Spike Lee’s critiques of Hollywood’s depiction of black people were necessary, but always felt a little sloppy (his “Timmi Hiln*gger” parody from Bamboozled is mostly just embarrassing, and anyway, Spike Lee was the one making jeans commercials). Now we have Justin Simien’s Dear White People, for which Simien won Sundance’s Special Jury Prize for Breakthrough Talent, and which is getting a limited release in October courtesy of Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. I haven’t seen the film, but it opens by crapping all over The Help and Tyler Perry and The Blind Side which is an opening after my own heart.
“How come the only black movies Hollywood wants to make are about black mammies in fat suits?” “Or Black women in pain, man?!” “So basically we got black people dyin’ in the past, and black people dyin’ in the present!”
Am I changing this trailer’s life? Nope, it’s changing mine. I think it looks pretty good, but I did score in the 99th percentile in protective instincts.
PROFESSOR: I reader your unsolicited treatise on why Gremlins is actually about suburban white fear of black culture.
BLACK GIRL IN HAT: The Gremlins are loud, talkin’ slang, are addicted to fried chicken, and freak out when you get their hair wet.
I think she might have a point, but I can’t say for certain, as I do not see in colors or stereotypes. Eating fried chicken is such a dumb stereotype. EVERYONE eats fried chicken. There is no race on the Earth that doesn’t enjoy fried chicken. Fried chicken is so universal Robocop once stole some from a Korean family.