So, apparently Leslie Jones' character in Ghostbusters isn't as bad as many people (including myself) expected.
I think there is a discussion to be had among black nerds about how quick we are to throw some black characters and actors/actresses under the bus to avoid stereotypes.
For example, due to weakness (like Finn in Star Wars, hell even Black Panther right now in his comic).
Or
Loosely fitting perceived stereotypes (Most of Leslie Jones' characters)
I mean, I'll get at him for his own respectability, bootstrap shit, but sometimes it feels like folks don't even like the fact that people like Kevin Hart or Leslie Jones even exist.
We're guilty of respectability politics on our own people. I mean, I would have loved if Leslie Jones' character was a scientist (especially since Winston got rewritten in the original to just be an unemployed guy who needed a job). But you know what? Many of us know someone like the characters Leslie Jones plays. Or the ones that Kevin Hart plays. It's real bougie of me to say, "Ugh, here's that mess again," when I know a co-worker who /is/ Leslie Jones, only just a little bit shorter.
What should change is the writing and the directing. If we have more roles written for us within a movie (as opposed to a token PoC part), we'll get a Ghostbusters with Leslie Jones as the MTA and, say, Kerry Washington as a scientist. Or with Kerry Washington as the MTA person and Leslie Jones as the scientist. More roles means more diverse roles means that more of the black experience can be shown.
(I still wish that Sofia Vergara was in the Kristen Wiig part.)
But, if you want a multiracial team of ladies (with more than one black person) who can kick some ass...
