By 
0
0
Growing up I always thought it was really unfair that Hollywood films mostly have white actors and actresses and not enough people ‘of colour.’ However, isn’t that just because there are more white people than any other racial demographic in America? It’s like complaining that Bollywood films only cast Indian people. Spike Lee himself decided to take it upon himself to make movies showcasing black actors and actresses that dealt with problems within the black community. Examples include School Daze which is about the (absurd) issue of darkskin vs lightskin in the black community. Another example is one of my favourite movies Jungle Fever; made in 1990 nearly 30 years ago (fuck), it was still seen as a ‘problem’ for a black man to be interested in a white woman.
(Never mind the fact that they were just two individual people who got along — in fact the first thing they were discussing was food. Yay! Cooking commonality! The guy shouldn’t even have been seeing her anyway; he was married.)
I’ve seen plenty of American movies where there are mostly black actors and others where there are mostly white actors. America appears as a very racially segregated country where people care too much about the superficial issue of skin tone. You have stuff in common with people based on who they are as people. The colour of someone’s skin is unbelievably irrelevant. I didn’t decide to have brown skin. I take no pride in stuff that I didn’t decide. We don’t need this thing called white or black pride. Take pride in personal accomplishments, like making a movie with a great story, whether it’s Think Like a Man or Beverly Hills Cop, or American Beauty or Whiplash.
"However, isn’t that just because there are more white people than any other racial demographic in America?"
For the most part, yes. There are some preferences in viewership depending on audience etc. but most people never acknowledge the simple demographics of the population.
"It’s like complaining that Bollywood films only cast Indian people."
Exactly.
"America is still a very racially segregated country and people care too much about the superficial issue of skin tone."
I wouldn't say that America is "very racially segregated", that's more what media presents it to be but you are right that most Americans "care too much about the superficial issue of skin tone".
Basically it's like this:
1. Rural areas are mostly in middle America, the "flyover states" and "Bible Belt" and "middle of nowhere" places. They are majority white. Examples: Boise, Idaho; Des Moines, Iowa; Nashville, Tennessee; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
2. Big cities are mostly mixed demographically, primarily the ones on coasts. They often have people from all over the world. Examples: Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York City, New York; Miami, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas.
3. Suburban areas are often majority white but usually have some Asian and other races though not as many as white. These places are more about economics than money and they more represent the demographics of the population except Asians are overrepresented in these regions.
"I take no pride in stuff that I didn’t decide."
We would definitely be better in the USA if people took this attitude more, as well as emphasized their own choices and accountability more.
Pretty much. By the way, have you seen Jungle Fever? It's a brilliant movie. Deals with race, family, class, gender, religion, addiction, poverty; pretty much everything in a couple hours. Spike Lee is a gee.
No, I haven't seen that film.