I am sick of these Movies - Belle (2014) Discussion

[–] sororsalsa 10 years ago

While I get your point, and agree with you to a certain extent, have you seen this movie? Yes, it did discuss the love story between her and her eventual husband. But that relationship had far more to do with an influential court case about slaves being treated as property than just the romance itself. In the movie, it's portrayed that they fell in love through the process of Dido helping John Davinier fight to fight the slave traders' insurance claims. And the movie did show Dido influencing her uncle as well.

Ultimately, love stories sell, and this movie languished in development hell for years before getting made, so I'm glad to see it, love story or not. It's a great film and worthy of being made.

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

I was going to see the movie until I saw the preview. I am just sick of it. Why even put it in the movie? Because you are right, romance sells. I want to ask you this since there is nowhere in history that shows Belle was involved with some vicars son because they were fighting against slave trade.

If Belle was named Bill do you think they would have the vicars daughter fall in love with him while fighting against the slave trade or anything else? And about her husband. I will bet a movie ticket that if Bill had fell in love with a French woman and had two kids we would see that written as a addendum at the end of the movie like this, Bob went on to marry a French woman and had two kids. The End.
I'll see it but I will wait to it gets to cable or the 2 dollar movie.

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[–] activista 10 years ago

@marbleann

The movie was written and directed by a black woman (Amma Asante) so it probably won't be the same old WM/BW dynamic we usually see. And a trailer isn't always representative of the movie---I would see it before I make a judgement. And Isiah Washington has been invited back to GRAY'S ANATOMY, so I guess all's been forgiven in his case.

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

Hopefully not but I bet her bosses are white males. I see he is coming back but it looks like he is leaving right away.

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[–] missgangsmashers 10 years ago

I was going to start a topic like this after seeing the preview but I just told myself...NOT GOING TO SEE THIS ONE!

These so-called Slave Themes and even if they are inter-mingled with a so-called love story are getting TIRED!

The writer is Misan Sagay (also a Black Woman) BUT even though she may have gotten the credit for writing the film, I know she didn't have the final say so in the writing no did the Black Female Director have the final say so in the Editing Room.

If this project was in Development Hell...then that's where it should have stayed! I almost guarantee that the movie was only made based on the strength of "12 Years a Slave".

Of course her BOSSES her White Males that wear suits and like I said they may have been given the credit as Writer and Director but the Hidden Hands are going to tell their story through them (if that makes any sense).

I also agree with everything you stated. Referring to the O.P.

EPIPHANY - EVANGELINE

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

@missgangsmashers Thank You. I think a lot of people in this thread know exactly what I am talking about but are recommending I see it because it is more then that. But like I said I will catch this on cable. I am with you. It is like the woman who writes for Grey's Anatomy, her paycheck is being written by white men. Which would not bother me if they did not seem to have such a bias about black women. It is funny how in Greys Anatomy the black man doesn't fall in love with a white woman, but a Asian woman. But you see a show like Hawthorne there was nothing but white men chasing the Jada Pickett character. She even had a dead white husband.

This is not some way Hollywood is trying to help civil rights by showing black women and white men as a couple. Showing love. This is just a way to fulfill the men writing the paychecks fantasy.

They could show love better by allowing more people of color take control of their projects. Have more people of color as actors. It is like they have a quota system. They had Halle Berry and now she is older, they are working on Kerry Washington or Zoe Saldana as the next big black women star. Can't there be more then one?

Goes the same way for the Black actors. Right now they have Morgan Freeman for older roles, And Will Smith has moved up from young guy to middle age and Denzel is the older middle age guy. Frankly see no one being groomed as their replacement. And there is usually one black male big star comedy actor. No new Eddie Murphy?

The way they portray Latino women is also a disgrace. The biggest star acts like a bimbo, again fulfilling some white mans fantasy. When George Lucas could not get funding to do a move about the Tuskegee Airmen you know something is very wrong.

Oh and BTW the black guy who was involved with the Italian was doomed, he was going to die. Even if they had to have Hitler fall on top of him, he was going to die. Like in horror movies the teenagers smoking dope or having sex are the first to be killed. I knew it as soon as I saw them. But what bothered me more was this. This man grew up among black women all of his life but he makes the statement that she was the most beautiful women he has ever seen. What was that about? Reaffirming the public the myth that white women are the most beautiful women in the world!

Remember the backlash about the Cheerio's commercial? There was a black husband and white wife. You should of heard the complaints. It was on the news. The opposite no one cares.
Here is the link about the backlash and the ad. And anyone who calls mixed people mulatto's have to ignored.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/cheerios-commercial-racist-ba cklash_n_3363507.html

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[–] mmw_rocket 10 years ago

What is all of this talk about "Hollywood"? Belle isn't a "Hollywood" movie. It wasn't made in Hollywood, it wasn't even produced in Hollywood, there are no Americans that have anything to do with the telling of the story. Will Smith, Kerry Washington, Eddie Murphy, Beyonce, Halle Berry, and Morgan Freeman have jack diddly to do with Belle.

England doesn't have the same hang ups about black women and white men being together that America does. I generally find this hang up much more in the US compared to Central America, South America, England and Europe.

Belle actually DID get married to a white man. Yes, the way it is portrayed in the film is very fictional but John Davinier was white. Out of all the historical inaccuracies that you could have actually named in the movie (which are legion) you are upset about something that is actually true? Had she gotten married to a black man but the character been "white washed" I could see the objections. Would you have prefered for the director to have made Davinier black or mixed to be less offensive?

The movie isn't about a "white man's sexual fantasy". The film is very non sexual and tame (it is PG and I would feel comfortable having school age kids watch it). I found it relieving to watch a black woman NOT play a super sexualized role, it's nothing like "Monster's Ball". The film is actually very critical of marriage in general at that time period and how it affected women and if women should even get married at all. Belle is portrayed, in many ways, has more freedom of choice than her white cousin who must marry a man with money. Belle doesn't need a "savoir" or (no pun intended) "white knight" and the movie is very clear about that. Belle is only ever shown as equal or superior to those around her. I also love seeing a movie with a black woman where she isn't being tortured, raped, maimed, having her children die, or being brutalized in some manner (The Butler, 12 Years a Slave, Last King of Scotland, Roots, Precious, Monster's Ball, Beloved, The Color Purple, Django Unchained, ad nauseum, not calling these bad movies either as I actually love most of them).

In the end they chose to marry each other based on their mutual respect and admiration for each other. They admire each other for being smart and ethical. It's not about a white man getting his sexual fix or fantasy.

There is a character (Malfoy) that does fetishize Belle and he is portrayed as being a consumate douche.

Maybe you should only stick to history where the black or mixed raced protagonist falls in love with a black man like the 2008 film "Skin". You might really like Skin as the protagonist in that is actually being pressured to marry a white man but she choses to marry a black man. Or maybe the story of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, Chevalier de Saint-Georges or Abram Petrovich Gannibal can be told in a decent biopic so you can finally watch a black or mixed raced man get with white women.

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[–] gorye 10 years ago

Belle doesn't need a "savoir" or (no pun intended) "white knight"

Now there's a lot of info in the Web concerning real Dido Elizabeth Belle. I got included some bits from several articles here in my post.

Talking about real Belle she did need a savoir. A protector and shield of some sort. Yes, she had some money (sum of 500£, plus 100£ per year), which made her only suitable for kind of modest marriage, but not sufficient to live alone - safely. Her freedom was declared in her uncle will, right, but those were words. Belle didn't live to see the end of the slavery. Slavery in England and the kidnapping of slaves out of England continued even after she died in 1804.
Again, saying about real Dido (must confess the real Dido interested me more) she was left unprotected after her uncle death. Maybe she was supposed to live in Kenwood even when the next Lord would take place, but maybe not.

"...It was Lord Mansfield’s nephew Lord Stormont who would inherit Kenwood, and it would have been unlikely that he would have wanted Belle there."

I think there might exist even some kind of arrangement with 1st and future 2nd Lords that the latter would find a suitable husband for Belle. Maybe her uncle feeling he soon might die even knew and approved the man. You see, Belle was married the same year her uncle died. And he was a serving man, more likely fugitive from rebellious France and quite penniless because of that. So even black woman in her 30-ies might make welcome bride for him... provided she had money. Alas, but yes, I don't think there was something romantic in the story of Belle's marriage.

"When Lord Mansfield died in 1793, Belle lost her friend and protector – but she had become a woman of some means. Belle was in her 30s and no doubt considered herself past marriageable age. How she met her husband, a servant of French extraction called John Davinier, remains a mystery.
It seems probable that Lord Stormont took it upon himself to solve the problem of what to do with her when he moved into Kenwood by setting her up with one of his own men."

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[–] mmw_rocket 10 years ago

I agree that the film was flagrantly historically inaccurate. My post was about the film, not the history. The OP is mad that he is white which is the only bit of historical truth. I agree that the real story is more interesting and I could see if that was the OP's gripe.

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] gorye 10 years ago

Right, I see you're talking about the film. Films more often than not like to simplify things. They take us too dumb to understand the reality - in all its complexity. So I eager to see films like romcoms less nowadays, and novels, too. They are more and more look the same. Documentary and biography suit me more.

I like real story more, too, actually I was fascinated with it many years ago, seeing the famous portrait first time with my eyes, when I was travelling through Scotland and got a chance to see the Scone Palace.
A very nice lady explained a lot of things about the Mansfields and the place, not too much about Belle; and pity, they don't allow taking pictures. You must buy their very big and expensive book there in the palace if you want to enjoy the pictures (uh, that's their business, I know). Well, I bought it. Actually the Belle's story and the portrait weren't widely known then, and no Web images for it too.

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

@gorye
I like real stories too. Stick to the facts. That is all I want.
There is potrait of her and her cousin in Wikipedia under Belles real name. It is a beautiful picture. I wonder if you can get it on one of these picture selling sites on the web.

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[–] gorye 10 years ago

Thanks for advice,
but I've bought a book about the story and the Scone Palace, as you can read in my post above. It's much better than just a picture.

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[–] turok670 10 years ago

Real name? again, go see the movie, they call her Dido in the movie, so much of your anger is based on assumptions. The portrait is also a pretty big part of the movie (it even shows the REAL one at the end of the movie).

WEREWOLF
"I don't know you had him last" -Tom Servo

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[–] narva24 10 years ago

I think you made a great point in that real-life stories are often changed for some moronic reason by directors/writers. I've seen plenty of movies about war - movies based on written accounts - and yet they often interject a LOT of fiction into those, pissing off plenty of veterans and their relatives. It's particularly puzzling because the actual accounts of what happened have plenty of grit/tension on their own and are often superior to the romanticized Hollywood depictions.

Having said that, you have interjected your racist views into your initial post and that rightfully so got many readers riled up. After all, it appeared as if what got you upset the most is not the fact that this relationship was fictional, but rather that it was a relationship with a WHITE man (and you've provided more examples of this happening in other films as well - to drive your point further). My advice is, keep your racist views about biracial people/relationships to yourself.

You are backpedaling now and say that the fiction bit bothered you the most, but your initial post proves shows otherwise.

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

Thanks. But they somehow add these plots with women of color with a white man. Why is that? It needs to be dealt with or at least noticed Look at this movie. Yes she married a Frenchman, well show that. Why do we need some made of story of her and some vicars son? Why do we need that? Or the Last King Of Scotland. What a travesty. I think it is even a more insidious messages but I don't think the darlings over here could deal with it.

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

So it wasn't Hollywood. The movies distributor is Fox and that is a American company. And we know the movie is worth nothing without a big distributor and Fox would not had picked it up if it did not have the same hang ups in that movie about black women. Like I said they even made up a fictional affair. But wait let us say it wasn't a move with a big American distributor. White men would still be writing the check writing the check. These movies are made to please American audiences because that is the biggest audience. So I don't want to hear about some foolishness that it is not a Hollywood movies. Physically it is not but that is where difference end. It is still White men and their sexual hang ups who sign the checks.

Oh and guess what I am sick of too. People acting like their country is above bad race relationships. Unlike us big bad Americans, that you all hate so much you want to emulate every thing we do. You want to live here so much you would probably sell your first born for a visa. So Please get off that high horse I am sure a bad case of saddle sore in setting in.

No you never had Black slavery as a institution in Europe, because you had it here. You did your dirty work all over the world. Our racism is more institutionalized, but your racism is just as bad. Enslaving African colonies like animals and leave their countries after these countries raped the land of all of its resources. But when they migrate to your countries treat them like crap and segregate them. I am Jamaican so you are not fooling me. I have relatives living in England and like here they are marginalized. I lived in France and racism is bad there too. They almost elected a outright racist who used it as his platform to head their country. Oh and not let us forget the biggest practitioner of racism that ever existed, Germany. I guess you forgot about that.
And I see in their movies their sexual hang up about Jewish women. There is always some forbidden romance going on with some Jewish women.
Oh and about you folks over in Great Britain not have you done the things I already mention, ask some of those Catholics in Northern Ireland how above board you folks are when it comes to religious relations too! Some of the people who found the United States was fleeing from Religious Persecution Looks like you are still at it.
Oh and about leaving their seed all over the place they left their garbage all over the place too. Great Britain sent their prisoners over here too. Georgia was a Prison colony. They did the same with Australia in Botany Bay. And let's not talk about the Genocide practiced by the Australians against the Aborigines, must be some of the descendants from that Prison Colony your country started there.

When I talk about the men leaving their seed all over the places they colonized I sure was not talking mainly about Americans. It sure wasn't American men in India or Africa, it was European men, mainly British men. You act like some how we are to believe British white men do not have the same hang ups. Heck the white men in this country are your cousins and the apple does not fall far from the tree.

.

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[–] Breath_Taker 10 years ago

What white actress's do they call to take their clothes off for a black man in a movie?

Julia Stiles

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

What white actress's do they call to take their clothes off for a black man in a movie?

Wrong. The only time you will see a white women naked in a movie with black men is a porno or some 70's pimp Mandingo movie and none of those actress's were big stars. Oh and BTW when is Julia Stiles? I would say name a white women who will play a romantic lead to black character and her name pops up. Oh and BTW I just saw another Kerry Washington movie with her sleeping with some white man, Lakeview Terrace. The most unrealistic movie ever made. I have heard of mixed race couples being harassed by white folks and ran out of neighborhoods but never he opposite. That movies makes me think where Samuel Jacksons head is at.

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[–] Sergeant343 10 years ago

That is the American Distributor, also American != Hollywood. Hollywood has its very own style of filmmaking and only morons like yourself equate all American film making with Hollywood, but that would require you to read a book. Fox Searchlight- specializes in US distribution of independent and British films.

White men would still be writing the check writing the check.

*beep* whitey eh. Screw you racist.

These movies are made to please American audiences because that is the biggest audience.

That is cynical of you and also America is not the center of the world, regardless of what your stupid nationalism/patriotism says otherwise. Plus, most studios in Hollywood are focusing on the foreign market, for that is where most of the money comes from.

It is still White men and their sexual hang ups who sign the checks.

Are you from tumblr, because your bitchyness sounds just like a lot of the users. Why must they be fetishists, oh yeah I forgot all white men all evil, gotcha.

HI-F___ING-YA
Nicholas Cage Deadfall
2014 Rankings: imdb.com/list/mOL23rGRrh0/

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[–] anatja 10 years ago

Oh just shut up you silly American fool!!!

Look, we are not American OK? You don't totally control our film output. And we DO pair black men with white women, it is just you are unlikely to notice it because your rampant American imperialism means you won't notice something outside of your country unless it upsets your half witted sensibilities.

Good grief I cannot even bother to read through this whole thread of you whining...

Utterly pathetic!!!!

If you love Satan and are 100% proud of it copy this and make your signature!

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[–] Sergeant343 10 years ago

+1

HI-F___ING-YA
Nicholas Cage Deadfall
2014 Rankings: imdb.com/list/mOL23rGRrh0/

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[–] xxhelterskelterxx 10 years ago

Yes, yes, we get it. Everything you don't like in your life is the fault of a white man, somehow. How dare these Europeans create a Euro-centric culture...

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[–] KassyL 10 years ago

Precisely, Sorosalsa! If you haven't seen the movie OP, how can you make a clear assessment of it? The film business is not an exclusively non-fiction, single genre industry for Documentaries. I would not be interested in it if it were.

I agreed upon first introduction (The sensationalized trailer), but when you get past the emotion of 'sick', perhaps you will see that this is a movie directed by a BLACK WOMAN and based on the TRUE STORY OF A BLACK WOMAN, written by the same writer of 'THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD' (one of my fav movies of all time), a Black Woman. As a Black Woman, I had to see this movie to give it a fair evaluation in my own mind.

The story is worth telling, it plays an extremely important role in history, one which we did not learn in our History books. So are you saying the story should not have been honored with a budget to create the moving images which stand presently in our judgement? Do you realize that a whole generation of young people worldwide will find a (s)HERO in this BLACK WOMAN...who was NEVER A SLAVE, and didn't chase after a white man. He chased after her, but you wouldn't know that if you DIDN'T READ THE BOOK OR SEE THE MOVIE.

This movie has given me two new BLACK WOMEN SHERO'S, Dido Elizabeth Belle and Amma Asante, whose work I would have otherwise may never have known. Already a fan of writer Misan Sagay. Congratulations All. Well done!

SUPERB WRITING, ACTING AND DIRECTING. two thumbs up

QofH3arts

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] malloyh2 10 years ago

I'm so sick of black women like you. So the *beep* what. We let black treat us like *beep* in music videos and disrespect us. Let us have a movie about love and grace and we selling out to the white man. Go *beep* yourself. She is not even black she is mulatto. As a mulatto, I thank God for this movie. An intteligent young woman standing up for herself and what she believes in, and the mental hardship it took to get there. Tired of catering to *beep* opinions like this. Love is love. No matter the color shape or form. Get over yourself. And don't comment on a movie you have never seen.

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[–] missgangsmashers 10 years ago

F*uck YOU! A mulatto (a very demeaning term). Mulatto means half person/half mule! Is that what MARIA BELLE is?!

I don't watch those degrading music videos and guess what...Who comes up with these videos and images to degrade Black People...White Men in power! IT IS CALLED CONDITIONING FOOL!

"Thank God for this movie!" You are full of IT! What God are you talking about: SATAN!
Do me a favor: LEAVE THE LORD OUT OF IT!

IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE MY COMMENT OR OPINION...WHY DID YOU RESPOND!

GET OVER YOURSELF & I AM NOT GOING TO SEE THIS JUNK!

btw, it is not a LOVE Story, it is a LUST story.

Maria Belle was an enslaved African Woman. What is romantic about being enslaved?! NOTHING!

EPIPHANY - EVANGELINE

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[–] narva24 10 years ago

The etymology of the term may derive from the Spanish and Portuguese word mulato, which is itself derived from mula (from old Galician-Portuguese, from Latin mūlus), meaning mule, the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey.[8][9][10] Some dictionaries and scholarly works trace the word's origins to the Arabic term muwallad, which means "a person of mixed ancestry".[11]

Muwallad literally means "born, begotten, produced, generated; brought up", with the implication of being born and raised among Arabs, but not of Arab blood. Muwallad is derived from the root word WaLaD (Arabic: ولد direct Arabic transliteration: waw, lam, dal), and colloquial Arabic pronunciation can vary greatly. Walad means, "descendant, offspring, scion; child; son; boy; young animal, young one".

So, it either derrives from the word mule - a half breed (not a half breed between a human and a mule - but I don't know which you school you went to - so perhaps that's what they teach you there?). Or it comes from the word muwallad - an off spring.

By the way, you know how the N word gets a bad reputation in English? The funny thing is, N---o actually means 'black' in Spanish - 'black' is a term widely used in English that is not considered to be derogatory.

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

@malloyh2 Who said I am not just as outraged about these music videos that is polluting the airways. You think like to see and hear the degradation of black women. or any women at that. But the money s coming from the same people. I do hold people like P Diddy who really started videos like these. And I don't like the way other women support that garbage.
But in reality white people are the biggest consumers of this garbage. Not surprised. But I am going to ignore you from now on, like anybody else who uses the word mulatto in describing themselves. Must be a lot of self hate going on there. I feel bad for you. Maybe that is why you don't mind seeing white producers using black women in movies to fulfill their fantasies.

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[–] Milkdoesabodygood 10 years ago

Isn't that what porn is for, fulling some fansty?

Uh baby U 4got to pull out. 9 months later, can U pull this ucking baby outta me, do that @ least!

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

Yes it is but this is but this mainstream. And it is more dangerous because it perpetuates myths because more people get to watch mainstream movies. .

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[–] Milkdoesabodygood 10 years ago

Seriously, what is mainstream these days I can't tell anymore, everything is off the hook!

Uh baby U 4got to pull out. 9 months later, can U pull this ucking baby outta me, do that @ least!

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[–] activista 10 years ago

@malloyh2

"Mulatto" is an old,outdated term from slavery (why you're even claiming that ignorant,stupid and racist term to describe yourself is beyond me, because it basically means half-human, half-mule and was created by slavemasters who didn't see any black person as human,period) And Belle was mixed, but that didn't matter---I saw the movie,BTW, and she was still regarded as black,period. Heck, at one point, she wasn't even allowed to sit and eat with her own family---she had to eat at a separate table away from them. I hardly even hear anybody use the "mulatto" to describe anything or anybody---talk about a word that's past its retirement date. And,uh, Belle is BLACK---don't try to big yourself up by claiming you're a "mulatto" dosen't make you any better than anyone else---you're black. Deal with it.

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[–] Pop_Diva 10 years ago

@ activista

You are quick to insult the poster Malloyh2 but has it ever occurred to you that she may not be American?? In many countries and communities race is not as black and white as it is in America. Classifying mixed race people as black was simply for expedience in the US because slave owners didn't want a whole lot of people calling themselves biracial and legally opting out of being slaves.

As for the term 'Mulatto' it does not mean half human/half mule. Mulatto means hybrid. The mule reference comes from the fact that a mule is a hybrid between a horse and a donkey

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[–] MariMcCabe 9 years ago

And,uh, Belle is BLACK---don't try to big yourself up by claiming you're a "mulatto" dosen't make you any better than anyone else---you're black. Deal with it.

Acknowledging that you're mixed race doesn't mean you think you're better than anyone.

What is all of this talk about "Hollywood"? Belle isn't a "Hollywood" movie. It wasn't made in Hollywood, it wasn't even produced in Hollywood, there are no Americans that have anything to do with the telling of the story. Will Smith, Kerry Washington, Eddie Murphy, Beyonce, Halle Berry, and Morgan Freeman have jack diddly to do with Belle.

England doesn't have the same hang ups about black women and white men being together that America does. I generally find this hang up much more in the US compared to Central America, South America, England and Europe.

Every film is assumed to be Hollywood, like every animated film is assumed to be Disney.

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[–] Pop_Diva 10 years ago

How on earth can you strongly criticize a movie you haven't even seen??

Belle works in two ways:

firstly, it tells the struggles of Belle as a person. The romance in this gives us an insight into various issues - class, gender and race

secondly, the movie shows us the bigger picture about attitudes towards slavery during that period.

If you've ever read Jane Austen you would know that social relationships and indeed romances were governed by many constraints and expectations. Race would have been only one of Belle's considerations she would also have to conform to gender expectations and importantly class expectations

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[–] Sook-Yongsheng 10 years ago

Race would have been only one of Belle's considerations she would also have to conform to gender expectations and importantly class expectations

That is so true.

I thought the film did an excellent job of showing all the pressures that were on Belle -- race, gender and class.

Only Lovers Left Alive: 8
Oculus: 7
Joe: 10
Locke: 10
Blue Ruin: 9
Belle: 8

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

I did not critique the movie. I said saw the previews on FXM, where they Interview people and show snippets of the movie. All they talk about is the romance and how they like it. Not surprised.

I came here and stated I am sick of these movies where they have black woman chasing after white men or pursuing them. Why because you never see the opposite. Now tell me if belle was named Bill would they show him running with some vicar's daughter? No. I am convinced now the movie was made just for the romance because they made one up. The same thing happened in the Last King of Scotland. There is no history about some white doctor messing with one of his wives. The movie turned out being about him. So why is it in the movie? To appease white men who are making movies fantasies about black women. It happens too often. And I also said it just not about black women it is all women of color. From Pocahontas and John Smith to now. And I am sure before those two.

The historic fact about her marrying a Frenchman is fine. But that other garbage, is just garbage.

Why did they need that? If the movie was really about her influence on the judge? Stick to the facts. If the movie is about a factual incident. I do not have to see a movie to say I am sick of the type of movie. I am sick of movies with little bratty kids who know more then the adults. If I come online and stated that no one would tell me to not to criticize a movie before seeing it. Like I said I just said what I was sick of. No mention of the the acting, the quality anything else was made. Some people don't comedy's and will not look at them. They do not have to see one to know they are not going to like it. There are people who will not watch black&white movies or movies with sub-titles. It is just not their cup of tea. From seeing the preview this is not mine. That's all.

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[–] Milkdoesabodygood 10 years ago

But yet people STILL go C these movies soooooooo it can't B all garbage.

Uh baby U 4got to pull out. 9 months later, can U pull this ucking baby outta me, do that @ least!

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

Well nothing is garbage. It is all subjective. One persons garbage is another persons treasure.

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[–] blaqueknight2000 10 years ago

I adore Gugu and will watch anything she is in. I will see this movie in the theater because I like period pieces (and yes, I'm straight). That said, I think Marbleann has spoken a lot of truth on this thread and a lot of people don't like to hear it. The media supports its big picture conditioning above all else. Black men in most movies are either effeminized, demonized or killed off quickly in movies and tv shows. The white male's inherent intimidation by black masculinity is more than obvious in film and fiction, yet the highest porn consumed is BM/WF interracial porn and its biggest viewers are white males. Dirty little secret exposed. Rarely is there a black male lead who is smart, virile and capable. There are a small number of exceptions (Idris Elba's Luther comes to mind) but for the most part, if there is an IR relationship between a black male and a white female, one or both of them are going to die. On the other hand, white men are allowed the gambit of love affairs with any and all women without condition. It is because all of the money men behind these movies are white and its what they want. Also, BM/BF passion is toned down on screen. You rarely see a BM/BF having lustful, bed-breaking sex in movies. However, WM/BF sex is mandatory for the reinforcement of the white male lead's virility. I have no problem with that, as its expected in fiction. I just have a problem with how it is so drastically avoided when it comes to black men. As Marbleann said, a book may portray one relationship but it gets changed in the movie when the lead is a black male. Sex is usually off the table. Spike Lee had Denzel blow Milla Jovovich's back out in He Got Game. He knew it was something you don't see in most movies with IR relationships.
Seriously, the white male savior worship that goes on in movies is somewhat overbearing. I understand where Marbelann is coming from and we are not the only ones.

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

Thanks for a on point and concise post. I think people know exactly what we are talking about Or they are taking a look and having a a-ha moment. I also want to state that if there is a white woman pursuing a black male. She is a nutcase, like in that Beyonce movie. Some plantation owners wife who like their husband can't keep their hands off the slaves. Or PWT like in My Brother Earl.

Yesterday I was looking at a movie named Hannibal Rising. It was about how Hannibal Lecther became Hannibal Lecther. Now this is a person who came from a very wealthy family in Lithuania, they had their own castle. Later on when he reaches his 20's he hooks up with his Aunt, who is Japanese! Even though she is his aunt they have this erotic relationship. Now where did that come from? I have to say white men have a thing for Asian woman too.

Look at Cadillac Records. There is no facts about the head of Chess being obsessed with Etta James. But in the movie you would of thought he was about to leave his wife and lost his record lable because of her.

I do not understand why white women are not screaming about this unless they are in denial. White men are literally what they historically have done in real life and putting on the screen. White men have left their seed in every country they have colonized. And in every black, Latino or Asian American neighborhood here. And they leave these woman behind to fend for themselves and their child while they go back home and act like they do not exist. For a good example look at that racist Strom Thurmon. They had to wait until he died for it to come out. That is not unusual. What was unusual is that it came out.

People talk about how black men do not take care for their kids. Let's take a look at that special statistic that doesn't exist about white men taking care of children they have from women of color, I bet it is shameless because chances are these men have a family they do take care of and they are white, No one wants to talk about that.
Well look on the movie screen and see the cleaned up rated PG version of the white man sexual obsession about women of color.

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[–] fidgette 9 years ago

You are reaching here buddy. Historically speaking there were certain countries that ruled and those countries were England, France, Spain and Germany. Those countries then went off with their ships and colonized other countries.

And why would white women scream about it? They too are pursued by white men, and other races of men in film and TV too.

Are you saying that you'd prefer having segregation between races, because they seems to be what you're alluding to. Or perhaps a white man stole your woman at some point to make you so biased and angry to the point where you don't realize how illogical you are.

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[–] rochelleann-thomas 10 years ago

As a woman of color married to a man who is bit, I found the story sad and lovely at the same time. It perfectly showed the struggle we have faced even in our own families. I thought it was a story of womanhood and finding one's true voice.
I am not sure what preview you saw or why you have the impression that she was chasing anyone. Her persuit of Danivier was not about live. It was about information. She lived a sheltered life and he became her only connection to what was going on with the case her uncle was trying. Her persuit was of knowledge, not if love. She was actually told she would probrably never get married since her "class" would not allow marriage to someone if her "race" and her "race" would not allow her to marry someone from her "class". The love came through the process if sharing information.
The fact that she went to him spoke more if her class level. She had the means to travel and the title to use the means.
As a black woman, I tire if others making assumptions before actually seeing a movie before formulating an informed opinion. Had it been Bill, others would have complained about a black man marrying a white woman. No one is ever happy.

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[–] activista 10 years ago

@marbleann

Saw the film BELLE, and it was actually pretty good. The focus is on Belle and she moves in white society, and how she is constantly reminded that certain parts of society will never accept her, no matter how well-bred and beautiful she is, simply because she is black. Really liked it, and was also surprised that there wasn't a horrible tragic ending or something like that. Yeah, there was romance, but it wasn't the min part of the movie, just the side part to what was really going on---the move to make slavery close to illegal in England. Good movie, and worth seeing when you can catch it.

In fact, there were a lot of black folks watching the film---when one character said, "Don't even wait on a man to do anything for you," there were loud exclamations and agreements from the audience. Folks even clapped at the end, which is something I rarely see people do in a movie theatre unless it at an arthouse theatre--that was sweet!

Actually, Shonda Rimes is not just "the women who writes for GREY'S ANATOMY", she also created the show and runs it---meaning she gets to determine who is cast and who isn't. She's the main showrunner not only for GREY'S but for SCANDAL, and more recently, PRIVATE PRACTICE, which has a whole bunch of interracial relationships---BM/WW and BF?WM. Her shows are far more diverse than the usual Tv shows,anyway. Also Gugu Mbatha-Raw was excellent in the film as Belle, and she looked good on top of that.

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[–] marbleann 10 years ago

Again Shonda doesn't write the check. How many relationships in her shows are just black men and black women?

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[–] Geiri85 10 years ago

Obsessed with race are we?

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[–] Mystic270 10 years ago

I think think the biggest fault in your complaint is making this rant without seeing the movie. The second problem is switching what you are complaining about...

If you refuse to see the movie because you think it is only about a black woman being a lust object for a white man, you are incorrect. Believe it or not, they actually tastefully address this issue within the story, but the movie is not about that. If the trailers focused on the romance too much (I actually didn't see the trailer, I heard about this movie through word of mouth), I blame the trailer house who produced it and just the pure idea that romance gets people in the theater, which is what they were trying to do. It definitely used Dido's experiences as the story's catalyst and focused on her. Now did she fall in love with a white man? Yes, but why does that always have to be perverse? It clearly wasn't in this movie's case.

You went into the emasculation of the black male. While I agree that is a problem in entertainment, your complaint is misplaced: That has nothing to do with this story. You really want to complain about black males not having white love interest in the same post where you complain about a black female's role in history being negated to an object of desire?? You know the flip side of the BM/WF situation is that from a male point of view, it pushes the idea that to even black males, black females are less desirable. Just as much as it might be a result of white male executives having control, maybe studios don't want to make black females upset as well?

Anyway, going back to the actual movie--- To tell you the truth, I actually didn't know this story. I'm very intrigued to learn more about the real history, now. As a black female, it's refreshing: 1) to see a movie that features a black female...and not just as a sidekick. 2) To learn it was directed by and written by black females. 3) to have that female not be a caricature (silly, funny, angry, downtrodden, sexual), but just be a normal human and 4) to have all of that within a period piece that doesn't shy away from history, but isn't re telling the same tortured story that actually can be a form of conditioning itself.

My point: I'd say give this movie a chance as your fears are NOT realized in the actual film.

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[–] lisac_2829 10 years ago

I agree totally with your post. I didn't understand the ranting at all. 90% of OP's rant had nothing to do with this movie. If OP had actually watched the movie they would have known that.

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[–] blackalaureate 10 years ago

the movie is actually pretty good and worth seeing.

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[–] emvan 10 years ago

I love IMDB posts that rip an unseen movie to shreds for being what it isn't. Based on ... previews!

In fact, the movie is largely about the Zong slave ship case (substituted in the movie for the earlier and less dramatic Somerset v Stewart escaped slave case). The romance is significant, but it entirely depends on the race issue. Dido (Belle) is never courted by her eventual husband -- they fall for one another because he's an abolitionist and hence the only person who does not regard her heritage as a handicap. In fact, they even throw in another white man who does court her, despite (from his point of view) her race, so the movie EXPLICITLY CRITICIZES THE VERY THING YOU ARE ACCUSING IT OF DOING.

In terms of the sexualization of Dido, the movie ends with her kissing her beloved for the first time.

Oh, and by the way, of course, the director is a black woman.

(A critical aside: I thought the movie was solid but nothing special as a romance; without the historically important elements of the story it's no more than a B. It's those elements that lift it to an A-/B+.)

Now, how is it that you could be so colossally wrong about this? I can't believe anyone could be stupid enough to believe that trailers and previews are accurate representations of the movies they are trying to promote. Of course they'll sell this as a romance rather than as a historical drama about slavery.

That this thought never occurred to you indicates that you were prejudiced against it from the outset, for simply attempting the story, and the fact that your complaint about the movie turned quickly into a long and essentially off-topic rant backs that up.

Well, you get what you deserve. You probably wouldn't have liked the movie even if you saw it, because you would have seen the awful exploitative movie you were expecting, rather than the thought-provoking and nuanced movie it actually is.

Prepare your minds for a new scale of physical, scientific values, gentlemen.

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[–] KassyL 9 years ago

Well said, @emvan.

While I partially get where the OP is coming from on a larger scale, this really isn't the place nor context to vent your racism frustrations. You are clearly emotional about this and while I understand our need as Black people to reclaim our identity, our families and our culture...being blinded by this desire just worsens the cause. The IQ drops when we are enraged and we fail to see the truth even when its in front of us. 99% of the responses on your post hopefully have been an education of a different kind for you.

Sometimes when we are new to information we have a tendency to force it on people at every opportunity. Learn to choose your battles wisely. If this were a battlefield, you and your seconds would all be dead right now and your voice would never be heard and your goals (if there are any outside of ranting and raving) would never be realized.

Please understand...this IS a revolutionary movie.

QofH3arts

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[–] Stewball 10 years ago

If you weren't so busy being angry, you might have actually watched the film and learned something, like that it shows her having more influence on the case her uncle was deciding than he actually had. Or did you notice that the writer, Misan Sagay, is a black woman who'd actually written a movie for one of the world's most leftist feminists, Oprah? And what about the fact that white male/black female affairs were much more common than the other way around back then, which history reflects in novels and movies.

Here's a list of movies with white women and black men from Hollywood. My favorite is of course Guess Who's Coming to Dinner which was the one that pretty much opened the gates in both directions:
http://www.jeffandcorey.com/EGIL.html

And finally, look around in real life, there sure seem to be more black male/white female couples. And that's born out by Pew Research which found "About 24% of all black male newlyweds in 2010 married outside their race, compared with just 9% of black female newlyweds."....Hmmmm, maybe this is what's really buggin' you.

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