman dispels that narrative by showing how white supremacy exists today even if they were past incarnations of it. A Star Is Born explored masculinity as a flawed character and that tried to explore positive connotations of it. I have not seen The Favourite but I heard it did a good job with its LGBTQ representation. Roma explored a personal story of the director's life and also highlighted indigenous people as being humans regardless of the social status they have in Mexico.
Edit: Also for those people who still say Spike Lee lied about Trump saying very fine people on both sides, I will show them this every time they ask that.
czcams.com/video/4T45Sbkndjc/video.html
Came for the content, stayed for the drag of 'Lady Antebellum' 😌 and other WTP.
@@Coffeeisnecessarynowpepper Educate yourself
It made me cackle ‘Get Em Jade!’
It's Lady A now.
Without a doubt the best channel on CZcams
Definitely "one of" if not for the content, presentation is very professional 💯
All lives matter
Coffeeisnecessarynow nah❤️
Coffeeisnecessarynow excuse you?
doombuggy123 so ONLY black lives matter and white people dont? Okay
The movie "For Colored Girls" is absolutely amazing. I picked it up randomly at the library years ago and I wish everyone could see it. It also has a small documentary on the DVD about the poetry events and woman whose poetry and experiences inspired the movie. I don't know why more movies like this aren't being made and recognized. Incredible work. I definitely feel Hollywood is leaving out too many voices. I especially want to see more female lead projects in the future and I'm so glad people are demanding change.
I love that money I low key wanna watch it again 😁
White Savior movies can be acted well, costumed beautifully, shot impressively, and maybe have a great soundtrack (lookin at you, Hidden Figures! That soundtrack is *chefs kiss*). But it is a bad way to talk about racism. It is a bad way to talk about American history, especially regarding the achievements of black Americans.
Claire P why do you include Hidden Figures within the white savior trope?
Kevin Costner. His character isn't based on a real person in Katherine Johnson's life. He's just there to make the audience feel like there was a white guy who also helped. Its not historically accurate and it undercuts Johnson's achievement.
Claire P Thank you. I thought you might be referring to that particular role, but wanted to make sure. As white savior movies go, though, this one is at least centered on the black women, and not the white character. I particularly liked that movie because it also depicted the obstacles and discrimination women suffer in male-dominated professions.
Agreed. And admittedly I still like the movie, partly because the 3 lead actresses are wonderful, I love the soundtrack, and I read the bio it is based on which gives a lot of scope and depth to the viewing experience.
@@cbpd89 Kevin Costner isn't the main character though, and he's still not much of a hero in the film. He's completely ignorant of everything happening until its literally screamed at him, and even then he only does what he needs to solve his own problem, because the segregated toilets are slowing down his work. He doesn't even face any kind of opposition or push back over it, which is a pretty necessary part of any "heroic" story arc. He just finds out its a problem and stops it. It would be like calling LBJ the hero in Selma because he eventually agrees to pass the voting rights act.
The main protagonists/heroes of the story who overcome adversity and save the day are the three black women at the center of it, and the main people who are stopping them are the white characters and their ridiculous rules.
I liked the Help as a movie. Without context it's a very female movie, about female friendship and strength in the faces of the titular Help. The most boring character actually is Emma Stone's. I would understand why it's interesting to people.
On the other hand, I can't understand why The Green Book would win over Blackkklansman...
Because as is Spike Lee’s style, he put a strong political note at the end of the film that, while salient and relevant, probably put enough people off it being an “artistic” film and too controversial for the Academy.
The Oscars have a preferential ballot. Instead of just marking the movie you want to win, you have to rank the nominees. That's why the feel-good movies tend to win. That being said, BLACKKKLANSMAN didn't go empty-handed.
@@CharlieQuartz But if that's true, why was it nominated in the first place? If anything, I'd argue that the (extremely unsubtle) ending would make it *more* popular among voters.
Probably because _Green Book_ won People’s Choice at TIFF, Best Film at National Board of Review, a leading 3 Golden Globes, and PGA on the way to its Best Picture Oscar victory.
_BlacKkKlansman,_ meanwhile, had less critics group awards support than _Do the Right Thing_ two decades earlier.
@@Wired4Life2 So? It's still very historically inaccurate and takes that very seriously. So it doesn't help, it just goes into Crash's corner of how NOT to depict this debate.
I can't stand the whole "black films should be used to educate" trope. Too many popular and award-winning films featuring black artists are biopics or civil rights films. There are are so few films in which a person of color is just a regular Joe (or Jane), complete with flaws.
No, they typically have to be some altruistic hero or civil rights pioneer. Especially if they want Oscar recognition.
If a film is going to be "educational", then I agree that it should focus on institutional racism. More contemporary films with familiar villains from someone's neighborhood... not some ghost from some bygone era, as you point out.
It's difficult for Jennifer Lopez or one or two or three of the cast from Parasite or The Farewell to be nominated because the characters do not fit Hollywood's stereotypes. White actors get to explore all these different personas and people of color get to play a well-known-true-life persona or tragic victim. How dull.
Exactly! Sometimes when I watch movies I wonder, what was stopping them from casting actors of colors to act out these roles? I mean, it's not based off history or a biopic. There are many actors of color out there waiting to make their big break and the most they can get in such a white industry is either be regulated to supporting roles or smaller. People like Octavia Spencer were one of the lucky ones that started her career playing extras, guest, or supporting roles, and though she is big, and despite the fact that she gives AMAZING performances in whatever she's in, she still won't get nominated for LEAD roles. Only ever in supporting. They demoted Viola Davis to the supporting actress category for Fences even though she was clearly a LEAD actress in that movie. Even Whoopi Goldberg was blatantly SNUBBED an Oscar for The Color Purple and was eventually given an Oscar for supporting actress for Ghost.
Halle Barry is still the only black actress to have ever won an Oscar in a lead role. That was 2002 and we STILL haven't seen another black woman win for Lead Actress. Hollywood barely treads a line of diversity. When Black explore roles that aren't historical slave narratives, Civil War or Civil Right veterans, they won't get nomimated and it's such a shame.
@@tashaglam4824 Nothing is stopping them except for the preconceived notion that POC female leads don't bring in the $$$. Of course they hardly get the chance, so the expectation is often met.
Berry's performance in Monster's Ball is really very good. I like that she was a flawed, original character. POC Oscar candidates often to get the chance for those roles, or they are dismissed.
i’m sorry but jlo is doing fine for herself-she’s played American white (becuz she is white) multiple no prob
I don’t really feel there are that many films about these topics. The video for example had under 10 examples of films from the past decade. I think it’s important too to make historical films. I am from Finland and I had never heard of Harriet before hearing of the movie and Selma was first civil rights film I had seen.
Couldn't agree more, Mac. You nailed it. It's dull, corny, hackneyed and so friggin' insulting to the audience.
Funny how “wide” and “white” could be easily interchangeable in that opening question.
I wish there are amazing original stories starring African American characters and showing their daily lives, their sadness, their joy, their families, their workplace. I’d really want to watch that
Awkward....since those films exist
There's many films like that. They aren't as mainstreamed and most definitely not recognized at the big awards shows.
Why African AMERICAN though? If you want to see fully afro-centered films there's an entire continent called Africa that produces such films. Maybe go and support their creators and industry instead of just complaining about Hollywood.
Couldn't we consider Sidney Poitier a star actor, someone who always plays the same sort of role in the same sort of way? Not many people criticize George Clooney for always playing the same character all the time.
I think it depends on who you ask. My mother loves Sidney Poitier (I'm South Asian and my mother is Indian) but she also enjoys Gone With the Wind so... take that as you will. White people unfortunately don't have to worry about that pigeon-holing quite as much.
@@avantikashaha7959 they did to a degree during Golden Age Hollywood, and even to a point now, but they've ALWAYS been able to escape said pigeon-holing easier than nonwhite actors
I think the point was more that there weren't scripts being written that gave SP the opportunity to play different types of characters.
Tacoma98 absolutely the point. People in these comments are just trying to change the narrative of what this well put together video is explaining.
Not to downplay ur point but I've seen lots of people give George Clooney shit for playing the "same character" all the time. Maybe not to the same extreme but he does get a lot of criticism for it.
I think that Sidney Poitier's films in the late 50s and throughout the 60s were meant to provide positive representations of Af-Am men in films. Admittedly, his characters appear possibly too virtuous, even cliché virtuous, possibly beyond a regular person, but is that really the problem that Af-Am audiences had with them? At the time when these films were made, wasn't their point to uplift the image of the Af-Am person in a predominantly white film world?
What I personally like about Sidney Poitier's movies is that he fights against racism but also transcends it through the strength and virtue of his characters. He never resigns himself to the way things are and he always draws the line. The stories allow his character to develop on screen, which is more than any Af-Am actor was able to do at that time. In short, he gave visibility and complexity to his characters, allowing audiences to hopefully think of African Americans differently.
What you are describing is "respectability politics" or the idea that character and behavior can help one "transcend" racism and racial oppression. It puts the onus on the oppressed person to behave their way out of racism. But systematic and even interpersonal racism should not be transcended--they should be systematically dismantled by those who have the power to do so i.e. white people.
Poitier's characters make it seem as though Black people must always handle the vitriol and systematic injustice that comes our way with compassion and grace. And when we don't or can't live up to this impossible standard, the racism that is directed towards us is deserved. Why? Because didn't behave the way we should have. It is still dehumanizing because it doesn't allow for the full spectrum of our humanity to be shown. It doesn't matter how people behave, no one deserves to have their humanity stripped away from them.
@@candygirl20048 thank you for taking the time to write to me. What you explain makes sense and touches on some thoughts I had about why Af-Am audiences may have been critical of Sidney Poitiers' characters.
I agree. To be honest, I was more concerned about the age gap then the color difference. If you grew up in an ethnic family, marrying outside of your culture was not approved. So him being an African American was a non issue.
The only Portier film I've seen was In The Heat of the Night and I was surprised at how much they were willing to portray him as NOT perfect considering all I had heard about it. He's very good at his job, but he still doesn't get everything right, and he doesn't keep his cool at all times. He clearly does get rattled by the racism he faces in the film, and even famously slaps a white plantation owner in the face. He also clearly wants to get out of town at the start as quickly as he can.
SugarfreeCandy but can we not give him the credit he deserves for breaking barriers in the 50s and 60s? Like is that not it’s own achievement for the time period?
Olivia de Havilland died. I didn't know . I'd love to see your take on her life.
They (BKW) already did a good video on her ((just her early career and wins, and sister feud though)
In my super white catholic school upbringing we honored black history month by watching Remember The Titans every year. That was about it.
Noah Satern what a comment
The fact I know so many White people millennials who’s first and only “black” film was Remember the Titans. White schools didn’t have the balls to show The Color Purple smh
"Fun" fact: Catholic schools as a whole further perpetuate de facto school segregation.
To be fair that movie rocks! haha nah I but I see where you're coming from.
@@antoniobrooks1113 well yeah it's got sexual violence and domestic abuse and shit... of course it wouldn't be shown in schools
I strongly disagree with including 12 Years a Slave. Not only it's made by one of the greatest directors of all time who's also black, it's one of the most unflinching looks at slavery narrated through the eyes of the slaves. It's a cinematic masterpiece and it's necessary because there are still people who need to be educated about the horrors of slavery.
I agree to that however 12 years a slave still has the white savior narrative with brad Pitt character towards the end of the film who was entirely fictional
Brad Pitt's character was on screen for less than five minutes and he didn't save anyone.
teriization he actually did he was the one who helped Solomon finally be free from slavery and got him to return to his family
I might be remembering his role wrong then. I remembered him as just helping him find his family, not helping him escape. Still, it's wrong to equate this movie with films like The Help and Driving Miss Daisy. It's a very minor part of the movie.
Totally get it! I don't think that one is *quite* the same as the others either. Just wanted to include it as an example of racism portrayed as being something from the past.
I just wrote this as a sub-comment, but would also like to include it in the overall conversation:
Many of us on Latin America are watching the news about racism in the US in horror, while congratulating ourselves that there’s no racism in our counties, but we are so very wrong!
It’s not only colorism or classism that exists in all (yes, all) Latin American countries. Racism is as pervasive as in the United States, and it’s targeted against our native populations, people of African descent, people from Asian countries and even from the Middle East.
Do you remember, for example, how Yalitza Aparicio got so much hatred in our countries just for being of native origin? The same thing happened when Rigoberta Menchú got her Nobel Prize. There are countries, like El Salvador, Costa Rica, Chile and Uruguay that don’t even acknowledge the existence of African-descent or indigenous populations, and they have been ignored, erased or silenced in history books, statistical data like the census and even cultural values.
We all should look within our countries with more discerning eyes, and we will find that what’s happened and is still happening to Black people in the US, has also happened and is happening to all minorities in Latin America, from Mexico to Chile: violence, prejudice, police brutality, inequality, bigotry, systemic racism, you name it, everything made worse by the invisibility of minorities and the fact that we keep denying there’s blatant racism in our countries.
It is in this context, and this context only, where the phrase “all lives matter” is equally as important as “Black lives matter”.
R.I.P. to the legend, the honourable John Lewis seen at 9:24 (wearing the backpack) being pushed by the pigs during the Selma march, let's keep making good trouble!
lol he became an establishment tool
@@daniellee2343 lol so go out there and do things better than he did, stop typing snarky comments, organize, make a difference and don't become a "tool to the establishment", I believe in you.
Sidney Is such a hero to me. Love the commentary
Sidney is the name of the CZcams essayists?
Gabe Logan I think they’re talking about Sidney Poitier
javi Ah thanks. Haven’t finished the video yet. Got interrupted.
Bugs the heck out of me that he kept working with Bill Cosby, though... :-/
blofeld39 I mean.... most of entertainers have. Hell most of the entertainers were associated with with at least somebody from the industry like Bill Cosby or a Harvey Weinstein.
This channel is medicinal.
Truly. I feel so enlightened. I love American films from my childhood but so much to learn from these videos.
Seth Meyers and Amber Ruffin did one of my favorite white savior parodies a few years vack
Do you remember the name?
@@8LyJu8 czcams.com/video/T_RTnuJvg6U/video.html
This made me remember a video a saw a few years ago with Paul Giamatti, I searched for it and it is a parody (?) of Straight out of compton, but I can't find it. I didn't saw SOOC, but it seems like PG is in it, and it might not be a parody? anyways, the video is not available on youtube anymore, if anyone knows what I'm talking about feel free to link it.
that clip of spike lee at the end was pitch perfect. another thoughtful, well-researched, inspiring video - thank you so much for your hard work every time!
We know The Help is problematic af, but I had to pause and applaud when you spoke Truth to that dry-ramen-noodles shake-and-go LONG BOB 😭! As a naturally curly girl, I'm still not over it. They had Emma out here looking SO foolish. Which is actually completely on-brand for The Help, so... maybe it was intentional? Omg that would be worse! War Crimes!
I'm South African but I love this channel, I think it's a great resource for film fans to engage with the media we consume
What are you guys movies like?
I had a feeling a Be Kind Rewind video was coming today! Its a good feeling!
This is one place I appreciate long-range critical thinking about films and the industry. It made me think about why I love the ones I do and the comfort zone around them. Respect.
I'm not American. I have read amazing literature by black, Native American, Asian-American and Chicano writers. I wonder that not many of those books (Toni Morrison's novels, for example) are turned into movie scripts to reach a wider audience. The Color Purple is a great book and a deeply moving film. The Help, not really, though the acting by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer was terrific. This video has been really interesting to me as a non-American person interested in these issues.
The Help was one of my favorite movies. And I still really enjoy it. I know it's not necessarily a great depiction of racism, I just like the performances in it. I also think that it is slightly a cut above others of its kind because it at least addresses lack of upward mobility for black people and and it does focus on the black maids telling their stories and perspectives. But again, I know that that doesn't make it an epic anti racist manifesto for the ages lol
Same I still enjoy the movie, people forget that you can like something and still have criticisms of it. You just have to be sure to acknowledge it’s shortcomings, but it shouldn’t negate what is good about it
But the problem isn't so much The Help by itself, its the fact that it blew up in popularity lately and people wanting to educate themselves went to it thinking it was a manifesto for the ages. Sure, it's partly the audience's fault for not digging deep enough for the right informational sources, but it's also not their fault that this incorrect and simplistic movie is so easy to go to. One of the best entertainment sources for antiracist ideology, the netflix documentary 13th, still gets ignored even though it's widely praised and been out since 2016. But The Help, a movie from 2011 that's kind of a come and go blockbuster, got far more attention. That's the issue.
Just when I was running out of Be Kind Rewind to binge!
Also the Netflix series “They’ve Gotta Have Us” is a 3-episode documentary on this same topic and it is _glorious_ in it’s celebration of black film. It’s a great companion piece to this.
The producers of Selma are: Oprah Winfrey, Jeremy Kleiner, Christian Colson, Dede Gardner and Cameron McCracken.
"Talking about race through the prism of the civil rights era is more comfortable"
Historical distance + white protagonist + racism treated as an individual sin rather than an institutional problem...that's the triad of mainstream American movies' inability to deal with racism,
Wait Olivia deHaviland died? No!
I thought of this content creator when I heard the news....the last actress of the Golden Era, I believe.
same :( i was so happy when she turned 104
@@tati3861 103 actually. She died 25 days prior to turning 104. But still a good run nonetheless.
@@rickardkaufman3988 no, you have it backwards. she turned 104 on July 1st 2020, and died July 26th 2020. you can google it.
@@tati3861 104 years is a lot of years.
By the time we reach the inauguration in January 2021, I get the feeling theres gonna be books, documentaries, films and a shit ton of articles and reports that would be very disturbing yet fascinating to read about the multitude of events that struck this year. The deaths, pandemic, black lives matter, the election and much more.
We'll see. Trump might get re-elected. You know because of Biden. For the record, I don't support either candidate but I'm skeptical what the results will be.
Yeah I have no idea who to vote for.
@Michael Freed so you can writte other things?
^^^^^Man this god awful reply section gave me and many others P.O.C. very little to absolutely NO Faith in Humanity whatsoever (NOT that I actually had ANY in the first place), but damn MuriKKKA is quickly going down faster than a cheap Hooker, reply section 100% automatically ratifies that to the ultimate degree, thanks NOT REALLY!
P.S. So glad SPAMMER "Michael Freed" didn't TROLL and "copy and paste" her typical usual everyday goofy unimaginative comment for the 50th damn time on this comment, she (Michael) posted something new for once, stupid ignorant dumb and severely uneducated as usual, but new, good job good girl SPAMMER!
Racism continues today.
Thank you for the section highlighting modern films on race produced by white filmmakers, that predominantly focus on the pre-1970s south.
I feel like To Kill A Mocking Bird would be a good topic as well. It was a film that had a large impact as well as the book. It did inspire change, but it is a story told through a white perspective during that time period in the south. This does influence how it was made and how it has aged.
I grew up in the South, and when people ask what it was like I say that it was a blend of "The Help" and "Driving Miss Daisy". You ask why films like these are made, and the answer is that they are nostalgia of a way of life that is all but gone.
Wtf is nostalgic about racism
@@thatbitchfromtarget431 There was much more to the lived experience than that.
@@williamshelton4150 this video is about the white savior complex not about 20th century nostalgic feelings
@@thatbitchfromtarget431 I can't tell you how many times there was a knock on the door in the middle of the night because one of the blacks in the area needed help from my uncle. There is something to the "myth" of white saviors.
Its funny to me, because Gone With The Wind (which came out in 1939, and was sent in the 1860s, and wasnt exact super progressive about race) already made the point that that kind of Southern lifestyle was all but dead. Its ridiculous that people who love GWTW that much havent caught on to one of its corr messages.
Without a doubt one of the best channels on CZcams!. When information is presented this way it actually makes you think.
Be Kind Rewind, as always, thank you. Your humility and wisdom continue to give all of us insight and a passion to simply be better. I can't get enough and the short wait between is worth it tenfold.
If anything THE HELP has taught me one thing: how to make pie 😉
In my case, I learnt to fry chicken :p Other than that, *cringe*. I'm so relieved I watched it after I started reading about racism and how it is portrayed on film.
I won't deny, I liked The Help when I saw it but mostly this feeling stemmed from the (almost) all female cast (not you, Emma Stone, I felt like the movie would be the same if they edited her out) and especially the acting of Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. I never once thought it was a movie that was meant to educate people about racism in the USA
I think I liked it because I saw it mostly as a 1950s mean girls, in terms of an (almost) all female cast having sweet one liners and trying to take down the evil queen bee
I know. I really enjoyed the film and now I feel as though I shouldn’t have enjoyed it. I loved seeing life through the maids eyes and the acting from the female leads was so powerful.
Whew. These comments. I respect the honesty though. The fact that you never once thought that during that entire movie is the privilege that a multitude of people have that aren't Black Americans. But as this video showed, these movies were never intended to be made for us because it's absolutely impossible for us to look past the blatant racism.
@@JaySmith-wo3di I'm sorry if my comment reads in a weird way, I'm neither American, nor live or lived in the USA. I am living in Eastern Europe, where basically the only POC are the Romani people. The point was that even I, a total outsider when it come to issues of race in the USA, knew better than to look at The Help as an educational movie or a movie that should be watched relating to the BLM movement
The Help is one of my favorite films, but I always thought it was best examined in terms of storytelling, characters, performances and direction than the end-all be-all of anti-racism. Perhaps it’s more a gateway drug for people who are willing to look into their own biases, but that depends on if the viewer will expand their knowledge of anti-racism films beyond what’s comfortable and relatable.
im a POC and I agree, it's a good story but it basically milks off the "whites saved blacks because they couldn't save themselves" cultural narrative. if enough of these movies come out, people believe that narrative as reality and creating an unrealistic image that infantalizes and victimizing black people. i once had a teacher tell me i should love our democracy because it 'freed my people' - sounds like some crazy ass shit you would only see in movies than more based in reality
What?! lololol "Freed my people"?! You mean the same people it stole that freedom from and enslaved in the FIRST place. That's some truly abusive thought development there.
@Irishman Rants I do agree that the storytelling and performances were breathtaking. The premise. But I'm tired of these types of movies. Can we get breathtaking withOUT the segregation and race talk for actors of color.
And @O.M. , even a movie like "Harriet," they couldn't let her save herself and let her have the credit. They had to chalk her skills up to the fainting spells. Which I am a firm believer of God, but that wasn't factually accurate according to all the info I've read about Harriet Tubman did what she did. She had skills. Let her live!
I’d like to see a comedy where someone thinks they aren’t racist but keeps committing acts of micro aggression that cause them trouble.
Problem is microaggression is in the eye of the beholder. Go watch Blazing Saddles. All the microaggression you could want.
Si lowkey the scene in modern family where Cam and Mitch take Lily to a Vietnamese restaurant
I can’t tell you this enough- thank you! You are doing an amazing job to explain why this is important to change the way black people are portrayed matters. Some people only rely on movies to understand people that they have never interacted with. So I’m glad that you have made videos like this in the past- showing that you truly care.
Side note: it saddens me that Viola hates that role so much but I completely understand.
I’m a black woman. You have explained what is wrong in the film industry perfectly. Hell there is not one thing that I would add. This is a great beginning point for anyone on the journey to understanding racial injustice in America. You have outdone yourself!!!!
I, too, cringed when I saw The Help trending.
Why it's a good movie😭
I still cannot believe they had it in their "feel good movies" section!
@@MeWe-fh1lu not really
I saw Green Book a day after seeing Blindspotting, and I swear my neck nearly snapped from the whiplash.
@13:55 that’s the problem: film makers can’t call out systematic racism without calling out the same capitalist system that empowers the film industry. It’s somewhat nuanced, but again the problem is capitalism.
Capitalism helps uphold systematic racism, but the racism itself is still a problem. You can't just say capitalism is the problem. People are racist and willing to murder people over race, regardless of the involvement of capital.
No. Capitalism in itself is not racist. Capitalism helps you to rise out of your circumstances. How many successful African Americans are capitalists? They certainly are not socialists.
I want to start by saying that I have enthusiastically consumed every one of your posts to date, and I especially want to thank you for posting this particular video.
I constantly find myself earnestly wanting to support Black artists involved in mainstream movies such as "12 Years A Slave", "Harriet", "Selma", "When They See Us", et al, but this often comes with deeper trauma when revisiting these atrocities.
I am not someone who watches movies purely for escapism, but I also think that perhaps I am not the audience that would benefit (I use that term loosely) from watching content vividly rooted in the terrors of racism.
There is more than enough space in Hollywood to make films that reflect a non-historical Black experience that expresses the nuance, complexity, and (dare I say) joy of the Black American experience...I am patiently waiting for more of that.
In the meantime, thank you again for your perspective...I always look forward to the next video.
I agree with some of the points, however I find it regressive to think of cinema movies as a medium for education about history, other than how they reflect society during the time of their making, which is helpful and interesting, but ultimately not nearly enough. Rating movies based on their educational level seems as pontless to me as rating science books based on their entertainment value. I believe it was Marc Bloch who said that a historical publication cannot be simultaneously scientifical and pleasurable to read - science and entertainment are two separate cultural entities. I think the main problem is the fact that people choose Hollywood movies over books written by actual historians/sociologists etc. as their source of information on racial history.
I love Sidney Poitier, but it is true that his films embody the “perfect man” stereotype, which limits his humanity and the black men he was representing. He is the black “Mr. Darcy”. That being said he will always be a hero to me as much as he was when I was a kid. To Sir With Love was an amazing film, same with Blackboard Jungle.
I have been waiting for this for too long! Every time a new video from BKR comes up, my whole day comes to a screeching halt!
I have a love hate relationship with old Hollywood movies. While I love many old films especially when I was younger, I understand now that I am older that my people weren't really represented or given meaty roles. It really hits home when you showcase old films and I rarely see people of color represented.
I can appreciate the flaws of The Help as having some unfortunate white saviour tropes, but I don't think it should be trodden into the dust completely. If nothing else, it's a touching portrayal of female friendship across the boundaries of class and race, and beautifully made. And it's ending certainly isn't tied up with a bow - far from it. Hilly wins and Aibileen is thrown out of the house (driving home the point that Hilly's privilege as a rich white woman allows her to still hold all the power, even after her appalling behavior is made public). And the movie frames the victory of the book as Aibileen's, not Skeeter's. Just my two cents. I appreciate that my being an Asian woman doesn't make me the most qualified to talk about this.
The year The Help came out I started a new job where I was going to be manager over a white woman 20 years older than I am. She tried to relate to me by bringing up this movie. I politely tolerated her attempt at conversion (in my mind I was probably thinking "binch, please"). I hadn't seen the movie and did not watch it until it was on video, but yes these movies are definitely made for white audiences. I eventually watched The Help because Ms Davis and Ms Spencer are great actors . I went to Hidden Figures because of the actors once again and to learn a little about the story of these women at NASA (of course do your research to learn the true stories). I have never seen Driving Miss Daisy or more recently The Green Book because these movies have no appeal to me.
And now they are planning a biopic of the Chevalier of St. Georges (a black french composer from the 1700s). I'm cringing and the script probably hasn't been written yet
Thank you for this video. This is a strong contribution. As a gay, Latino minority, I am still learning about the legacy and history that African American movies have had. I have seen several of the movies shown here... and their influence in art is consistently from the award season point of view very different when seen from a lens different then those who made Greenbook or The Help, etc. You stated the point very well about how these movies place the Anglo hero in a pedestal, but don’t necessarily address the root of the problem with race. I appreciate your videos because they entertain me, but this one in particular was very educational. Thank you.
Just remember that movies are made to make money for the corporation. Not to be social engineers. This aspect is a recent development. Studios made movies that would bring in the most paying customers and most people just want to be entertained and have a little escapism. Just look at your blockbusters.
In the mid 60’s my roommate (Caucasian) took her boyfriend (black) to meet her parents. They were very liberal-until she walked through the door with a black man. So “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” Was a part of my roommate’s life.
I haven't been as much mad getting out of a movie theater as when I checked the long list of dramatic licenses, hence lies, that Hidden Figures had. The movie was 99.9% false.
I see. I enjoyed the movie but I'll remember that.
Bea Bravo Can you tell me some of those inaccuracies, please? I remember looking up in different web sites to find out how truthful the movie was and was very surprised when I saw that it was mostly accurate, but you’re saying otherwise, and I’d like to learn more.
@@TheCatWitch63 I have this "tradition" that every time I go see a movie, I do a bit of research after, at the time it was mainly checking the Wikipedia and the IMDb, but there could be some CZcams about it at this point
@@TheCatWitch63 The most glaring inaccuracy was the white saviour thing they pulled where Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) hammered down the no colored sign by the white only bathroom inside the NASA building after Katherine Johnson (Taraji P Henson) yelled at him for openly berating her for being late because she had to run across a few blocks to use a colored bathroom. That never happened in real life. Al Harrison was still a racist and still barely respected Katherine Johnson enough to treat her or any of her other colored collegues equally.
The shots taken at 12 Years a Slave were weird, tbh. It’s light years better than Driving Miss Daisy, Green Book, and The Help.
She didn't say it was bad, just that it is a part of a wider trend that contextualizes racism as a thing of the past
sergio vela And you don’t think that was said in a negative connotation? It’s irresponsible to connect films that are largely about Black stories but made and starring White people with Black stories made and starring Black people. Maybe she doesn’t like 12 Years a Slave or Selma but they shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath with those other embarrassing films.
@@SeminoleMoments she literally said in the next sentence that some of those films were made way WAY better than others
I read '12 Years a Slave' during the movie hype and Solomon's narrative is so interesting and articulate. It's really like, his story of being held captive, then plotting all kinds of angles to escape and return to his family. It's free online. I didn't feel like the movie had the same flow, obviously because it's contained into a few hours.
Amazing commentary and analysis! And very enlightening. And I appreciate how you really go in depth with the older movies with Sidney Poitier and such, by really putting them in context of the time instead I just saying, “no these aren’t good questions for today so don’t watch”, you understand how they were pretty good commentary for their time.
Spike Lee grabbing the opportunity to finally speak at the Oscars after decades of being snubbed made the show vaguely worthwhile for once. I wish BlackkKlansman had swept the show so he coukd have said more. ‘Not my cuppa tea’ lmao
Everything he did that night was wonderful. From jumping into Samuel L. Jackson's arms when he won his award, to every post show interview. It was just perfection.
Another great video! Thank you for suggesting good indie movies to see. As a liberal white woman, I've had the attitude in the past that, yes there is still racism, but at least things have gotten a lot better. The last few years have really opened my eyes to how pervasive and systemic racism still is. We need to face it, understand it, and demand real change!
You are talking in today's buzz words. The best place to start is with the words "That all men are created equal.....". This is suppose to be the foundation of this country. The founders had an ideal. They were not perfect, as no man, or woman is perfect. Martin Luther King believed in this concept. He did make a difference. Study history from as many differing viewpoints, as possible, to understand others. And remember, that many use a movement to further their own ends.
The fact you included that clip of James Edwards in "Home of the Brave" at 3:07 makes this channel legendary. Thank you for tackling this often exhausting and complicated subject matter with intelligence and honesty. Your work is a gift! Thanks so much!
Oh, i thought that was steel helmet
So glad someone caught it!
To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help are movies I both love, but I have to admit the racism portrayed in them is made very easy to digest and does not rouse question or introspection. The racist people are always obviously evil cackling villains, bitchy self-entitled Karens or poor uneducated sneering white men (which also comes with its own set of issues about classism and sexism since the most aggregious racists are portrayed as poor people and women). The primarily white audience can look at them and say "oh, that's not me, I can't possibly be prejudiced or contribute to the unfair treatment of racial minorities. What system of disadvantage?"
The Help as a movie really beefs up the white savior narrative that is less prominent in the book by making Skeeter the POV/protagonist for the whole movie. In the book, it switches between Aibileen and Minny in addition to Skeeter. So the studio/writers made an active choice to move the story away from the two black women and just focus on the white woman to make her more heroic.
As a black person, I approve this message.
LOL Seriously though. Great research and an excellent point.
A
My favourite channel
Let’s not forget this is all over the world. I understand we need fix america but don’t think the rest of the world is perfect peace and love about this issue.
As a black filmmaker and movie podcaster called lights camera cocktails I bring this up all the time and I'm happy that other people bring this up too thank you for bringing up white savior movies
you also forgot remember the titans. a film that literally used the same cliques as these films you included.
Just getting hip to this channel and this particular episode/video was captivating! 👏🏾 The commentary and message was spot on! I'm going to leave below a list of amazing films to support by Black artists/films that are about everyday Black experiences. Anyone can feel free to add more!
1. Crooklyn
2. Rosewood
3. School Daze
4. Posse
5. Raisin in the Sun (the original)
6. The Women of Brewster's Place
7. Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters first 100 years
8. Waiting to Exhale
9. Sparkle (the original + the og soundtrack‼️)
10. The Feast of All Saints
11. Cooley High
12. Mahogany
I'm sorry, it was still hilarious to see Octavia Spencer's character get even by shitting in the mean lady's pie haha
I feel like it's worth mentioning that 12 Years a slave was directed by a black man, so if you want to support black directors in Hollywood, it's still worth watching!
Besides the point, but can you do a video celebrating the life and career of Olivia de Havilland similar to your Judy companion guide video?
I think she did a video base on her Oscar winning performance, the rivalry with hers sister, Joan Fontaine, and her relationship with studio especially the law suit against the Warner Brothers.
Ochman Meo Mauricio I love that video! I was thinking more a long the lines of going through her filmography :)
@@meolajackson BKR did a video about Olivia's FIRST Oscar win; her second was for 1949's The Heiress.
Why ask this question on a video about race and Hollywood as opposed to BKR's Olivia de Havilland video? Is there no comment BKR responded to there, for you to tag her and ask this same question?
Also, the video you're asking for would span a 53 year career in various entertainment mediums, not dissect a very short period of Olivia's life and career.
I’m not going to fight literally anything you have talked about in this video, but the Green Book controversy is terribly interesting to me. Both actors based their performances and interactions on public interviews the people they played had done. And the places with those interviews took them down in order to fall in line with Dr Maurice Shirley’s accusation of lies. You have to use the way back machine to even see some of the statements Don Shirley had to say about Vallelonga. Which is weird.
I’m a huge history junky, I love learning, I love reading. But if I went solely off what they taught me in school Id only know about Martian Luther king and Rosa parks. I’m serious! They made it seem racism ended in the 60s. It makes me mad that the education is so flimsy in this country. I literally didn’t know of Harriet Tubman until after hearing people talk about the movie.
Isn't Disney's Black Panther enough to prove that black people can make billion dollar blockbusters if only they themselves support each other?
Had it won Best Picture, that Oscar would've gone to a WHITE producer, though -- Kevin Feige. Not that Peter Farrelly getting it wasany better, but... :-/
Are you saying that white people did not go and see the movie? The reason why it was so successful, was that it was entertaining without shoving the controversial stuff in your face.
Don't ever compare 12 Years A Slave with something like The Help.
12 Years by the way was based on an actual true story.
Also made by a black director and told from the perspective of a black man, unlike something like The Help or Green Book which is made by a white person and told from a white perspective.
@@krombopulos_michael It's still a 'white savior' film in the end. Or does it only matter if a white man writes/directs it?
It's a broadly true story but many changes have been made to make the film more polarising
It still kinda falls into that white savior trope but I think her point was that racism as it concerns the Black American experience is something shown be in the rear view window as opposed to being right in front of us in regard to mainstream film
@@musicaltheatergeek79
That’s how it happened. The white Canadian laborer did help get Solomon Northup out of slavery.
I have never clicked so fast! I always know will learn something new here. Thanks!
The issue with movies such as The Help, The Blindside, Greenbook & Hidden Figures is they present racism as well if you're just nice to black people racism will be over & often times the black characters are there just to be rehabilitation centers for the racist white characters
This channel is a national treasure! You do a great and important work documenting these stories, loved this video!
Thank you for this - I've been trying to find a way to explain this to myself and you put it into words perfectly. As always...
I absolutely love this video. I feel challenged by this video
I've recently watch a video on the problem with white Savior trope in movie by the Take but they seems to talk only through the eyes of a white writer
The way you explained the problem and its impact on society is more thorough I think?
I absolutely agree as I watched both videos!!
I feel most of the weird feelings from the take come from the fact that their channel has become (or at least looks) more corporate produced over creator driven, and that fact that they only pull out their black essayists on “black” videos is icky, I give them the benefit of the doubt tho since they at least seem to be making an effort of branching out
So awoid the take?
Michael Freed not trying to be mean but ain’t nobody got time to read that, post it as a separate comment so The Take can see it, she won’t see it here
Michael Freed sorry I meant Be kind Rewind I got confused because this comment thread was talking about the Take’s video, jus saying your comment is entirely out of place here, but don’t worry, I’ve seen that you are spamming the same comment on every comment thread lol
Jerry Mitchell’s new book Race Against Time starts with him at a screening for Mississippi Burning and being so interested in the real story he spends the rest of his career writing about the cold cases of this civil rights era. It’s a fantastic read in this time of education and revelation.
It's so weird in retrospect how I, and I'm sure a lot of white Americans, was raised on white savior, "racism is just a personality flaw" narratives as the defacto understanding of race. My mom *loves* these kinds of movies, and it has become painfully obvious conversations in recent months how lacking that kind of understanding is. And it was how I was taught to understand race and racism in school too. I had to read To Kill a Mockingbird twice between Middle and high school, and I don't think I was assigned a book by a Black author until Junior year. And I went to a very progressive school that was a lot more honest with us about our country's marred history than most. It is so hard to unlearn this mindset
You have to understand that where you lived was a microcosm of society. Not every single white person grew up with the same values, as you. The problem, today, is that people seem to want to believe that everyone, of a certain type, believes the same way. I learned to study from everyone's point of view, on a subject. The one commonality is that everyone is human with their own foibles.