MovieChat Forums > Lottery Ticket (2010) Discussion > A movie with an all-Black casts just bei...

A movie with an all-Black casts just being a movie?

posted 14 years ago by prom887
5 replies | jump to latest

Is there such a movie? Or, must a Black movie must have certain stereotypes?

I want to see a movie from different genres (like Psychological Thriller) in Hollywood that just happen to have most Black casts.

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[–] kittd82 14 years ago

American wise?
It is just difficult. It is already difficult for Hispanics and Asians to have similar genres and roles that are dominated by a Caucasian cast. Until the big cats in Hollywood stop banking on the viewers are idiots, then you will see a change.

There are many movies I've seen and I actually catch myself thinking that if the entire cast was (insert non-caucasian cast) would the movie flow the same way, would it be accepted? When it comes to IMDB, you can see why Hollywood continues with the formula.

[–] C.S.Wood 14 years ago

I want to see a movie from different genres (like Psychological Thriller) in Hollywood that just happen to have most Black casts.

So would I, but that won't happen simply because it would require too big of a leap of faith from the producers/money people (assuming they weren't black) and unless it was a huge, and I mean HUGE success, it would be the perfect excuse not to make anymore.

If the black community wants to see the quality of movies featuring black characters rise, they need to go out there and start writing, directing, producing, and editing more. The black community seems more preoccupied with the music industry and sports because the success rate of a black music artist or athlete seems much hire and visible in those fields than in the movie industry.

Firstly, they need to lay off the comedy and Christian-themed flicks.

And as the original poster mentioned, they need to invest in thrillers and, IMO, horror. I've never in my life seen a slasher movie where the Final Girl was black. It's rare to see a black chick in a horror movie PERIOD, and I've seen thousands of horror flicks. The last one may have been 28 Days Later (British) and Freddy vs Jason (a singer, not an actual actress, was cast).

The black community can't wait around for Hollywood to cater to them. They need to go out there and make their own films, hope they actually turn out good, and hope that they make enough money that Hollywood can't ignore them. The easiest route to do that would be to produce low budget scary films. Scary films never need big names to make a lot of money. Just look at Paranormal Activity.

"Who cares? He's a cheeseburger." -- Stewie Griffin

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] C.S.Wood 14 years ago

You do realize you named about 7 films out of the last 43 years, right? If you have to reach all the way back to a film that came out in 1968 to prove a point, I think that's a problem.

And of the last ten years, Lathan in Alien vs Predator is the only real surprise (though the film was not very good). The characters in the Dawn of the Dead remake were supporting, not the main characters (played by Sarah Polley and Jake Weber).

Yes, the quality in writing has gone down, but good actors and creative directors can turn a tired story into something new.

If the black community wants to be taken seriously in the film industry, they need to get out there and start making their own movies, but those movies have to universal and not exclusive. Imagine a version of Rear Window or Carrie or Rosemary's Baby or Psycho, but with pivotal black characters. Has there ever been anything like that to come out within the last 10 years or even 15? If a black character has appeared in such a film it was simply as a murder victim.

Take a look at the kind of Asian cinema imported into the United States. It's mostly epic spiritual kung-fu flicks or horror flicks. Imagine if they did a modern kung-fu flick with epic Ong Bak type fights and a decent story, but with a black cast. What're the chances we'll ever see that kind of film?

But those kind of movies cost money. Horror can be made for cheap and can be very effective even on tight budgets. The problem is no one's making them. Not with black casts, at least. Michael Jai White has put out some good fighting flicks, but he's still largely ignored by Hollywood thanks to Spawn.

The best and most-suited actor wins the role

That's a lie. Otherwise people like Chris Klein, Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Fallon, Megan Fox, Paul Walker, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Shia Labeouf, Tara Reid, Josh Hartnett, Michael Cera, Ben Affleck and a slew of other "actors" would not have gotten movie jobs, let alone leading roles. It's who you know and how much money they think they can make off of you.

Gabrielle Union is a better actress than Megan Fox, but who has better chance of snagging a main role? Kerry Washington's ten times better than Cameron Diaz, but who's going to cash the bigger paycheck?

Finally, the idea of predominantly white versus a black production sounds like another form of segregation. I understand that there are many reasons why a predominantly black cast is necessary for films that want to focus on a particular subject.

You can't look at it that way. It's about image. Everyone wants to see themselves represented in stories. One portion of the population gets 98% of the focus. And break that down further, men get about 90% of the focus vs women. And of those women, only the caucasian ones are focused on.

There are well over 100 million non-white (including mixed race) potential moviegoers in the United States and they are routinely ignored or falsely represented. The only way it will change is to prove that movies that aren't all about white males between 13 and 45 can make money and be good films.

"Who cares? He's a cheeseburger." -- Stewie Griffin

[–] 14 years ago

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