Why White People Don't Like Black Movies

It's 2011, at Wayne State University. The classic black drama "Nothin' But a Man" is screened. And as it runs, the white people in the audience keep leaving, until only a handful are left at the end. Now this wasn't an audience of proles, these were artsy intelligentsia types, the sort of people who turn out for an event featuring celebrated film editor Richard Chew. It's safe to assume high education, and a preponderance of tolerant, liberal attitudes. And the film had been introduced by Chew as one that inspired his interest in film art and started him forth on his career. So what can explain the exodus?

I found the account of this occurrence here: http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/why-white-people-dont-like-black-movies

The writer at this site explains it as 'empathy failure,' basically an inability of white people to identify with and care about black characters. But while empathy failure doubtless occurs, I think white audiences are able to identify with black characters sometimes. Certain black characters, in certain situations, at least. For example, Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness," or Morgan Freeman in "Driving Miss Daisy," or, going back further, Sidney Potier in 'In the Heat of the Night." So I think it was something more. I can see 'empathy failure' making an audience a little bored, but I think there had to be something else to actually drive them out of the theater.

Does the empathy failure rise to acute distress levels when it's a 'true' black film, that is, with no central white characters at all?

Any other ideas as to what's going on?

 

And has absolutely nothing to do with Star War fanboys wanting to see a live interview with Richard Chew, and not wanting see a 45 year old back and white movie that has no aliens no spaceships and no special effects

 

Well, that would be another idea....

I don't know whose conception of the audience is more correct, mine or yours.

 

Cosby show was one of the most succesful comedies ever. Were there even any white characters? Whites will watch shows and movies with black characters if.theybdont suck..

 

Was it a good movie? What were the critic reviews?

 

I think this is 'bad question'. Let me rephrase it;

"Do white people dislike black movies beyond the ordinary expectation of one race typically favoring their own?"

Its assumed that white people would favor white movies just as its assumed that black people favor black movies. That in itself isn't remarkable.

 

I don't like "quote/unquote... BLACK MOVIES" because they always stereotype whites. Can't jump, can't dance, or how the cracka always keepin him down. The token white guys are always either some nerdy guy, or some wannabe gangsta that thinks he's black.


I have issues with the hip-hop/gangsta/thug lifestyle. I also realize that whites are just as much a part of that as blacks. That's why I don't think of myself as racist when I bash that culture, because all races are included in my disgust with it..


plus, my absolute favorite country singer is Darius Rucker (Hootie and the blowfish for the non-country music followers)

 

Empathy easy in one case, empathy failure in the other. That's sort of the stock answer. But I don't see that emptying the theater, once folks were there. Something was making those people more uncomfortable than just 'not being into the movie' would.

 

Now were're getting somewhere. You perceive attacks on your racial identity in 'black movies.' Interestingly, you lump together being stereotyped in rather mild ways (can't dance, can't jump) and in a serious way (the cracker is keeping folks down).

In all the scenes with whites in the 1964 "Nothing But A Man" the whites come off as racist. (From the POV of a workinig-class black man in 1964 Alabama, that was surely not an exaggerated stereotype.) White people who are never consciously racist can nonetheless feel acute discomfort from an identity attack when viewing 'their race' so depicted. THAT is what drove them out of the theatre, I think.

 

Thank you for your reply. The title of your thread is,
[h=2]"Why White People Don't Like Black Movies ".[/h]Yet, your lone example doesn't prove out your claim. It simply proves that its possible for whites to be offended/disinterested when viewing particular content. But then again, it would be quite easy to offer a film that would illicit the same response from blacks also. I submit to you that it would be much easier to produce movies that offended blacks more so than whites.

Respectfully,

 

Very possible. Its quite reasonable that if you are white you would prefer to not watch 'Black man good-White Bad' movies. Likewise, if you are black I assume that you wouldn't favor movies that depicted whites as squeaky clean models of perfection while depicting blacks as second rate grunge.
As an aside, if racism and discrimination are significant trespass one would think that the gravity of casting an accusation of that trespass would mirror the trespass. Can you imagine walking around your kids soccer practice and telling everyone that you suspect that the coach was molesting the girls on the team? And that the basis of that suspicion is derived from the most cavalier of perceptions and observations! It would be within societal norms to tell everyone around the soccer field that you suspected the coach of having miss-matched socks. Yet for a charge of molesting kids you would need proofs and a sensible course of action as to investigate.
The point is is that there is no attempt or any mechanism that constrains the volumes of charges of racism and discrimination being levied in this country.

Thanks again.

 

'Black man good-White Bad' is not a good description of "Nothing But A Man." It's an indie realistic aesthetic movie, that defiantly shows big flaws in it's main characters. It can offer some insight as to where some of those flaws come from, I think. If one is able to watch it.

There is a mechanism, called libel/slander law, to constrain baseless accusations against any particular person. It constrains calling the coach a child molester, and calling him a racist is similarly constrained, isn't it?

There is no constraint against general expression of opinion, eg, 'US society is oppressive of blacks' or 'Obama is a Marxist Islamist.' You're not arguing for that, are you?

 

You might read the essay that the OP cites. It's a movie industry commonplace that 'white people don't like black movies.' It's based on experience, and it drives production and casting decisions.

My interest here is not in proving 'white people don't like black movies, see how racist they are!' It's just in exploring that if we take it on that it's true, what is really going on? How does this sort of thing work, and what does it mean?

 

People respond to good movies. Face it- there are hundreds of movies that are made each year- most of them by 'white' producers/directors, most of them in the U.S. from a white perspective- probably 80% find no traction- no audience. Of the 20% that remain, only a few will be hits.

There are far fewer 'black' movies being made- and when I say 'black' movies- I mean from a black perspective. Lots of shows were made with black main stars- Sydney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy etc. Some are good- some are bad.

Buck and the Preacher from 1972 starred Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte- was a western about a black group of western emmigrants- and it did well with white audiences. Spike Lee has made several movies that have gained white audiences- "Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever" come to mind.

Reading the article you cite, I noticed two things. One the author didn't ask any of the white's why they were leaving- but instead choose to assume what their reason was. Secondly- as pointed out- the event was an interview with a famous editor- and the movie was screened afterwards to show what works influenced him- I have done the same thing myself- attended an event to hear an author speak and then ducked out when the movie started.

But the author didn't cite any of the movies that did find wider white audiences, like I mention above.

 

I dunno, I think partly it's marketing. If something like Transformers had a black cast, I think it would have done just as well. Movies in general tend to go LCD, in other words, the dumber it is, the better it does. Maybe if black movies had the budget of a Michael Bey flick, they'd do better.

The other thing is that it's kinda hard to do a mainstream black character without goring someone's ox. make them too strong, and the whites don't like it, make the hero too weak and he's a racist stereotype. I think that's why there was a long lead time into making a black disney princess -- no matter what they did, someone wasn't going to be happy. The artwork would be scrutinized (is the hair too nappy? not nappy enough?), the plot, everything about a mainstream release of a black disney princess movie would be checked to see if it was either too ethnic or too racist. Who wants the pressure to be perfect?

 

that's the same argument that now has a lot of bugs bunny cartoons banned. Look up "banned cartoons" and you'll see all sorts of BB toons that depict blacks in stereotypical ways. Big lips, lazy, dirt poor, etc.


Now, to use your exact words.....
From the POV of a workinig-class WHITE man in 1934 USA, that was surely not an exaggerated stereotype.

When blacks are depicted stereotypically = BAD
but apparently, when whites are depicted stereotypically = ok, because that's how blacks saw things.


I have no issues seeing either Will Smith lead a movie, or Leo DiCaprio lead a movie. If it's one I want to watch, I'll watch.

 

Oh, so it's simply a caricature to depict whites as humiliating blacks, pushing them around, and terrorizing and denying work to any black individual who dared to talk back a little, in Alabama in 1964?

 

I responded to the title of your thread and not to the example that you cited.
Yes, there are libel and slander laws. Surely you don't believe that they are an effective tool or a usable law against charges of racism? Of the countless billions of claims of racism being levied broadly and specifically how often do you see an effective lawsuit against those charges? If you are of color, you pretty much have full license to accuse anyone of racism without legal repercussions. And man-o-man is that milked to death.
I myself am considered a hater and racist. I'm right wing and have used the N-word here and there in private conversation. Then again I have voluinteered in the black community more than most blacks have. I have kissed old black ladies on the forehead and worked on their houses. Went to N.O. after Katrina, staffed relief distribution centers etc. Heck, I have had utility bills sent to my house on behalf of elderly blacks. And yet I'm a genocidal racist. Go figure.

Respectfully,

 

no message.

 

I applaud the nice things you do, and deplore the nasty. People are quite the mish-mash of beliefs and motivations, aren't they?

 

You are correct. You say that people are mish-mash. This is the default human condition and is assumed. The problem lies in the conclusion based on faulty logic. For instance, do law abiding citizens ever break the law? Sure they do. But that doesn't make them criminals or lawbreakers per se. What people want to do is when the see Mahatma Gandhi driving his car and do 36 mph in a 35 mph speed zone they want to call him a criminal to the exclusion of any other qualities. He is a criminal and nothing else according to the faulty logic of others.

Respectfully,

 

You speak most reasonably. I must wonder how you got people to call you the bad names you mentioned.

I suspect it may have had something to do with defining your interests with those of a particular 'racial identity group?'

 

As an aside, the definition of 'racist' is so broad and encomassing that I suppose that even aborted white babies are guilty of 'racism' somehow some way. One thing is for certain, and that there exists in this country a sizable contingent of white persons that are active participants in the cause for racial equality of blacks. They are whites who are black activists who speak, spend and devote much time to that cause with much zealousness. And what do they get? They get accusations of racism hurled at them around the clock and how much they suck because they are white! There is no mechanism to confine or constraint in this mud slinging to who it is actually applicable. Its like some guy helping pushing your stalled car and you sticking your head out and yelling at him for being a piece of $%#@. Go figure.

Respectfully,

 

Now were're getting less reasonable. What's this, some attempt to engender emotional outrage at the unfairness of it all?

I'm certainly sorry whenever we all can't get along.

 

Make a good movie and people will like it. Make a bad movie and people will walk out. Friday is one of my favorite movies of all time. But you couldn't pay me to sit through a Tyler Perry movie.