Black Guys in Movies

[Bijo]

Ya know, there was a time when I watched many movies, and you know what I often noticed back then? Black guys always died first! What the...? Is it some kind of rule to let them die first???

[Fragony]

Gives that little bit of extra to the victim part, hey it's hollywood. Night of the Living Dead was legendary because the hero was black, in the end he still gets shot. It's symbolism, I can think of a few bit more chiche's.

[Crazed Rabbit]

To weird you out even more; Which of the (good) transformers was first to be destroyed in the Transformers movie?

CR

[Lemur]

It's one of many Hollywood cliches. My personal favorite is the smokin' hot scientist, who is invariably in her early twenties, who just happens to have the vaccine/know the code/defuse the nuclear device/have expertise in the monster/etc.

She usually winds up macking on the hero.

[Mikeus Caesar]

'Hey now, i seen this film before, the black guy always dies first!'

Great film. It has all the hollywood cliches you could want, including the 'black guy dies first' cliche.

[Beefy187]

Matrix? Morpheus survived...

[pevergreen]

Terrible terrible joke.

[Crazed Rabbit]

It's one of many Hollywood cliches. My personal favorite is the smokin' hot scientist, who is invariably in her early twenties, who just happens to have the vaccine/know the code/defuse the nuclear device/have expertise in the monster/etc.

She usually winds up macking on the hero.

Funny how smart they are, with being a year out of grad school. And looking like models.

CR

[Cowhead418]

Now now, that isn't always true. Think of Snakes on a Plane. There were many black guys in that movie and not a single one of them died.

[Veho Nex]

Deep blue( errr one of those shark kill every one movies, you know where they testing sharks to find cure for cancer and the whole facility goes under) the black guy that wears glasses saves to the two white people and lives in the end

[lars573]

To weird you out even more; Which of the (good) transformers was first to be destroyed in the Transformers movie?

CR

Bad example. Jazz was the only Autobot who died. Bumblebee only got his legs blown off, totally fixable. Plus Jazz wasn't the first Transformer to die overall. That honour goes to Bonecrusher.

[CountArach]

To weird you out even more; Which of the (good) transformers was first to be destroyed in the Transformers movie?

CR

And why does everyone assume he is black despite him not being a black Transformer? Think about the stereotyping issues there!

[Crazed Rabbit]

And why does everyone assume he is black despite him not being a black Transformer? Think about the stereotyping issues there!

Ahem.

CR

[CountArach]

Ahem.

CR

I know, but the Transformer itself is not black...

[Beirut]

I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with this.

If anyone has a problem with this thread, PM me and it will come down.

[caravel]

This is a backroom thread IMHO as it discusses the issue of race and racial stereotyping in the media.

[Beirut]

And done. Thank you.

To the Backroom and awaaaaayyyyyy!

[ICantSpellDawg]

Deep blue( errr one of those shark kill every one movies, you know where they testing sharks to find cure for cancer and the whole facility goes under) the black guy that wears glasses saves to the two white people and lives in the end

The black guy doesn't die in a movie about the ocean? That's gotta be double points against the movie stereotype.

[caravel]

Black people in american movies do seem to have a very limited number of roles available to them. They're usually either comedy actors in movies that are aimed at a black audience, the white cop's partner or they play the typical gangster/prisoner types.

In anything not in this category they tend to be the black guy that dies first or the black guy that dies second (after the hacker/geek/bespectacled secondary scientist/techy guy has died). There are few black actors that have broken out of this and those that have done for the most part still had to do all of this kind of thing in the early part of their career.

[Adrian II]

Black people in american movies do seem to have a very limited number of roles available to them. They're usually either comedy actors in movies that are aimed at a black audience, the white cop's partner or they play the typical gangster/prisoner types.

In anything not in this category they tend to be the black guy that dies first or the black guy that dies second (after the hacker/geek/bespectacled secondary scientist/techy guy has died). There are few black actors that have broken out of this and those that have done for the most part still had to do all of this kind of thing in the early part of their career.

Eddy Murphy? Wesley Snipes? Danny Glover? Will Smith? Do they fit your description?

[El Diablo]

Black guy in movies - yeah they got it tough I will agree.

But not as bad as the security guys on Satr Trek.

Man there is no way I would head down on some god-forsaken planet with Will Shatner if I was wearing a red tunic. It may as well have been a bulls eye!

If you happened to be black and waring a red shirt - my condolances to your family.

[Goofball]

Eddy Murphy? Wesley Snipes? Danny Glover? Will Smith? Do they fit your description?

Welll.....

Arguably the most well known roles Murphy, Glover, and Smith have played have been of the "white cop's partner" variety...

[caravel]

@Goofball: Exactly.

Eddy Murphy? Wesley Snipes? Danny Glover? Will Smith? Do they fit your description?

Well done for naming the few rare exceptions though Eddy Murphy, originally a talented stand up artist, has starred in pretty much nothing but banal "comedies" in the twilight years of his career. They deserve some credit of course because they all broke the mould at some point.

But not as bad as the security guys on Satr Trek.

Don't even go there... The motto is if you're on an away team with William Shatner, check the colour of your shirt.

[Louis VI the Fat]

There are few black actors that have broken out of this

B..but there are also black actors who write, produce and star in their own movie!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Ronin]

The black guy doesn't die in a movie about the ocean? That's gotta be double points against the movie stereotype.

there are 2 black guys on that movie....

one dies half-way through (he is the top star of the movie...which I thought took some balls to kill that character off)...but the other one does survive and in fact kinda saves the day at the end.

[Papewaio]

If you happened to be black and waring a red shirt - my condolances to your family.

Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks).

[Mikeus Caesar]

Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks).

Greatest black guy of all time.

And definitely one of the best Star Trek captains of all time. In my view, definitely up there with Kirk and Picard.

[Proletariat]

@Goofball: Exactly.


Well done for naming the few rare exceptions though Eddy Murphy, originally a talented stand up artist, has starred in pretty much nothing but banal "comedies" in the twilight years of his career. They deserve some credit of course because they all broke the mould at some point.

Your 'few rare exceptions' are only the tip of the iceberg.

Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Samuel Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Don Cheadle, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr, James Earl Jones, Spike Lee, Sydney Poitier. Take a look on google, the list goes on and on.

[Husar]

Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Samuel Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Don Cheadle, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr, James Earl Jones, Spike Lee, Sydney Poitier. Take a look on google, the list goes on and on.

So where are the black women then?
Apart from two or three they're all supressed, held like slaves in Hollywood for minor roles etc. I see America still hasn't overcome slavery, racism and chauvinism...

[caravel]

Your 'few rare exceptions' are only the tip of the iceberg.

Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Samuel Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Don Cheadle, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr, James Earl Jones, Spike Lee, Sydney Poitier. Take a look on google, the list goes on and on.

All of which still fit the main categories as having been cast in the typical aforementioned roles at some point or other in their career. Basically almost all of these, including Freeman and Jackson, have become famous playing the stereotypical black gangster types. The only real notable exceptions there are Poitier and James Earl Jones. The rest of the black actors probably numbering in their thousands are still filling in playing gangsters, prisoners and criminals when the need arises for them. There isn't so great a need for black women actors as there aren't many white cop's black female partner type roles nor many, if any, female gangsta roles.