It seems the powerful spell Hollywood has held over African Americans and others of color may have finally been broken. The nearly innate sense that Hollywood is the be all end all for one's career advancement and commercial success is now being challenged by those fed up with begging tinseltown's demigods for an opportunity to be noticed. Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee are now leading the way to chart a new course.
Finally, Black people are realizing the mere lure of fame and fortune is no longer worth the price of their pride and dignity. As more people of color turn their backs on an industry whose exploited their dreams as often as they've dashed them, new opportunities will inevitably come into focus. No longer is the day of having to hold one's tongue to be accepted or accept roles that should've been be rejected, just to get a foot in the door.
While the casts of Power and Empire are likely making some serious bank in Television, this observer remains convinced, many in these ensembles would love presenting their craft through less stereotypic characterizations. As scripts, story lines and diverse ideas for film and T.V. projects are floated in Hollywood, when is comes to Blacks, most often, its the shitty stereotypical and negative role models that float to the top.
When Black projects are green-lighted for production, you can bet euro to pesos drugs, violence, sex and incarceration is written deep into the plots. If one sprinkles the script liberally with the Nigger word, you're almost guaranteed a hit show/film. You got a hit with White people because they'll tune in just to glimpse of Black life for confirmation of already strongly held biases. You also got a hit with Black people because they'll tune in, simply for the lack of anything else being offered. Somehow, this is defined as crossover appeal.
When the mainstream media creates clever crossover products like Power and Empire or worse, embrace buffoonish movie characters like Kevin Hart, they become a huge hits with commercial advertisers. There are few things more appealing to some White audiences than having a non-threatening Blacks like Hart or some thug types to amuse and entertain them.
While this observer must acknowledge somebody's always going to the dirty work to make a buck, it must also be noted, until Blacks branch out on their own, they'll never be much more than dirty work to do. No matter how you cut it, in the end, those big hits often come at the expense of the Black experience and the Black image.
If Hollywood won't recognize or fairly acknowledge the calibre of work and contributions Black actors bring to the world of entertainment, then its long overdue for Black actors to expand their reach beyond the limits of Hollywood. If it can be done in music, it can be done in movies, if it can be done in movies, it can be done in television. One need only take full advantage of the Internet's burgeoning multimedia capabilities to envision the limitless possibilities. And the timing couldn't be better.
Bottom line: Now that Black people have rediscovered the power of walking away, they can prepare themselves to take destiny into their own hands. In reality, the future of Black people in media is a bright one. But that future will only remain bright, as long as Black people control their own lights, cameras and actions. Bravo Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee, Bravo! Podcast below!
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