QUESTION:
When was the last time you saw a black, male actor *under* the age of 32, in a lead role in a film that didn’t specifically call for him to play a character that *had* to be black? That is to say, a male lead character who was portrayed by an actor who just happened to be black, and was casted for no other reason than he just fit the character/role for that particular film? Now… how long ago did that happen?
Think about it… this may take a while…
While I’m sure someone, somewhere comes to mind (most likely from some low-budget, mumble-core indie picture), I personally cannot, for the life of me, remember the last time I saw this. I mean, sure, I’ve seen plenty of black actors in non-specific roles in features (mainly comedies), but they’re always seen as the best-bud sidekick – or the voice of reason against our otherwise reckless Caucasian lead who is too busy being the lovable protagonist to take anything his friend/partner says seriously.
Hollywood has a tradition of being racist, even if it’s not on purpose. They tend to yield to demographics that they deem tried and true, and often times disregard films that try to change the landscape of our perceptions on what film is. Aside from the occasional breakthrough film; in which afterwards they do about a million and a half spin-offs and knock-offs of, the film industry adheres to their sense of norm on a constant basis.
ANSWER:
To answer the question about the last time (that *I* remember) a male actor who was under 32 years old, and the lead in a major motion picture that didn’t specifically require him to play a “black” character was… welp, according to my memory… Will Smith. Will Smith in… “Men In Black” (don’t let the title fool you).
Now, I know what you’re thinking; what does age have anything to do with it? There are plenty of black leading actors who find their way into non-black specific roles in Hollywood, including Don Cheadle, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Forest Whitaker. Everyone has to pay their dues in Hollywood, that’s just the way things go.
While the above statement may be true, think about how those actors got to where they are… by playing black specific roles, albeit performing the hell out of their roles. They had to fight to survive, they had to go above and beyond, out-performing, or out-auditioning many other actors, sometimes having to fight just to be considered for a role in which they felt could work for them, not just because they were black, but because they were performers. This is the inequality I’m trying to address here.
WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE?
First of all, this article paints a pretty strong portrayal.
When it comes to young, sexy male leading actors, there are a slew of thespians you could rattle off in a heartbeat. Zac Efron, Robert Pattinson, Miles Teller (another local Floridian!), the Hemsworth brothers, to name a few. But what do they all have in common? Well, for one, they’re all major box-office draws. But more importantly, they’re white-bread, all-Americana (yes, I know the Hemsworths aren’t American) pretty boys who, some could argue, are mainly casted on their looks and sex appeal more than their talent.
This is the kind of thing that I’m trying to get across. These are people, who — though yes, they do work hard to get the roles they do, and yes, they do have talent– haven’t had to work nearly as hard for the kinds of roles they’ve wanted, merely based on their skin or gender. Of course, this isn’t only just true of black males either (other various races and especially women fit within this argument as well)… but the point is, unless you’re a pretty, white, buff male… the chances of you getting that lead role in the new installment of “Zombieland” you’ve been gunning for is going to be tremendously harder to achieve than let’s say, Danielle Radcliffe (because Jesse Eisenberg has now transmorphed into Mark Zuckerman permanently)… at least in Hollywood.
MARKETABILITY
I don’t mean to paint a picture that all non-white actors are treated unfairly of course. There are those who do fantastic jobs right off the cuff, and they don’t HAVE to adhere to stereotypes just to eek out a living as an actor; Michael B. Jordan and Mindy Kaling come to mind. But when you break the situation down, what it comes to is simply… marketability.
Studios are historically hesitant at putting black males in lead roles where they aren’t portrayed as stereotypes, or in black-specific roles. To them, it’s not safe, and may be too “edgy” for regular audiences. Which, doesn’t make any sense when you look at the numbers.
But for whatever reason, you can work out, have a chiseled jaw, perform as an actor like nobody’s business; but if your skin is just right of cream, you’re going to have a hard time booking lead roles; and it’s not new (if anything, it’s gotten worse). The reason is marketability. Studio execs apparently just can’t believe that any male actor who happens to be black is marketable to young audiences in a sexy or appealing manner, even if previous box office numbers suggest otherwise.
HOWEVER
Though the numbers do suggest that putting diverse actors in various roles actually helps box office draws, there is the obvious caveat. Because for every Independence Day, where the young, sexy lead just so happens to be black in a non-descript role, there are a million Tyler Perry comedies that only lend to the idea that black-centric movies should stay within a varying degree of what is considered black-culture affirming movies. That is to say, even if there’s one good coming-of-age indie-flick about a character who is obsessed with a cute girl, and David Lynch-esque metaphors in rural Washington, where the role is played by a black male… the studios are more likely to bank on a movie about a fat-black woman who has to “hold the family together” with her wild antics, normally situated around food or a family reunion of sorts.
Why? Because it’s easy to put things in a neat and tight little box. That’s how movies that largely propel stereotypes keep getting made, and movies that have more… “human” elements… only come along every once in a blue moon. It’s a sad, vicious cycle that can only be changed when we fight it at the core.
HOW?
It’s an interesting dynamic we live in now. We like to believe we live in a more “accepting” time. A time in which race relations are old news, and that that stuff is about 30 years behind us… but the evidence suggests that those old tropes just aren’t going to go away… not without pushback of course.
What needs to happen… what REALLY needs to happen… is that we somehow figure out that a character is a character, no matter who plays it. We need to recognize that we all go through the same things, emotions, fears, and experiences that shock our system, make us humble, and keep us in check.
IN CONCLUSION:
I started writing this because I was in my car, thinking of a feature or short film idea I wanted to make. It was a coming of age film, under the same indie tone that many other Sundance-qualifying films go under… but I had a black male lead in mind when I was drafting the idea. Then it slowly came to mind that I couldn’t remember the last time a black male played a role so… docile… so… human. And it struck a chord with me.
Look… I know I’m white… I know I may not have the best insight on all of this, nor even the best idea on how to go about this. But I can certainly see a problem when it presents itself. Hollywood (and filmmakers in general) is too short-sighted to look and think outside of what they view is the norm. Don’t get me wrong, we all experience different things, and normally when we write, we think about people we either already know, or characters we’d like in our products and relate to. And let’s face it… there’s a wide majority of white writers out there who lack any experience with race outside of their own. I’m not asking that we arbitrarily include whoever and whatever simply for the sake of “affirmative action.” That’s not how art works.
What I’m suggesting is that simply look at our characters organically… and if it seems that an actor or actress is right for the role (no matter what our preconceived ideas of what that character was), that we look within ourselves, and outside of the box of perception, and do what comes natural. After all… storytelling is about being human and telling a human story.
-Jamie
Asians have it even worse. You never see Asian men in leading roles unless they’re martial artists. Harold and Kumar was the exception.
I have a bone to pick with the diversification of cast. Rather than diversifying by adding one person of color for every four white cast members, why not bring the ratio closer together? It would mimic real life situations better. My real life Sex And The City crew would be two Mexicans, two Whites, and an Asian. But my cast would probably end up being three whites and a black.