MovieChat Forums > The Aviator (2004) Discussion > The absence of racism in the film

The absence of racism in the film

posted 8 years ago by dazfiddy
17 replies | jump to latest

I really enjoyed this bio pic about a fascinating man, who used his wealth to make advances in air travel and in film production. Along the way, he met and went out with actresses like Ava Gardner and Katherine Hepburn. Leonardo Di Caprio is perfectly cast as the eccentric tycoon with grand visions.

My one gripe is that Scorsese left out the fact that this man was also a vile racist. Having read enough about him, it would not be unfair to say that he would have fitted quite well into the Ku Klax Klan. None of this hinted at or referred to in this film. It is Disney-fied version of who Howard Hughes was.

[–] paulioetc17 8 years ago

Any evidence for this? I'm a bit lazy. Thanks

[–] dazfiddy 8 years ago

Check out Michael Drosnin's biography of Howard Hughes called Citizen Hughes. If you are a James Ellroy fan, there is American Tabloid, where Howard Hughes appears as a bed bound and drugged up millionaire. Of course, there are also articles on the wonderful worldwide web. Some of Hughes's views were expressed in his memos to Robert Maheu, his right hand man. Just as Richard Nixon revealed who really was by the tapes, Hughes did the same with his memos.

[–] LoneWolfAttack 8 years ago

Perhaps you would have preferred the addition of a scene in 1916 where your beloved "African Americans" stage a violent riot in Texas, which a 10 or 11-year-old Howard happens to witness, thus setting the stage for his lifetime fear of all the vibrant cultural enrichment they bring everywhere they go? Because if you didn't want the Disney-fied version of who he was, there it is. So be careful what you wish for, as I doubt Howard is the one that would have come off looking bad.

The picture didn't include negroes period (just the way Hughes would have wanted it), so there was no reason to include anything about those people beyond what Scorsese did include ("Ever screwed a colored girl?"). And sorry to disappoint, but he would not have fit quite well into the KKK, nor would he have ever been a part of it. The Klan actively seeks out colored people to cause trouble with them. Hughes kept a safe distance from them.

[–] dazfiddy 8 years ago

I am a black Briton living in London. I shook my head when I read your comments. It is sad that even on a film message board, some people have to bring their bigotry into the discussion.

[–] kylal-davis 8 years ago

You do realize it is 2016? I truly hope you don't have children. Even though your "views" are not surprising, I am still hoping you haven't bred, thus continuing your hateful rhetoric.

[–] jn15-3 8 years ago

Don't worry about the OP. He's truly upset about any movie that doesn't portray blacks as victims. Instead of an intense, character-driven story he wanted (ironically) a black and white hit-piece that demonizes Hughes as a vile racist with zero redeeming qualities. Do you want to know who else was a racist back in the 1940's? Pretty much everyone, by today's PC standards.
It wouldn't have added anything to the story. While I felt the ending with him standing and looking in the mirror was a little lackluster, it was otherwise a wonderfully paced and written film. DiCaprio was really great in it, and stole the show: much like Hughes himself.
To the OP: it does nothing for the black community to constantly play the victim. You actually hurt the black community by doing so, causing them to believe they are immobilized by oppression when, in fact, they have innumerably more opportunities in western society in the present than they would living the tribal life over in Africa. It's rather narcissistic to think that all movies should cater to what almost seems to be at this point masochistic victim-complex in every piece of media you watch.

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http://www.imdb.com/user/ur14004473/ratings

[–] WithDreday 8 years ago

lemme guess: Trump supporter? 

No one Gives it to you...you have to take it

[–] jn15-3 8 years ago

No, I may agree with him and his views on immigration and the terrorist group black lives matter, but I think our nation has much bigger problems than non-white immigration and safe space BS at stake. I voted for Clinton for that reason (not that I liked ANY of the candidates: it was like going to Red Lobster when you don't like seafood and having to order something.) Didn't even care for the libertarian candidate much this time.
I can see by your movie choices you're most likely black, though. Let me guess: another BLM supporter with an inexorable urge to be victimized? Maybe take a look at your own community if you really want to address the plague of violent crime that riddles black neighborhoods. But what terrible human being blames a victim?

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http://www.imdb.com/user/ur14004473/ratings

[–] WithDreday 8 years ago

Let me guess: another BLM supporter with an inexorable urge to be victimized? Maybe take a look at your own community if you really want to address the plague of violent crime that riddles black neighborhoods. But what terrible human being blames a victim?

I don't support BLM for that very reason since they only focus on cop killings and they ignore the devaluation of life by our own youth.

Without that issue being solved, the black community will go nowhere as you can't have your future out there being forced to gang bang or being gunned down on their way home from schooling, but that's a story for another day.

My advice to you would be to quit putting all blacks in one box. Yes, a lot of blacks acknowledge racism, but that in no way make them playing the "victim" by doing so.

This type of thinking is the very reason America is as divided as it was in the 1940's.

At least back then, people accepted that the mentality existed.

Edit: And we actually have pretty similar ratings on most seen films, so I don't get you bringing movie taste into this.

No one Gives it to you...you have to take it

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Very racist post. However the negro community was up in all arms that they didn’t get the chance to be portrayed in this movie. Personally negros are not part of every snapshot in history so I’m glad they didn’t get their way as they usually do. Hughes was not a racist in fact he employed a large patch of negros on his film crews.
Next time please leave your racism at the door, it’s not needed on these message boards

[–] WithDreday 8 years ago

They kind of left it all in that one line where he equated all those negative things with quote "screwing a colored girl".

I'm personally glad they left it out as a main subplot since, for better or worse, it was a product of the men of his time, and it didn't warrant that much dedication to it.

Also, remember that the original cut was actually 3 and 1/2 hours, so they probably left a lot of that particular subplot on the cutting room floor.

No one Gives it to you...you have to take it

[–] Mercader79 8 years ago

The OP makes a reasonable point. A shame there are a couple of racist dicks on this thread.
Funny to use the phrase a "Disney-fied" version of Hughes though. Disney himself was actually pretty racist too!

[–] illnagas (457) 6 years ago

Scorsese himself said he only wanted to focus on his movies, his aviation, and his dating. HH was a very complicated man and it’s impossible to fit everything into a 3 hour movie. It’s a movie delving into certain aspects of one person it’s not a legal document that’s required to disclose every rumor about him

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Riddle me this, what's 13% but responsible for more than 50%

[–] lemonhead1 (424) 3 years ago

Maybe not everyone wants to have racism issues shoved in their faces constantly like they do in every film nowadays. It is the same, exact formula: White people bad, black people perfect. Yawn!

[–] liscarkat (18410) 3 years ago

There's nothing like a good "white people suck" movie!

[–] ShogunofYonkers (77426) a year ago

Howard was a racist?
Perhaps he was, it was a common mental illness amongst white men once upon a time.

Too bad, I quite admire him otherwise, despite his obvious insanity regarding germs and such.
But c'mon. The guy built experimental airplanes and flew the things!
He was super rich, he could have paid a stunt man to fly those crazy planes he was building.