WEEKEND ACTUALS: WTM (17.96m), Elysium (13.69m), Planes (13.39m), KA2 (13.33m), Percy (8.75m)

[Ozymandias]

Kinda related, but its weird how showing a black man with a white woman in like a major Hollywood movie, or any media for that matter, is still so rare. It feels like one of the few taboos left. 

 

I think most people just simply don't care and the ones that are concerned about it have no real reason other than "just because"

[Jack Nevada]

I think most people just simply don't care and the ones that are concerned about it have no real reason other than "just because"

I was talking about movies, and how it just never happens in them. Also look at the shitstrom that Cheerios commercial started.

Edited August 19, 2013 by Jack Nevada

[Talkie]

I was talking about movies, and how it just never happens in them. Also look at the shitstrom that Cheerios commercial started.

 

That Cheerios commercial is innocuous but the comments about it were vile. Anyone who needs proof of how much racism exists in this society should Google news stories about that ad and read the responses from the general public. It was like a digital Klan rally. 

 

There have been a number of movies where a Black man was paired up wit a White woman for some plot-driven purpose, but the relationships were always kept strictly platonic no matter how close the characters became. That's the plot of a whole slew of Will Smith, Eddie Murphy and Denzel Washington films. It is such a common thing that it's expected.

 

At least Black men don't always die in action movies anymore. That was the Jim Brown Rule: If you see a Black guy, you know he's gonna die. Usually near the end, saving the White hero and motivating him to seek revenge. Jim Brown was the Sean Bean of his day.

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

Kinda related, but its weird how showing a black man with a white woman in like a major Hollywood movie, or any media for that matter, is still so rare. It feels like one of the few taboos left. 

I think Will Smith has spoken about it and said there's a feeling from studio execs that casting him opposite a black actress in something like Hitch, there was a concern it would be viewed as a "black movie" and that would limit its box office appeal. Like if they want him to have a black girlfriend/wife in a historical thing or an action movie where the woman is in it for ten minutes, that's fine, but something that is more focused on the love story, studios want to hedge their bets or broaden the audience, so they figure if he's with Eva Mendes it will get the biggest audience with the least amount of objections. In Hancock, I'm sure the story would have worked the same way if the actors had been the same race, but the rare time Will Smith is cast with a white actress as his love interest and the story ends the way it does, is...interesting. You can tell in Hollywood there's a comfort level in portraying things a certain way.

[kayumanggi]

So THE WORLD'S END is the best reviewed wide release this summer? Wow.

 

Shouldn't they increase that 1400 theater count? This could be a huge crowd pleaser.

[Talkie]

So THE WORLD'S END is the best reviewed wide release this summer? Wow.

 

Shouldn't they increase that 1400 theater count? This could be a huge crowd pleaser.

 

 

TWE is at 93% on RT with just 57 reviews. Wait til it gets well over a hundred before counting those chickens. And it's not as if reviews count for much in terms of box office potential, as we know all too well. If they did, MOS would have tapped out under $100M and Fruitvale Station (94%, 135 reviews counted) would be raking in the cash. 

[baumer]

Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz were also well reviewed. That doesnt translate into big bucks. Theres a limited audience for those films. As for the issue about Hollywood not wanting to limit its audience by making it feel like a "black" film...you cant blame them for that. Hedging your bets is good for business. And Hollywood is a very very big business.

[Jack Nevada]

It is still wrong that if you pair a white man with a black actress nobody cares, but god forbid if its the other way round. Thats why it never happens. I guess men feel threatened by it or something. 

[kayumanggi]

TWE is at 93% on RT with just 57 reviews. Wait til it gets well over a hundred before counting those chickens. And it's not as if reviews count for much in terms of box office potential, as we know all too well. If they did, MOS would have tapped out under $100M and Fruitvale Station (94%, 135 reviews counted) would be raking in the cash. 

 

Undeniably, it is still a good sign. But I agree, RT doesn't equal good box office runs all the time.

[Cmasterclay]

Eva Mendes wasn't supposed to play that part in Hitch at all, but as said earlier, it had to be changed because the original actress was white, and studio execs weren't down with that. It's one thing seeing black couples in a "black" movie, like baumer said, that makes business sense, as bad as it sounds. But I don't understand why in action movies and normal comedies and movies that appeal to largely white people, there isn't more interracial couples. I'm a white guy and I've dated way, way more black girls than white girls, and I wouldn't doubt that I will marry a black woman, so it sucks. I wish there was more interracial couples in movies. 

[Jandrew]

Kinda related, but its weird how showing a black man with a white woman in like a major Hollywood movie, or any media for that matter, is still so rare. It feels like one of the few taboos left. 

 

I live in SC, the last place you think you'd see that, but like I can't go anywhere now without seeing interracial couples, especially my college. Its more common than people think, hell I'm one, and I know why we don't see them, but I mean its Hollywood, but I do hope things start changing. I hate the cop outs of pairing a black with a latina and a white with an asian. They all should be able to pair with the other, more blacks date whites than hispanics, and whites date more hispanics than asians. Older crowds, the one who usually still have problems, don't even go to the movies as much, so stop trying to please them. The younger generation is changing, we tolerate it, and we actually go to movies, please us.

Edited August 19, 2013 by jandrew

[Jack Nevada]

Eva Mendes wasn't supposed to play that part in Hitch at all, but as said earlier, it had to be changed because the original actress was white, and studio execs weren't down with that. It's one thing seeing black couples in a "black" movie, like baumer said, that makes business sense, as bad as it sounds. But I don't understand why in action movies and normal comedies and movies that appeal to largely white people, there isn't more interracial couples. I'm a white guy and I've dated way, way more black girls than white girls, and I wouldn't doubt that I will marry a black woman, so it sucks. I wish there was more interracial couples in movies. 

 

 

I live in SC, the last place you think you'd see that, but like I can't go anywhere now without seeing interracial couples, especially my college. Its more common than people think, hell I'm one, and I know why we don't see them, but I mean its Hollywood, but I do hope things start changing. I hate the cop outs of pairing a black with a latina and a white with an asian. They all should be able to pair with the other, more blacks date whites than hispanics, and whites date hispanics than asians. Older crowds, the one who usually still have problems, don't even go to the movies as much, so stop trying to please them. The younger generation is changing, we tolerate it, and we actually go to movies, please us.

 

Well put, you two.

[kitik]

So THE WORLD'S END is the best reviewed wide release this summer? Wow.

 

Shouldn't they increase that 1400 theater count? This could be a huge crowd pleaser.

 

 

Even if The World's End got 100% on RT, that still wouldn't necessarily translate into a "crowd pleaser". We're The Millers and Transformers are crowd pleasers. 

[kayumanggi]

JOBS: $6.71M Weekend Actual / $6.71M Domestic Total / 2,381 Locations / $2,820 Location Avg.

https://twitter.com/BoxOffice/status/369495823253377024

[baumer]

Speaking of Millers, id like to know what the critics didnt like about it. Seriously. How can u watch that movie and not think its funny?

[kitik]

I live in SC, the last place you think you'd see that, but like I can't go anywhere now without seeing interracial couples,

 

 

For anybody out there that's still racist, please be aware that about 5 generations from now (or maybe a bit more, 150-200 years), there really won't even be white and black people left. Everybody will be a varying shade of light bown. Thanks to the incredible transportation and communication advances of the last 50 years or so, the world is slowly turning into one single large community. We're far more interconneted than we've ever been before. And the rate of "mixed" couples is skyrocketing all over the planet, with all sorts of combinations of "mixes".

 

After we all started out from the same family a hundred thousand years ago in Ethiopia (or however long ago), and slowly grew apart due to the size of the planet, the human race will suddenly become much more uniform again, thanks to the virtual shrinking of the planet.

[A Marvel Fanboy]

Speaking of Millers, id like to know what the critics didnt like about it. Seriously. How can u watch that movie and not think its funny?

It is a ® comedy. So critics hate it without feeling gulity. Thats what critics do.

Edited August 19, 2013 by firedeep

[Jandrew]

For anybody out there that's still racist, please be aware that about 5 generations from now (or maybe a bit more, 150-200 years), there really won't even be white and black people left. Everybody will be a varying shade of light bown. Thanks to the incredible transportation and communication advances of the last 50 years or so, the world is slowly turning into one single large community. We're far more interconneted than we've ever been before. And the rate of "mixed" couples is skyrocketing all over the planet, with all sorts of combinations of "mixes".

 

After we all started out from the same family a hundred thousand years ago in Ethiopia (or however long ago), and slowly grew apart due to the size of the planet, the human race will suddenly become much more uniform again, thanks to the virtual shrinking of the planet.

 

And also our languages are becoming less distinctive. Most of the world is learning English, Spanish, Chinese -- more Chinese people speak English than American and Britain, and I know India is growing English, that'll also draw us more uniform. People say stupid shit like "America speaks English, take your Spanish elsewhere", and thats false and ignorant.

[kitik]

And also our languages are becoming less distinctive. Most of the world is learning English, Spanish, Chinese -- more Chinese people speak English than American and Britain, and I know India is growing English, that'll also draw us more uniform. People say stupid shit like "America speaks English, take your Spanish elsewhere", and thats false and ignorant.

 

 

As an ignorant American, I'm so lucky that I can travel around the planet and have a reasonable expectation of being able to get by with just english.

 

And props to all the people on this board whose native language isn't english. Pretty much all of you are great at it.

[Harpospoke]

Like I said before. This is political. See the responses below?

If it's getting old to you, go read a book. Stop willingly consuming media that god forbid wants to tell black people's stories. White people fucked up things for a lot of people. I say this as a white person. If the reality of that is too confronting and uncomfortable for you, there's plenty of other movies and stories that will happily allow you to stick your head in the sand.

 After stating that I'm not interested in the movie I'm told to not watch it.   Thanks...that was kinda my plan. 

I don't understand what you are trying to say here.  Are you implying that white people didn't have blacks as slaves?  Are you implying that whites didn't hang blacks?  Are you implying that there were no burning crosses, that there was no racism, that blacks didn't have to sit at the back of the bus, that they didn't have their own fountains, their own washrooms, that they could not attend the same schools as white kids, that they couldn't eat in the same part of the restaurant as whites, that they weren't beaten by whites that the KKK didn't exist, that their wages up until about 20 years ago were less than white people, that the word ---- is still used to degrade them that they didn't have to face discrimination in their every day life? Sorry but if you are tired of these stories being told, then my suggestion for you is to pick up a book, google racism in America, watch Roots, or better yet, watch Mississippi Burning, which, like the Butler, is based on a real case that happened in 1964.  Racism is real bud.  White people have done terrible things to other races.  There's no getting around that. As to your point that whites did a lot to help ameliorate racism, you are correct, the powers that be have always been white so it only stands to reason that whites have done their part to change the laws.  And that is featured prominently in the film.  Presidents like JFK, LBJ and Reagan are shown doing some good to get black people the rights they all deserved to have. Perhaps before you criticize the film for hating on white people you should understand what white people have done over time and you should see the film to understand what you are talking about.

 As I said, it's political.   A person cannot even say they are tired of the white guilt in movies without being accused of "implying" everything you just said I'm "implying". Should I come back and say, "Are you implying black people did not enslave white people (Jews) in Egypt?"   Apparently we are supposed to keep emphasizing this stuff forever to make sure the races continue to resent each other...so let's not let that one go either. Is there an end point to this?   MLK had a dream that we would someday stop thinking of each other as different races and judge each person on the content of their character.   But we still get "white people" as a monolithic entity.   I am not a "white person"...I'm a person.  I had nothing to do with any of those things you mentioned.   Again...when does it end?   Why would anyone think that attacking an entire race of people will help lessen racism?   Explain that logic.   This is starting to look like "punish the white people"....because those expressing most concern over racism never have any interest in "fighting racism" in non-white communities.   I frankly am skeptical of the stated goal if you ignore racism in any non-white person.   How does this make you "against racism"?   Sounds like politics instead. Some actually seem to get upset that I am not interested in feeling guilt about something I did not do. In other words, politics.

We haven't won the fight. Not at all. Did you miss the George Zimmerman trial, the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act, states across the south moving to infringe on the rights of Blacks and other minorities to vote and the million and one other indicators that this country has much more work to do when it comes to racial discrimination? As for whites making the changes, do you think this country would ever have changed if the Civil Rights Movement hadn't forced the issue? We'd still be living with Jim Crow laws like the fucking 50s if it really had been up to the majority of whites whether the laws changed or not. Things have changed for the better, there's no doubt of that. In my own lifetime I've lived through cross burnings, an attempt to firebomb my family's home, assaults by racist thugs and a lot else besides. None of that would be tolerated now the way it was back then. One of my uncles was almost lynched for becoming engaged to a white woman 40 years ago; now two of my brothers are happily married to white wives, with nary a problem from the neighbors. All the changes are great, but Blacks and other minorities don't have the privilege of ignoring the problems that still remain. We can't have a colorblind society until discrimination and inequality no longer exist.

I'm seeing "There will never be a point where we admit we've won this fight".   There was even an attempt to paint Zimmerman as "a white man" to keep the race-hate going...i.e. politics. 

 

The US just elected a minority to the most powerful office on the planet.   In case anyone thinks that was a fluke....they did it twice.  We've proven there are no longer any limits to what a black person can do.   You cannot achieve more than that.

 

Are there any other nations who would elect a minority candidate to run the country?   Does that happen in Europe?  China?  India?  Russia?  Egypt?  Maybe they are playing catch-up with the US.    Do other countries even support sports stars of a minority race?  US sports fans fully support sports dominated by minority athletes.   (Note that minority sports fans in the US will not do this...but that is apparently not a problem)   The Butler actually stars a black person who is perhaps the most influential person in the media.

 

I felt the white guilt for a while and now I'm tired of it.   This stuff only fosters resentment between the races.

 

Ok...this is weird.   Listening to a local sports radio show and the black host (Donovan Lewis in Dallas) is talking about the Butler.   He just said, "I may be getting too old for this stuff because watching it got me fired up and I wanted to elbow the white lady sitting next to me".

 

Yeah...this is really helping to lessen racism.   We have a logic deficit here.