"While working with two black co-workers a few years ago, the topic of black history came up and we decided to challenge each other. Although they were a few years away from graduating from college, I realized they had limited knowledge about the achievements of historically important black Americans.
I was surprised they did not know the answer to questions such as, “Who was the first black female millionaire?" and "Who was Benjamin Banneker?” I was shocked at the answers I received.
After thinking about this I realized their lack of knowledge was certainly not related to intellect but was a result of our culture, where the achievements of historically important blacks are absent.
If you asked them about the latest hip-hop stars, athletes or movie stars, they probably could give brief biographies of several of them. Yet, they were unaware of black Americans who not only prospered in their chosen fields, but helped shape the course of American history.
Movies like The Help, The Butler, Precious, 12 Years a Slave, and Training Day all had black people as central characters. All won some type of award or nomination and/or had actors that were recognized with awards. Sounds good outwardly, right? If you take a second glance, you will notice all of these movies promoted stereotypes of black people.
Unfortunately, it appears a large majority of our awards are presented to blacks when we play roles where we are servants, slaves, ghetto moms, or thugs. The sad part is that many of these actors have been in other movies that have been just as good, yet they went unrecognized when they didn't "fit the description.”
Films and television programs, along with R&B artists and hip-hop stars who are way too numerous to list, all contribute to the negative black stereotypes.
My thoughts? Despite Hollywood's overwhelming Democrat support, which is supposed to be sensitive to our community, Hollywood is more comfortable when we (black people) are in our place.
I can hear the pro-Hollywood crowd now… “But these pictures and others are only reflections of what has happened or what is currently going on in our communities.” True, but so were many other positive black people who are rarely mentioned.
Why not make a major motion picture about George Washington Carver, who was both a brilliant scientist and a man of God? Or Charles Drew, who made amazing medical discoveries with blood plasma that led to the invention of the blood bank? Something uplifting that the black community could look up to as a model of progression.
In the end, we have to ask ourselves: If Black History Month, and black history overall, was truly honored in our schools, homes and our communities, our standards in what we call black entertainment wouldn't be allowed. We as a people would demand better and because money talks above all else in Hollywood, we would get what we asked for.
As long as we demand, and often times accept, lower standards and stereotypical entertainment, then lower standards are what we will get.
And if black Americans refuse to recognize that one of the greatest threats to continued stereotypes in entertainment are elite-minded liberals who claim to be our friends, we will keep getting the short end of the stick.
It's time to honor the memory of those who made Black History Month possible and start telling the true story.
Hollywood, we have enough movies that glorify the ghost of our past. Let's take a chance on introducing movies that highlight the accomplishments that black Americans have made in our country's history.
Maybe then we will inspire more of our people to greater things when they realize how great black history in America really is." [Source]
The field Negro enlightenment series continues.
The field Negro enlightenment series continues.
52 comments:
I think you could probably make a watchable movie about Frederick McKinley Jones, an African-American who invented modern refrigeration, which among other things makes fresh orange juice, and living in the Southern US, possible.
Yaaayy! *clap,clap,clap*
We have so many here too! But the difference is that here they are exalted and given their rightful place and glory in the history and school books. Amen for that!
The Field Negro said...
Despite Hollywood's overwhelming Democrat support, which is supposed to be sensitive to our community, Hollywood is more comfortable when we (black people) are in our place.
My work here might be done.
This is a questionable analysis of the film industry.
I agree with the overall point of the writer, which is that black people in film are shown in a limited selection of roles. But his reasoning as to why ... that's probably wrong. I think the issue is more one of indifference than hate.
I think that the major problem is not some unconscious desire by producers to make black people look bad. It's just that Hollywood mainly thinks about making movies about black people if it's going to make a "message movie" about racism. So you'll get a lot of movies about slavery, or Jim Crow, or people in the ghetto struggling with poverty. Nothing wrong with any of those subjects, but that's not the whole black experience. (And all of those movies are likely to show black people as downtrodden.)
Outside of racism stories, black people really are still appearing in a lot of movies in which they aren't the main characters, just uninteresting minor roles. The worst aspect of this is that a lot of mainstream movies are crime stories, and you can't realistically show crime in America without showing a lot of black men, because black men are disproportionately responsible for a lot of street crime in this country. Sorry, but they are. This has the unfortunate byproduct, however, of boosting the public's perception of black crime well beyond what is actually real, because those criminal roles aren't counterbalanced by black people playing other sorts of roles.
Again, I don't see this mainly as a function of white producers and writes going out of their way to trash black people. It's just that a) they are writing about stories they know and that interest them, and b) they are marketing to the largest audience demo, which is white and mostly couldn't care less about seeing black people onscreen, period.
Maybe instead of demanding that white people write, direct, produce and release material that black people specifically approve of, try your hand at writing and producing material that you create.
If you're expecting white Hollywood to be the saviors of how blacks are viewed in American cinema, then you can't rightfully fault them for portraying blacks as weak and in need of a white savior. They're doing what's requested of them.
Oh laudy, laudy! yowza!
Lower the crime rate. That might impact how Hollywood sees blacks. Just saying.
"Nothing wrong with any of those subjects, but that's not the whole black experience. (And all of those movies are likely to show black people as downtrodden.)"
That's exactly what Melvin Van Peebles said when he started making his own movies. He noted white people only have an interest in movies which blah people are somehow being tormented by white people. Seems like he could be correct.
"Maybe instead of demanding that white people write, direct, produce and release material that black people specifically approve of, try your hand at writing and producing material that you create."
Already done that but your oblivious ass doesn't know anything about our culture but wants to spout off all the time.
Josh, why are you so mean to Brother Field? You should be overjoyed that Field can write and read and have a mind of his own.
There was a time that Whites wouldn't even allow Blacks to learn how to read and write...it was against 'white' law. Despite all of this Mr Field has become a lawyer!
As far as Blacks producing films, Spike Lee couldn't even get anyone with money (Whites) in Hollywood to take a chance on his movie.
So you see, it's not the bm's fault that the wm won't give him a chance to be somebody.
Do you know 'WHY' they are so against Blacks making something of themselves? I 'humbly' submit it's because of fear of the bm's success.
Yep. And I know you know it's true.
"Lower the crime rate. That might impact how Hollywood sees blacks. Just saying."
Because whites don't commit crimes. Sheeeeeeet.
"That's exactly what Melvin Van Peebles said when he started making his own movies. He noted white people only have an interest in movies which blah people are somehow being tormented by white people. Seems like he could be correct.
12:31 AM"
Oh no, no. Josh has never envisioned that. PX you are dead wrong and need to pay attention to what Josh knows to be the truth about Blacks/Negroes.
A black guy did not invent refrigeration.
Here's an idea: Make a movie about something else except being black! Or even better, try to go a freaking minute just being a human being instead of obsessing over race.
"Josh, why are you so mean to Brother Field?"
Mean to "Brother Field"? There's a new accusation with each post, and I understand it less every time. What's "mean" here? I've compliment Field on multiple occasions for not being a totalitarian. I credit him tremendously with that. It's damn hard, I'd imagine, for someone with any partisan bent to allow free critique to exist in their universe. The natural inclination is to craft an echo chamber. Field resisted this urge, or maybe even never felt it, and allows free speech and expression. I think very highly of that and have never even attempted to be mean to "Brother Field."
The fact remains, however, that it is not the job of anyone else to portray any people or group or subset of people in any particular light. If that specific subset or group of people wish to be portrayed in any specific light, then it is incumbent upon that group and only that group to ensure that they portray themselves in that light. Expecting someone else to do it is a recipe for disaster.
Anonymous said...
A black guy did not invent refrigeration.
12:55 AM
---------------
I meant to say, he invented "air conditioning".
Leaving aside Morgan Freeman's role in paving the way for Obama's election, I still think ya got a point.
But it goes way past Hollywood. It goes to all the media, including the Field Negro blog. When was the last time you presented the inspirational story of black achievement through brains, study, and hard work?
It's a great thing to see you poke your head out of the burrow, even for one post, see the sun, and ask whether perpetual victimhood is the only story.
With that, I'll poke my head back down into my own burrow. Best wishes.
"But it goes way past Hollywood. It goes to all the media, including the Field Negro blog. When was the last time you presented the inspirational story of black achievement through brains, study, and hard work?"
That would be a great idea but it would look as if Blacks were acting White.
"Mean to "Brother Field"? There's a new accusation with each post, and I understand it less every time."
This Anonymous is a white racist troll, Josh. Trying to bog you up.
BTW, we were not agreeing about American health care. Being too expensive is only symptom of the root cause of the problem, that is that the 'for profit' motive has no place in health care.
"...that is that the 'for profit' motive has no place in health care."
And didn't I explain in no uncertain terms that I am very much against the for-profit nature as it pertains to people's health?
Even when I agree, you still want to get down in the mud about it.
Josh wrote: "As a skeptic who is actually lettered in evolutionary biology, allowing healthcare to operate as a for-profit industry is about as anti-evolution as you can possibly get. We evolved due to our cooperation. The more cooperative a tribe was, the more successful it was. Natural selection dictated that these genes were passed down. How we've gotten so far away from them is something I can't understand. I blame the fundamental religious in America who shun evolution. They don't understand things that are necessarily advantageous to survival of the fittest, like cooperating with people who are sick. They believe in the myth of "the strongest survive," where many seem to want to kill off the weak and sickly."
How advanced some ancient African cultures were was covered up, probably on purpose. And I'm not talking about Egypt. We all know about that. I think 12 Years A Slave was a great movie. I can't think of a movie that showed the horrors of slavery better. It was especially imaginative how they portrayed the cultures of different plantations. When you had a dozen or thirty people living in isolation, stuff like that probably happened. What I think was a major flaw though was how integrated they portrayed the North. I can believe there were individual people who were appalled by slavery. After all, people were seeing it first hand back then. But people are also products of their time. I doubt that society had integrated restaurants, like the movie had.
Anon@12:05 am, those were great great comments.
But the truth is, the people in Hollywood, for better or worse, have the same mindsetas most Americans the majority population, and their view of the black race are a reflection of their tainted perceptions.
Grinder, nice to see u.
Unfortunately your comprehension and observation skills have not improved since u have been gone.
Field hands, please share with grinder all the stories of positive black achievement I have featured on my sidebar.
Sorry about the typos and spacing issues folks. I am on the move.
grinder said...
When was the last time you presented the inspirational story of black achievement through brains, study, and hard work?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
In addition to the stories Field regularly posts, I often do the same in the comments section.
But when was the last time Black achievement saved a Black person from being choked out? Or shot as they attempted to retrieve their driver's license?
Black achievement isn't killing Black folks, racists and their policies are.
Finally, I don't understand why so many Whites complain about Blacks crying victim. Between the numerous Black men in prison on bogus charges and the others being shot down in the street like animals, it seems you got the "society" your miscreant ancestors wanted for you.
So suck it up and DEAL WITH IT!!! Blacks do EVERYDAY and many STILL manage to have great lives!
PX,"This Anonymous is a white racist troll, Josh. Trying to bog you up."
I am not White. Anybody on this blog can tell that. PX, I am sorry to say but you are a bit of an idiot. You don't even know your own people here. I usually don't stand up for Field all that much. But his post touched me...that is, it depressed the hell out of me. Meanwhile, Josh is showing disrespect to Field. Hell, down in the hood showing disrespect would get your ass shot.
Brothers and Sisters who are depressed, be forewarned that when you stand up for brother Field you might get called a "white racist troll" by the infallible PilotF.
PX, you are quite depressing.
depressed negro
"Hell, down in the hood showing disrespect would get your ass shot."
The "hood" huh? Oh, no. Please, black man, don't scare me with tales about the mean, scary hood. I's just a white boy with no idea in the world how the hood works...because, apparently, the hood is only for black people and even blacks who lived middle-class lives know more about the hood than a white person who was actually brought up there. lol
Here's yet another black person (maybe) who thinks so incredibly little of black people that merely disagreeing with them will cause black people to act like wild, violent, antisocial beasts and murder you.
Is this how little you think of blacks? That they are not capable of rational discourse or people disagreeing with their opinions?
It's odd that a white racist holds blacks in higher esteem than blacks hold blacks, like Lilac's belief that blacks, in real life, would be far too irrational and prone to violence to listen to someone who says maybe they themselves are responsible for the lack of businesses in their neighborhoods and not white people. But, no, black people are supposedly so animalistic in nature that, if they perceive you are disrespecting them, they will murder you.
So, there you go, black people. Black people as described by black people: Too violent to debate like the rest of society.
Man Field, are you chanelling your inner Chuck D? Ha! I remember senior year of high school when Fear of a Black Planet came out and Burn Hollywood Burn was one of my favorite tracks.
Well since it is blah history month we should investigate the works of Oscar Michaeux.
Poor Josh, it's clear that highly educated White people don't communicate with him on a regular basis.
And if it weren't for PX, PC, Field, and I, he wouldn't regularly communicate with ANYONE highly educated, Black or White.
Yeah, his "boo-boo" hurts because we have more education than he has and are in impressive careers as deemed by society. PC even married a White women he couldn't get being White his damn self. But hey, he has PLENTY of company in the camp that couldn't make White privilege work for them.
field negro said...
But the truth is, the people in Hollywood, for better or worse, have the same mindsetas most Americans the majority population,
Lucky for those rich white hollywood dumbocrats, except for a few words on your blog, the media is not going to push your story.
Foxnews might. :)
Yisheng, I can only assume that your game is to ramble on so incoherently than when I ask what the fuck you're talking about, you can say, "See, poor Josh is too stupid to understand."
I don't know WTF Pilot's wife has to do with anything -- other than you seem to be suggesting white women are better than black women.
What the fuck is wrong with you idiots who, in the process of trying to insult me and libel me as a racist, all you manage to do is insult black people!?
This is ridiculous. If I held black people in the esteem that black people at Field's seem to hold black people, then I'd objectively be racist. But in the pursuit of playing contrarian to anything a white person writes here, because God forbid you allow yourself to agree with a white person, all you folks are doing is running down black people as childish, violent murderers and too undesirable to wed.
Congratulations, idiots. You paint blacks in a worse frame than any damn Grandmaster of the Klan ever could.
A black guy did not invent air conditioning.
There is stupid, and then there is Limpbaugh.
Aw c'mon Doc, take it easy on your boy. Because of him PC, Field and me stopped stealing car stereos and having bastard kids. He can't be all bad.
Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to a potential nuclear deal with Iran, calling it as wrongheaded as the prime minister's backing of the Iraq War.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kerry-netanyahu-iran-talks-iraq-war
I'm sure there is a good reason left-leaning website TPM didn't mention John Kerry voted for the iraq war.
Seriously. The nutty chick brings up your wife in a context that would suggest you did well in marriage only because you married white instead of black, and you're rooting her on.
Do you really hate white people that fucking much?
I see that a lot of this was evidenced when TPC was smearing America a fucking third-world country. The drive to agree with someone solely because they're black, and to at all costs disagree with whites, leads some folks to very strange stances.
For instance, blaming a media that will show a black criminal because it puts blacks in a bad light, while not having a negative word to say about the actual criminal.
I don't begrudge it; do what you do. If you're okay with "Doc" putting your personal life on front street in an attempt to make a nothing point to me, as if she ever even reads what I write anyway, then I'm okay with it. You're the one whose life choices she's tossing around as anecdotal evidence of whatever backward fucking illogical, twisted picture she's trying to paint -- all solely because she hates white people.
So, knock yourselves out.
The killing sparked protests and a national conversation on race. Zimmerman, who is white, was acquitted of murder of the unarmed black teenager by a Florida jury, but federal prosecutors were weighing whether to bring hate crime charges against Zimmerman.
Today, they announced they would not bring any charges against Zimmerman.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/24/388739549/feds-close-investigation-against-george-zimmerman-without-pressing-charges
In the old days zimmerman was a white Hispanic.
Now people on the left refer to him as white.
Gotta love dumbocrats.
They keep talking about how immigration is going to change the racial makeup of the country.
Yet they keep calling the people they say are going to change the racial makeup as white.
Josh said...
Seriously. The nutty chick brings up your wife in a context that would suggest you did well in marriage only because you married white instead of black, and you're rooting her on.
Do you really hate white people that fucking much?
He married white.
The better question is why does he hate black women that much.
Josh said...
.... brings up your wife in a context that would suggest you did well in marriage only because you married white instead of black, and you're rooting her on.
>>>>>>>>>>>
No wonder you don't "hang" around intellectuals, your reading comprehension skills are severely lacking.
The fact is that YOU think PC "did well" marrying a White woman, because ITS SOMETHING YOU CAN'T DO AS A WHITE MAN!!!!
Now carry on Jilly!
Again, I don't know WTF you get to rambling on about. Hilly and Billy and so-called experts and intellectuals and the ten years educational journey and making Pilot's wife out to be a floozy who only wanted a black man and not him personally -- which he seems to be fine with.
You say any fucking thing that crosses you mind, without a filter, when you want to attack someone solely for being white. Racists like you never make any fucking sense, and always manage to hold themselves up as supreme intellectuals who are smart enough to spot what's wrong with the other race.
Ask any white nationalist fascist and they'll approach topics pretty much like you: They're intelligent, they hang around intellectuals and you don't, you can't read well, and they'll probably scream racial epithets at you just like you do to white people. And their white buddies will cheer it on, as yours do here.
Juxtaposing you against a white racist, the only difference might be the tone of your skin. There's certainly no difference in the tone of thought. Throw black women and Pilot's wife under the bus in order to take a dig at me.
Shameful.
....
"He married white."
And I've dated black. And I guarantee you, 500:1, that would earn a "LOL that doesn't mean you're not racist, you white redneck" from the morons who congregate here and call every white person a racist as soon as they find out the poster is white. It's like "I have a black friend" and shit like that. Doesn't mean one doesn't still hate the race.
Well, I know a guy who said, "My best friend is Black. She works with me at school and she lets me know when I say something racist."
Josh, is your 'best' friend Black? If not, you are missing out on being exonerated as a racist White. By having a Black friend who is the best friend you have ever had gets you a 'pass'(if you know what I mean) for the life of the friendship. This is according to Rev Al Sharpton and he validates ALL passes given to Whites.
Why not make Yisheng your 'best' friend? She will most definitely let you know when you are being racist. Of course, you seldom are racist so it wouldn't be that often.
Think of all the Black fringe benefits you could get as a White Soul Brother!
PC married White? Well, do tell...Then why does he cuss and scream at the Whites on FN? Why does he call all Whites evil racists?
I don't get it. It just doesn't make sense.
Since Field is always praising PC for the way he slams Whites, maybe Field can explain this unusual phenomenon?
Blogger Josh said...
And I've dated black.
>>>>>
Hookers don't count Jilly.
Yīshēng said...
The fact is that YOU think PC "did well" marrying a White woman
What, do you expect him to marry something like you?
Wow, Yingyang sure is hung up on white women.
Wow, Yisheng, why do you hate black women so much? From holding white women up as the better option for black men, to calling black women hookers, you sure don't do much on that whole "black pride" thing, do ya?
Again, shameful.
"you seldom are racist so it wouldn't be that often"
Appreciated, but it's a matter of perspective. Because I'm white, that might be reversed -- I'm seldom not racist, at least according to folks here whose standards of racism include things like:
- Not agreeing with black people
- Blaming a black person for anything where white people are supposed to be blamed
- Cursing at a black person
- Daring to speak against black orthodoxy
- Not being a liberal Democrat
- Suggesting maybe black teens not attack police officers
- Not believing in the nonsense that is "white privilege"
- Being white
What Yisheng really thinks:
"Yeah, his "boo-boo" hurts because we have more education than he has and are in impressive careers as deemed by society. PC even married a White women he couldn't get being White his damn self."
So, I'm hurt because, apparently, I don't have the education and careers of some people here. I'm not as "impressive" as some here.
What is one of these highly educated, impressive things Field's members have done? Well, one married a white woman, which according to Yisheng, taking her by her own fucking words, and her exact context, makes Pilot* a very impressive individual. He could land a white wife -- and not just any white wife, mind you, but one who apparently only wanted black men.
(*Or is it Purple Cow? I can never tell when Yingaling writes; she has so many different monikers for people. Anyway...)
What the actual fuck? To people who wish to objectively judge this, yes, I'm white; and, yes, it most certainly is Yisgheng praising a black man for accomplishing the impressive feat of marrying a white woman.
Black women, how does that make you feel? Pretend I'm not white for a minute and focus on the question, not the person asking it. Lilac, FP -- is this thing on?
And people here continue to praise this nutcase!
"Josh, is your 'best' friend Black? If not, you are missing out on being exonerated as a racist White. By having a Black friend who is the best friend you have ever had gets you a 'pass'(if you know what I mean) for the life of the friendship."
In my real life, I get this supposed "pass" because of how I grew up and that people actually know me. It's not a real thing, however; I have a pass in Suitland, but not Chicago.
I'm told repeatedly here that I don't know jack shit about black culture or the black community or anything related to the black experience; I hear "it's a black thing; you wouldn't understand" so often that I'm starting to think it's a catch phrase. However, from what I can glean from commenters, a lot of black people here grew up in decent neighborhoods with both parents, went to decent schools, and didn't live a black impoverished life rife with despair and longing and brutality.
Whereas I, your humble white resident racist, actually did grow up in the hood around 98% black folks, and was on the underbelly of poverty right alongside the very people I'm told are impossible to understand for no other reason than my skin color.
Black people IRL know where I stand on issues of personal responsibility. And more actually agree than what some let on. However, to let the black people on Field's blog tell it, black people are so damn violent and unstable and illogical and irrational when it comes to any perceived slight, they would supposedly kill me IRL the first time I opened my mouth. lol
Talk about putting your race in a good light! Holy shit.
My best friend got shot point-blank range with a .357 because someone wanted his seat to play PS2. I know better than most here how irrational some of those idiots can be. But it is only some of those idiots. The overwhelming majority of these supposedly killer thugs in da hood just like to talk a tough game. And that's mostly a survival mechanism; you cannot be the weak one--the bitch--in that situation. You'll be tried on the daily.
Methinks some folks 'round here experienced the hood through Boyz n Da Hood and just pretend like they're tapped into it through ESP because they're also black.
Being black doesn't mean you know what it's like to be in that situation, anymore than my being white means I know what it's like to be George Clooney.
The prevailing theme on this blog seems to be taking things on faith and mysticism.
If these people think I'm a racist, so be it. I've been called that and a hell of a lot worse. And the reason it doesn't bother me is that the same people calling me racist I find calling every white commenter a racist!
Just as they say about the guy who walks down the street and sees assholes around every corner. He's actually the asshole.
Unfortunately your comprehension and observation skills have not improved since u have been gone.
Could be that you've written more about black achievement than I realize. I've gone from active participant here to occasional lurker because I got tired of having the same argument, which tends to boil down to some version of racial grievance, with white commenters serving as foils and flack catchers.
I'd hoped that coming here would broaden my understanding of black folks, but if anything this place tends to narrow it. This is quite a deal, given how little interaction I have with blacks in daily life. But that little amount of it is more diverse and enlightening, and definitely less tense. In the real world, most people really do want to just get along. Imagine that.
Anyway, one surprise I had along the twisted path involved the Moonie rag, The Washington Times. When I lived in D.C. almost 30 years ago, I read both it and the The Washington Post, and was shocked -- honestly shocked, no kidding -- to see so much more detailed coverage of black achievement in the Moonie rag.
I still have a dim recollection of when it really hit me. The Moonie rag did a long story about a black man's retirement after a distinguished military career. Not a hero, but definitely an achiever. I read that and thought to myself, "Here's this wingnut newspaper, and I'm regularly seeing stuff like this here, but in the liberal Post you never see anything like this at all."
I mention this because not until I lived among black people in Washington did I really begin to crawl out of my shell around black people. And you can snort and laugh if you want, but those stories in the Moonie rag made a difference.
So that's why I popped up. No one should interpret me to mean that I somehow think the tragedy can or should be ignored. But maybe this is where the Evil White Gay Yuppies have something to say: No matter how bad it ever got there in the '80s and '90s with all the dying, that tribe (which isn't all white or all yuppie, but seems to seen that way by many of your regulars) always managed to hold a parade once a year.
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