When It's Not All Black And White?

Okay, going out on a limb here, please don't hate.


Is it naive or insensitive to imagine a time when we -- or the media -- do not identify, judge or grade films based on the race and/or gender of the filmmaker?


I am all about celebrating progress, especially long overdue progress. And I love to see underrepresented populations getting to see their voices heard. Maybe I'm just wondering if the playing field can ever be even.


Yesterday, I saw a film directed by an African-American man and shot by a lesbian. I didn't come out of the theater thinking "Not bad for a black a guy and a LGBTQ cinematographer," I thought, "That was a really good film."


Years ago, when I was reviewing films, I was assigned to watch film with an overtly gay narrative and I gave it a really good review. Why? Because it was a good film, it was not a good gay film, it was just a good story with intriguing characters I was rooting for. I understand that, much of the time, certain voices are not heard and that, when they get a chance to be heard, sometimes they scream. I have seen too many gay movies that were gay first and movies second; the message is drowned out by the messenger.


The same goes for any number of films by these little heard voices, the minorities in our culture. Unfortunately, many of these films will continue to be characterized as niche market films with limited popular appeal. I like to think that good films will find an audience if they have a good story and rich characters but, as mentioned before, maybe I naive.


On Friday I spent over an hour on the phone with a director, working on a new draft of a screenplay about an African-American Civil Rights activist. A former student, an African American woman, was invited to Sundance in January. I recently sent off a new draft of a screenplay where the main characters happen to be African-American to a director who happens to be African American.


My point is that, race never factors into my work with these people, to me, we're just a bunch of storytellers trying to make it happen.


Maybe I'm wondering if diversity will ever be the norm.


Much of this post was originally put up on Facebook the day after I saw Black Panther and it generated a lively response, which I have excerpted below:


RG: I feel like we'd love for that to be the case? But the unfortunate fact of the matter is that all of the examples you just cited are exceptions to the rule, its not the norm. Black panther is a huge deal because its representation done CORRECTLY. We're celebrating something that SHOULD be the norm, because it isn't the norm, if that makes sense?


We grew up in a world where cinema was catered to us ( I mean for fuck's sake the very chemicals used in film were catered towards white skin tones! There's a fascinating video on that). So for us we see this normal thing of celebrated art. We can't imagine the pain of a thousand cuts of exclusion that it is for non white people. We just can't because its not our normal so we never even think to think about it.


The only pony I have in this race is the male gaze and the lack of women on screen, as well. Or how my gender is represented. Its shockingly narrow and suffocating.



I wish we could enjoy cinema for the sake of cinema but if white old men keep telling stories over and over again its gonna keep being boring until diversity finally becomes the new normal its SUPPOSED to be.



But when a major film like Black Panther (which was a genuinely amazing and positive film in of itself) comes along and gets the spotlight treated and the highly funded marketing campaign, its a chance for the consumer market to celebrate it and the people behind it for what makes it different from what they've been getting force-fed. Race is big apart of daily thinking for a lot of people, so of course Race is going to play a factor in what makes something distinct.




MO: I think the point is more that Hollywood doesn't back diversity more because they think people wont show up to the box office. Proof is completely in the pudding now. I feel like even if it is to line pockets, diversity will eventually be more of a norm, and I'll take that for now.





AD: Echoing what everyone else is saying, yeah, the goal is not to talk about it anymore because the problem no longer exists. A lot of white guys asking “why does it have to be about race?” Or “why does it have to be about gender?” Or “...sexual orientation?” Or “[fill in the blank]?” Be grateful you don’t need it to be about you, and don’t be resentful of the people who do


David J. Greenberg: Good point. If anything, I wonder about kids in film school now who, for lack of anything on their part, might "suffer" the fate of not being the next great filmmaker but, instead, the next great female filmmaker. Who knows?


AD: If a kid in film school has what it takes to be the next great filmmaker, none of this will matter. True talent is rewarded. And even if you believe it’s not, money and personal politics are hurting him more than diversity. What you’re talking about is mid-level filmmakers no longer benefitting from white male privilege, which used to be a given. Or, the flip side, are you saying someone might have to work twice as hard because his race and gender? Must suck.


David J. Greenberg: That’s a thought, isn’t it? Often seems to be the case.


MG: David, I think you as a screenwriter and filmmaker are more exposed to process behind these things, which is very inclusive and somewhat beyond an average person's field of thought (like, how many average people actually watch behind-the-scenes extras of their favorite films?)


But to a commercial market, especially one that only has eyes on the movies or shows that are funded into a mainstream spotlight, that spotlight starts to blur together and looks like one product, which leads to assumptions about the process and people behind the curtain.


But when a major film like Black Panther (which was a genuinely amazing and positive film in of itself) comes along and gets the spotlight treated and the highly funded marketing campaign, its a chance for the consumer market to celebrate it and the people behind it for what makes it different from what they've been getting force-fed. Race is big apart of daily thinking for alot of people, so of course Race is going to play a factor in what makes something distinct.


LJ: The race, gender or ability of the creator is highlighted because it’s not the default.
When you think of the “norm” who is in power or who has access, it’s usually white males. It is not unusual or unpredictable when a white man becomes a writer. It’s normal in our collective expectation of what a white man can accomplish. It’s normal for a white man to be a director, astronaut or anything thing without people be shocked or surprised. We have been shown again and again that a white man can do anything and so much so that it’s not a surprise. If he accomplishes something it’s often not in defiance of stereotypes because there no stereotypes to defy. Therefore the race and gender of this person, which are clearly not barriers to success are not worth mentioning.

However, when race, class, gender etc. are clear barriers to success or are not the norm, the default, it must be highlighted because other people with similar barriers needs someone to look up to and know that those barriers can be broken. To stop taking about people race and class etc. doesn’t stop those barriers, it makes them stronger like a family argument that no one talks about. It only makes one person comfortable and causes everyone else pain.

So you don’t walk out of a film or read a script with the thought that was good for a women or a black man as if there is a separate scale fore greatness. That’s not the point of identification. It’s stating “That was great. And the writer was a black person. I can see how it was handled in different perspective. They highlighted things I didn’t notice before.”


However, when race, class, gender etc. are clear barriers to success or are not the norm, the default, it must be highlighted because other people with similar barriers needs someone to look up to and know that those barriers can be broken. To stop taking about people race and class etc. doesn’t stop those barriers, it makes them stronger like a family argument that no one talks about. It only makes one person comfortable and causes everyone else pain.



So you don’t walk out of a film or read a script with the thought that was good for a women or a black man as if there is a separate scale fore greatness. That’s not the point of identification. It’s stating “That was great. And the writer was a black person. I can see how it was handled in different perspective. They highlighted things I didn’t notice before.”



Will diversity ever be the norm? I don’t know. It’s some people’s lived norm. It’s my norm. But as far as power, privilege and access... will it ever be normal for a diverse group of people to have equal access to the possibility of success.... I don’t know. It took us 400 years to get this far and America is... well, America.



Something to chew on in between handfuls of popcorn, right?