I am a devoted film enthusiast, as you very well may know, spending hours reading, analyzing, ingesting screenplays and backstories, box office data and film castings, writing and criticizing with passionate and particular precision. I find something incredibly relatable and transcendent about film and its elements, being able to mimic reality but also to project unimaginable worlds. Film is the canvas of creativity and I often view the genre as an outlet to reflect on modern day relationships.
Once in a while, a film’s production inspires me to rethink my assumed philosophies on certain issues, and in the past, I have often caught myself off-guard with the resulting conclusions. One such film is the Hollywood version of “Death at a Funeral”.
In case you didn’t know, “Death at a Funeral” was originally a British film which was released in 2007, and I had the personal pleasure of seeing it by accident one night when I made a late trip to the movies with my friends. While the major consensus was unfavourable, I found it to be quite charming and hilarious so upon learning that an American remake was in the works, I was very interested in how the story would transform across the pond.
Now that the film has been finished and released into theaters this very weekend, marketing has been at its highest and for the first time, I noticed an incredibly overlooked aspect – the inclusion of race.
In the British version of the movie, the main cast was all white, something which is very common for many films. However, in the Hollywood version, the main cast is all black, except for the character played by white actor, James Marsden. Now again, this is not uncommon, and did not seem strange until a cast member explained in an interview that “the cast was built around Chris Rock” since he began developing the vehicle for himself.
Now for many people, there would be nothing wrong with that statement, but to me, it sounded like “Chris Rock is black, so the rest of the cast has to obviously be black as well”. Does anyone else find that somewhat disturbing and even racist? Because an actor is black, the rest of the cast has to automatically be of the same race? For the record, there have been many all black ensembles but the difference here is the inclusion of the white character. I found it especially significant since originally, the character was the same race as his spouse in the British version. Why include an inter-racial union? And it is here where the element of race comes in.
The characters played by James Marsden and Zoe Saldana are engaged and she is bringing him along to the funeral to meet her family, but more specifically her father for the first time. She is terribly nervous about making a good impression because they both love each other and she wants her father’s blessing. The difficulty I’m having here is, if miscegenation is so tolerated and accepted then why isn’t it more prevalent in films? And why the need to cast along the lines of race if inter-racial relationships can take place?
In a recent poll, 95% of 18 to 29 year olds approved of interracial dating and while mixed marriages are not nearly as common as same-race marriages, they do exist. So my question is, when are we going to see a movie like “Death at a Funeral” where the setting is integrally familial, set in the time of Saldana and Marsden’s characters? What I mean to ask is, when is there going to be a film about a normal family dealing with normal events, despite being of different races?
If filmmakers are welcome to showing inter-racial couples in pre-marriage situations, why haven’t they taken the steps to show these particular unions in a post-marriage light? And not in the common illustration where they face prejudice and discrimination, but in a socially accepted forum, if it is indeed so tolerated.
One theory is if it were all well and good, race jokes would be extinct. There would be no “cracker” name calling or “Flava Flav” references which in turn shows how poorly written and race-dependent these types of films are. Or are they afraid of alienating audiences? Think about it yourself. If you went into a film not knowing anything beforehand, and saw a mature couple of different races together, or a young white girl calling an elder black woman her aunt or vice versa and mixed characters in a setting such as a wedding or a funeral, would you be confused? Despite our approvals, the showcase of inter-racial relations would be surprising or shocking to most which implies that race-mixing is still a very taboo subject in society and for all the support that allegedly exists, there are still strong reservations about mixed raced couplings.
What disappoints me most of all, is that even though directors and producers have the power to create any world for their characters, they retreat to the same portrayals of race and race relations. I often wonder, especially when I see animated movies, why those in charge chose to create those characters. In the area of animation, you could build anything to your heart’s desire, but instead the choice is often a talking animal of some sort. Is there no creativity? And then people are awed by the unmatched success of “Avatar”. Why? I don’t know. James Cameron is a visionary. He created a new world, a new life. Anyone could have done the same, but they lack the imagination to produce what he has achieved.
In the end, while we may be accepting of another’s race and culture, it is still left to be seen whether we can truly welcome a mixed union as something normal and part of life. Until then, most of you will suffer through the race jokes and live in quiet denial of the truth until Hollywood decides they are brave enough to cast a white woman as a true love interest opposite Will Smith.
RIOT for Tolerance, Acceptance, Love and Creativity.
By Shastri Ramlogan
Once in a while, a film’s production inspires me to rethink my assumed philosophies on certain issues, and in the past, I have often caught myself off-guard with the resulting conclusions. One such film is the Hollywood version of “Death at a Funeral”.
In case you didn’t know, “Death at a Funeral” was originally a British film which was released in 2007, and I had the personal pleasure of seeing it by accident one night when I made a late trip to the movies with my friends. While the major consensus was unfavourable, I found it to be quite charming and hilarious so upon learning that an American remake was in the works, I was very interested in how the story would transform across the pond.
Now that the film has been finished and released into theaters this very weekend, marketing has been at its highest and for the first time, I noticed an incredibly overlooked aspect – the inclusion of race.
In the British version of the movie, the main cast was all white, something which is very common for many films. However, in the Hollywood version, the main cast is all black, except for the character played by white actor, James Marsden. Now again, this is not uncommon, and did not seem strange until a cast member explained in an interview that “the cast was built around Chris Rock” since he began developing the vehicle for himself.
Now for many people, there would be nothing wrong with that statement, but to me, it sounded like “Chris Rock is black, so the rest of the cast has to obviously be black as well”. Does anyone else find that somewhat disturbing and even racist? Because an actor is black, the rest of the cast has to automatically be of the same race? For the record, there have been many all black ensembles but the difference here is the inclusion of the white character. I found it especially significant since originally, the character was the same race as his spouse in the British version. Why include an inter-racial union? And it is here where the element of race comes in.
The characters played by James Marsden and Zoe Saldana are engaged and she is bringing him along to the funeral to meet her family, but more specifically her father for the first time. She is terribly nervous about making a good impression because they both love each other and she wants her father’s blessing. The difficulty I’m having here is, if miscegenation is so tolerated and accepted then why isn’t it more prevalent in films? And why the need to cast along the lines of race if inter-racial relationships can take place?
In a recent poll, 95% of 18 to 29 year olds approved of interracial dating and while mixed marriages are not nearly as common as same-race marriages, they do exist. So my question is, when are we going to see a movie like “Death at a Funeral” where the setting is integrally familial, set in the time of Saldana and Marsden’s characters? What I mean to ask is, when is there going to be a film about a normal family dealing with normal events, despite being of different races?
If filmmakers are welcome to showing inter-racial couples in pre-marriage situations, why haven’t they taken the steps to show these particular unions in a post-marriage light? And not in the common illustration where they face prejudice and discrimination, but in a socially accepted forum, if it is indeed so tolerated.
One theory is if it were all well and good, race jokes would be extinct. There would be no “cracker” name calling or “Flava Flav” references which in turn shows how poorly written and race-dependent these types of films are. Or are they afraid of alienating audiences? Think about it yourself. If you went into a film not knowing anything beforehand, and saw a mature couple of different races together, or a young white girl calling an elder black woman her aunt or vice versa and mixed characters in a setting such as a wedding or a funeral, would you be confused? Despite our approvals, the showcase of inter-racial relations would be surprising or shocking to most which implies that race-mixing is still a very taboo subject in society and for all the support that allegedly exists, there are still strong reservations about mixed raced couplings.
What disappoints me most of all, is that even though directors and producers have the power to create any world for their characters, they retreat to the same portrayals of race and race relations. I often wonder, especially when I see animated movies, why those in charge chose to create those characters. In the area of animation, you could build anything to your heart’s desire, but instead the choice is often a talking animal of some sort. Is there no creativity? And then people are awed by the unmatched success of “Avatar”. Why? I don’t know. James Cameron is a visionary. He created a new world, a new life. Anyone could have done the same, but they lack the imagination to produce what he has achieved.
In the end, while we may be accepting of another’s race and culture, it is still left to be seen whether we can truly welcome a mixed union as something normal and part of life. Until then, most of you will suffer through the race jokes and live in quiet denial of the truth until Hollywood decides they are brave enough to cast a white woman as a true love interest opposite Will Smith.
RIOT for Tolerance, Acceptance, Love and Creativity.
By Shastri Ramlogan
I would have never seen this int he movie. I guess that's why u are the movie man and i'm just the average person lol.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting read, very deep. Will keep it in my when I see the movie.
I'm bummed more people haven't commented or read this article. I was really hoping to hear other people's opinions on this issue. Thanks again for the comment, Chels. :)
ReplyDelete