MovieChat Forums > Idlewild (2006) Discussion > Why even bring race into it?

Why even bring race into it?


It's a movie. They're people. Who cares if they're white, black, brown, purple, or aquamarine. Why even bring it up at all? Just sit back and relax. Don't stress out over the "darkness" of the actors. If it upsets you that much, stay at home.

Just enjoy it for what it is: entertainment.

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[deleted]

YEs ....FINALLY PEOPLE WITH BRAINS and actually intelligent opinions

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I am a white person, who primarly sticks to "white movies" but this movie looks pretty friggen good, and I actually look forward to seeing it. I dont even see it as a black movie, I see it as a movie that looks pretty well made regardless who is in it.

"Where is the Invisible Man? I can't see him!"

Ignorance is Bliss.

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Aquamarine...now that would make an interesting film
The colour of an actors skin doesn't make them any less a good actor so why have a go at ppl for making a film which happens to be predominately black??
Still think they should do it in aquamarine though..that would give 'em something to rant about

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i have no problem with black people, or white people, or asian people, or anyone else, EXCEPT those aquamarine people, they arent really people

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You WOULDN'T see it as a black flim, BECAUSE you aren't. Duh!

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what the hell is a 'white movie'

You guys got fat while everybody starved on the street. Now its my turn - Frank White

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I think that would be the other 98% of movies that are made.

You have to think about more than the color of the actors in a movie. You have to think about the culture that is represented in a movie. Most movies depict some aspect of primarily white culture. Some movies deal with multiple cultures and it would be unfair to lable these as white or anything else, but most movies don't.

Examples:

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - Chinease movie
City of God - Brazillian movie
American Beauty - White movie
Bird - African-American (Black) movie
Movies like Do the Right Thing and Glory deal specifically with the interaction between people of different cultural backgrounds.


Stop driving your little baby car around St. Babysburg and take your asteroid smashing like a man!

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[deleted]

Sure, as long as they hold YOUR viewpoint, they have "BRAINS and actually intelligent opinions." Which is offensive to those that have a DIFFERENT opinion because you are saying THOSE people DON'T have brains and are NOT intelligent. NOW who's RACIST??

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you are

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Can't (ouch) we (ouch, don't hit me any more with that nightstick) just (ouch) get along.

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Okay, here's a "brainy and intelligent" question. My comments are regarding MOST blacks, not all. WHY is it that blacks think it isn't racist to have BET (BLACK Entertainment Television), Ebony Magazine, Miss BLACK America, the BLACK Congressional Caucus, online dating sites that SAY they are SPECIFICALLY for BLACKS, television networks that ADMIT they are for BLACK t.v. shows, etc., etc., etc.???

BUUUUT....WHITE people would be IMMEDIATELY branded "RACIST" by black people and taken to task if they created WET (WHITE Entertainment Television), CLOUD Magazine, Miss WHITE America, the WHITE Congressional Caucus, online dating sites that SAY they are SPECIFICALLY for WHITES, television networks that ADMIT they are for WHITE t.v. shows, etc.

This is a double standard and a fine example why white people are tired of blacks wanting to have it both ways. Blacks want to be treated and seen as equals but they CONSTANTLY do things to set themselves apart, such as calling each other "brother" and "sister;" creating BLACK only organizations such as those above; saying it's okay to call EACH other the "N" word but getting irrate when white's call them that (even if whites TRULY used it in the spirit of the way blacks supposedly do); having EEOC, which is REVERSE DISCRIMINATION; having an uprising when it's white on black crime but, NOT when it's BLACK ON WHITE crime (never hear them say a word about THAT); wearing African clothing (most know NOTHING about Africa); wanting (and EXPECTING) whites to call them a certain term for their race, that changes at their whim (black, afro-American, African American, etc.), when we are ALL just AMERICANS. You don't hear whites INSISTING that BLACKS call them, Irish Americans, Italian Americans, German Americans, etc.

Blacks on live t.v. waiting to hear the O.J. verdict CHEERED and whooped and hollered and danced and stomped their feet and threw their head around when he was pronounced "not guilty" when anyone with a brain cell in their head KNOWS he was guilty. And when interviewed, blacks said essentially the same thing in explanation for their behavior, that this was "PAYBACK" against whites for all the unjustly convicted black people by the court system.

And another example is the South Central L.A. riots. Blacks went around in a HUGE mob, burning and stealing and destroying stores. And, they attacked a truck trying to innocently get through that area of town and (on video) pulled out the innocent truck driver (Reginald Denny) and beat and kicked the living hell out of him and tried to finish him off by throwing a brick on his head, and as he lay motionless in the street, that group of several BLACKS whooped it up, laughing and pointing at the man and doing a little dance in celebration that they probably killed a white man. Luckily, a decent black man pulled up in his vehicle and was able to drag Denny into it and take off, probably saving his life.

It's time to look into your OWN deeds, actions and hearts if you want white America to treat you differently. Yeah, I KNOW this is a movie site but others on here threw out the RACE card so, I feel, therefore, this comment is VALID here.

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In regards to the comment about white television, magazines, etc. You have all that already... it's just called Fox, and CBS, and NBC, and WB, and People magazine, and Time and everything else in white-owned-and-run media.

See, minorities can have their own special CULTURAL (it's not about race, it's about culture) magazines, and networks and all that, because it is about retaining their culture identity within the larger American culture.... white people don't need to do that because America's culture is the white culture.

"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity"
www.myspace.com/andrehill

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Are you serious donjohnson? The only reason any of those organizations and mediums exist is because Black Americans were entirely cut out of the media and political organizations for over a hundred years AFTER we were recognized as HUMANBEINGS by the US government. We weren't on the cover of Time or Life; there were no stories written to cater to African Americans in Reader's Digest. Black Americans had to publish their own written media; i.e., black newspapers, magazines, and books wirtten by African Americans. Then in the 1980's, when it was apparent that Mtv was NOT going to air any videos from well-known black artists (Videos from Michael Jackson and Prince weren't played until the mid-eiighties), or programing that didn't base every African American family in the projects or trash heaps, African Americans took their first steps into television. BET was originally a music channel like Mtv. These strides were made for the same reasons HBCU (historically black colleges and universities)were established; without it and them African Americans wouldn't have a voice, be informed of what's happening within our scope of the world, and/or have a chance to acheive higher education. Now that the need has lessened (though far from being obselete) those less informed individuals on the outside looking in see these things as separatism; when, ironically they exist because of separatism- WHITE SEPARATISM.

As someone mentioned why would there ever be a need for "WET" (I scoff just thinking that acronym) when most medium is catered to this majority?

I personally do not believe that shows on tv with a dominant or an all white cast are racist. On the contrary, some aren't because they tell a personal story that may exclude other races or they are based on facual events where the minority presence was nil, but for the most part tv and some movies have been whitewashed. This whitewashing spawns the need for minorities' to create their own venues, in effect, more sparatism is inadvertently created. Oh, and they do have channels that cater to both people of Spanish and Asian descent, but they have to be special ordered. They are where we were when it comes to having an active voice in America.


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Again, a perfect example of "blacks are never wrong." All the excuses you give are ridiculous and miss my points entirely. If blacks had wanted to create those organizations I've already mentioned (t.v., pageant, mags, etc.) in the way you complain that whites created theirs, blacks should have put MOSTLY blacks in them but not EXCLUSIVELY. Whites do have SOME blacks in theirs. They also, shouldn't have named them BLATANT black names. Whites did not do that with theirs.

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Because for whites to "blatantly" name theirs "White" Whatever would be very redundant because anyone with a 1/2 brains can see that they are a majority...so it is designed for them (whites) anyway....DUH!

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That's the lame, common EXCUSE blacks use to LEGITIMIZE THEIR RACISM.

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You do realize that BET is pretty much ran by white people donjohnson?

I dont know about you but I see Eminem, Paul wall, etc on there alot, and whether I like em or hate em...theyre not black.

Its black CULTURE not RACE

As a white person I can always watch Martha Stewart Living or Foxnews for my white culture.

You guys got fat while everybody starved on the street. Now its my turn - Frank White

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Who, but blacks, would live in a black culture?? Doesn't make sense. It's about RACE. PERIOD. It's a DOUBLE STANDARD. BET is NOT run by Whites. The two guys you mentioned are "black wannabees."

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Call it a double standard if you want, but you are just ignoring reality.

The reality is that the vast majority of media outlets in the US are owned by white people, controlled by white people and primarily promote the white culture.

You think "it's about race. period" simply because you have not stepped beyond your own small mindedness and been exposed to different cultural situations. Stop and think about it for a minute. Isn't culture greater than race? Race is about color, but culture is about values. If a white person grows up in a primarily asian culture, he will have a different set of values that a white person who grows up in a primarily white culture.

That is what this is all about. The majority of media in the US are displaying and promoting white cultural values. Think about it. You say that white people couldn't have a WET all-white channel. If you were to watch BET you would be exposed to values and situations that you would be unfamiliar with, if not uncomfortable with. However, when you watch ABC, NBC, CBS, etc. you usually do not encounter this. That ought to tell you that these stations are already promoting your culture.

Stop driving your little baby car around St. Babysburg and take your asteroid smashing like a man!

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Another black spewing their total BS. Still never address the double standard that I wrote about. What about a WET, NAAWP, Miss WHITE America, etc., by LITERAL name, as blacks have named many of THEIR organizations??

Keep denying. No white person will EVER make the black population see the TRUTH of their denial. You've made complaining about White America most of your reason for exising.

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Geez! "Again, a perfect example of "blacks are never wrong."" What?! Do you not like black people or something? "whites do have SOME blacks in theirs." Thats about as racist as saying, " I like black people I have four black friends, plus the two that live next door to me!" And what are these "BLATANT" black names you speak of?

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I just wanted to add to this, for those that don't know but BET was added because the cable industry in the early 1980s needed a way to attract Black audiences to the growing market.

The product was the brainstorm idea of Robert Johnson (founder) of BET who introduced it to the cable industry and got the support of HBO, TCI (Comcast today), Great American Broadcasting (Time Warner cable today) that invested into the network to help fund it. Today BET is owned by VIACOM, along with MTV and VH1.

So I'm sure had history being flipped inside out, and 95% of television of the 1980s had been all Black/African-American shows and had a almost all Black audience I'm sure there would be some attempt to attract a White audience and an establishment of a WET for cable, but as you can see that is not the case in this world.

shall I digress...

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"WET" would NEVER have gotten approval as a name. No way. Unless you are saying that had Whites been the minorities all along, WET would have been possible. THAT, I agree with, and just PROVES my point.

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Thank you for giving that "donjohnson" character a summarized history lesson that he seems to be consciously ignoring. Current black media, as you stated is a result of years of exclusion. I can remember as a child that my family used to get extremely excited about seeing a black person on T.V. because of the rarity of such an event, and then used to be apprehensive and hope that that actor/actress or celebrity would not find some way to embarrass us as a race in that public venue. Sad but true.....

I think "mr. Johnson" needs to re-visit the educational system from a Black historical perspective and learn the truth and arm himself with proper knowledge before lashing out at the progress that Blacks have made in such a short period of time since the Civil Rights Movement.

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MORE black propoganda. Never wrong. Always downtrodden. Always have excuses. Never racist themselves. I know plenty about this subject. And the subject is getting way off. Read my original statement. It STANDS, whether blacks like it or not.

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What the hell is WRONG with you? Do you have a bug up your ass for Black people? ANYBODY can be a racist or a bigot, you're proving that here. People like you LOVE to hold up someone like Mr.Cosby as if he's a "poster boy" for your "cause". Like "See there's one of THEM that proves my point"!! Yay. WTF dude? Why do you think Mr.Cosby is the exception rather than the rule? Do you need to see other "everday" Black people on national TV doing in-house cleaning? Why? To satisfy you? I agree with certain things Cosby says,but do I need to broadcast that to "White America"? Hell no!! This is OUR business. I am VERY active in my community. I am VERY active in neighborhood watch programs. And contrary to what you believe I don't live in this imaginary "hood" or "ghetto" or wherever you bigots think we live. People like you act as if White America is so "innocent". You want ALL Blacks to "clean their act up" and "get it together" then we'd be treated as "EQUALS"? WTF is THAT ???? ALL people who were ever born in this world ARE equal to each other! They may be poor or rich but they are ALL HUMAN BEINGS! I don't need White folks to validate my existence. You and that other idiot yoyoofloco would get along great. You act as if some Whites in the past AND in the PRESENT don't treat other cultures and ethnicities less than crap. You act as if STATE sanctioned racism and discrimination NEVER happened. 40+ years ago I would not be able to eat where I pleased here in Virginia. Never mind that I'm a grown ass man, never mind that I served this country in TWO wars. I'd still be a "boy",I'd still just be a "ni&&er" or if I was heard speaking spanish,a "spic ni&&er". If I wore my uniform with my ribbons,I'd be an "uppity ni&&er". My father lost a foot in Vietnam and came home and still got called "boy". It's not that Blacks want to be or are "downtrodden",that's what goes on in your mind. Now for all of my Black brothers and sisters let me hit you with this little list I came up with. These are what Racist White folks (ONLY the RACIST)THINK they know about Black folks. Without actually interacting with Blacks or visiting Black neighborhoods or knowing the history of Blacks in America. Just what they see on the 6:00 news and on those horrible b-grade "hood movies" at 1 am on Friday nights.



Ten Things Racist Whites Believe About Black Folks


1)ALL Black people live in the "ghetto" and the "projects"(wherever that is), nobody lives in a middle class neighborhood with two working parents in the home.


2)ALL Black men are baggy pants wearing,drug dealing,gangsta rap listening,violent thugs who make babies and don't take care of them.

3)ALL Black women have multiple "babydaddies" (one word)and are "welfare queens" and "baby machines".

4)ALL Black\men,women are after a "good" White\man,women...that's the "Ultimate status symbol" for the "Black race".

5)ALL Black people are anti-American and have dreams of "going back to Africa" nevermind that most don't have any ties there.

6)ALL Black people (this is one of my personal favorites) "blame the White man" for ALL of their "problems". NO Black person in modern history has EVER taken personal responsibility for his/her "bad luck","bad karma" or whatever you want to call it. ALWAYS the "White man's" fault. EVERYTHING.

7)If even ONE Black person moves into a "White" neighborhood, no matter how respectable and how "white collar" this person is you can be sure there will be a sudden outbreak of drive-bys,home invasions,and drug dealing. There goes the neighborhood. They're ALL alike.

8)ALL older Black folks down the younger generation because they aren't like "nice White kids". White kids NEVER commit crimes. Yeah,okay.

9)ALL Black folks think achieving higher education is "acting White".

10)ALL Black people use SLAVERY as an EXCUSE to be UNDERACHIEVERS. If they cry and make enough noise then the government will give more "handouts" and they can continue to be lazy. Yeah,right.


Now these are in no order and are compiled of the top of my cabeza. They come from reading message boards on AOL and other places. They come from studying the posts of turds like donjohnson2 and yoyoofloca (the "a" is intentional because to me that scumbag is not a man and deserves no respect from me.) These are not what EDUCATED AND RESPECTABLE WHITE AMERICANS think. These are what CLOSED MINDED BIGOTS believe. Stupid,blanket statements.


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You just proved MY point beautifully. TOTAL denial of ANY wrongdoing by blacks. Your defense is typical. Attack the truth because a white person verbalized it.

You said, "This is OUR business." What CRAP is THAT?? This BS you spew affects MY "business."

You are the very typical "angry black man" that hates white people. You whine, and moan and make excuses until white America can't stand to listen to you, even when you MAY have something good to say.

Very sad for you that you can't accept the truth but hey, I'm sure your parents instilled this white hate in you, as well as what you pick up from your "bruthas" and "sistas."

YOU can write this verbose BS but, I'LL tell the TRUTH.

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Look, America's the land of double standard. Everyone whose "people" got gyped in the past are being overly compensated for. Asians, women, blacks--everyone. Why is it female teachers who have sex with their students recieve less punishment? Why is it men HAVE to enlist in the draft and women don't? Why are there women-only colleges, but men can't? Why can blacks say *beep* but whites can't?

Sorry, but America is full of double standards. Not much you can do about it except for be an example. If it bugs ya so much, run for political office and change things. *shrug* Sorry, but that's just how it goes.

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Let the blacks change their own house. I'm not going to attempt to correct their racism.

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Let the blacks change their own house. I'm not going to attempt to correct their racism

Yeah, correct your own first. You have to be one of the most misinformed person I have ever read about. Pick up a history book,read about the Jim Crow era and then maybe you will get a clue. Then again you'll say Black folks brought that on themselves.

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I'm saying blacks are going to use what happened 200 years ago as a CRUTCH, 200 years FROM NOW. Whaaa....whaaa....whaaaaa.....
Get on with your lives. Stop looking for excuses and a handout. Bill Cosby says the same thing.

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Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...

Let me make sure I understand what you are saying.

Black people were kidnapped and forcibly brought to this country. They were forced to work as manual labor and not allowed to have any education for hundreds of years. They were bought and sold as possesions that could be treated in any way the owner felt was appropriate for undreds of years. Families were torn apart and sold separately for hundreds of years. After slavery was ended segregation made black people legally unequal for another hundred years. Throughout the US, but especially in the south, there was a literal double standard for law enforcement for another hudred years that literally allowed white men to rape black women and do unpunished, while a black man would be executed on the spot if accused by a white woman (no proof was neccesar). When black people were given the right to vote they had to take "test" to see if they were competent to vote that famously failed people who were examined in multiple languages or were intimidated by white law enforcement not to vote for another 50 years. Black people have been forced to drink from separate water fountains, use separate bathrooms, enter through side or back doors, attend separate schools, sit in the balcony (if at all) at church, ride in the back of the bus or stand if a white person needs a seat, take verbal and physical abuse without retaliating, stop whatever they were doing if a white person told them to do something and countless other degrading atrocities. All of this went on for over 400 years in this wonderful country of ours.

And after all of that, black people should just get over it. Because for 30 years they have had legal equality.

Is that what you are really saying?



Stop driving your little baby car around St. Babysburg and take your asteroid smashing like a man!

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Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...

Let me make sure I understand what you are saying.

Black people were kidnapped and forcibly brought to this country. They were forced to work as manual labor and not allowed to have any education for hundreds of years. They were bought and sold as possesions that could be treated in any way the owner felt was appropriate for undreds of years. Families were torn apart and sold separately for hundreds of years. After slavery was ended segregation made black people legally unequal for another hundred years. Throughout the US, but especially in the south, there was a literal double standard for law enforcement for another hudred years that literally allowed white men to rape black women and do unpunished, while a black man would be executed on the spot if accused by a white woman (no proof was neccesar). When black people were given the right to vote they had to take "test" to see if they were competent to vote that famously failed people who were examined in multiple languages or were intimidated by white law enforcement not to vote for another 50 years. Black people have been forced to drink from separate water fountains, use separate bathrooms, enter through side or back doors, attend separate schools, sit in the balcony (if at all) at church, ride in the back of the bus or stand if a white person needs a seat, take verbal and physical abuse without retaliating, stop whatever they were doing if a white person told them to do something and countless other degrading atrocities. All of this went on for over 400 years in this wonderful country of ours.

And after all of that, black people should just get over it. Because for 30 years they have had legal equality.

Is that what you are really saying?



That is exactly what he is saying. It REALLY amazes me EVERYTIME just like a childs first Christmas when I read posts like this. You have stated a point that I have said forever. This "equality" is not that old. Less than 40 years ago a White man here in Virginia could do just about anything to me without being held accountable or just a slap on the wrist. How do these people "explain" that? A Black person wanting an education to better themselves were considered "uppity". Now yes we have some problems (I'd say 60%)that are in-house and we need to straighten out ourselves. But make no mistake racist Whites HAVE played a part in Black America,also.

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"Less than 40 years ago a White man here in Virginia could do just about anything to me without being held accountable or just a slap on the wrist."

It's sad how true this really is. One of the things I have learned is that unless people of all races take the time to actually study some of our history in the US it is very difficult to realize what life has been (and still is in many ways) like for people of African descent here.

It is much easier to imagine that everything is fine now and that the bad things that happened happened ages ago than to realize that the events of the past have lasting concequences and were really only a short time ago historically speaking.


Stop driving your little baby car around St. Babysburg and take your asteroid smashing like a man!

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It's sad how true this really is. One of the things I have learned is that unless people of all races take the time to actually study some of our history in the US it is very difficult to realize what life has been (and still is in many ways) like for people of African descent here.

It is much easier to imagine that everything is fine now and that the bad things that happened happened ages ago than to realize that the events of the past have lasting concequences and were really only a short time ago historically speaking


That my friend is what (in psychobabble) is called "DENIAL". Folks like donjohnson2 would like to believe this curiosity called "African-Americans" or "Black people" just popped up in the States,say in the 80's. Out of nowhere,with no history or culture they brought with them AIDS,crack,rape,murder,robbery,child molestation,and death and destruction. Pure savages. Because BEFORE them,European-Americans knew NONE of these things. America was a PARADISE!! There was NO Al Capones,John Gottis,Henry Hills,Lucky Lucianos,James Bulgers,or Joe Valachis. There was NO SUCH THING as a Tim McVeigh,a Ted Bundy,or a Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer. America had no problems until Blacks came along. Duh,okay.

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if people like yyou, who clearly discriminates against black people are still around how can black people just get on with their lives? America's racial hatred can not be defined with only a textbook or your opinion, it is way more. You need to look deeper.

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It is a shabby pity that people like get the privilege of being called "members of society". Your ignorance profound, and no matter how cliche that sounds, it couldn't be more of a fact in your case. I make it a point not to quibble on mesage boards, but I am overcome by your logical ineptitude. And you consider yourself to be spewing some sort of intellectual logicality? 200 years ago? I feel like swearing at you so much and i couldnt care less if that made you feel more right about your understanding of "black people". Up until the 1980's, blacks and all other minorities were still being publicly lynched and oppressed. How do you expect recent history to just be forgotten, when there are still people alive who remember the name Emmet Till? WHo blames whites for everything? I know not me, and not even the so-called "mindless gangsters" who you clearly know nothing about. They may be violent, but let me assure you, not all of them blame whites for all their tragedies, you should listen to a few more REAL (as differs from COMMERCIAL rap) rap songs. I feel so insulted that you have the audacity to box into some box where I find no belonging. I am African, and I share barely any similarities with "African-Americans", and rest assured, I am not the pot-bellied, anorexic looking, haemophilic African your "neutral-white" American tv portrays all Africans to be either. You also seem to think that your race is perfect, and doesnt blame black people at all for any of its problems... well, you should educate yourself more. EVen I dont live in your country and I have seen looooaaaaddsss of white lower and lower-middle class people moaning about how it is "foreigners making their lives so difficult". Also you dont happen to have heard of the phrase "WHite-mans burden" have you? One of your iconic second world war heroes used that phrase, and while it is not as common nowadays, rest assured, there are those who find it very applicable: seeing as it was a phrase for Blacks/Africans specifically. Finally, if you think your race, or your country even is so innocent, all you need to do is a bit of current affairs study on Africa (note that I have not suggested historical studies and believe me you will find inhuman sins that can drive you into the reclusive denial you seem to already be in. You ignorant fool with sub-human reasoning, NEVER generalise or stereotype me, or speak to me as if Bill Cosby is my God just because he is a house-n%!%!& who says what ignoramuses like you want to hear, never do that to me because while I am a black man, I am not THE FREAKING BLACK RACE! Nor is any black person, not even those that display trends because there are equivalents for every single race on the planet.

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There are male only colleges....
Do your research....
And whites can't use the "n" word EVER: it is a word that blacks in this country have been whipped, lynched and beaten over for centuries.......Think about why it not ok...

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and the reason women dont have to enlist in the draft professor is cause the failure of the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) an archtype of the women's movement in America that was stalled in Congress when it didn't get enough congressional votes when it was introuduced to Congress in the early 1980s. It was from mainly lack of Republican support that only gave 30% to Democrats that voted 85%. 278 for the ERA and 147 against the ERA, only 6 votes short of the required 2/3 majority for passage.




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Look, America's the land of double standard. Everyone whose "people" got gyped in the past are being overly compensated for. Asians, women, blacks--everyone. Why is it female teachers who have sex with their students recieve less punishment? Why is it men HAVE to enlist in the draft and women don't? Why are there women-only colleges, but men can't? Why can blacks say *beep* but whites can't?

Sorry, but America is full of double standards. Not much you can do about it except for be an example. If it bugs ya so much, run for political office and change things. *shrug* Sorry, but that's just how it goes.

Overly compensated? You call being lynched just because of the color of your skin being gyped? That's why you don't,can't and will NEVER understand the culture of Black America. And I DON'T want to crap about it being a "long" time ago. It's 2006 now, just 40 years ago was 1966 and that's not long at all. Here in Virgia even after the so-called "Civil Rights Movement" the Klan could make my ass disappear at will. Now say that's not true. My father served in Vietnam and they STILL called him *beep* when he came back. Now that's gratitude.

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Professor:

There are probably a couple hundred mens-only colleges in America.

Off the top of my head, Morehouse is the first to spring to mind (all-black-male). And the big-five military academies seem to qualify (the Citadel just went co-ed, what, only 10 years ago? and the one female student they ever accepted dropped out as a result of harrassment and violent threats). Also, the majority of seminaries of most religious faiths in America only accept male students.

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donjohnson2,

It appears from your post that you have no clue about history, US or the world at large, and no concept of institutional apparatuses that set particular ethnic groups apart from the 'majority'.

Particular groups are set apart and then you are upset that they 'set themselves' apart?

Puh-leeze. Pop open another beer and shut your pie-hole.

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[deleted]

donjohnson2,

I do not have cornrows, nor do I wear a doorag, and I have never collected any sort of government assistance, but thanks for demonstrating exactly the point that many of us "donjohnson2 haters" are trying to make about YOU and your uneducated perspective.

BTW, I am as white as an eggshell. Only adding that because your final statement. Interesting that you would make an assumption regarding my ethnicity.

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FINALLY!!! Someone with a BRAIN!!!

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You're funny you should be a comedian cause what you say is so stupid it's funny!

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FAIL. Starting with the fact that you don't seem aware that black people aren't a hive mind.

You know why black people need those things? Because there is nothing else for them. One black TV channel (which no black person I know actually watches) and one movie with an all black cast in no way removes all the other TV and flims that don't feature *any* blacks. You're so busy whining about BET that you're unaware and 95% of every thing else caters to *you*.

You know what else? Crediting all black people with the LA riots (I don't live in LA) or claiming that blacks cheered the OJ verdict (which is BS, OJ did it) is a lot like blaming all whites for the actions of the KKK.

By the by, when a white person uses the N word towards me, I can be 99.9% certain they aren't being friendly. If a black person does I can be 99.9% sure it's a term of endearment. But guess what? No body gets to call me that. So you prety much fail on that one too.

Additionally? Black on white crime is far less common than white on white crime. Try doing some actual research rather than just spouting off some garbage you heard while you were woking up a mighty froth about things you obvously know nothing about.

But hey, if you should one day actually know what you're talking about, come back and we'll talk.

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*beep* you honky

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[deleted]

his is a double standard and a fine example why white people are tired of blacks wanting to have it both ways. Blacks want to be treated and seen as equals but they CONSTANTLY do things to set themselves apart, such as calling each other "brother" and "sister;" creating BLACK only organizations such as those above; saying it's okay to call EACH other the "N" word but getting irrate when white's call them that (even if whites TRULY used it in the spirit of the way blacks supposedly do); having EEOC, which is REVERSE DISCRIMINATION; having an uprising when it's white on black crime but, NOT when it's BLACK ON WHITE crime (never hear them say a word about THAT); wearing African clothing (most know NOTHING about Africa); wanting (and EXPECTING) whites to call them a certain term for their race, that changes at their whim (black, afro-American, African American, etc.), when we are ALL just AMERICANS. You don't hear whites INSISTING that BLACKS call them, Irish Americans, Italian Americans, German Americans, etc.

"Want to be seen as equals"? Newsflash!!!! We are your equals. God says so. There is NO differance between human beings. So please,let the superiority complex go.















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Tell that to the white entertainment networks: Hollywood, ABC, NBC and CBS. we don't like friends, by the way. Viacom owns BET and you are a lost soul: you are in denial and lost in white privilege. Frankly, blacks don't care HOW you see us. We really don't. Leave us alone and pick on say, the Chinese for having China town, or better yet, go to NJ and pick on the Arabs to assuage your arrogant soul.

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donjohnson2,

You are right, there is a double standard. I can't say you are wrong, but I can tell you WHY this is. It's because of the 400 plus years of oppression BEFORE blacks were able to express themselves freely. At one time, blacks had their own culture, their own civilization, their own way of doing things, until some greedy WHITE people went to their lands and exploited them, robbed them, and eventually enslaved them. The WHITES then took the BLACKS to their country and proceeded to deprogram them, causing them to forget their heritage. Slave owners such as Willie Lynch came up with whole concepts such as placing dark slaves against light slaves, old against young, woman against man, house negro against field negro; at the same time slaves learned to totally trust their masters, while growing further apart from each other. As a result, you have blacks today running around trying to find an identity. This is why you have BET, Miss Black America, Jet, Ebony, etc. We (yes I'm black) are only trying to recapture some of the heritage that was ripped from us so long ago by the WHITE race.

Now as far as the OJ thing goes, that wasn't really about race. It was about money. Had OJ been poor, he would have been convicted, whether he was black or white. Rodney King had no business driving drunk and beating his wife. He reaped what he sowed. It just happened to come in the form of four white racist cops. The L.A. riots were foolish, especially since the people tore up their own stuff. If you're going to riot, go at the people who opressed you, not your own house. Me, I would have went to Beverly Hills. As far as Reginald Denny goes, he didn't deserve that beating. It was wrong. But so was the lynching of thousands of blacks in the first half of the century. Those four little girls in Alabama didn't deserve to be blown up back in 1963, either.

Finally, to address the word N*#GER. We call ourselves that because your ancestors gave us that name to replace our real names. Now we own it. Simple as that. So yes there is a double standard. But after 400 plus years of opression, degradation, disenfranchisement, rape, murder, genocide and being treated as second class citizens, black people deserve to have a few double standards. It's really all we got.

My friend, I am not anti-white. But I am pro- black. My advice to you is to not make those kinds of observations about the black race without considering the MANY transgressions the white race has inflicted upon us throughout the years. I don't expect you to understand the effects those that slavery STILL has on black people, but at least think before you speak. Thank you.

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You are an idiot. You didn't think it was a double standard when blacks created the Negro Leagues and you have little comprehension as to why we created the Negro Leagues. If we were allowed to play baseball in the all white Major Leagues, we would have but were discriminated against and not allowed to play. Now then, once Jackie Robinson crossed the color line and it became ok for Black players to be in MLB, it consequentially killed the Negro Leagues. This same model can be applied to anything we as Africa Americans have in America. Not allowed in white published magazines, create our own. Not featured on white television networks, create our own. Given limited roles in white movies, produce our own. White people came up with the separate but equal idea first so took that model and created our own. Anything we did that made too much money was eventually destroyed (Black Wall Street in Oklahoma) by white people or bought out by white people (every Ma and Pa record company and even BET). White people's only interest in anything we create for ourselves is only after we've proven it can make them money. Bear Bryant never recruited Black players at Alabama until he started losing football games to teams fielding black players. Your comments are short sighted and stupid. We as African Americans don't want it both ways. If we were given 100% equal treatment in America and not the second class treatment we've received since we were "freed" then their would not be any reason to create these African American outlets for us to express our views and culture. And you mention BET like it's something to be proud of now. When it was Black owned we would have never programmed as much garbage on it that you see today...Anyway, you should really think before you jump out your skin and say some dumb stuff like that...

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Please go read a history book so that you can answer your own questions.

GO GATORS!and GO HEAT

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WET...sounds like a porn channel :)

Actually there were all white TV channels/magazines in this country...it was called 1955. I like the diversity now. Have you ever sat through reruns of "Leave It to Beaver" or the "Andy Griffith Show?" Horrible. As a heterosexual I also enjoy shows like "Will and Grace" which break the sexual orientation taboo of this country and are a welcome addition.

Lastly, with the LA Riots thing...I lived around LA at the time. I knew a lot of people from the area where the riots happened. Most of the people in that area were good people trying to eek out a decent life. Those rioting just happened to grab all of the media attention. Unfortunately, thugs are thugs whether black, white, latino, asian, etc. And, just as unfortunately the news media feeds our curiosity by broadcasting the actions of those thugs in the news, on shows like COPS, etc. As a result we get a skewed picture of what things are really like. As a white guy I felt uncomfy in the area at first but it didn't take long to meet decent people in the area and realize that what I was fed on the news every night wasn't a very accurate picture of what life was really like.

Anyway, I hope you're able to sort things out for yourself. You certainly are entitled to your own opinion but please keep seeking out the facts.

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dude, you sir are an idiot.

You life must be pretty empty and uneventful for you to even come to this message board with an ignorant comment like this.

Tell me, please, why do you complain about African Americans having a simple handful of media outlets that cater to African American culture when white Americans have the other 99.7%?

Are you really that stupid that you can't work out that simple math? It has absolutely nothing to do with racism. Do you even know the meaning of the term? I think not.

Only 5-10% of the films made in America are made with African Americans in mind. And far fewer are made to cater to Hispanic/Latino and Asian communities. Tell me, how many shows do you see on network television that have African-American, Hispanic/Latino or Asian lead characters? Very few. How many with caucasian characters? Damn-near all of them!

So, again, I ask you, beg of you to tell me WHY it is SO important to you that we "minorities" have these few outlets for our culture? Does seeing non-white faces on television or film upset you that much? You really need to get some help.

"It's time to look into your OWN deeds, actions and hearts if you want white America to treat you differently." - I don't think we're really that concerned about what white America thinks of us. Apparently, white America thinks so much of us that it cannibalizes our music, our clothing, our language, and everything else that gives this country color and vitality. You sir need to get some business of your own and stop worrying about us "poor Blacks" so much.

And please, racist people, please stop using these (LA riots circa 1992, and OJ circa 1995) piss poor examples of how African-Americans are destroying western civilization. If you want to talk about racism and the justice system try to be a bit more balanced with your arguments - don't dare ever leave out slavery, Emmett Till, James Byrd, Leo Frank, WW2 Japanese concentration camps on US soil, American Imperial occupation of Hawaii, Japan, and Indigenous American lands and all the subsequent years of xenophobic hegemonization of this country via sterotypical portrayals of non-white citizens.

Reparations have not yet begun, playa.

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CHURCH!!

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simple we're black and the little messed up things that we done or are doing could never makeup for what whites have done not only to our race but others also. You enslaved our ppl you bombed the asians you took the indains land etc etc. Now look at life yrs later and their still doing us over hell every1 but blacks have got reparations. It's not about wanting a hand handout it's about fairness most blacks are born in this world doomed to begin with(no matter what you say about them getting an education if the parents done raise them right then it all goes down hill from there and since it happen to one child that pass it on to their kid and so on and so on creating an on going cycle) while some whites are still living off of a slave owing ansectors benefits. The asains were given money to rebuild the indians were given a small piece of land hell the hawiaians were made a state of our country to secure them from any further harm of other nations, so al we want is 40 acres and a mule(but having a mule now will get us no where so how's about a small car hell even a station wagon will do). I'm not racist I hate BET and all other black crap cause their playing the race card I hate that hell I want to hear whites talking bad about blacks in comdey the same way that we do them. The word *beep* doesn't affect me no matter who says it hell it's just a word and if you ask me I think all whites should say it atleast once in their lives just to understand that as well I use it around whites at work all the time and they get offended and i'm like damn whats wrong with yall it's just a word.

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You know, I read this entire page, and I'm completely floored. Wow. Just for the record I feel I need to set a couple things straight.

1) My "people" never enslaved anyone. Although I'm probably perceived to be "white", I have so many different nationalities in me that it would be damn near impossible to put your finger on just one. (Pretty much like 90% of all "white" Americans.) I guess you could call me an Irish, Mexican, British, French, Italian American. I guess it is possible that somewhere down the line there might have been one racist, slave owning SOB in my ancestory. Does that mean I'm a racist too because of something one backwards person in my extensive ancestory might have done 200 years ago? My "people" are my family NOW, not ancient people I've never met. Say what you will, but none of us are racist. Believe it or not I have never treated someone differently because of the color of their skin and neither has anyone in my family. We weren't raised that way. Most of my "white" friends feel the same way. We are a different generation than 200, 100 or 40 years ago.

2) I HAVE been the victim of racism in the form of 3 older black girls who beat me unconscious when I was in the 3rd grade. (It was my first day at a new school.) Do you know it never occured to me to even think that it was because I was "white?" I thought it was because I was new. And I know what you're probably thinking..."I bet it was in all the papers, etc. because it was a white girl who got beaten." Nope, my parents handled it for what it was; kids being mean and hateful to other kids. At the time we lived in a small South Carolina town where whites and blacks hated each other with equal passion. Just as members of the KKK teach their children to hate anyone different, these children had been taught to hate me because of my color. *FYI: I think there is a special place in hell for people who teach innocent children to hate.

3) I get really annoyed when I'm lumped into the category of "YOU PEOPLE", especially when it involves the phrase, "Enslaved MY People." Excuse me? I did no such thing. I'm a full-time student who is so broke I can't afford a bag of Doritos let alone another person.

4) Why do I need to be identified as white because of the color of my skin? I don't celebrate "White History Month" or march in "White Pride" parades because that WOULD be racist and honestly I don't really care for "white heritage". I live my life in the here and now. I am not my ancestors. I'm a 29 year old woman. 80 years ago women could not vote and 40 years ago women were not supposed to work outside the home. Does this mean that I hate men or feel that I am owed reparations for damages I did not personally suffer?

5) If people want to have a TV station, magazine, organization, etc. that deals with their heritage...more power to them! Why should I care? Good lord, there are shows for everyone, as there should be. I draw the line though when it comes to things like racial quotas for employment. That is completely unfair and is racist/sexist. No one should be hired over someone else because of their sex or the color of their skin. Am I right? If you don't get hired because of that, why would you even want to work there? There are plenty of nice, non-racist/sexist companies to work for. I know if I walked into a business and the guy looked immediately at my chest and made demeaning comments about me being a women I sure as hell wouldn't want to work there!

Racism is a condition that adults made up and enforce. Children do not see color until it is brought to their attention by adults. Don't get me wrong, my 3 year-old makes observations like, "Mommy, my friend Jaylen is a brown girl." But that's it. It's an observation, not a condemnation. Personally, I truly hope that in the next 100 years the races combine so much that racism will cease to be a factor and we can all get back to our MOVIE DISCUSSION BOARDS!!!!!

And just for the record...I happen love Outkast-their music transcends race.

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bravissima, lady!

The only reason I'm a white american is because the british considered my dad's irish great-grandparents subhuman circa 1840, and the nazis considered my mom's jewish parents subhuman circa 1940. *beep* racism.

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I TELL YOU WHAT....WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO AND "BURN A CROSS"...THAT'S
PROBABLY WHAT YOU DO BEST!

YOU CAN AND WILL NEVER KNOW THE TRUE SENSIBILITIES OF A "BLACK STATE OF MIND."

JUST LIKE THE RAP SAYS...."YOU HATE ME 'CAUSE YOU AIN'T ME"!!!

"OOO...I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"

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as a white girl, I'd say that there is no need for non-racist white folks to have these things, because non-racist white folks are overwhelmingly not racialized.

By that I mean, I don't think of myself as "white." You probably don't either.

In mainstream America, there's no real or necessary sense of a white racial identity because America implicitly IS a white racial identity. If you are non-white in America, this tacit white identity is something that you MUST deal with, interact with, push against, and be pushed around by every waking moment. You are forced to identify actively as Black, Asian, Latino/a, etc. This does tend to suck the most for multiracial and multiculti people.

Most white people consider their race--when they consider it--implicitly, matter-of-factly, it's not a big deal, and besides who cares about race-ly (i.e. they're apathetic and if they're racist, its no more active than their race-identity). However, people who identify EXPLICITLY as white really do rather overwhelmingly tend to be racist white folks, of the sort who need to trumpet "white power" and hateful trash.

This is where I bop around and sing NOFX's punk anthem "Don't Call Me White": "The connotation's wearing my nerves thin. Could it be semantics generating the mess we're in? I understand that language breeds stereotype but what's the explanation for the malice, for the spite? Don't call me white! Don't call me white! It represents everything I hate: the soap shoved in the mouth to cleanse the mind, the vast majority of sheep, a buttoned collar, starched and bleached... So go ahead and label me an a-hole cuz I can accept responsibility for what I've done but not for what I am. Don't call me white..."

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yeah don't judge on pigmentation of the actors, judge whether or not they suck hard at acting, or not.

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[deleted]

Agree...It seems like when black movie try to be funny they blow...when black movie try to be serious (with a few acceptions) they blow.

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Black people say the same thing about white movies. Click, the break up, we just do not find movies like that funny. We like diffrent things. That is why alot of people is happy for idlewild and dreamgirls.We do not like music like rent and the Producers. We like music like Ray,Idlewild,What love got to do with it, and Dreamgirls. So to say that black movies Blow is not right. It just do to white people because they do not get it.

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The movies you named that weren't liked by black audiences didn't do that well with white audiences, either. Click? Please... And almost everyone liked Ray, black or white. Damn fine movie.

A good "black" movie is a good movie. A bad "black" movie is a bad movie. Take away the issue of race, and the quality stays the same.


NUNTIAS BELUAE SERMONIS

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But strangley, when black people have these opinions it is not racism

HMMMMMMMM

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Good Lord, this is ignorant. It's easier to stick people in a box than to actually deal with individuals as individuals, isn't it? Look: I am about as black as black gets and I liked "Click", and know all of the songs to "Rent", and LOVED the movie ("Angel" was off the chain).


Maybe if we stop it with these dumb a$$ generalizations and stop making qualitative judgements based on skin color, we can collaborate and make more well-informed movies all the way around. How's that?? Yes, we have different cultural sensibilities, but I have refused to see just as many dumb movies with all black characters as dumb movies with all white characters. Nobody owns the patent to idiocy.

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You my friend are 100% correct


NO ROBBIE! NOT LIKE EUROPE!

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you guys are making so much more of this then it should be. I am black and i loved rent, saw it on broadway and in the theater. and i am totally looking forward to checking idlewild and dreamgirls. if you guys ignore the color and just focus on the fact that it is a story, that it is pure fantasy then you will enjoy it a hell of a lot more. if i focused on trival *beep* like race i wouldn't have seen a quarter of the movies i've watched. i don't limit my taste to even just black or white films, there are so many culture putting out cinema, and you are truly missing out if ur main concern are the characters complexion.

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"Black people say the same thing about white movies. Click, the break up, we just do not find movies like that funny. We like different things. That is why allot of people is happy for idlewild and dreamgirls. We do not like music like rent and the Producers. We like music like Ray, Idlewild, What love got to do with it, and Dreamgirls. So to say that black movies Blow is not right. It just does to white people because they do not get it."

Just to point the question does that mean that when they remade the ‘Guess who's coming to Dinner’ (1967) movie a film that was extremely serious and possibly one of the best films in cinematic history with the 2005 ‘Guess Who’ which was about as insulting as when you combine Queen Latifa and Steve Martin in the hope of race synergy in the genre of comedy. Were Black people meant to find it funny? Because I know that most of my friends watched it hated even thought ‘Guess Who’ was meant to be a "Black" film and it was meant to be designed for them.

To answer the original question there is no point in bring race into it; I think nowadays to even mention race only causes the problem in the first place. The Will Smith days of always having to insist about how black his ass is or how much of a man he is are gone. (maybe he feels not black enough? or it could be something to do with that ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ film he never mentions; though jokes about Will being able to play Gay way better than anything else is a different story) Maybe it’s an American thing but I don't see this race issue anymore. The people still argue about race almost talk about it like a battle that wasn't won in an old war. This concept references Japanese soldiers that ignored there leaders after the war was over. A general once said "When a warrior has been fighting for so long he forgets what it’s like to stop fighting and continues to pursue the battle regardless of hope for his children's future."

Nowadays the playing field has changed. To continue this debate only seems to fuel the arguments not solve the issue. Just watch Mind of Mencia if you question my logic.

Idlewild crosses the boundaries of cultural segregation not because of randomness, and colourful marketing but because its one of the few films this year that was written well and does not patronise people, and actually is entertaining. Most of the other films seem so formulaic that regardless of race we are still going to fall asleep it has gotten to the point where we know Tom Cruse + Girl + Explosions = Kissing and a crap emotional twist in the end before we watch the trailer for the film or Gay Guy + any subject (excluding comedy) = Oscar see Tom Hanks or Those Cowboys…

Is the real issue about race? Or the people that question it to be about race?

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[deleted]

to the person who wrote this statement earlier

Black people say the same thing about white movies. Click, the break up, we just do not find movies like that funny. We like diffrent things. That is why alot of people is happy for idlewild and dreamgirls.We do not like music like rent and the Producers. We like music like Ray,Idlewild,What love got to do with it, and Dreamgirls. So to say that black movies Blow is not right. It just do to white people because they do not get it.




Dont steroetype all black people into that. bcuz i believe that idlewild will be one ov the best movies this fall lyke atl was over the spring/summer. i have been waiting since i saw atl to see this movie and im goin to see this 2nite do not conclude all black people dont lyke click bcuz i loved click and rent does not appeal to black people bcuz rent was a predominently black movie you *beep* if you watched the movie you would understand. i meant really, a post lyke this imdb really shows how racist america can be at times. i believe racism does still exist but it shouldnt go to the extent where we catagorize movies as beign black or white. movies have no race, people do. and yes this is a movie has a predominently african american cast. SO WHAT?!?! jus bcuz the actors and actresses are black have nothing to do with it, just lyke a movie or tv having predominently white, asian, or hispanic cast members doesnt have anything to do with the sucess of the movie. its ignorance like this that makes me sad because i'm everything. i hcant side with one race. i'm mostly black mixed with white, japanese, and indian. i cant side with one group saying black movies are better than white movies and lyke i said movies dont have a race, movies dont have a sex (being a chic flick or a man movie), they have a genre, cast, and plot. get over it. if idlewild makes more money than accepted this weekend, it has nothing to do with it having a black or white cast. it has to do with wat the people wanted to see.

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I loved rent! And I also loved idlewild. I am Black and I like both, I'm sorry that I wasn't informed not to like movies by people of other races. The fact is that I had a friend (who is Black) swear up and down that he wouldn't like Rent. He loved it, so did all my Black friends. All I am trying to say is Because as Blacks we are going to get excited about a Black film; because we see so few, we need to get other people excited about Black films as well. Just as I introduced a mostly white film to my black friends we need to do that to other cultures for black films. Like it was said before. A movie is a movie, black, white or whatever Blacks should support positive black films so that Hollywood will continue making them. Since older Black movies were not as good and were considered B-rated, we need to come together to convince others that our movies are worth seeing. The same goes for any other race. Although I am so proud that people have been educating donjohnson2 instead of attacking him entirely. (the only way to get a point across because fighting rarely works) we need to stop going back and forth with him. He has turned this page into a fight about race and what we really should be doing is telling all our friends, Black, White, Asian, and Aquamarine to go see this amazing film. With the amazing cinematography, storyline, analogies, and positive message, we need to forget about those who will never understand what we have gone through as a people and continue to support our positive movies. (Bootleg NOT included) This is one of the first films I have seen in which I felt that it wasn't a black or white thing, it was just an excellent movie and should be nominated for an oscar. But that we will see about. Idlewild was good, not because it was a Black movie and not because i am comparing it to Black movies from years before. It was good on all accounts and should stand as an oscar contender.

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'We do not like music like rent and the Producers.'
'Click, the break up, we just do not find movies like that funny.'

Really? I bet theres some black people out there likin these films!!!!

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You can say the same thing about white movies also.

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but why be race exclusive in the first place? We see so many American movies with all black cast but they don't make movies with all white casts. If they did then that would be considered racist but not the other way. It's called a double standard.


Namaste, and good luck.

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I must correct you. There are numerous movies with all-white casts. Your run-of -the-mill crappy hollywood movies today seem to throw in a "token" or purposely have a variety of races in their films. Actually those that do have "tokens" in them turn out to be stupid-horror flicks.
One movie that I recall having an all-white cast is V for Vendetta, which happens to be a very good movie.

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Lord of the Rings was all white too I believe

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Actually, it had a few actors who were of Polynesian descent, due to it being filmed in New Zealand. But if we're talking main cast, yes.

BUT.

A lot could also be said about films that are mostly marketed to black Americans. Beauty Shop had a token white character. Name a film marketed today that doesn't have token characters. RENT breaks the rules, as every single character isn't necessarily a token character (and I know plenty of people of African heritage who both hated and loved it).

Does skin colour matter in watching movies? Not to this girl. I enjoyed Barbershop and Soul Food as much as I enjoyed Dodgeball and October Sky.

To be honest, why are we fighting about who has more melanin and movies that have all white casts? It's something I find ridiculous. Go watch the movie, if you want. Watch the movie like it's any other piece of filmography. If you like it, great.

If you watch it, and think it crap, then that's your opinion. BUT, don't say that it's crap because it's marketed for the black culture. Go watch it, and then tell us.

It's that simple.

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"Black Movies"... Acttuly, there is no Black movies.... "Ray" Is not a black movie, that's a movie about the life of ray chareles, who is a black man... Click, is not a white movie... click is a Drama/comedy (sorda?) about a Guy that needs too spend more time with his family..

'Friday', thats not a black movie, sure... the cast is 99 percent black, but it dosen't make it a black movie, i'm sure the director didn't say "I'm going to make this a black person movie, when he made it" It's just a comedy to enjoy weather you're black, white, asian,... whatever the *beep*

*beep* racisim, get money... you *beep* digg?

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Can you prove to me that the casting director for V for Vendetta was specifically told to cast no black actors?


Namaste, and good luck.

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Well, according to the story, anyone who wasn't white, straight, and a christian was killed at a certain point. So to have a black character would be completely against the setting.

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Actually I just realized that there was a black guy in the flashback scene of them rounding up homosexuals. I have no idea if the casting director was told not to cast blacks. I just gave an example (which happens to be incorrect) because someone said that you don't see all-white movies. The color of the cast has no effect on what movies I will watch.

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there are plenty of movies with all white casts. this entire conversation is completely unnecessary and annoying.

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They intentionally hired a majority black cast. When was the last time you saw such a movie in which they intentionally hired a majority white cast?


Namaste, and good luck.

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The film was set in the 1930's when there was little, if any integration so the casting makes sense. Second, why are you so hung up on proving that all black casts are intentional and all white casts aren't. The writer/director/talent scouts make those decisions. If someone lends their time and creativity to a project they have the right to decide who they want to play the character they wrote. I don't understand why you are putting so much energy into proving that there is a double standard with white and black movies. Spend time doing something good for the world. What are you so bitter about? Maybe you should just give up movies altogether since you're so worried about the people that were hired instead of taking it for a work of art or piece of crap, whichever that particular movie happens to be :0).

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The hell they don't make movies with all white cast.....!!! WHere have you been....!?!?!?!?

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When was the last time you saw a movie made exclusively for a white audience? When was the last time you saw a movie made exclusively for a black audience? Yeah that's right.


Namaste, and good luck.

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When I was watching Carmen Jones for a music class, it never even occurred to me that there were no white actors in it; hell, I saw The Women and never noticed the complete lack of any male actors!! This probably had to do with the fact that these were brilliant movies that stood on their own, absorbed you in the plot, drew you into their worlds and that's that.

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Doesn't upset me at all

I'm white, and I really enjoyed the film

just watch movies for what they are

_______________________________________

Snootchie Bootchies

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Makes a change to see an all black cast. It was a great movie.

Peter

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what's aquamarine

~the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return~

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turquoise

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Well if the actors were purple I would worry, because that means they'd be choking. Or dead. I don't even want to think about the circumstances in which a person's skin would be aquamarine.

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Race is irrelevent, but try telling that to racists.

I like a lot of shows with black casts. I like a lot of black singers and music. When I hear Tina Turner, Glady's knight or Diana Ross sing I don't waste a moment thinking about their color...only that they are great singers.
The same holds true for Barbra Streisand, Celiene Dion, or Bob Seger. In listening to music the color of a persons skin doesn't matter.

I watch TV and find the Cosby Show, or Sanford and Son, Good Times or many other shows as funny regardless of the skin tone of the cast. I like Bill Cosby, Samuel Jackson, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Wil Smith and numerous others as much as or more than many white actors. Talent is color blind.

Unfortunately there are a lot of white people that do not like black people simply because they are black. There are a lot of black people that don't like white people simply because they are white.

I'll be watching Idlewild. The movie looks very entertaining...and i'm as white as wonder bread.

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you all stereotype way too easily...are you guys adults? Have you lived?

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I hate this argument. It comes up for a variety of different issues: Women's History Month, so why not Men's History Month? Black History Month, so why not... Gay Pride Week, so why not Straight Pride Week?

Why not? Because EVERY OTHER NETWORK is white entertainment. Why not white history month? Because rich white people forcefeed the history of Europeans in America down kids throats from first grade on. I don't know the actual numbers, but I do know that if you made a list of all the programs with white leads and a list of all the programs with black leads, the former would be far longer than the latter.

And someone else said it, but I'll say it again: There are many movies that have all white casts. Many.

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But do those channels come out and say "we are exclusively for this race!"? No, even though a majority of the viewers are white, doesn't mean that it is supposed to be exclusively white, but BET, Black Entertainment, is a racist channel simply because it markets to only black people. Every time I turn it on I either see crappy rappers (there is no good music today, at all. I'm 16) or comedians going on and on about how much white people have it better and how goofy white people are. I turn on Comedy Central and see the same comics, but I can then see another comic doing other jokes other than racial ones. Have you noticed that white comics almost never say anything about black people unless they are making fun of how awkward they seem around black people? Yes it is true: what is entertaining to one race, might not be to another. I personally find many black comedians who base their act on the pure fact that they are black funny, but I'm white. I also find enjoyment in white comedians. I like Everybody Hates Chris, and Everybody Loves Raymond. I like Blaxplotation films and I like Lord of the Rings. I personally have not made up my mind about this movie, it looks like it has some flair. Andre 3000 is a pretty good actor, Ludacris is better though. I mean, everybody just needs to let the race card go, but we just can't seem to.

The best part of waking up is Satan in your cup.

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First of all im black. I do not hate or even dislike anyone generally. Stereotypes are funny, they reveal ignorance.

I have to say as a movie lover that most of the movies that are made by black people suck and most of the movies made by white people suck too. The problem is that there are more white people in the business(and country) so naturally there would more better white movies than black. Tokens are used by black and white alike. Chelsea on Thats so Raven is a perfect example of black people doing the same thing to white people that was done to us. Either dont do it at all or dont get mad when it is done to you. Personally I dont find it funny either way. White people shouldnt put black people in movies just for the hell of it and black people shouldnt do it either.

Another thing is that most people, black or white have racial bias, not racism.

People, especially black people, are reactionary. If a white comedian makes fun of black people and it is funny then I will laugh at it. If I dont find it funny I wont watch it.

BET SUCKS. I am embarassed that BET is the network that is supposed to represent the Black population in the US. Some women got mad when SPIKE TV was created but this is America. Check the first Amendment. If white people want to make WET then let it be. It will probably suck just as much as BET, LIFETIME, or SPIKE TV.

White people HAVE been feeding us their history all year but the solution is to teach black history alongside it, not designate a month. I am not homophobic but(let me shout for this)HOMOSEXUALS ARE NOT A RACE AND DO NOT NEED A HISTORY MONTH.

People are people. Crap is crap. Idlewild is going to be friggin great.

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bodk07 has the right idea guys. I hate it when they throw the "token black man" into movies. It is stupid, and truthfully, it is a bad stereotype. Nobody needs their own month for their history, and yes, history is very much white predominated. Oh yea, just heard the song for this today, and I actually liked it.

The best part of waking up is Satan in your cup.

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"I hate it when they throw the "token black man" into movies."

Except for in Not Another Teen Movie - that was cool! And Deon Richmond was excellent in Hatchet!

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bodk07 has the most intelligent ideas in this thread so far, but I'm going to have to disagree with most of you guys on one point: "white history" is taught in the US because, primarily, that was the racial makeup in the founding/colonization era. And since it is US History, and not African history, it will inherently be about white people. History is taught how it is. In school, students are taught about civil rights and slavery as they became more prominent in society, just as they are taught about white colonists coming over to North America. There is not a racial bias. Just because all of the US presidents have been white wouldn't necessarily mean that white people are trying to force "white history" upon the students; it is taught according to "whom did what".

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Ummm...Dreamgirls is coming out this December and that movie has an all-black cast. Guess what, it WILL be big!!! So this notion that all-black movies don't have success is stupid. Look at Ray and Hotel Rwanda from 2004. Movies with predominently Black casts are getting much more attention than they used to. So all the racists can go scamble back the the drawing board of excuses.

Life isn't about finding yourself...life is about creating yourself!

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I do see what barronb is saying about white history in America. This is a predominantly white country and it is only normal for white history to be taught the most. It is up to black people to teach african history(and not in one month out of the year, that is cheap as hell)

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And I'm sure your high school represents every high school in America.

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Jesus was gay? Did he sleep with men? No, He didn't sleep with women either, so I'd describe him as A-Sexual...

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@bod07


FYI, you don't speak for all black folks because you're black. I don't care how old this post, I just had to respond to some of the nonsense you said. For one thing, white films aren't automatically better because they're white films---believe me, I've seen way too many terrible films with white people to know that that is not EVEN true. White people put each other in movies for the hell of it all the damn time,and leave out everybody else, and even when the role should have been played by a person of color all the damn time. The fact is,racial stereotypes have been used by white people to discriminate against us for the entire damn history of this country.

And, as for teaching black history---unless you live in a most black area, you're not gonna learn that there's more to black history than Dr. King, Mrs. Parks, or Malcolm X. When's the last time you learned that black men were the first cowboys, along with Mexicans? Black History was started BY a black teacher for the simple fact that when it was created virtually NO black history was being taught in the average school at all. And there isn't one damn thing wrong with black people having a month focused on our own history (besides it's the shortest month of the year) when we're practically force-fed white history to the exclusion of damn near everything else. BTW, there's also a Hispanic Month,an Asian-American month, a Black Music Month (June) and a Women's History month. We need these month to remind us that white men didn't built this country by themselves, and so therefore they don't deserve to hog all the damn credit like they usually do.

Also, WET already exists in the form of practically every station on the network, and you complain about black folks having just ONE, even if it sucks--which it still sort of does to some extent, but you can say about every channel that features reality shows.

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monsterman865 your statement, "Black Entertainment, is a racist channel simply because it markets to only black people." is incorrect since Viacom bought out BET.

Viacom now markets the channel to young white males under the guise of being Black Entertainment. BET's target audience has changed over the last few years. BET has lost a large portion of their Black audience when they changed their on screen talent and their programming. It appeals to a smaller segment of the Black population than it did 15 years ago. They went straight for the younger demographics and forgot about everyone over 30.

The only time BET has a large Black audience is when there is an awards show.

Also, if history does not matter why do more people know who Thomas Edison is, compared to Lewis Lattimer. One person's invention was useless without the other.

More people are aware of Henry Ford, but not Garret Morgan. Both contributed to transportation in this country.

When people know the contributions of these 4 inventors equally then we know that the U.S. education system has done its job. If many of you know who all 4 are without looking it up on the internet or a Black history book then I am wrong.

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are you serious? no one said every channel was racist against black people. I said every other channel has predominately white people

Abzeeze you are right but even though these channels are predominately white they do not advertise or put up a sign saying White entertainment! They are open to everyone but seriously, don't get me wrong im not racist, but when i hear BET it wards me away from that channel. The impression i get is that it is only for black people, even if it might not be. As for Fox, or ABC its probably mostly white but it doesnt see to turn down Black people stating that it is all white.

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You think when black people here ABC and NBC they dont think white?

NBC=BET as far as meaning is concerned.

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I'm from the UK, and personally when I hear NBC I think The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air.

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its 2006 now. Time to catch up.

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you do have white entertainment channel you guys have all the channels. its called network tv. friends is not an all white, lauguna beach the oc.

I don't know why anyone argues with whites about this issue whites are in a constent state denial. black people have been watch white movies for over 80 years white actors white stories. a few movies with an all black cast and white people call out racism. I don't know why whites even get made most of these all black movies are not that good. a lot of the all white movies are not good either yet blacks have alot less main stream movies than whites so our bad movies stand out more. ours stand out for the simple fact that there are so few, so people make a big deal about it. but no one made a big deal that RV did not any black character in it yet robin williams and the actor who played his son both mimic sterotypical black behavior.

most black movies only make money if whites go see them any ways so in a sense all movies that want to make a profit are white movies(and all movies want to make a profit). and white movies only add black characters to grab the dollars of the black ticket buyers. whites are the majority of the population so they are going to target them for a film it good and smart buisness.

outcast is a huge cross over group. speaker box sold to white and black kids so it makes sense to make a movie with a group that has respect in the black community (black dollars) and white community (white dollars) and the movies subject matter is about music, sex and money. its basicly a long music video!

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I don't think its the color of the skin that upsets people. Its just the fact that if a movie came out with an all white cast than someone would scream that it was racist. Or if we had a channel that was called WET (White entertainment) than people would also get upset but BET (Black entertainment) is perfectly fine. I guess white entertainment is VH1 though


that doesnt mean you cant watch BET what about the channels only in spanish or japanese??and if you look on tv you see all white people anyways cause they are sopposedly "at the top of the food chain" why does it matter anyways? no matter what channels caucasian people are still always gonna be the "head" and rich.

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"I don't think its the color of the skin that upsets people. Its just the fact that if a movie came out with an all white cast than someone would scream that it was racist. Or if we had a channel that was called WET (White entertainment) than people would also get upset but BET (Black entertainment) is perfectly fine. I guess white entertainment is VH1 though"

WET is all around you...everywhere. People started BET when there were no people of color on T.V. and now, to this day it is still here. There was no initial need to start a WET channel because T.V. was WET all day, everyday.

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yes, and when they steal a jay-z lyric, chances are its a lyric jay stole from 2pac, biggie, big L, or slick rick

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