Crossposting this from Angelus'
"I Can't Relate" thread. Similar to white savior movie lists, I need someone with more drive and movie/TV knowledge to catalog the instances of this happening.
On that subject I've read views about romance depictions in film making people uncomfortable. I've read people saying that they don't like watching white women hooking up with males of different ethnicities on screen, but they're fairly okay with off screen suggestion. This has always been mindblowing to me as well; I was looking for a thought piece written by some guy giving his reason he doesn't like seeing it. His argument is that he and many men like him unfortunately see women as "property" for lack of a better word (I think he says something about the woman being like the trophy for the main and that seeing a white man "conquer" a minority woman is like an ego boost; while seeing a minority male "conquer" a white woman annoys them and feels like an attack on his manhood).
I personally don't understand that; but on some level many people in Hollywood must think this way themselves, or assume the audience thinks the same way because despite BM/WF making up the largest percent of interracial relationships in the US, they're the least represented in media. While WM/BF are grossly over represented in media. Another issue is that WM/*F romances are always shown on screen, while minority male/white female are rarely shown on screen (random example being in Prometheus. Charlize Theron/Idris Elba's quickie isn't shown on screen in any capacity only insinuated).
Given how Hollywood works (assumption of audience + focus groups) this is a large problem with increasing diversity in films; Hollywood assumes that movie goers won't want to watch a movie in which the main character isn't a white male as it will turn too many people off. Now at one point in the US this definitely might have been the case.
I've touched on this several times before and was reluctant to make a thread about it due to the visceral reactions I've gotten over the mere mention of it in the past.
Honestly, it stinks. Movies and television love bending to the will of racists and the mentally shut-in. The totally asexual black (Asian, Hispanic, Arab, Indian) male is a real problem in entertainment. If anyone is confused what this is about, just look it up and then pay close attention to the shows you watch. Men of color are usually dickless with no discernible sex drives, while white men right alongside them are hooking up with women from all backgrounds. Perfect example: Baby Mama with Fey and Pohler. Malco and Pohler (below) should have obviously hooked up and were probably meant to in some version of the script. But you know... Hollywood.
Relevant quote from an article about this trash:
The White Liberal Feminism of Tina Fey and Baby Mama
There are few roles for people of color in Baby Mamas white world. The biggest is that of Feys doorman, Oscar Priyan (played by Romany Malco), who assumes the role of the Magical Negro, receiving no character development but dispensing much sassy advice and support to the two white female protagonists with whom he never, ever has any sexual tension. Towards the end I though perhaps Amy Poehlers character would end up coupled with himduring a climactic spat Fey calls her white trash to which she replies I deserve that and Malco intones no, you dont. Wow, is Baby Mama actually going to develop the latent class-solidarity theme that cried out from under the cutsey scenes of Poehler and Malco asexually bonding? Given the predictable, formulaic trajectory of the entire movie (I spotted the films final twist the second Fey met Greg Kinnear), they should have gotten togetherexcept for the Magical Negro law which forbids him from having any sex life, especially one involving a white lady.
Now we have women of color being thrown into the spotlight, but only if they're constantly lusting after and having sex with white men (Scandal, Mindy). Yay, ratings! Shonda Rhimes is fully aware that Scandal would not sell to audiences if it was black woman/black president nor white woman/black president. Mindy Kaling has apparently gotten a ton of support from minority groups to help launch her career (
MANAA Asks Fox To End White Only Dating Policy on Mindy Project) but knew her show should would bomb if she didn't surround herself with an attractive white supporting cast and endlessly date white men only. I read she eventually added a minority character: a stereotypically sassy black nurse. She's gotten well-deserved criticism and only taken on a really shitty defensive stance. She made it big (with help from people like her) so who cares, right? Figures.
Relevant:
Mindy Kaling Only Makes Out With White Guys on The Mindy Project
Anyway, this isn't true diversity representative of real life. It's the continuing pandering to narrow-minded Americans and indulging in white male fantasies of getting the exotic colored girl. I'm over this nonsense.
