PRECIOUS

[Vic Vega]

Okay, but black people are bitching about The Blind Side, too. So WTF do black people WANT, exactly, and why should anybody in Hollywood listen to us?

I don't see any difference between PRECIOUS and THE BLIND SIDE. Both are about overweight black people with learning problems and dysfunctional backgrounds.  But if the folks who help them are black it's okay, but Black folks get offended when white folks do the same?  Insane. 

And what Hollywood listens to is profitability.  Both movies are making money, so there will be more of them.  Especially BLIND SIDE, since that's making real money.  It's made over a hundred million.

It is not so much that there are white people in The Blind Side it is that they are playing the whole “Black Gentle Giant Aided By Kindly White Folk” card.

They could very well have made the focus of the movie about the brother’s life on the streets. It was good enough for Manchild In The Promised Land. But the film is not even about him. It about the good feeling White Folk get when they help out messed up brothers.   

It’s as bad as making a Steven Biko movie that is more about the Reporter that is inspired by meeting Biko than the guy who actually got shot.

Some folks see movie for pure escapism rather than edification or entertainment. Maybe folks don’t want to escape TO a world of broke ass overweight Black folk with learning disabilities. They want to escape FROM that mess.

At least the characters in Why Did We Get Married are financially solvent and live in nice houses even if they treat each other like crap.

[Jenn]

It is not so much that there are white people in The Blind Side it is that they are playing the whole “Black Gentle Giant Aided By Kindly White Folk” card.

They could very well have made the focus of the movie about the brother’s life on the streets. It was good enough for Manchild In The Promised Land. But the film is not even about him. It about the good feeling White Folk get when they help out messed up brothers.  

The family has said that they flat out DON'T KNOW very much about Michael Oher's past. He doesn't discuss it with anybody, including his own family. I believe Oher himself said something to the effect of how that person no longer exists and how it has no effect on him whatsoever. (No offense, but I fear for the woman who marries this man.) I agree that the story is more about the Tuohys than about Michael Oher, but the only other alternative was to just make up sh*t. And let's be honest - if we HAD seen Michael's back story (one of 13 children, crackhead mama, etc.), we'd be bitching about that as well. It's a true story, so what do you want to do? Make the Touhys Mexican?

[bluezulu]

I was going to post this in the BET thread but this comment can apply here. What the hell happened to Matty Rich? The Ink Well is on BET and looking at this movie years later it wasn't as bad as I first thought when I watched when it first came out. This movie very much could have been about a white family in the Hamptons. Why can't more movies with black folks be made with the fact that they are black be the major issue of the film. Hey Reg was Matty black balled or something?

[Vic Vega]

I was going to post this in the BET thread but this comment can apply here. What the hell happened to Matty Rich? The Ink Well is on BET and looking at this movie years later it wasn't as bad as I first thought when I watched when it first came out. This movie very much could have been about a white family in the Hamptons. Why can't more movies with black folks be made with the fact that they are black be the major issue of the film. Hey Reg was Matty black balled or something?

See, I just figured that the audience for a period piece of that nature didn't exist yet.

Straight out of Brooklyn was made for pocket change and made money. 

When Inkwell didn't do likewise that was aboout all she wrote for Matty.

A damn shame too because if that movie had hit, others like if would have been made and things like PRECIOUS and THE BLIND SIDE would not be an issue.

Ah well I'll just watch 'Mo 'Betta Blues over and over again til I feel better. 

[voodoochild]

Haven't seen The Inkwell since it's theatrical run, but from what I remember, it was a schizophrenic joint with half of the characters doing some wack-ass jivey bullsh*t with bad afros.  Like Rich told all the actors to research the 70's by watching Jimmy Walker and Antonio Fargas. 
I think Matty Rich got caught up in his own hype after Straight Out of Brooklyn, proudly proclaiming that he didn't go to or even need film school.  Then Inkwell dropped and his technique hadn't really improved.

[BmoreAkuma]

1.) I don't see any difference between PRECIOUS and THE BLIND SIDE. Both are about overweight black people with learning problems and dysfunctional backgrounds.  But if the folks who help them are black it's okay, but Black folks get offended when white folks do the same?  Insane. 

And what Hollywood listens to is profitability.  Both movies are making money, so there will be more of them.  Especially BLIND SIDE, since that's making real money.  It's made over a hundred million.

1.) I see where you are coming from but for some odd reason the movies that have these "black teen dysfunctional backgrounds" always have someone white assisting. Or that news will hit the airwaves on the national scale very quickly. What about the Brothers and Sisters of America where countless people of color are helping dysfunctional teens. Where is the national news for that? What makes Blind Side so unique in comparison to other dysfunctional teens of color whom are poor and someone cared?

[Jenn]

ITA. Remember all those white people in Lean on Me? And all those white saviors in To Sir, with Love? And the slew of white people in Precious? Can't forget A Piece of the Action - it was like a snowstorm up in there.

What makes Blind Side so unique in comparison to other dysfunctional teens of color whom are poor and someone cared?

You must be unfamiliar w/the story of Michael Oher.

[BmoreAkuma]

You must be unfamiliar w/the story of Michael Oher.

Actually, I'm very familar with his story but honestly I just don't like these movies. Supposedly they are "feel good" but honestly I think it is just a cash-in for the producers over another person struggle. It is sickening to me. I have seen and encountered families that done exactly what the family has done in Blind Side and these families is also on Section 8 trying to maintain a household with low income and raising a foster child. So that is nothing new to what I encounter.

[bluezulu]

I kind of see what you are saying. Here in Columbus there is a weekly meeting of a support group entitled Grandparents raising grandchildren. This cuts across racial lines in all, however I bet a good size of that group belongs to minority grans. Lord knows and I bet Reg can relate I'm 37 and I have to go outside and play cops and robbers with my 5 year old. Teenage parenting might not be that bad. Go ahead and get this stuff out the way. Lol. Jenn you kicking running back numbers by now aint ya. Girl if you plan on it you better go ahead and knock it out. 30 something and coloring and putting puzzles is cute for the first 30 minutes or so.

[Reginald Hudlin]

I was going to post this in the BET thread but this comment can apply here. What the hell happened to Matty Rich? The Ink Well is on BET and looking at this movie years later it wasn't as bad as I first thought when I watched when it first came out. This movie very much could have been about a white family in the Hamptons. Why can't more movies with black folks be made with the fact that they are black be the major issue of the film. Hey Reg was Matty black balled or something?

The original draft of THE INKWELL was a much better script.  I don't think Matty Rich was the right director for the material. 

Any director who doesn't make a hit is blackballed.

[Jenn]

I have seen and encountered families that done exactly what the family has done in Blind Side and these families is also on Section 8 trying to maintain a household with low income and raising a foster child.

Did any of them wind up in the NFL? Because that's the hook, not that good white folks took him in. Why stories like this piss black people off so much, I don't know. If I was in Hollywood, I wouldn't listen to sh*t black people had to say about anything.

And I'm going to kill bluezulu if I ever get my hands on him!

[Curtis Metcalf]

I have seen and encountered families that done exactly what the family has done in Blind Side and these families is also on Section 8 trying to maintain a household with low income and raising a foster child.

Did any of them wind up in the NFL? Because that's the hook, not that good white folks took him in. Why stories like this piss black people off so much, I don't know. If I was in Hollywood, I wouldn't listen to sh*t black people had to say about anything.

And I'm going to kill bluezulu if I ever get my hands on him!

Now that's a Post of the Week contender!

[Emperorjones]

Jenn,

From most of the product I see coming out of Hollywood I don't think too many of them do listen to black folks. As for the Blind Side, I too have no desire to see this film. It seems its more about white folks saving us than us doing it for ourselves. I read the Washington Post review of the film and though it was largely positive, it also questioned the POV. Perhaps these type of stories wouldn't bother me so much if the POV was different.

[BmoreAkuma]

I have seen and encountered families that done exactly what the family has done in Blind Side and these families is also on Section 8 trying to maintain a household with low income and raising a foster child.

Did any of them wind up in the NFL? Because that's the hook, not that good white folks took him in. Why stories like this piss black people off so much, I don't know. If I was in Hollywood, I wouldn't listen to sh*t black people had to say about anything.

And I'm going to kill bluezulu if I ever get my hands on him!

Well my problem isn't really the race thing however at least do some consistency. My problem with these "sad but makes you feel good that you didn't go through the main character struggle" films are just cashing in on this "struggle". The premise of some poor black teen making the pros isn't an unique story anyway. I could have swore that there are a number of players in the major league in each sport that had something similar especially ones coming from countries in South America where they don't have as many advantages as US citizens. The only difference is some didn't have as many siblings as he had.


NINJA EDIT: sorry for derailing the thread but maybe it can be changed to uh.... "struggling black teens films" LOL

[Seven]

I have seen and encountered families that done exactly what the family has done in Blind Side and these families is also on Section 8 trying to maintain a household with low income and raising a foster child.

Did any of them wind up in the NFL? Because that's the hook, not that good white folks took him in. Why stories like this piss black people off so much, I don't know. If I was in Hollywood, I wouldn't listen to sh*t black people had to say about anything.

And I'm going to kill bluezulu if I ever get my hands on him!

I agree Jenn. Dude was a FIRST ROUND DRAFT CHOICE.... that's the whole point of the movie...he DID DO IT HIMSELF.

As for PRECIOUS, what was the point of this movie?

I mean, there was no message beyond ‘gay people not being bad’ and the really sick light skin and white people are good… I left the theater like wtf…and even the people who talked me into going…and paid for the movie (my wifey and her friends) also had a wtf look on their faces.

Any message you got; you would have to *reach* really hard personally to get one. I thought that was incredibly clumsy on Daniels part. He blew the movie in my opinion.

Second, the whole colorism and color complex that was typical of the pre-1980’s and early 1990’s was fine. What wasn’t fine was the fact that every positive image or person in the film was either white or light skinned, while every negative image had dark skinned people portraying those roles. It seems that Daniel has a lot of self hate. I had no issue with Precious having a color complex, but it seems that the director also has this issue.

Third, I can’t believe that Perry and Oprah would put their name on this stereotypical, self loathing, dark skin people hating garbage.


Also the chicken sceen is confirmed.

Armond White, hater or not has some very vaild points...

and I thought it was a good movie,  great acting, but fails becasue there is no message. Nothing positive, and has some twisted self hating images.