Segregation?

It is simply the manifestation of the monster America created at its birth. Before the country was a country they were forcing Indians out because they didn't look the same. Then came slavery. What you see now is segregation at it's finest. But there seems to be a "if you can't join em, beat em" type attitude here when it comes to movies because many movies are not written with a black character in mind so people write characters with mainly black characters in an effort to try and balance. There are some multiracial movies but this is America! We were built on differences and that won't go away as quickly as everyone thinks or wants..

i think sometimes these movies mirror society in that black people self-segregate when they are tired of dealing with white people's ignorance and inability to relate to their culture. many people of color feel more comfortable when white people aren't around. there are also white people who feel more comfortable when they are the majority (not hard to accomplish in this country) or when they only have one or two "exotic" non-white friends. this is reality in a lot of areas across the country.

the reason for segregation like this in society is that our schools are largely segregated...some schools moreso than they were in the 1960's. this does not have to do with class as even in neighborhoods where blacks and whites live together, the black children are often bused out of the neighborhood to attend a majority black and latin@ school or the white kids are bused out to attend a majority white school. if you find this hard to believe, look at disaggregated school enrollment data. even in schools which are integrated to some extent, the black kids often are in completely separate classes, sit together in the cafeteria, and have largely different experiences at their school than white students do.

i think black people get tired of performing limited, stereotypical roles in predominately white movies, just as they get sick of constantly being asked to speak for their entire race and/or to educate the white students in their college classes on "how hard it is to be black." sometimes they want to make art that is just theirs, and that cannot be co-opted by the white community.

if you want to see more diverse movie casts being made, it's as simple as supporting the programming and films that highlight multiracial issues. and encouraging others to do so

I dunno if I agree with all of that, but you raise good questions and/or thoughts. I believe with Aesop it's just the context of what he rhymes about. I'm a Mexican American with a lil bit of Irish blood in me, so where does that put me? I love Aesop Rock, but Brown Sugar to me is a very underrated movie. When I watch it I don't see it as a "Black Movie" I just see it for what they are trying to say. The writer's write what they know and obviously this writer knew these people in one way shape or form and he choose to write about the crisis of where hip/hop is going. If anything, it is directed towards black people in an awareness to realize that they are being stereotyped by soulless rap. Bling, calling women bitches, yada yada yada. MOs Def is in there making fun of that type of rap.

This movie maybe marketed towards Black/Ebony crowd but thats only because the people who market movies know that they are there bread and butter and whoever else likes it is just icing on the cake. A Clint Eastwood type movie is marketed towards an older crowd, Caucasian usually, I enjoy his movies, I don't get upset because I think he is segregating towards a younger crowd, he makes movies about people that he knows.

Let me know if you disagree, but that's just my opinion. Peace.

I agree with the O.P, I've been thinking about that for a while now aswell

I wonder if some/a lot of the influence is economic. Do actors-of-colour find it more difficult to get roles and thus decide to make "their own" movies to employ more actors-of-colour?

I'm guessing that auditioning for a romantic-comedy is often guided consciously or unconsciously by race stereotyping unless the project is specifically inter-racial by design.

How often would Taye Diggs or Jamie Foxx audition for/get the lead in a "Notting Hill", "The Lakehouse", "Runaway Bride" or "The Proposal" type movie?

Food for thought.
~lost-in-a-fibro-fog

How many people are tired of this black entertainment, white entertainment, etc. bull?


ME...If there is any BLATANT and INTENTIONAL segregation occurring for the "spite" of it all, then I am BEYOND sick of such forms of media. In all honesty, I am EXTREMELY sick of the issue of "racial differences." I mean, it's pretty well played out in my way of thinking..Mainly due to it being a CONTINUAL beating of the proverbial dead horse. I mean, people differ, so what? Some people will not get along with others no matter what. "So what" on that too!!!! The ONLY reason racial crap even survives is there is MASSIVE profit to be made in the legal and media games, once someone either realistically or fictionally finds himself or herself offended.

I've had an odd life, being what most would perceive as me being a "nerdy White guy" that just happened to LOVE the music of Stevie Wonder and Fat Albert cartoons from the time I was four years old. I was simply entertained, moved and/or related to what the media presented at its CORE (the values, perspectives, and enjoyability of the presented media form). I didn't NEED some stupid, transparent, and/or lame PC policing to enable my choices. Later on, when me, my mom and my sister were in downtown Houston in 1984, I heard something from a boom-box that caught my ear and NEVER let go! I have no idea to this day EXACTLY what track was on, but these guys and gals were break dancing to it...and it was/is COOL! I do remember hearing "The Message" a while later and was SOLD FOR LIFE on rap/hip-hop. MEANWHILE, I was told from Whites that such music was "not for me" and I got mocked by Blacks because...AGAIN, such music was "not for me!" Well, let me clear my throat and shout back now as I did then..*Pretend to hear the following being shouted by a nerdy, hick sounding white dude: "What moves me is EXACTLY what's for me. The choice of what is and is "not for me" is SOLELY up to ME...So f*&% off already!"

Back to the point: I take this "race hustling" business VERY personally. By all traits other than color itself, I can relate to the life of Black people in America. I grew up alongside many of them, I HAVE seen instances of injustice in terms of what I call "SNOB" AMERICA (which comes in ALL racial varieties)being flat-out racist/hateful toward Black people...and I have ALSO seen race used as a crutch time after time after time by Black people..Meanwhile, people like me aren't given ANY opportunity to use race as a tool of profit or as a "reasoning" behind expressing outrage. However, while I DON'T want such opportunities; I DO want to express that I find the scenario to be INSANELY hypocritical. After all, say a non-black person goes through the SAME stuff a black person (or any other so-called minority) goes through in terms of (putting it simply) being "hated on." Well, Mr. or Mrs. Non so-called minority is left in the cold. That is unequal treatment/protection under the law, which is by all counts UNCONSTITUTIONAL! So, from THAT perspective, the "race hustle" is anti-American...and leads to a break-down of our national sovereignty/identity...which is PRECISELY the NWO agenda! The bottom line again: ONLY the legal system and media win when all we do is act like forcing an agenda on supposedly FREE people is going to result in REAL change. I've been hassled, harassed, mocked, beaten, insulted and treated like crap beyond for me being me (a nerdy white dude that just happens to enjoy and relate to hip hop and rap culture without losing my own identity and becoming a so-called "w i g g e r")...and that WILL NEVER CHANGE who I am. I ONLY grow stronger and pass on more wisdom. By all accounts, I CAN flat-out STATE WITHOUT ANY REMORSE OR HESITATION that racists and segregationists come in ALL forms and walks of life. UNTIL we get over the lies that the media shovels our way to create division between all of us to prevent us from KNOWING the real enemy (THE LIARS AND SPINNERS BEHIND THE SCENES...The New World Order), this garbage will continue to destroy us as an American society!

I can see why people complain about having too many white people in a form of entertainment (like a movie), but are they any better if they have a movie that's strictly black?


Nobody should be complaining AT ALL...UNLESS, the media form exists PURELY to denigrate any given race through its existence.


If you go by that logic, you can say there would be too much blacks in the movies. People may think they would be balancing things out, but really, it's just segregation. This is why the world will always be a horrible place to live in unless we all unite together.


We NEED to COLLECTIVELY laugh at racism in a style similar to Mel Brooks' work. See "Blazing Saddles" for what I mean. In the 70's, they didn't get all up-tight about race. They laughed at the stupidity of stereotyping while bringing people together. We NEED that again. We need to look into the wicked eyes of the controllers of the media and state FROM THE HEART, MIND AND SOUL that the "GAME IS OVER" and that we will NO LONGER be playing into their divisionist mind-sets through continuing to let them sway reality one way or another through the manipulation of the lower-IQ population. WE create our destinies through God! They WISH THEY WERE GOD and will always fail in their ambitions! WHO am I speaking on again? The New World Order! Google that and learn a lil something! Anyway, we need to unite to build a battle plan against their wickedness IF we EVER hope to let reality be reality and kick insanity square in the a55!


Why not make more entertainment that's more racially universal insteads movies just for white or just for blacks? It's like a slap in the face to know a movie is only directed at a certain race. It's called "Brown Sugar" for goodness sake...

Forget the plastic-crafted "racially universal" garbage! Make good movies that speak to humanity at its core and be done with it. IF a movie speaks to the core (the heart, soul, mind and body), the racial composition won't matter in the slightest! "Brown Sugar" does this. It's a damn well-told story with a lot of originality and heart. B-b-but WAIT...There's no White folks in it, so it's "not for me." Kill that crap! Seriously, well-done is well-done...Garbage is garbage...End of story.

In Hip-Hop, we got these black Neo-Soul rappers and singers that only make music for black people and only add black people to their myspaces, and then we got these white rocker rappers (like Aesop Rock) that only make music for white people and only add white people to their myspaces. I know I mentioned myspace to justify my point, but would myspaces be a good indication of what your fanbase is or even the people you associate with?

Myspace enables the demonstration of understanding WHO your work speaks to. NOW, IF the user behind the scenes just HAPPENS to reject friend requests based on race, then that "person" is playing the game of being the good lil moron puppet the puppet-masters WANT him or her to play! We NEED to not only "think outside of the box." We NEED to destroy the box entirely to ELIMINATE Madison Avenue created, enhanced and endorsed division. In other words, keep the Golden Rule of doing unto others as they would do unto you in mind until it becomes second nature in your life. IF the world would embrace this ideology, we would NOT have ANY segregationist issues...Ok, yeah we would...Good verses Evil...which cannot be corrected until the return of Jesus!

Speaking of Myspace, here's mine:

http://www.myspace.com/djdedtony

I eagerly await the usual stream of hateful feedback in regard to everything I typed here, my music over on Myspace and the rest....hahahaha!!!!

Oh yeah, watch "Brown Sugar" if you see it listed.

i know this thread was made a couple years ago, but i am curious if he/she watched the movie.

there is a reason for the title of the movie, and if the title puts people off because they assume that it is geared only toward a certain demographic, then that's their own fault.

most likely, if you like hip hop, then you are comfortable with (excuse my politically incorrectness) black culture. if you're a huge fan of country music and you dig on WWF wrestling, it is very possible that you probably have no desire to watch this movie. hell, they would probably be too uncomfortable to walk downtown brooklyn. (although, i have plenty of friends who like hip hop and WWF also)

i also know a lot nonwhite people who listen to aesop rock. and as an asian, hip hop and r&b are my favorite genre. so i guess i am confused as to what the OP is so upset about? are you also mad about all the martial arts movies with only asians in them?

I didn't read every single post, but I'll quickly add my two cents.

I don't think it is the culture-target per se that is negative. There is nothing wrong with producing art targeting a particular race, whether black, white or otherwise (even if white art would possibly be politically incorrect, but that is besides the point here).

It is when exclusion is demanded, when other races are not expected or allowed to enjoy whatever product we are talking about, that is the issue.

So Brown Sugar was targeted at black audiences. It would be immature to ignore the reality that many black people, African Americans, black people in Europe and Africa, have grown on different cultures to others (I am aware that Brown Sugar targets African Americans in particular).

I used to get annoyed when I heard a white person enjoy black (native African) music. Now that is wrong, and that was racist of me. The reality, however, is that said music targets the black folks. We created it, We enjoy it (for the most part), it's ours. I also enjoy Classical music, and I'm learning how to play the piano. And when I go to a Classical music concert, it might not sound surprising to anyone that everybody in the audience and in the orchestra by and large tends to be of European descent. It's white music, so to speak.

The issue arises when we deny someone the freedom to enjoy their tastes based on any sort of negative discrimination: gender, race, idealism, physical attributes, whatever. But there (still) is such a thing as black music, white music, which we should all be free to enjoy.