White Actors Need Not Apply. Reverse Racism in Hollywood. Part 3

We took the liberty of randomly selecting some famous people fit to be in movies (and many had already been portrayed in films): Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Elis Presley, Mother Theresa, Mata Hari, Christopher Columbus. Ask yourself: how many could be played by an actor or actress of another race? And the answer is simple – none. The history of the world, until very recently, has been a story of a white man; his failures and victories. In many ways it still is. Nothing to do with prejudice. It’s just the history of the world, folks. Can Hollywood invent an alternate, say, black Christopher Columbus? They could if they want to. Any truth to it? Not one bit.

So where are we going with this? Anyone in this industry can do what they want. Studios can approve of any screenplays and actors can certainly play any parts they choose or are being chosen for. And may their creative talents shine brightly and win them public recognition and, ultimately, the Oscars. The color of their skin matters not.

It becomes an issue when ‘quotation norms’ develop into accepted standards; when good people are being discriminated against in the name of ‘racial diversity’. When the word is out that ‘white men need not apply’. When someone is selected not for talent, but for color of his or her skin. When raising voice in protection of one’s dignity makes one an instant outcast and an unemployable racist of record. That is clear discrimination. We desire to see people practicing this vile ideology fall on their asses and lose everything. These subversive plots should have no place in our society. We must vote with our wallets. That gets the message across.

The beauty of every screen story that it is believable. The screen reflects life, does it not? Well, OK, not exactly. But we want to walk away, touched. Thinking it could have happened sometime, someplace. Give us a good film and we’ll walk around, re-living it and replaying it a thousand times. Black Alice in Wonderland can never be part of our dreams.

Back in the late 1980’s we visited one of Smithsonian museums in Washington DC. Can’t remember which gallery it was. It had several halls dedicated to the history of African people (and mind you, not black Americans). Displays surreptitiously described life of the African tribes – hunters and gatherers, nomadic tribes and those practicing agriculture. There wasn’t any glory to it – no heroes or accomplishments, no special civilizations. No movie actors or famous politicians. Yet it was life itself, even if not very sophisticated by Western standards. We realized that people who put this together did a great job, collecting bits and pieces here and there. We acutely remember the thought that came to mind: this was the only museum in America and probably the world displaying something about modest roots of African Americans.

Today they have National Museum of African American History and Culture in the same National Mall. They created and opened it decades later. We haven’t seen it, but imagine how that collection grew in size and significance.

If it wasn’t for deplorable slave trade and colonization, the ‘white world’ would not have seen much of Africa or Africans in its midst. There were no black generals leading troops into European battles of the XVI or XVII centuries, no black courtiers of European monarchs. No black people ever died in Titanic disaster. This fact was lamented by the above-mentioned Chris Rock, who complained there were no black actors in ‘Titanic’ movie. The answer is simple – they were not there!

All nations and peoples have their own stories. There were and are many dramas and tragedies telling us of black American lives here; of their plight for freedom, against slavery and discrimination; of valor in battles; of grand personal achievements anyone can be proud of. It is great movie material. There are many movies where actors of all races are terrific and we love to see them on the screen. Yet an Asian actor can never play MLK. A Caucasian actress would be a poor fit for Rosa Parks. So why do some movie producers push black Americans into white peoples’ History? Cultural appropriation in the name of ‘underrepresented minorities’ is wrong. Inserting anyone into places and stories they were never a part of speaks of inferiority complex and deceit. Like one shouldn’t wear awards for military service he wasn’t a part of.

Yes, it’s Hollywood. Who cares if one plays the ‘wrong part’? We do. Out of reverence to History itself. Political correctness (which is censorship) is often at odds with our cultural treasures, with the way it really was – oftentimes brutal, bloody and unfair History. We cannot do anything about it, so at least let’s not lie. Rewriting it serves no one.

Ultimately everything rests with the moviegoers. Their pocketbooks decide how convincing the actors are in their roles. Anyone gambling with studios’ money on sensitive issues of race is walking on very thin ice.

This world is full of great stories. It is big enough for everyone. Regardless of what anybody thinks, there is no need to push anyone out, to muscle in on another man’s livelihood. Politics comes and goes, yet people remain. Creating animosity in Hollywood amongst the people who are synonymous with the word ‘culture’ is a very bad idea. Everyone – black, white, yellow or pink – have to have their day in the sun. And that is the ultimate truth.

You may disagree with us. But we must have open discussions in this country and not be afraid of speaking our minds in fear of being branded racists, subject to ‘cancellation’.

Dixi