Don't Underestimate the Force
A couple of weeks ago, someone (not sure who it was who did it first) managed to uncover this clip of Carl Sagan talking about how Star Wars was too white way back in the 70s and I thought it was remarkable. Sagan delivers his message with a very calm intelligence that was way ahead of its time in America (and how sad that is!)
I was a child of the 80s but I didn't really start questioning why the majority of the films (and t.v. shows with only a couple of notable exceptions) back then featured primarily white actors even though that isn't what my community looked like. Back then, if you had one main character that was not white, like Ernie Hudson in Ghostbusters, this was considered pretty much mind blowing progressive. I'm not sure why this didn't strike me as strange at the time but what it was suggesting on a very deep level is that the experiences of white people are the only ones that matter and are worth showing, exploring, and devoting energy and money to. If you can't find yourself in a story, then you won't feel that story was meant for you. If you can't find yourself in any stories...then it must seem a lot like a whole force or system set against you.
I think we've made some progress with this though we still have a great ways to go. One of the things that has probably helped is having a lot of great international films come through because you can't really watch a film like Parasite and then think that most of American box office hits can even compare. But, I think it's also really important to have conversations about what still needs to change in American cinema so that all voices are represented and heard-so that people of color are represented as directors, writers, actors, actresses, cinematographers, editors, and more.
There are a growing number of people (look at Texas and Nashville) who are so afraid of discussing racism and are so wiling to be a force of white supremacy that they have banned talking about it in schools. (They seem so terrified that white children will feel bad that they'd rather continue the racism that exists for all of the other kids). They won't even have the conversation. There are also quite a few people who have convinced themselves that considering this topic (truly considering it) is still too radical for them and gets in the way of them actually enjoying all of the levels of racism they've grown to feel comfortable with as it has been steadily normalized for them. They just want to enjoy their popcorn and their sleazy cinema-is that too much to ask?
But, when we don't ask these questions about not only what we're watching (or reading or buying) then we aren't really paying attention to what we are consuming in any way and what we are actually supporting. So, let's continue to ask those questions. They might not be easy but I'd like to think humanity is worth it.
We might not all be connected to the film industry but we can make choices that support cinema that represents all stories.
Here's that clip:
www.themarysue.com/carl-sagan-star-wars-too-white/
**All photos are copyrighted**
Don't Underestimate the Force
A couple of weeks ago, someone (not sure who it was who did it first) managed to uncover this clip of Carl Sagan talking about how Star Wars was too white way back in the 70s and I thought it was remarkable. Sagan delivers his message with a very calm intelligence that was way ahead of its time in America (and how sad that is!)
I was a child of the 80s but I didn't really start questioning why the majority of the films (and t.v. shows with only a couple of notable exceptions) back then featured primarily white actors even though that isn't what my community looked like. Back then, if you had one main character that was not white, like Ernie Hudson in Ghostbusters, this was considered pretty much mind blowing progressive. I'm not sure why this didn't strike me as strange at the time but what it was suggesting on a very deep level is that the experiences of white people are the only ones that matter and are worth showing, exploring, and devoting energy and money to. If you can't find yourself in a story, then you won't feel that story was meant for you. If you can't find yourself in any stories...then it must seem a lot like a whole force or system set against you.
I think we've made some progress with this though we still have a great ways to go. One of the things that has probably helped is having a lot of great international films come through because you can't really watch a film like Parasite and then think that most of American box office hits can even compare. But, I think it's also really important to have conversations about what still needs to change in American cinema so that all voices are represented and heard-so that people of color are represented as directors, writers, actors, actresses, cinematographers, editors, and more.
There are a growing number of people (look at Texas and Nashville) who are so afraid of discussing racism and are so wiling to be a force of white supremacy that they have banned talking about it in schools. (They seem so terrified that white children will feel bad that they'd rather continue the racism that exists for all of the other kids). They won't even have the conversation. There are also quite a few people who have convinced themselves that considering this topic (truly considering it) is still too radical for them and gets in the way of them actually enjoying all of the levels of racism they've grown to feel comfortable with as it has been steadily normalized for them. They just want to enjoy their popcorn and their sleazy cinema-is that too much to ask?
But, when we don't ask these questions about not only what we're watching (or reading or buying) then we aren't really paying attention to what we are consuming in any way and what we are actually supporting. So, let's continue to ask those questions. They might not be easy but I'd like to think humanity is worth it.
We might not all be connected to the film industry but we can make choices that support cinema that represents all stories.
Here's that clip:
www.themarysue.com/carl-sagan-star-wars-too-white/
**All photos are copyrighted**