MovieChat Forums > Lo imposible (2013) Discussion > What is it with all the racism???

What is it with all the racism???

posted 12 years ago by JaneNg
139 replies | jump to latest

First, I am of mixed origin. Part asian, part caucasian and thanks to a caucasian male who pushed me out of the water I am alive today - he is not.

It took me 3 tries to see the whole movie, not because it was bad, but because the memories it brought back to me. But I went to see it because I needed to see it, I needed to feel something about it all. I needed to remember because I can't remember what the guy who saved me looked like any longer - I remember his expression, when he lost his grip and was taken, but his looks is lost like so many other things from that day. I can remember all the silly things me and my friends did before it all happend, but I can't feel the fear and horror any longer, I can't remember the running or when I was in the water trying to get some air. But I still remember the sounds so clearly. So to me this movie was very personal and I could care less about caucasian or spanish actors or what color their skin now might be, because it is not that important to the story and it is impossible to tell every story about everyone who was there and who lost someone in one single movie.

The show was about one family - one out of thousands and how they found each other again, against all odds. Remember more than 200,000 (I dont know the exact number) people did not make it and I feel sad and horrified that someone actually make this about race and start politicizing it, could we for once not talk about race and just once in the history of humanity be one family?

I know - or as far as I remember it, that on that day, no one spoke or talked about race or color and only how we all could help each other to get through it all together. The people in Thailand, no matter if they were locals or foreigners did an amazing task to help and support everyone who needed help and again, it was from what I experienced it, irregardless of race.

I don't wish anyone to experience what I experienced, but I wish that people for once could show some empathy.

[–] jamal89 12 years ago

Showing empathy is what it's all about.

Who decreed that whites are the default race about whom we are always color blind, even when the overwhelming damage of a tsunami in this case was to Asian lives?

Who decreed that rich lives are worth more than poor ones?

Ask yourself this: was adequate attention paid to the country in which this story takes place (by country I mean its people)?

[–] gemmaread 12 years ago

The thing is is that it was following the lives of one family who were at a Resort which is popular among foreigners.

Everyone knows that the people from there suffered greatly, for anyone to think otherwise is very stupid. But I don't think in any way was this meant to be some sort of racial point - that documenting the lives of the foreigners was more important, I highly doubt that was what the movie was going for.

You saw local people helping others which is showing them in a good light, and on numerous occasions you saw dead bodies of people (non-descriptive of where they were from)

One "race" should not be placed above another and it is this kind of thinking, instead of realizing how many HUMAN lives were taken, that still has people shouting "Racist" at every little scenario.

No one said being white was default or more important, only actual racists think that, and I think if racists made this movie they would definitely not portray the locals in a good light at all.

[–] wijdan 12 years ago

[–] gemmaread 12 years ago

I do? I don't see how.

[–] jamal89 12 years ago

You don't have to be racist to treat whites as the default race. That way of "unseeing" is so ubiquitous as to come naturally even to well-intentioned people.

Similarly, I don't see a "racial point" being made. Rather, this is the work of people who are accustomed to seeing "exotic locals" as background, part of the landscape even, rather than central characters worth identifying with and getting invested in emotionally.

You probably don't see it because you take this approach to storytelling for granted.

[–] gemmaread 12 years ago

Thanks for telling me what I see and don't see. You know me SO well.

[–] jamal89 12 years ago

Nothing personal.

[–] Pharazon 12 years ago

Color blind? Since when do white people get play real people of other colors?

I tend to see the total opposite... In Thor the Norse God specifically described as "the whitest of the gods" is played by a black man. And any complaint about this was instantly labeled as racist and it was wildly flaunted as an example that race doesn't matter.

Try to imagine the opposite... How about Dolph Lundgren playing Nelson Mandela?
That should be perfectly fine if race truly did not matter, right?

[–] moviegeek1 12 years ago

Are you really so ignorant of film history that you don't know that white actors have played non-whites in movies, especially in the early days? The producers back in the "old days" didn't think they were being racist or offensive. It was the way the world worked back then. The country was largely racist, so no one (white audiences) wanted to see a person of color on the silver screen in a leading role. Hollywood knew that. The only roles minorities were allowed to play were maids and butlers primarily.

Nowadays, it's less about race and more about money. Producers want their films to appeal to the widest possible audience, which means movies made by whites for whites. And the fact that we have white actors playing people who in reality are Spanish should come as a surprise to no one. It's typical of how things work in the industry. If the leads of this film were played by Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, would this thread even exist? Would the film have received as much acclaim? Would there be Oscar nominations? We'll never know. Hollywood thinks that "general audiences" aren't open-minded enough to accept or relate to minority actors in leading roles in mainstream movies. So, unless you're Will Smith, or in some cases, Denzel Washington, white audiences aren't going to come to your movie and white audiences are all that producers in Hollywood care about.

Sister, when I've raised hell, you'll know it!

[–] jacottj 12 years ago

Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Spanish people are not white ????
*Fvuk* me!!! but George Clooney or Sean Connery are white people ??? LOL you people are so fvcking stupid and ignorant!

Have you ever got your fat ass out of your little fvcking town and see how the world and people look like ??? FVCK OFF!!!!

Btw I'm not Spanish

[–] branstark 12 years ago

Who's Antonio Banderas?

Yeah.

--
Posting on IMDb since 1999
http://twitter.com/rynlpin - Twitter

[–] jacottj 12 years ago

that's quite a different approach don't you agree?
How many german, dutch, french or swedish actors are known worldwide? it's the same issue. Whenever an european (non-british) movie is considered a hit there's always a remake made in Hollywood such as the girl with the dragon tattoo ...

here's another good example
http://news.yahoo.com/american-remake-intouchables-works-firth-1010200 40.html

[–] branstark 12 years ago

I've never heard of Antonio Banderas and I'm guessing many westerners haven't either. Movie making is a business and money needs to be made. Having Spaniards in the lead roles won't make a return so get over it!

Oh and choosing non-Spanish actors is not racism.
--
Posting on IMDb since 1999
http://twitter.com/rynlpin - Twitter

[–] jacottj 12 years ago

I never claimed it should have been played by spanish people. I'm pretty comfortable with Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor - some of my favourite actors.

[–] jacottj 12 years ago

Oh and choosing non-Spanish actors is not racism

of course it is not racism. referring to spanish people as non-white is blatantly ignorant and pathetically racist.

[–] Pharazon 12 years ago

They made a remake of The girl with the dragon tattoo because... The original movie was in Swedish... Doh!

The Hollywood version was better.

[–] jacottj 12 years ago

I enjoyed the swedish movie a lot more, maybe because it was the first one I saw, although Rooney Mara was fantastic, the remake was just a "déjà vu" to me. I also enjoy to listen the sound of a different and "strange" language but then again I have no problems reading subtitles ... and I quite enjoy european cinema, some of my favourite movies are actually europeans even those spoken in english...

[–] Pharazon 12 years ago

I'm Swedish and don't need subtitles for English speaking movies. So I think I have a more objective view of the two.
I thought that the pacing, acting and cinematography were better in the Hollywood version and the plot improvements made it much more exciting, especially the ending.
Swedish actors speaking Swedish in movies almost always sound fake to a well trained Swedish ear. I thought it was very fresh to hear English spoken with real Swedish accents in a Hollywood movie and I think it actually was the first time ever I have seen a movie that treated Swedish that way.
(Usually it is just portrayed as Swedish chef "bork bork" or some gibberish that sounds like German or Dutch "Jaaa jaaa".)

[–] moviegeek1 12 years ago

You don't know who Antonio Banderas is? Well, you're on a movie site. You can look him up.

Sister, when I've raised hell, you'll know it!

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jacottj 12 years ago

Who the fvck I think I am? I'm the kind who laughs to tears with the recurrent ignorance and arrogance style of some (if not many) americans!

http://www.encontrovinhonovo.com.br/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ge orgie07.jpg

http://media.salon.com/2011/05/cannes_antonio_banderas_as_a_suave_neo_ frankenstein.jpg

they look the same type: dark hair (now grey); dark eyes; dark skin and both aging a lot ... how can you claim one is white and the other is not??? what's wrong with you people? shouldn't you always use the term anglo and hispanic to refer their native languages and cultural heritages instead?

[–] Pharazon 12 years ago

So just because X did something to Y 80 years ago we must all take this into account in all the things we do and talk about today in the year 2013? If there is anything that is the cause of white resentment towards other groups today it is exactly this debate. The notion that all whites are forever guilty and owe "people of color" something for stuff people with the same skin color did 80 years ago is by definition; racism.

In my book Spanish people are white Europeans, so I have no idea what the fvck you are talking about. Could it be that it is in fact YOU who have prejudices against Spanish people? Do you think that all Spaniards are tanned and have black hair? Is it so that from your American perspective with the total focus on race you put Spaniards in the same group with Mexicans just because they speak the same language?

I for one do not care about what race a character or what race the actor playing the character is. Unless of course if the character have predetermined physical attributes. You would not cast a man to play Cleopatra or an adult to play Tom Sawyer. And the same principle should of course be applied to racial features, IF that is a core feature of that character! Like the example a NORSE GOD with a thousand year old mythology and a well established character image in the comic the movie is based around (Thor).

Since this movie is based on a real event and real people, but whose characters are new to the audience, there is really no relevance to what kind of actors play the characters. It could have been about a black family, I would not have cared. The main point for these characters in this story is that they are tourist from a western country. Not their ethnicity.

[–] moviegeek1 12 years ago

The notion that all whites are forever guilty and owe "people of color" something for stuff people with the same skin color did 80 years ago is by definition; racism.

WTF? No, that's YOUR definition of racism and you're entitled to it, wrong as it may be. But a dictionary defines it differently. And did you actually read the post I made? Where did I say anything about anyone "owing" anyone anything? Tell me that. A little sensitive on this issue, aren't you? I was commenting on the history of racism in Hollywood, which cannot be denied, no matter how angry or defensive you get, so kindly calm the hell down. It never ceasses to amaze me when a non-minority acts like the authority on racism.

In my book Spanish people are white Europeans, so I have no idea what the fvck you are talking about.

Obviously. And apparently your "book" is more important, more informed and enlightened than mine. But would "Spanish people" consider themselves "white" Europeans? I'm not so sure. I'll have to ask one. But you are welcome to your observations, of course.

It could have been about a black family, I would not have cared.

Good, glad to hear it, but would you have paid the ticket price to see it if it was about a black family?

Sister, when I've raised hell, you'll know it!

[–] Pharazon 12 years ago

Racism contain many aspects. One of them is the act of blaming all people of one race living today for the sins some other people of the same race did in the past.
Connecting their guilt by association to race IS racism.

Obviously you think that the history of racism in Hollywood is relevant today, and by doing so you make yourself guilty of racism by the definition above.

What is this "non-minority" you are talking about? White people are a minority in the world and my specific ethnic group are only 0,114% of the worlds population!

Spanish people are descendants from: Neolithic peoples, Celts, Tartessians, Turdetanians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Germanic Vandals & Suebi, Iranic Alans, Visigoths, Berbers, Arabs, Romani and... Vikings.
/Wikipedia

It's an extreme American viewpoint to label Hispanic people as a separate race, most probably stemming from the need to distance American whites from Mexicans.

The movie was not shown in cinemas here.
I would not have payed to see it anyway. Regardless of who the actors were.

[–] jacottj 12 years ago

But would "Spanish people" consider themselves "white" Europeans? I'm not so sure. I'll have to ask one.

You should visit Spain and find it out by yourself. In the meantime you will also find a terrific touristic destination.

I'm not Spanish, btw. but in my book Spanish people are also white Europeans.

[–] mamporrero 11 years ago

You would probably get a bunch of blank stares if you asked that in Spain. As a matter of fact I don't think I've ever read or heard an equivalent for "white European" in Spanish. All Europeans are white, there's no need to be redundant.

This endless debate about who can actually qualify as white is a phenomenon I've only encountered on English speaking boards. It can get quite ridiculous when even Germany or Scotland start getting their "white status" denied.

[–] bobbobbob123 12 years ago

What are you talking about? You don't mention anything remotely racist. Seriously, I have no idea what your post is about.

[–] franco_xxl 12 years ago

It's a movie, of course it's gonna be about a "western" family, and you choose actors that are gonna deliver, and more so, actors that are going to do the movie makers/studios the favor of bringing in the cash.

Not overly complicated.

They could've made a movie with spanish (speaking) actors, or made a movie about a thai family... but then again, if your going local why even bother about Thailand? Of the estimated 230'000 deaths from the Tsunami, 170'000 was Indonesian... Around 35'000 in Sri Lanka.
Less than 10'000 people died in Thailand, and less than 3000 was "farangs", non Thai.

It's weird to speak about racism because the movie makers uses Caucasian actors, instead of spanish, when making a movie about a natural disaster that is still moving us because a few percentage of the deaths were western tourists.

[–] nancymalcomson 12 years ago

I have not watched this movie yet, as I have been debating for a few days on whether to watch it. Not due to anything other than the fact that when I watch a movie, I want it to be a good one.... regardless the genre.

I have read enough that I am definitely going to watch this film - likely tonight.

THE SUBJECT at hand: Racism in this movie

REALLY? REALLY? From what I read, this movie is about ONE family's survival of this catastrophic event. Whether the family was white, Spanish, Asian, black, or aliens from Mars, with six fingers, green skin, and three eyes, has nothing to do with the message of the film. Survival does not discriminate due to ethnic background. The story of survival is the point; the tsunami from 2004 was used as the container to send this message. This message of survival could have used any of thousands of events. This one was chosen due to the sheer size of the destruction it caused. The water from this storm did not care if it killed black, green, brown, tan, or white people.... it killed without bias.

You should watch and accept this film for what it is: A celebration of life... ALL LIFE! Regardless of ethnic background.

Would these people complaining about racism in this movie, be standing on their stool yelling "Racism" if the story had been centered around Hurricane Katrina, and Jet Li & Lucy Lui had been the stars? Would they have complained that Asians had starred in a movie based on a tragic event that happened in the U.S.A.?

I think the people that are yelling "racism" in-connection to this movie, are, in-fact, the true racists. Grow-up people, the world doesn't revolve around you, or your beliefs, and the rest of the world is tired of racism and wants to move on! Anyone that finds racism in this story of survival, are the type of people that are the remnants of a bygone era that the rest of us want to leave in the history books. Quit trying to ruin this movie for others, and GROW UP!

[–] wijdan 12 years ago

I have not watched this movie yet...

Those of you who see racism in this movie, or any like it, are the ones who are truly racist - and you need to check yourselves. The world doesn't revolve around you, so grow up.

But it revolves around you.

[–] keyvenx 12 years ago

Ultimately, this movie would never have been made if not for the possibility of a big payoff.

Sentimentality is a marketing buzzword and may have played a small part in making this movie, but ultimately, it's all about the money.

It would have taken an extremely brave casting director to cast little-known Spanish actors to carry what is essentially a relatively big-budget Hollywood movie.

[–] Darnthealarm 12 years ago

Get over it. It's a story well told regardless of the race or ethnicity of the family.

[–] MovieFreak74 12 years ago

It just gets old. All the great "human" and "emotional" stories seem to involve whites as the main protagonists. Of course there are exceptions, but that's the problem. There are only exceptions. Hollywood seems obsessed with telling these epic stories using only one type of person. It's hard to believe that out of the thousands of people who died from this event, most of whom were non-white, that the only story worth telling on film is about a white family who was vacationing at the time. It just seems like always *that* family...when are other types of people going to be humanized in movies? I guess people are just getting tired of it. They want to see people who look like the world on screen, not just whites. I don't think that's racism, I think that's just human nature. People want to see people that look like them in art/film. I personally think people of color are a lot more tolerate of seeing whites on film than the other way around, mostly because they have no choice.

Witch-King: "You fool! No man can kill me. Die now!"
Éowyn: "I am no man!"

[–] jmgindiana 12 years ago

From what I read, the original family was white.
Do you think the producers should have changed their race to japanese or african just to be PC? I don't think so. As other posters have mentioned, race is not the subject of this film. I understand also why they shouldn't want to make a movie with spanish protagonists, since it would have required to have all the movie with subtitles. English is a more widespread language. And they also -certainly- wanted a couple of lead actors famous enough to draw audiences beyond the quality of the movie. That's a common strategy.

On the other hand, I liked how they showed the generosity of the locals, and how they did whatever they could to help the victims within their limitations. The old lady embracing Mary after giving her and Lucas clean clothes, etc. The same with the hospital, where all the staff was doing everything they could to save lives. Heck, the old man who helps the mom and Lucas to get to the hospital -really old!- leaves without expecting anything from anyone. He just leaves, presumably to help other people. I felt that was great, and said a lot about humble and poor people also affected by the tragedy.

But perhaps the most touching moment, for me, was the note at the end. Subtle, without any unnecessary explanation, but hit me like a ton of bricks. Very good filmmaking.

In any case, if after a movie like this you can only zero into the race of the protagonists, then you are missing the point of the flick.

[–] MovieFreak74 12 years ago

I think you missed the point of my post.

I have no problem with this story and the characters being white.

I do have a problem that the only mainstream film being made about this story revolves around this family. Where are all the other stories about this tragedy that involved the locals? I bet there are some really amazing stories out there revolving around the locals that won't get told, and definitely won't get anyone from Hollywood financing. That's the problem people like me have with the way Hollywood tells stories. No one cares if this story revolves around a white family. People are simply getting tired of the fact that those are the ONLY stories that get financed and marketed.

Witch-King: "You fool! No man can kill me. Die now!"
Éowyn: "I am no man!"

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MovieFreak74 12 years ago

I'm talking about in the grand scheme of movie-making. The newness of this particular tragedy doesn't explain how skewed movies tend to be towards showcasing whites in general. There are scores of tragedies that happen here and abroad, but the ones that get financed the most feature a white protagonist, despite the fact that whites are in the minority of the world's population. It's just weird.

Witch-King: "You fool! No man can kill me. Die now!"
Éowyn: "I am no man!"

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Jeanutti 12 years ago

This is the most moving thread I have ever read!
I am left speechless.

¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´Currently having a crush on: Caleb Rivers!

[–] angelific 12 years ago

I agree with you, JaneNg. The race of the family was irrelevant. It is a lovely (and incredibly lucky) story to watch.

For all those saying it's racist, I just don't see it. The Director had production constraints, and worked with them best he could. You all need to grow up. Appreciate the movie for what it is, or shut the f_ck up and move on.

I'm not weird. I'm limited edition.

[–] AkilaDJ 12 years ago

I don't see any Racism here.....
But different viewers see it differently.

In this movie apparently there is only One bad Guy...
and he is White!.. but still it is not racism.
Plus this is a movie, and based on true incidents around 'María Belón' and her family. Not about the whole tSunami catastrophe. But it would be better if there were a little bit more about what happened to the local people!
-
an IMDB user from a tSunami Affected Country
!