Where are the women of color?

As much as I deplore the secondary status that is generally imparted on actors and actresses of color, I do have to admit that there has been huge progress over the years. It's not that I accept the roughly 7% immersion of people of color in Hollywood, just that it far exceeds the perhaps 1% or less that was Hollywood just 3 decades or so ago.

But often I have to admit that I do not focus on actresses of color as much as the men. The fact is that male actors of color have found more success as Hollywood painfully slowly realizes that audiences aren't concerned as much with color as quality of acting. In just the last 2 decades we have seen Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Samuel Jackson, and a handful of others gain leading roles in big budget movies. At the same time women of color have barely gotten recognition.

It took some 50 years to go from Dorothy Dandridge to Halle Berry. And even with that, Berry is hardly in the position to pick and choose her films as other Oscar winners routinely do. There just aren't roles being provided to her. Kind of like how the proposed spin-off of James Bond, her Jinx character was supposed to receive just died on the vine. Name another Oscar winning actress' highly popular character that was proposed to get a leading film and was just forgotten about. I can't.

Of course there is Oprah Winfrey. But while she has more than enough power to appear in various roles, that generally has come to fruition due to her ability to fund her own projects. Her vast popularity may be the kiss of life to consumer products and recreation, but Hollywood is indifferent to her massive appeal.

There is also Queen Latifah. After decades of work honing her skill on television and small roles she has become a serious star. Yet serious roles are denied her, likely both due to the color of her skin and the fact she wears a dress size larger than 5 models put together. That's not fair, it would probably take more models as they can be stacked together like toothpicks but you get my point.

When I think about it, there just aren't any roles being given to women of color. That is unless they can pass as White. Which is not something they have control over, it's something that Hollywood seeks out. Take Carmen Diaz. How often is her Hispanic heritage ever spoken about? How many roles is she ever placed in that gives attention to any ethnicity to her?

I suppose my point is simply that there is more to the failure of Hollywood to see the talent before them. It is willful and it denies audiences of an experience that might be far superior to what they are getting. That alone just irritates me from time to time.

Forbes recognizes the obvious about Will Smith and people of color

Oh how shocking. Will Smith is the most bankable entertainer in Hollywood. With the record for the most movies grossing over $100 million in a row, who could have guessed?

Honestly I am not amazed. But I really hope that the executives in Hollywood are paying attention to the numbers. Because it flies in the face of the notion that

“American audiences want to only watch people similar to themselves.”

That is the industry code words for the functional equivalent of “White only” - to me - which is present in the overwhelming number of television shows, movies, and even work behind the camera.

In fact, according to Forbes, the top of the Star Currency list includes Denzel Washington at number 8. On the Celebrity 100 list the start is with Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods. That list goes on to include Beyonce Knowles and Jay-z in the top 10.

Yet for all of that, and the many other people of color that made each of the lists, Hollywood avoids us. Which is odd for an industry that is best known for copying anything that is successful to death.

Just look at the 30 remakes that are going to hit screens or announced so far in 2009. Look at all the copycat stories that fill the television screens and theaters; they even copycat success from other countries (Life on Mars, Leverage, Bangkok Dangerous, ect.). And there is hardly any escape from some form of reality programming on every network including cable television. There are few original ideas in the industry, especially over the last decade or so. Except if it involves people of color. Then there are really none.

Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel Jackson, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy are the key male African Americans that fill screens and bring in revenue. Halle Berry and Queen Latifah are the Black female counterparts. Several of them have been doing so for decades. Yet Hollywood ignores the majority of Black actors, preferring to fill the ranks of new actors with virtually only White faces. And it’s not because there is a lack of a potential pool of actors to select from.

Television shows like the Cosby Show, A Different World, My Wife and Kids, The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire dominated the small screen. And once they were off the air nothing even close replaced them. The various networks didn’t even try to copy the shows.

It’s not that I expect every show to have people of color in them. I don’t want to see a television schedule of crap that is made to have people of color fill the screens and then be rejected with a casual ‘well we tried.’ But to honestly expect that in the 21st century, as people are declaring the era of “post-racial America”, we see almost the same number of African Americans, Latino/Hispanics, Asians and so on in any medium you wish to chose as were around in the 70’s. It’s deplorable.

Perhaps I wouldn’t get as upset if other aspects of the media were better. But news media still loves to depict people of color as violent and guilty of any wrong-doing or lack of success whenever a video is needed. And it is conspicuously remiss in reporting any news event that identifies people of color as victims of crimes via police brutality or other circumstance.

Just look around for the coverage of Oscar Grant, Adolph Grimes, or Robbie Tolan. All you will see is continuing coverage of Casey Anthony and the Petersen case in Ohio. Or how about the last time you saw national attention of a Black child that was missing?

But at least Forbes is taking notice that America loves it’s celebrities and entertainers of color as much as anyone else. Hopefully one day Forbes might just get involved in entertainment and things will improve. Or the racially blind execs in Hollywood will be replaced by open minded people. If only.

Sean Combs: A Raisin in the Sun - 1.30.2008.1

Sean Combs is many things. Grandstanding, self-aggrandizing, successful, lavish, intelligent, somewhat talented, and thoughtful. As you can tell by my description of the personas Sean “Puffy” "P.Diddy” Combs evokes mixed emotions in me.

I respect his drive and proven ability as a business man. I dislike the rap music and most of the clothing lines he has promoted and created a minor empire off of. He both exceeds and dwells firmly within the stereotypes of a Black man in hip hop. Perhaps neither is the real persona that his close friends and family know, but I can only go by what he presents to the world.

In a way I also admire the determination and self-confidence that Mr. Combs has. He has jumped into several different fields of the entertainment industry. Most have met with general success and moderate to high acclaim. Even the stuff you may not like is balanced by the work and effort he has place in other endeavors. Because of that alone you have to respect what he has done.

But all things are not equal. Sean Combs may be a decent hip hop artist, and a better producer, but he is hardly what might be called an accomplished actor. I in fact would barely call him an actor at all. His lack of training, minimal experience, and pairing with far better entertainers have never worked to his advantage. Suffice to say, were it not for his success in other entertainment and business genres he would never be in a major motion picture like Monster’s Ball.

It is that other than acting success that has given him the title actor. But I will give him the fact that he has tried to grow in his ability. His work in the theatre is part of that growth. The mixed reviews he received for his portrayal of the Sidney Poitier renowned role of Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun show that he is far from ready for such a prominent role.

“Then there's Combs, a music star who has appeared in a couple of movies but has no real stage experience. It shows. He has a tendency to act by protruding his lips, but seldom does much with the rest of his face, body, or voice. More importantly, he doesn't have a firm grasp on Walter's dreams; a major part of the plot concerns Walter's desire to buy a liquor store, but his emotional state doesn't seem to change whether he just desires it, sees the opportunity slip away, or experiences the final result of his attempts. The rest of Walter's major moments receive similarly ineffective treatment.”

Yet he brings in an audience that is new to the theatre. Many of today’s youth are unfamiliar with the stage, or the many rich stories that are found there. The stage is not something you can listen to on an Ipod, or be immersed in on a laptop, and thus has impacted few as compared to the past. This is most notably true among African Americans and minorities.

It’s a true shame. The youth of today have no idea what it’s like to have seen Dreamgirls live on stage. They love the movie, but no matter the emotional power of watching Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson on the big screen, seeing it live is superior. At least that is the comparison I can make having seen the live play in my younger days, and the movie.

Couple that with the relative lack of knowledge by many in the hip hop generation of great actors and stories and I must admit a cringe escapes me. Sidney Poitier is a phenomenal actor, who rose up in a time (roughly a short 40 years ago) when America ‘suddenly’ realized that African Americans can do more than stand agape in the background. [I do NOT mean that to diminish the many Black actors that preceded the 1960’s. They made possible every actor after them, like Denzel Washington, Jennifer Hudson and everyone else. But I am commenting on the standard roles that America limited most of their performances to, wasting the talent that was available to the nation merely because of prejudice and racism.]

The rich stories that can be found outside of jump-scene, frenetic, CGI dominated, action oriented films of today are virtually beyond count. The best of which have often become not just one movie but several. And the actors in which often become the strongest and most famous actors we all recognize on site, or by a mere utterance of a line.

While this may all seem like a digression, it is not. My point of all this is that A Raisin in the Sun is now coming to a broadcast television near you. On February 25th, ABC will be broadcasting the televised version of the play. It will star Sean Combs in the title role, and will also have Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Latahn and others reprising the roles they had when the play was revived recently.

This is a powerful story that delves deep into the lives and hopes of a Black family in Chicago. The fact that the timeline takes place in the past is irrelevant to its ultimate meaning. So I am happy that Sean Combs took on the role of executive producer to get it into a format that the youth of today can connect to. Sadly though the titular role is that of Walter Lee, which Combs portrays.

The good is that this will add diversity to a generation that has been fed films like Teeth, Soul Plane, and the Honeymooners (miserable remake of a television show). One can only hope it will inspire some to look for the original motion picture, and delve into the movies like In the Heat of the Night, that starred Sidney Poitier and other actors of that time. Perhaps it will be the first step of some on a career that will be grand and rewarding.

"Sometimes people come to a place and don't expect to get the message. This generation, they come for entertainment ... then they realize, 'oh man, this movie is really touching. It's making me really appreciate my family."' - Sean Combs

The bad is of course what I mentioned before. Sean Combs is not an actor, or at least of any serious quality. He does not deserve this role, on television or in a play. His fame may drive viewership and ticket sales, but he isn’t worthy. Maybe he will be one day, with far more training and a lot more work in less significant roles.

I hope that his involvement does not spew a trend, even more than has existed for some time, of rappers and hip hop artists that believe they have talent in every entertainment field because they are popular in one genre. It’s fatiguing to see the pitiful attempts of the majority that have already tried to cross over. Few are capable to any degree. And fewer are willing to take the time and effort that Will Smith, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J and one or 2 others have strived to do to achieve the recognition they deserve.

So is this a positive or negative? Should we be happy or upset with Sean Combs? Both. Like all his endeavors he provides a living visage of what yin and yang can be. Is ability may be lacking, but his spirit is strong. He may be unqualified for this role but it will draw attention and hopefully inspire. He will extend the life of this story, and the scope of a generation in what they consider art and worthwhile.

In the end we all will make our own decision on February 25th. I can only hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Rating Rapper in Movies

There seems to be an outbreak of rappers invading Hollywood these days. Beyond my own deep dislike of almost any rap since ~1987, this phenomenon is startling to me.


I’d rate rappers in movies as follows:

Wil Smith - Has natural talent and has honed their acting abilities through years of training and experience. Commands respect of peers and capable of the lead in $100 million blockbusters.

LL Cool J - Has a lesser degree of talent. Has trained and gained experience over years of work. Can maintain quality supporting roles in significant production films. Tends to work in a single niche genre.

The rest of the bunch - May or may not have little/no talent. Has no experience at acting, and has bypassed trying to learn for quick money. Generally will be minor support in lower quality films, or occasionally lead/co-lead with C tier or less actors. Movies tend to exploit the rap image projected in music videos.

Of these types it seems that the last category is gaining more ground. Not that skill or talent has improved, just the economics. By that I mean that a low budget film (10-20 million is what Wil Smith is paid to be IN a movie) starring the latest video, not yet in jail for stupid actions, flavor can return 3x or more on investment. If more than one of these bottom tier, bail kids is involved the numbers increase dramatically. Why? Because they attract the rap/hip-hop crowd, whites who want to buy into the black experience that’s for sale, and the black community that says "We must support black films, even if they are garbage."


Of course this only motivates Hollywood to continue to pump out poorly written (slang instead of words - to be cool), poorly plotted (Why/How is this stuff in the movie happening?), Horribly acted (Would it be the same if Denzel or Samuel did it?) low budget trash (would anyone see this movie if it was exactly the same but had white actors? Would it even be made if that was the case?).


Well perhaps I will be surprised and find talent under the rock that is rap music, but I’m sure it will only happen after rap is replaced by the new music craze, just as rap did to rock.


Oh, by the way, Queen Latifah is on the LL scale (Oscar or not she gets to make movies like TAXI with jimi fallon) and she spent years getting good doing TV (like LL and Smith). Tupac had promise but got killed for stupidity (his lifestyle and the east/west thing). Janet and Whitney are singers.


As a side note I have a rating system:

A movie will proportionately decrease in quality with the addition of a rapper(s), and will exponentially drop in intellect based on the number of rapper(s) in it.