A few days ago, actress Teyonah Parris shared the following image on her instagram page:
If youโre unfamiliar, the little natural pictured is standing next to an ad for the new animated film, Home. The film is a product of Dreamworks and features their first black animated character, Tip, who is voiced by Rihanna.
Credit:FashionBombDaily
Weโre super excited to see the main character is not only a black girl but one with natural hair. This is all well and good butโฆthe way the film has been promoted seems to dismiss the existence of the black character altogether. Some posters donโt even mention Rihannaโs name. In fact, if youโre driving down the ritzy parts of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, youโll see this ad:
DailyBillboardblog.blogspot.com
The billboard features the other main character Oh, voiced by Jim Parsons, and a cat. These ads โ which fail to mention Rihannaโs character โ are all over Los Angeles. One writer took on the task of locating ads that prominently feature the black character:
#poll 4 article on #diversity! Which ad is in your area and whatโs your areaโs demographic? #HOMEMovie #BlackTwitter pic.twitter.com/0dRQL1bXiX โ Brenna Smith (@BatBrenna) March 9, 2015
What she found was interesting: ads featuring the black character were only displayed in neighborhoods that had a mostly black demographic. In all other areas, the only ads displayed were that of the alien and the cat. Itโs 2015. Youโve made the monumental stride of producing a film that centers around a black character, why take a step back and fail to make ads that reflect this? This is similar to what happened with the release of Annie. Some billboards simply said โAnnieโ and nothing else.
dailybillboardblog.blogspot.com
No mention of young Quvenzhanรฉ Wallis. Letโs also not forget that Target completely scrubbed the image of Quvenzhanรฉโs Annie in itโs film merchandise.
ChicagoNow
Then thereโs Steve McQueenโs 12 Years a Slave somehow advertised overseas in Italy as a movie featuring white actors:
Kermito
They have Chiwetel Ejioforโs character โ the main character โ Solomon Northrup playing second fiddle to Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt as if the film was about them. The film was called 12 Years a Slave not โ12 Years of Being a White Guy in the Antebellum South.โ And does anyone even recall how long Brad Pitt was on screen?
Does Hollywood think people wonโt spend their hard earned coins on a production because thereโs a *gasp* black person in it? Have they seen the record-breaking ratings for Empire?
Representation matters. You better recognize.
Have you seen promos for the film, Home in your area? What type of ad is displayed? How do you feel about the blanket โcolorlessโ marketing strategy?
The sad thing is young children wonโt even notice the main character is not White.
Iโm pretty sure young black kids will. Iโve worked with little kids and Iโve noticed that the children of color are aware of their race/ethnicity more than their white counterparts.
Personally, Iโve always known I was black, even as a kid. It was just a fact that I knew about myself.
But kids age 6 (maybe even younger) and above, will notice. Especially little black girls, trust me.
Itโs been proven that kids do notice race, http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/13/doll.study/
They might not realise it, but they do.
I think thatโs good for white children. Theyโll connect on a human level with a character rather than look at that characters experiences as different or separate from their own. Black kids are going to know sheโs black.
I agree. Weโre a white family, and my daughterโs are very, very young. The discussion on race at our house, until theyโre old enough to grasp the intricacies of it, is very simple; color is only on the outside and everyone is the same inside. Home is their favorite movie, the only comment theyโve made about Tip Tucciโs appearence is how beautiful her hair is, the rest of the talk is about how funny and tough and smart she is. Thatโs how we like our girls to think, letโs talk about the girl, not her color.โบ
Iโm really glad thereโs a movie with a black character with natural hair. I realised how so much of my insecurity about being a black woman stemmed from my childhood, and this subtly pervasive message that I was invisible as a black child compared to my white peers. Thereโs still a long way to go but maybeโฆone day
You had me until you mentioned empire. Representation matters huh? Regardless of the money or popularity Look at the image & message behind what empire promotes. Is that all we are / represent?? Back to the article: you pose a great question at the end & truth be told the marketing strategy (altogether the american culture) will not change until race is NOT an issue. We should all be aware of this by now.
I donโt watch it but knowing how Lee Daniels really thinks makes me not want to ever watch it. I wonโt be surprised if it eventually gets undeniably problematic and/or gets taken over by white characters.
Iโm finally realizing that alot of black folks in the industry are out of their minds. Theyโve been really exposing themselves lately.
I agree with your last sentence.
Yeah, a show which is a modern interpretation of Shakespeareโs King Learโฆthat deals with mental illness, homophobia, and portrays black characters as complex individuals is sooo terrible!
Iโm no fan of Lee Daniels, but come on son.
LoL. Youโre giving that show waaaaay too much credit. Itโs a Fox cash cow whose stories have about as much though behind them as an episode of Teletubbies.
What image and message are you saying Empire promotes? That show has a variety of black images, from innocent to guilty, all hair types, skin tones, and personalities, with some very dynamic story lines, from wealth, greed, loyalty, and family ties to mental health, social activism, gay rights, and domestic abuse. I would think a show this dynamic about a black family is what we should want to see. What problem do you have with it being referenced in the article?
A lot of black people have what I call the โperfect negro syndromeโ. Any image that doesnโt project that we are perfect every day, in every way is a problem.
Bad/Sad/Hurt/Disturbed/Indifferent black people doesnโt exist in their world. None of the other character attributes you mentioned about the cast matters to them.
There are enough โimperfectโ images of us. Look at history and you see black people are torn down in every which way. Why canโt enjoy a period of perfect imagery. Even a hundred years of perfect imagery cannot undo the damage of centuries of misrepresentation and anti-black campaigning has done.
Empire ruins everything. Bad writing and lazy plots but its got black people doing black things while being hard so itโs just amazing. 150 years and black people are still recognized only for music and athletics and they like it that way.
Idk, her image has been all over my tv via commercials promoting the movie!
Her mother is played by Jlo though, I wouldnโt call her Black character.
Lol! Special snowflake much?
If the original Annie character had been black, and later remade to be white, the whole black community would have staged national protest over it. Even BGLH would be fuming and writing articles to express their disdain.
I just want us to think, โwhenever we are quick to point at others, what would we have done if we were the ones in the focus?โ
I guess anyone can pretend to be black on the internet because this sounds exactly like the arguments Iโve seen from racists complaining about โblackwashingโ: http://thedailybanter.com/2014/03/moronic-racists-appalling-reaction-to-black-actress-starring-in-annie-remake/ Iโm also not sure what this comment has to do with this post, but Iโll bite. Comments like this are illogical and so far removed from reality. Diversity is Hollywood is abysmal. There have been numerous reports confirming this. http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/ucla-releases-scathing-report-on-diversity-in-the-film-and-tv-business One only has to look as far as the Oscars, the people nominated, films nominated, and audience represented. Can we honestly stop pretending as though people of colour have equal representation to white people? Contextually,… Read more »
Itโs hard to make a valid argument out of what you imagine a group of people โwouldโ do. Numerous films have cast non-blacks in roles portraying actual, real-life black people. Iโve yet to see any national protests.
From a marketing standpoint it makes perfect sense. They have to appeal to the local demographic. They are trying to sell tickets, and get a big payback on the investment. What minorities can do to show the worth of black films/actors is show up to support the film. Itโs all about money and the appeal.
Itโs funny how this logic doesnโt work in reverse. A movie starring white people will always have white faces posted up in lower income/mostly minority neighborhoods.
Studies prove that white people are inherently bias, but catering to those biases just reinforces racism instead of challenging it.
Actually it doesnโt make sense from a marketing standpoint. That logic assumes that white moviegoers are inherently racist and will only go see a movie about black people if theyโve been tricked into seeing it. Lots of evidence indicate that assumption comes from Hollywood and not from the public.
I enjoy Empire but would have appreciated seeing black characters that werenโt associated with drugs or criminal activities or entertainment centered roles. (perhaps Lusciousโ lawyer could have been played by a black man, or his doctor or the parole officer). Itโs the general negative portrayal of blacks that I hate.
Thank you!
You may be right. Chris Rock said it best: the goal is not for black people to become or be seen as brilliant unicorns that can do no wrong; itโs for us to be allowed to be mediocre or even fail and it not be an indictment on the entire community because weโre all individuals, not representatives. TV characters should be allowed to have flaws coupled with their redeeming qualities. The setting of the story may be stereotypical because itโs a family that started in poverty and crime that rose to music riches, but the context is relatable to all… Read more »
Yes, there is racist movie marketing, the examples above clearly show that. HOWEVER, when it comes to kidsโ movies, the cute, non-human character often takes precedence over the human child characters in the marketing. Examples: Lilo and Stitch (little blue monster), Frozen (the snowman Olaf), the minions in Depsciable Me, not to mention Sesame Street, childrenโs cerealsโฆthe list goes on. In the era of Doc McStuffins and Dora the Explorer, where little brown girls are center stage, I am hestiant to call the marketing for Home โracistโ, per se. Just my 2 cents.
You were right in all of those examples except Frozen. All I saw were Elsa and Anna all over the place. Olaf was there, but the main character(s) represented were the human princesses.
Actually, Disneyโs original marketing campaign for FROZEN focused heavily on Olaf. The teaser for the film only featured Olaf too. Variety did a good write up on this when the film came out. And they discuss how the marketing campaign downplayed the princesses โ they pretty much downplayed anything female until they realized that it served their purpose to play up the princesses. http://variety.com/2013/film/columns/why-disneys-marketing-campaign-doesnt-do-frozen-justice-1200908996/
Interesting point. So with that logic lets see if the merchandise that follows the film has the black character featured as the main product in the same way Frozen has. I see the dolls everywhere, especially the main white-haired character.
So based on this comment and a few others, I would say that the Stormfront trolls have arrived.โฆ
Because my background is in marketing I understand it. It doesnโt make it right, but I understand it.
Yup Iโm a marketer too and I agree. I know exactly the type of data and decision making that would have been behind this. It may not be right but we know itโs all based on consumer behavior.
Your opinion is your opinion. Same for me. So before I get into a debate on the things you listed (dynamics of the show) I will end the discussion here with this .
I wasnโt debating you. You referenced Empire without saying exactly what was wrong with it, so I asked you to elaborate. I donโt work for FOX or Lee Daniels, so itโs not my job to convert you. I just wanted a better understanding of your viewpoint, but youโre free to keep it to yourself.
Black people doing black things? They like it that way?? Hmm??? Interesting.
Whatโs interesting? Itโs sarcasm. The show is one big stereotype of unthoughtful cliches and melodrama. Itโs black people as America views them doing shitty things and making annoying music. It pisses me off how popular this show is with other black people because itโs downright bad and it promotes hero worship of shitty, murdering, drug dealing rappers. Itโs part of the reason why so many people think that rapping and professional sports is a realistic career goal. Black people are good for other things besides rap music and sports but youโll be hard pressed to find a popular black role… Read more »
Anyone who says the show promotes hero worship of these types has either not watched Empire (and are basing their opinions off previews), or have not paid any attention.
Luciousโ character is the quintessential โmurdering drug-dealing rapperโ youโre referring to and heโs objectively the absolute worst. No one likes him, not even his own family.
There are also black characters in the series that arenโt involved with the record company or sports, so???
The show is centered around the entertainment industry so save youโre flimsy arguments about the characters. Of course there are characters that arenโt directly involved with that stuff, like extras and other characters that arenโt central to the plot. Consider for a moment that youโre defending a pretty stupid show first and foremost that panders to the lowest common denominator. Case and point, Drip Drop. It gets away with itโs stupid and cliched storylines and lazy writing by giving us fictionalized versions of idiiot celebrities that people pay too much attention to anyway. It puts the worst parts of black… Read more »
I feel like they should have made this small step larger by including the girl and the purple alienโฆ
I hate that I agree with your point, because I just would like for it to be easier to just throw things out there as they should be without trying to make it palatable to our immature (to say the least) society.
LOL! I guess YOU PEOPLE did you not read the leaked Sony emails? I donโt see how any reasonable minded person would seriously think how movies are promoted has NOTHING to do with race. Movie executives have flat out admitted that US films featuring black actors in starring roles do not play well to white European audiences. That is the reason for the Brad Pitt poster which makes him huge even though heโs in the movie for like two minutes. Iโm not upset about it because to me itโs not about black or white but green but still maybe you… Read more »
As messed up as it is. If they advertised that the main character is a black girl, especially with natural hair in some white neighborhoods, certain people wouldnโt take their children to watch it. Straight up. At least when those parents take the children to watch the movie, and they see it is a black character, the ticket is already bought. There isnโt anything they can do because at least ticket sales will be up. We winning!
I wish it were as simple as that. As the shooting of Trayvon Martin and others have shown, though, you can be walking down the street with a bag of skittles and STILL be killed โ for no other reason than that youโre black. See also this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/11/06/iโtaught-my-black-kids-that-their-elite-upbringing-would-protect-them-from-discrimination-i-was-wrong/
So no, it is not โthinking about racismโ that causes racism to exist. Racism exists, period.
*sigh* They also donโt seem to know that all Calico cats are female, except for the occasional hermaphroditeโthe Calico cat character is referred to as โheโ whenever I see it referenced. Hollywood marketers donโt like promoting characters who are black *or* female because theyโre chasing after the young, white male demographic and they have it in their heads that their target demographic wonโt go to see movies with characters that contain coded non-white or female characters (pls note, the little purple alien is coded white male.) I guess having two main female characters out of three was overwhelming for the… Read more »
It actually happens quite a bit, where the ads campaign for spin-off โwhateversโ that is โinspired byโ but not directly movie-related is also โadvertised byโ models that are not the actresses. Iโve done a double-take more than once. That having been said. I repeat, Iโve done a double-take. i looked closely and thought โoh, thatโs not her/himโ. Their use of an a model that wasnโt even remotely similar was off-putting and off-script. Target could and should do better.
As long as white supremacy is in charge, black people will always be misrepresented
We need to establish our own power
This kind of thing happens frequently in advertising โ the amount of suggestion and sleight of hand that goes into any advertising campaign can be unbelievable at times, but I think Trina is right. I donโt think the folks in charge of what poster went where were unaware (try saying that five times fast) of how it might look, but ads are meant to cater to their audience. And it could be argued that itโs less that โWhite people wonโt see this if the lead is blackโ and more of โblack people WILL see this if the lead is black.โ Something… Read more »
A lot of companies employ this tactic. They cater to the specific demographic. For example, the H&R Block ads which feature the White, male Tax Pro (named Richard). Unbeknownst to most, there is a Latino version of him who represents their Latino communities in flyers, brochures & in television ads on Univision and telemundo.
You say that as if the premise was set in stone and couldnโt have been literally anything else. Hell, the source material from which the film was adapted didnโt even have the princess turn into a frogโthat was a deliberate decision made by Disney.
The aliens donโt seem to have much of an opinion on race at allโChief Shouting Bear isnโt an alien, heโs a Native American living in Roswell, so his grievances are pretty personal.
Shorter marketing professionals: โMarketing is all about catering to bigotry, therefore it isnโt racist to try to hide black faces from bigots in your target demographic.โ
OK guys.
How about next time, yโall just try assuming that we KNOW that marketing involves taking into account your customersโ racism, and instead focus on trying to figure out ways to market movies without, you know, REINFORCING RACISM.
yeah, itโs racist, but itโs not the media that it is, but society
โฆso should a powerful medium like advertising be reinforcing that or .โฆ hereโs an idea.โฆchallenging it at every turn. They do have the power to control the masses for good or bad.
I thought I was the only one to notice that. Yea, where is the main black little girl in all the print ads for this movie??? Shame on Dreamworks!
To be fair itโs not just because sheโs a black character. Itโs also because sheโs female.
Itโs called intersectionality. Sheโs both black and female at the same time, therefore both contribute to her erasure.
does โto be fairโ actually fit that statement?
lolโฆthank you! โฆ think the pointโs been missed there.
I had no idea that this film even had people in it. ๐ Looking forward to seeing it now!
http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/02/10/7โthings-color-blind-racist-friend-might-say-respond/
Colorblind
What they say:
โPeople are just people.โ โI donโt see color.โ โWeโre all just human.โ โCharacter, not color, is what counts with me.โ
Response:
โColorblindnessโ negates the cultural values, norms, expectations and life experiences of people of color. Even if an individual white person can ignore a personโs skin color, society does not.
Claiming to be โcolorblindโ can also be a defense when someone is afraid to discuss racism, especially if the assumption is that all conversation about race or color is racist. Color consciousness does not equal racism.
THANK YOU! .โฆPlease see my reply to โPeaceโ
I couldnโt agree with you more. Sounds more like an avoidance tactic when I hear the โcolourblindโ rhetoric.
Itโs 2015. Iโm tired of โwait and seeโ and โprogress takes timeโ and โbaby steps.โ
Every year itโs the same thing. Theyโre just tired excuses, especially when television has proven that diversity makes money. One of the biggest shows this year features black people in all the main/lead roles. The biggest moviegoers in the USA are also Latin@.
Rihanna is a massive star as well and theyโre using her to sell the film, so why not have her character on all the marketing material?
โOnly black people watch Empire.โ Even if this statement were entirely true, the fact that Empire is a hit/the biggest TV show on air means that black audiences have power. In fact, some of the most successful TV shows are led by people of colour with large audiences of colour. Ratings = advertising = money. People in this post keep saying that money talks, but apparently poc money isnโt good enough? In any case, Empire still has a large white audience, even if the black audience is bigger: http://nymag.tumblr.com/post/113988636605/empire-burst-onto-the-pop-culture-scene-back-in Black women specifically comprise the largest group, and isnโt it funny… Read more »
Itโs called racist marketing and confirmation bias.
As a white woman with close family members of several different racial backgrounds I am interested in your viewpoint and admit I get frustrated sometimes by all the talk of racism. I know it exists but honestly what can I do as one person other than be open to people as individuals, talk about it openly and try to live a kind life? I donโt know that being angry all the time contributes to an improvement in this area. When I say that โcolor doesnโt matterโ Iโm not trying to negate someones culture or identity Iโm trying to say it… Read more »
Put that beautiful little girl front and center and I KNOW it will promote the movie better than fictional aliens!
sighโฆ people find a problem with everything
Was just about to post the same thing. Seems like mainstream media canโt do anything with/about black ppl that doesnโt stir up some kind of controversy in our community. Smdh
Could be because being represented in mainstream media is important for self-confidence. If films only show and promote white characters, that automatically becomes the norm, and of course, whatโs deemed as better in society. Just like women need to be represented as more than the female love interest for the male protagonist, black people, and black women with natural hair (which is considered unprofessional from grade school through employment) NEED to be shown as a norm, in every shade and style we come in. The same with any other non-white race, shown and promoted outside or ridiculous, oft sexualised /… Read more »
I noticed that too if they have a problem with a black female why did they cast one ?
Unfortunately this is in the UK too. All the bus ads and posters Iโve seen just feature the alien and the cat โ nothing else. Iโd heard Dreamworks was releasing a film with a black female protagonist but I had no idea this was the one.
I guess I was referring to the aftermath, then. I really didnโt pay all that much to the lead-up to Frozen except on social media (tumblr, specifically), where ALL the focus was on the heroines.
All I know is that afterwards ALL I saw were Elsa and Anna (I worked at a Marshalls/TjMaxx that had its own Frozen section.โฆit was a mess.
They have to advertise to their audience white neighborhood white representation
I went to see the movie yesterday, really good film and liked the story line. But I donโt think Rihannaโs character was even black, I believe her character was bi-racial since her name was Gratuity โTipโ Tucci. Which sounds Italian and the mother whoโs voice was done by Jennifer Lopez ( Lucy Tucci ) visible appeared to be a Italian/white women in the film with a bi-racial daughter.
Even if she is bi racialโฆ she would still be black.โฆ
Ha ha ha.โฆ No youโre one of those narrow minded people! Like me sheโs in the mix.โฆ And proud! Iโm half white, half black so I could say Iโm white?! Ha ha ha ha, I love my English, Jamaican and Irish roots equally!
Iโm pretty sure Bri is referring to how people in the US view any person whoโs visibly or assumably mixed to any degree with black people. The one-drop-rule is old and racist as hell, but the vast majority of the US undoubtably still utilizes it. If youโre half black, or even presumably soโฆ really even racially ambiguous, but still have colorโฆ in the US people are going to refer to you and only accept you as black. Regardless of how mixed you are or what you really are. Its not really being narrow-minded to recognize that thats the environment we… Read more »
I took both my oldest children (both Black girls) to see โHomeโ after school Friday. The movie theatre was PACKED with Whites with a smattering of Hispanics and Asians. We were the only Blacks in the theatre for that showing. Both the parents and kids enjoyed the film and they clapped afterward. So, it seems that no one was actually offended by the Black female co-main character. At times though, it did seem as if the other co-main character, โOhโ, had a more dominant role. He seemed to have more screen time, more lines, and the fate of the movie… Read more »
โฆThen you may want to look into advertising and marketing psychology and strategy a little more closely. Every (cost-loaded) โriskโ is very carefully weighed and not in the interests of fairness or even ethics but of profits and at best liability.
I wonder if they were trying to lure people into the theater who might not have opted to see it if they thought it was a โblack film.โ (Some avoid Tyler Perryโs work for this reason, thinking his films wonโt speak to them.) Perhaps the strategy was to bring them in and then show them that human stories can be universal and if the experiences in them arenโt, then it will help people learn to empathize with characters better. Just one take on it.
Thatโs a very optimistic way of thinking about this. I can appreciate your view and I hope youโre right. As a black woman with my goals set high in the โwhite
collarโ world it disturbs me to even think that my skin color will
overshadow my intelligence and skill.
My thoughts exactly. Donโt you think it is sad though, that here in the 21st Century this still has to be the tactic because the black race is so marginalised and misunderstood by white society? I for one do think so, and also believe itโs pretty shameful that it is like that.
I agree!
Ummm..not surprised. I would like to be but Iโm not.
Yes, it is sad. But maybe this is how weโll get to the point that people will get past those divisions. We seem to be going in the direction of folks looking for conversations with people who look or think more like they do, and we need to all jump out of those shells and recognize how important it is for us to acknowledge our common humanity. If tricking people into seeing a movie they might avoid otherwise will help get them past that, I guess itโll have to do for now. Tomorrow, one hopes, will be another day.
Thatโs like theyโe got in NYC. Just Oh and the cat.
I donโt recall when Tip was caught smoking/drinking and โrunning around half nekkidโ. This article is about the image of Tip being replaced by an alien and a catโฆbecause somehow, those are more acceptable than a black kid. Rihanna is mentioned in passing, because she gives the voice of the character. Since when did kids gets so obsessive over voice actors anyway? My brothers love loads of animated shows, but donโt give a ratโs a** who gave the voice. Theyโre interested in the CHARACTER. The only people who would be interested in the voice actors, producers, e.t.c would be adults… Read more »
I have to agree with you, as my husband is from Jamaica and I am from America. My children are all different as far as their skin color, but they all identify as โbiracialโ and not just โblackโ. I try my very hardest to incorporate both cultures and even on surveys I never check just โblack/African Americanโ.โฆ I always check all that apply if available and โotherโ if only one option is available.
Home is about the Alien not the black girl. The Alien happens to befriend a girl that happens to be black. Now with Annie. The original was white. Sorry, but she was Though I would love to see the newer one it didnโt happen that way. Actually I remember in 5th grade I was selected to sing โThe Tomorrow Songโ and everyone praised me on that and I went to a pretty much all white school, so out of all the little girls that tried out I GOT IT! (Toot my horn on that one) I guess I was just… Read more »
Iโm glad you were surrounded by positive people, but the point of calling this out is, as your next to last sentence points out, Rihanna has pushed beyond stereotypes and landed a great role where she co-stars in a major animated film. She deserves to be promoted based on her talent, just like you deserved the role of Annie based on yours. To exclude her from the advertising is contrary to โmaking them pay attentionโ as you say, and that should be noted. Sheโs being ignored despite doing all the right things, which is the problem we face in most… Read more »
actually the movie is about the girl, she meets the alien dosent come into play until a later point peep the comment with the pictures.
yes the advertisers KNOW that many whites will NOT support the movie if they see that it features a โnon-whiteโ main character so that is why they do the ads like this. They know that most whites are racist & want everything to focus on them & everyone to look like them so when a movie or TV show comes out that doesnโt have a white star as the focal point the whites usually ignore it & choose not to see it. Racism will exist as long as a white race exists. They created racism, they maintain it and they… Read more »
Re: 12 Years a Slave โ Itโs called marketing (aka: selling your product). Regardless of the the movieโs story (or message), I want to put asses in the seats. So, Iโm going to display my product in the best way to bring in the most customers. Therefore, Iโm in Italy and I want to sell my American-made, English language movie to the most Italians possible. You know what Iโm going to do? Iโm going to put the big-name, internationally known, instantly recognizable Hollywood movie star on my poster. If Iโve got Brad Pitt in my movie, his face is going… Read more »
This reminds me of princess and the frog first black princess was a frog for 80% of the movie that really upset me. The outrage white people had about a black girl playing Annie upset me. They acted as I if she was a real life historical figure that a black person couldnโt play. Yet every biblical or Egyptian movie they have white characters.
I mean, that WAS the premise of the movie.
Also, have you ever seen The Prince of Egypt?
Only Black people watch Empire. Be real with yourself. How many people made a fuss on social media because of that Black girl in Hunger Games?
Studio execs know that racism is still a thing. At the end of the day they are just trying to get people into the theaters and make some money.
I find this interesting given that Mellody Hobson, a Black woman, and spouse of George Lucas, is the CHAIRWOMAN of Dreamworks Animation. So, I am sure that she has some INFLUENCE on the promotion of this movieโฆ
Link to Dream Work Board: http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/investor-relations/governance/board-of-directors/default.aspx
Mellody Hobson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellody_Hobson
The movie is based off a book called โthe true meaning of smekdayโ by adam rex, and while the book is a chapter book, it includes several pictures of the main character tip. (pictured below). I find it ironic how they almost white washed the character for the film, changing her puffs into big, loose curls. Also within the story the boov (the aliens) blame white people for the deaths of the Native Americans. Tip just so happens to be half white and it is made very apparent that the aliens dislike that side of her. โIโm half white,โ I said,… Read more »
Iโve seen the promos that introduce Rihanna as voice of the character & show her to be a curly haired light brown girl. Obviously, they donโt think Black faces on posters will appeal to non white audiences. And I wasnโt sure if the character is Black, thought maybe she could be racially ambiguous.
Why in the heck dose everything have to be about race with YOU PEOPLE and that how did you people become racist 25% is a good number. That means 75% of the time people are treated by their own actions. Which means that 25% of African Americans are racist towards American Americans ? Or letโs just call them WHITE.or is that racist ? I think itโs just a label thing. And 25% of white people are racist against black people. The other 75% of black people and white people and brown and any other colors out there are treated by… Read more »
โYou peopleโ? LOL!!!..i stopped reading half way through. it was hard to not read it all with all your compelling accurate โstatisticsโ supporting your pointโฆHILARIOUS!
Being cast in movies and not included on the posters and merchandise is something we need to start boycotting. This is happening so often itโs becoming acceptable. Iโll wait and see it on Netflix.
My background is in Marketing and the bottom line is to sell the product. When developing a market strategy the first thing to identify is your target market. They did and it was.โฆ.everyone who will pay money to see a movie. Naturally in a white area they will leave out the black face. In the black/minority areas ads will feature the black girl. I feel like they tried to reach the widest audience in hopes that people will just come see the movie. Small steps. When people get used to seeing black faces in a good movie. In time, maybe… Read more »
My background is in Marketing and the bottom line is to sell the product. When developing a market strategy the first thing to identify is your target market. They did and it was.โฆ.everyone who will pay money to see a movie. Naturally in a white area they will leave out the black face. In the black/minority areas ads will feature the black girl. I feel like they tried to reach the widest audience in hopes that people will just come see the movie. Small steps. When people get used to seeing black faces in a good movie. In time, maybe… Read more »
I wish I knew how to word this so it would affect anyone or sound bad but really itโs not just the racist people that make things the way they are. Itโs other people thinking that everyone is racist when they are not or thinking way too much of something and making it something itโs not. To me color does not matter at all, itโs about youโre attitude and how you treat others. There are famous people that everyone likes of every race, I just really wish people would stop seeing color or race and just see human.
Unfortunately we donโt live in such a Utopia as you describe. Take a casual look at some of the vitriolic commenters on YouTube as just one example and youโll get some idea of the harsh reality of racism, hatred, bigotry and the sheer number of people who still practise and hold to such views. It ainโt going away just because you wish it. If you really care then do something more than just claiming youโre oblivious to colour. Itโs so exasperating to hear your type of comments because it really is not that simple an issue. Take it from one… Read more »
Itโs marketing.โฆ.if they put the black girl in areas that are mostly white or non black, people will pay no attention to the movie.โฆ..unfortunately we are still very close minded in America. Theyโll look at it and think that is a โblack movieโ.โฆ
This has nothing to do with the race of the character. This is how they promote animated movies. They did this with Frozen. That movie starred two white princesses, but the advertising campaign focused on the snowman, Olaf. And if you ever saw the Despicable Me movies, you would know that the main characters are this white family, but you wouldnโt know that because the advertising focuses entirely on the Minions. Kids love small little creatures, and that sells.
I didnโt even know this was a black character until this article. I kept getting emails for free passes to see this and they showed the little girl with a robot on top of a car but it showed them from the behind. I thought to myself is that a black girl with natural hair? I wasnโt sure. Well if I had a little niece or girl I would have taken them to see it.
I see the point but what are we going to do? I think boycotting is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
While it may seem that the movie itself is downplaying the racial dynamic, I think theyโre going with what draws kids in. The last few animated movies marketed to kids all seem to downplay the human characters and focus on the creatures. Nobody thinks about Gru in Despicable Me. Itโs all about the minions. In Frozen, Olaf the snowman has enduring popularity. This one time I think itโs more about โspeciesโ of character and not so much about the race.
Same thing with Big Hero 6, all you saw was a big white robot (which looked more like a snowman to me) in the initial movie posters. However after winning an Oscar for the 2015 Best Animated Feature award, Disney has put the Japanese character alongside the robot on the cover of the DVDs. Hmmmmโฆ
its not a big deal, so many other films do this not just ones with black people.
I cant help but point out the lapse of logic in that counter-argument. That there is no issue here, because it happens to other people (though that still has to be substantiated with some level of evidence. And to be honest, like many things that affect various groups along racial lines, i wouldnt be surprised of black people get shafted here as well.). Thats called the Argumentum ad populum fallacy; that simply because everyone does it, or it happens all the time, or that it happens to everyoneโฆ that there isnt a problem, or that its on some level acceptable. Regardless… Read more »
I live in Finland. There are no posters featuring Tip here. Not a single one. Didnโt surprise me at all. They donโt even show Doc McStuffins in Finland, Iโm afraid itโs because of the color of the characterโs skin (they have all the other Disney shows like Sofia the First etc). ๐ When Princess and the Frog came out the movie was at least shown here but there was basically no Tiana merchandise available anywhere (they have for example all the white disney princess dolls in shops but no Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana etc). Being a mother of a biracial… Read more »
*sarcasm ahead* โOh yes.. letโs get mad about why they are hiding the main characterโฆ so when our young children who we let browse the Internet on their own from time to time go looking up her vevo videos and pics can see her spanking people with whips, smoking/drinking, and running around half nekkid (or whatever she does.) โ I donโt think this is about black or white. This is about her name tied to a childrenโs movie and other content she has thatโs not tied to a childrenโs movie. I think she has a great voice to do the movie, but… Read more »
That poster for 12 Years a Slave are shown like foreign countries like Italy, where I think movie companies knowing majority of the cast is white will bring in more viewers. (Stupid and ignorantly I know but it just how money works)