03.31.08
NO, 21 is NOT a Racist Movie.
Yeah, I said it… NO, 21 is NOT a racist movie.
21 is not exactly racist. The re-working of the details to appeal to a broader audience was not exactly racist either. The people who enjoyed the movie are not necessarily racist. Let’s be clear about that. These were simply business decisions. The film 21 is probably a decent movie, despite what the critics have said.
However, the presuppositions upon which the casting decisions were made were indeed RACIST: These business decisions were based upon the presupposition that box-office success of a film is achieved when you have white leads with Asian supporting characters, rather than Asian leads with white supporting characters.
Have you thought for a minute about why that is, and what that means in a broader, social sense? Have you thought about what that could mean for your children? Is that something you’re willing to accept? Pause here, and think about that for a minute…
I’ll tell you what’s racist… people who accept a racist presupposition, and proceed to profit from it: William S. Beasley, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Ryan Kavanaugh, Brett Ratner, Kevin Spacey. That’s why they don’t deserve your money.
So, go ahead and see 21 if you want. Just DO NOT pay for it. They don’t deserve your money.