Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Black (sorta)+White=Black?


Alright, so I find myself on IMDB.com this morning checking all the movies I will be ignoring for the next year or so and I stumble across a movie called "Day of the Dead". Well, you had me at "Dead" so, as a dog that sniffs his own shit, I decided to investigate. The trailer is above (Update: The trailer is no longer above...I have replaced it with a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.). I'll wait (Update: I'll still wait.). So here is my question--the writer's name is Jeffrey Reddick and he is pictured meah--



The director's name is Steve Miner and he is pictured meah--


So the writer, who is black, sits down and he says...hmm, I have a black main character in my movie for the first time so what should he say? "think ima like it heah", "see a black man with a sharp stick it posed to be a spear", "why white people always wanna split up", along with "dats whack", "daaaaamn" and "whatchu talkin bout whitey?". I mean, here is a successful black writer and stereotypical phrases is the best he can come up with for his black main character? How does a black writer write a script to be directed by a white guy that includes the above phrases? I've decided to write a show where hispanic characters eat beans and rice, dance the macarena and say things like "ole" and "death to whitey". I think it'll be a hit.