MovieChat Forums > Apollo 13 (1995) Discussion > Is this movie too 'white' to be made tod...

Is this movie too 'white' to be made today?

posted 6 years ago by tricksoftrade (82)
23 replies | jump to latest

When Apollo 13 was made, the lack of diversity was probably not given a second thought. This was history, and accuracy rules. I find it hard to believe that this 'very white male' movie would be green lit (let alone given a blockbuster budget )in 2018.

The US is increasingly becoming more diverse, and Hollywood is rightly looking to reflect this diversity. So I am glad that they got movie in the can before Hollywood could say...Good story but too much white male!

[–] strntz (10790) 6 years ago

I would hope that today's Hollyweird would still make such a movie as is if it hadn't been made before, but you never know.

The forced diversity is really stupid and I'm glad they didn't diversify Apollo 13 just to appease those who might be offended by it's "whiteness".

OTOH, I really enjoyed the related story of Hidden Figures and it's a story that *should* have been told years ago.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8289) 6 years ago

I'm sure a film like Apollo 13 would be made today.

First Man is coming out this year and it's about Neil Armstrong:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSoRx87OO6k

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I'm looking forward to that one ⤴👍

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8289) 6 years ago

Yeah, it looks pretty good.

It seems the main thrust of the narrative is the danger of the mission. Everyone seems so concerned about how dangerous it is. Obviously it was quite dangerous but I wonder if everyone's mood was as somber as this film seems to be portraying.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Yep it does seem a bit doom and gloom, I've read a few books about the Apollo programme and i didn't get that vibe from any of them Apollo 1 aside.

[–] funkychicken (606) 6 years ago

This question points out one of the biggest problems with Hollywood today.

Forced, contrived "diversity". It ruins movies like nothing else.

[–] AlfredTheGreat (471) 6 years ago

I don't think that the absence of minorities is the big issue but as with the school systems the whole event has been minimized in importance. But indirectly the absence of minorities will not help it as a film subject nor as an important event for studies. It seems to me the school system is being programmed in terms of social studies as being a platform for Democratic Party ideals. Less objectionable Republican Presidents in the past such as Teddy Roosevelt and Ike Eisenhower gets virtually no classroom time or the period they were President in gets no classroom time. Instead it leapfrogs from Democratic POTUS to Democratic POTUS with maybe William Jennings Bryan thrown in to show how progressive he was even if he was not elected. I don't think that Democrat icon FDR gets much classroom time anymore. I would imagine anything modern in focus is heavy in the Clinton's and Obama. Sad.

[–] Xcalat3 (3701) 6 years ago

I think it could, that is if they make it historically accurate.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

Hey, they made "First Man", which is about NASA during it's all-white days.

So, no.

[–] tricksoftrade (82) 6 years ago

I stand corrected. I am going to see First Man today.

[–] strntz (10790) 5 years ago

Well, I haven't seen this movie yet (will stream it via my old friend Kodi McFree), but if they managed to avoid the PC efforts to artificially "colorize" films, they did succumb to not shooting a scene about the American flag being planted in the lunar soil, supposedly to not "offend" those countries who didn't beat us to the moon.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12253) 6 years ago

It probably would have suffered the same fate as "First Man," with crappy Canadian and British actors faking being American and having no emotions, all the negative stuff about NASA being shown firsthand, and depicting how crappy the lives of black people were by comparison while the govt. "wasted" money on space travel. Oh yeah, they probably would have made sure the astronauts didn't have flags on their insignia.

[–] tricksoftrade (82) 5 years ago

I was more aware of the style of directing than liberal bias.

I was correct about the budget however...much less than Apollo 13.

[–] Sidha108 (2350) 2 years ago

They would probably have some of the Mission Control and NASA support people be black in the movie even if they were not black in real life.

[–] Otter (24464) a year ago

Actually, they made a movie about NASA's black support people, it was called "Hidden Figures".