Old Movies And Racism

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NHB7

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Mods I understand a near immediate thread deletion when this thread spirals toward something ugly quick. But my question is honest.

I have a question for African Americans. Can you enjoy movies from pre-1960s?

I know this question sounds stupid, but I must admit that if I was Aftican American, I feel like it would be hard to watch a movie in which I knew probably all the actors are racist, and if there is a black actor it will be an obnoxious stereotype or painfully disparaging.
 
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shadow_priest_x said:
I don't think Gone with the Wind is racist.
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It's not necessarily, but you know they were probably racist. Like if they got on the bus, they probably were just as racist as the rest of White America.

It's like if ISIS made a movie today as great as Gone as the Wind, I'd still hate it because the actors are fucking ISIS.
 
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shadow_priest_x said:
I don't think Gone with the Wind is racist.
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Here is a great example. To Clark Gables credit, he nearly quit Gone With The Wind because the studio had white and colored bathrooms. But that's the point, granted it was the times, but the times were racist. It's hard to watch a movie when you know the producers hate your race.
 
NHB7 said:
It's not necessarily, but you know they were probably racist. Like if they got on the bus, they probably were just as racist as the rest of White America.

It's like if ISIS made a movie today as great as Gone as the Wind, I'd still hate it because the actors are fucking ISIS.
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That seems like a jump to a conclusion.

But in any case, people act like any movie that portrays the Old South in a way in which the white people aren't horrible monsters is racist.
 
NHB7 said:
Here is a great example. To Clark Gables credit, he nearly quit Gone With The Wind because the studio had white and colored bathrooms. But that's the point, granted it was the times, but the times were racist. It's hard to watch a movie when you know the producers hate your race.
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I can understand that. Though it's also worth mentioning that Hattie McDaniel won an Oscar for her role, making her the first black woman to do so.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
That seems like a jump to a conclusion.

But in any case, people act like any movie that portrays the Old South in a way in which the white people aren't horrible monsters is racist.
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Is it a massive jump to conclusion? The law had separate fountains, schools, restaurants, drinking fountains and bathrooms at the time. Lynchings still occurred. Police still used fire hoses to spray blacks who organized. It was pretty racist back then.
 
NHB7 said:
Is it a massive jump to conclusion? The law had separate fountains, schools, restaurants, drinking fountains and bathrooms at the time. Lynchings still occurred. Police still used fire hoses to spray blacks who organized. It was pretty racist back then.
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It's a jump to a conclusion to act like the producers were themselves racist because they were simply operating within the system of the time.

I'm not saying "separate but equal" wasn't racist. It certainly was. But as you say, those were the times. You can't blame every individual person for simply existing within that climate.
 
NHB7 said:
It's not necessarily, but you know they were probably racist. Like if they got on the bus, they probably were just as racist as the rest of White America.

It's like if ISIS made a movie today as great as Gone as the Wind, I'd still hate it because the actors are fucking ISIS.
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Very true. The woman who played Mammy won a Oscar I believe but wasn't even invited to the show.
 
CM 4 said:
Very true. The woman who played Mammy won a Oscar I believe but wasn't even invited to the show.
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That's incorrect. Her acceptance speech:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, fellow members of the motion picture industry and honored guests: This is one of the happiest moments of my life, and I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of their awards, for your kindness. It has made me feel very, very humble; and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel, and may I say thank you and God bless you.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
That's incorrect. Her acceptance speech:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, fellow members of the motion picture industry and honored guests: This is one of the happiest moments of my life, and I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of their awards, for your kindness. It has made me feel very, very humble; and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel, and may I say thank you and God bless you.
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I heard that from a Nas song a long time ago. Lol

My mistake, she wasn't allowed to go to the premiere.
 
CM 4 said:
I heard that from a Nas song a long time ago. Lol

My mistake, she wasn't allowed to go to the premiere.
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An interesting excerpt from Wiki:

The Twelfth Academy Awards took place at the Coconut Grove Restaurant of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. It was preceded by a banquet in the same room. Louella Parsons, an American gossip columnist, wrote about Oscar night, February 29, 1940:

"Hattie McDaniel earned that gold Oscar by her fine performance of 'Mammy' in Gone with the Wind. If you had seen her face when she walked up to the platform and took the gold trophy, you would have had the choke in your voice that all of us had when Hattie, hair trimmed with gardenias, face alight, and dress up to the queen's taste, accepted the honor in one of the finest speeches ever given on the Academy floor.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
It's a jump to a conclusion to act like the producers were themselves racist because they were simply operating within the system of the time.

I'm not saying "separate but equal" wasn't racist. It certainly was. But as you say, those were the times. You can't blame every individual person for simply existing within that climate.
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If North Korea makes a great movie next year, do you just check it out and do your best to give the benefit of the doubt that the producers are probably cool? Or do you enter the theater skeptically and as a result, enjoy the movie less?
 
NHB7 said:
If North Korea makes a great movie next year, do you just check it out and do your best to give the benefit of the doubt that the producers are probably cool? Or do you enter the theater skeptically and as a result, enjoy the movie less?
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If I was black, I'd probably hate all white people and think that they're all servants of Satan. But since I'm white, and also Southern-born, my view on the South at that time is a bit more nuanced.
 
.....of course only black people should be offended by racism.
 
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