Is it racist to think this?
I see a black in a minor tv/movie role and think "token black guy".
shareHollywood has used them as a token black person before so it's hard to know their intentions.
share
MovieChat Forums > Politics > Is it racist to think this?
Good topic.
I have noticed that blacks are no longer the criminals on TV like they were in the 70's. Now blacks are doctors, police chiefs and detectives. In fact, there are a lot of black women police chiefs also.
I wonder the same. Am I racist for thinking this is "tokenized" placement? Am I subconsciously thinking that because I don't feel it reflects reality? If I think that way, is that racist? But what if it's really TRUE?
Am I racist when I read a news story about a crime and then at the end see the black mugshot, or hear "black" description, that I say, "figures"? I wish I didn't react that way, but I do!
This is the problem with the institutional racism of affirmative action and quotas. We now have a society where no one is recognized for their hard work and accomplishments. People just see everyone’s position as a result of their physical characteristics. (They just got their because they’re male female black white brown tall short hot etc...) Even if someone is qualified no one believes it. And society regresses.
shareI first got wind of this sentiment about 20 years ago watching Curb your enthusiasm.
The joke is could you go to a black doctor given affirmative action?
I found it offensive to even make this joke.
The best part of This is the End was when that air condition fell on top of that store clerk at the start of the movie. I think Franco wanted a black woman in that part.
shareYes because hollywood weirdos are all lefties, and lefties looooove their tokenism.
shareNothing is racist if you are black.
Everything is racist if you are white.
No.
If you think you're superior to the token black guy just because he's black, then, yes, that's racist.
But I'm not thinking 'oh he's a good actor, that's why he got the part'. I'm reducing him to a token part based on race. Which he might be, but he might also be a good actor. If my mind goes to the dark place, am I racist?
shareThat's stereotyping.
shareAll "token" black actors could potentially not be tokens at the time they were hired. You base it on the odds that definitely some are tokens, which I agree must be the case sometimes, but the right-wing narrative uses those unknown odds to suggest it happens too often. But there's never any real verification that the black actor was hired as a token.
For example, Idris Elba was considered a token black actor by the right when the MCU hired him to play Heimdall. Years later, that narrative became stale as Elba proved himself worthy of the role.
So a major problem is that any project that doesn't last long could make a non-token appear as a token.
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