RACE in Movies

So I went to my first Writer’s Group recently and toward the end of our meeting, we all did a free writing exercise. Free writing is when you take to pen and paper (or keyboard to word processor), set time and write with reckless abandon until your time clock stops. At this particular event, we had exactly 7 minutes to respond to a prompt. Our prompt given before the timer was set began, “It’s always interesting that…” and from there we were encouraged to write, freely until the time of 7 minutes was over. 

I would like to share with you what I wrote and I encourage you to respond, freely! 

My 7 minutes of free writing: 

It’s always interesting that the movies made about Black people that win all of the awards have storylines based in stereotypes! Sure, Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won the Oscar. But look at the roles they played and the stories they portrayed! Denzel put on an award-winning performance in the movie John Q and The Great Debaters yet did not win an Oscar. And Halle had to DEGRADE herself to win that honor. 

It’s not just Black people who suffer this phenomenon. I’m sure Latinas are tired of seeing themselves portrayed in movies as the maid who doesn’t speak English or the Dominican woman who is ready to slice you with her collection of knives. And I’m certain Asians do not want to always fill the roles of the owner of the 7-Eleven or dry cleaners! 

The problem with these stereotypes is that they only show ONE SIDE of a person’s culture and history! There is SO MUCH MORE to Black culture than the ghetto and Ebonics and eating fried foods! There is SO MUCH MORE to Hispanic culture than gang violence and knives and border crossing issues! There is SO MUCH MORE to Asian culture than dumplings, sushi and the caste system! 

Now let this be your writing prompt: What do you think about the roles given to minorities in movies and the stereotypes they have to battle in real life?

Respond in the comment section. 

Sincerely, 

Alexis