Hollywood wants to envision itself like Rudy Huxtable’s playgroup – they want their actors and actresses to be Asian, black, redheaded or blond. They want the illusion of diversity, tolerance and open- mindedness, even though they’re much less ideologically diverse than your average suburban megachurch. As Hollywood grapples with its “diversity problem,” they are aspiring to add minorities to major roles.
That still misses the point.
Yes, black actors and actresses should have more roles. (Take a note from Hamilton the musical, guys.) But, if you have a Hollywood cast that looks different and THINKS EXACTLY THE SAME, that’s not real diversity. Chris Rock pointed it out quite nicely last night during his opening monologue.
Now, I remember one night I was at a fundraiser for President Obama, a lot of you were there, and, you know, it’s me and all of Hollywood. And all the, you know, it’s all of us there and there’s about four black people there, me, let’s see, Quincy Jones, Russell Simmons, Questlove, you know, the usual suspects, right? And every black actor that wasn’t working. Needless to say, Kevin Hart was not there, okay? So, at some point, you get to take a picture with the President.
And as they’re setting up the picture, you get a little moment with the president, I’m like, “Mr. President, you see all these writers and producers and actors? They don’t hire black people. And they’re the nicest white people on earth. They’re liberals.”So, in their absolute thirst for different varieties of skin tone, they miss out on the one type of diversity that would make it truly interesting: ideological diversity. What if, for example, white Hollywood liberals aren’t the “nicest white people on earth?” Since Rock and his friends probably don’t ever come in contact with conservatives, they’d never know. Last night, you witnessed a rare instances when they did encounter a conservative, and that’s when their ‘open-mindedness’ really kicks in.
That’s what made America cringe as they watched the Oscars last night. It wasn’t a joke that fell flat, it was a moment that revealed just how unwilling Hollywood is to embrace anyone who thinks differently.
17 comments:
Does a high yaller count as black?
Excellent point.
Think of how many movies or TV shows have 1 and only 1 black character and that character is invariably played by Morgan Freeman or Danny (I wouldn't have a career otherwise) Glover.
Back when, they were called tokens. They may not be called that, but they still are.
Look at commercials. Commercials aimed at blacks often have no white people while those aimed at whites must have 1 black (also 1 Hispanic, 1 Oriental to the point it's like a race version of an old WWII infantry squad).
Look at the news. How many black correspondents or, especially, anchors?
America may have come a long way, baby, but the Left sure hasn't.
Long term success in show biz requires a huge supporting staff, a network of writers, casting agents, directors, other actors, ties throughout the industry. You can't just show up and demand "more jobs for blacks." The bigs have that: Denzel, Sam Jackson, Will Smith. Also, there are fewer and fewer roles even for the bigs. Look at De Niro and a lot of other "top" actors taking parts in crap movies to make a buck. Also, it would help if the "black narrative" (which depresses and/or bores the crap out of everyone at this point, whether they want to admit it or not) didn't follow you around wherever you go. Like, imagine if there wasn't a nagging obligation to make you say something "funny" and "ironic" about slavery vis a vis the conditions in the movie, or register the requisite complaint about "white people," or talk about your stereotypical ghetto upbringing, or work the word "bitches" into the convo. Etc. etc. etc. etc. zzzz.
I have to admit I didn't really get the joke which might account for the crickets, but there was no applause even before she started talking. Could somebody please give this gorgeous kid a good line to say? Is this asking too much??
Oh! I just now suddenly understood the comments to this video on YouTube. It hit me like a flash. There I was struggling and not comprehending, not comprehending, not comprehending BLAM comprehending. Just like that.
That's how comprehension comes sometimes like it's high on PCP or C8H8, a drug known as KateHate.
*ding* Those are the people who like the Oscar awards show. They value the show. Who would have thought of that? Naturally, they're defensive.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Yesterday I encountered one person. This person asked me if I intended to watch the Oscar award show tonight. I didn't even know the show will be aired. I heard about the racial imbalance Cointreau versy but that's all. An odd question. Making conversation. Current event.
"Nah."
"Me neither."
"They ought to just get up there and fellate each other."
"Ha ha. Total circle jerk."
That dude is about 25, I'm guessing. He has long stringy hair exactly like a hippy. But he's dressed in a lab coat. His shoes black leather and shined. The dichotomy is a bit comical.
Know why the Academy awards piss me off? Because when anyone wins one or even when an actor is nominated then their name becomes fair game for NYT crossword clues. You end up with all these seriously bullshit names useful for their bizarre aggregation of vowels and stuffed everywhere for fill. And they are legitimate. Because of the award.
No award, no crossword legitimacy. Also true if their television show endures long enough. Their silly @ss actor name becomes crossword fodder. And we all have to learn who all these stupid sh|ts are with weird names either first or last, and now even their children.
And that's okay until you have two crossing or three stuffed into a corner and that corner is necessary to get at the theme.
It pisses me off. It ruins the puzzle. Because at the point of 2nd Hollywood name in the puzzle where others rejoice because they love all that crap and I despair because I hate it, I go, "That's 2." Then on the third I go, and this happens every time, I yell to cosmos, PUBLISH THIS IN THE T.V. GUIDE ALREADY WHYDONTCHYA?
If I wanted entertainer's names all over the place I'd go to T.V. guide. The names are puzzle constructor copouts. This is confirmed. I read their discussions among themselves online. They read industry magazines pouring over them for names. They're more interested in Hollywood and entertainment names than they are in the shows. They stick the weird names in their crossword compilers and they're off to races and we're stuck with them. Forever. An accumulative mess.
I had to research Dash and the inside joke. Kudos for Rock putting her on stage.
Mmmmm, Stacey Dash. That is a hot woman right there.
Liberals are so nice...... until their inner Nazi appears.
Liberals are so nice, with the big mansions... why won't they open their doors to the poor?
Dash is much hotter than the other 2 stars of Clueless. Well, one of them is dead but anorexic and drug addled while alive.
Brittany Murphy. That one had a future until she did herself in with the junk. Or somebody did. Very mysterioso. (I just re-read Pump House Gang over the weekend.) She could have been great. That was The Role for Alicia Silverstone. It's been downhill ever since.
I wasn't aware Murphy's death was suspicious.
ndspinelli said...
I wasn't aware Murphy's death was suspicious.
Hmmm, a mystery is afoot. Not a hand.
Actually. Murphy when Murphy died and I'm going off memory here, her toxicology report showed she had heavy metals in her system and that somehow it was consistent with her drug use, which led to pneumonia and anemia. Her mother found her in her bathroom. Five months later, her husband Simon Monjack also died in that same bathroom and was also found by Murphy's mother. A very odd set of circumstances. Monjack's family asked for a post mortem and found almost the same cause of death issues that Murphy had, but surprisingly both Murphy's and Monjack's causes of death were considered 'natural'. Bizarre.
Thanks, Meth.
I think what Dash did was courageous.
chickelit said...
I think what Dash did was courageous.
She took the best opportunity to literally shit on their parade and it was delicious and what's even funnier is that Chris Rock facilitated it because it was all planned. The lulz, it hurts.
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