Delta4Embassy
Gold Member
The tv series the movie's based upon had an older British sorta white guy in the role. The 2014 movie has Denzel Washington who's black. I loved the movie. But playing Tetris again this morning (uh-oh...hehe) my abstract mind was freed up and I found myself wondering about it. Was watching the last 20 mins or so over and over much of last night because that gothy song "Vengeance" and the one before the credits are really good.
One of the complaints of people worrying about black stereotypes in Hollywood is they're only portrayed a few ways. Comedians, rappers, or criminals. So movies with black leads either depict the black lead in a humourous, seemingly flattering or positive way, as a struggling or successful musician, or as some variety of criminal. In the case of "The Equilizer" while it's true the lead is the hero, he's also doing his thing in only illegal ways. And one can't but notice it's against entirely white people perpetuating the stereotype that blacks are a major violent threat against white people.
In the movie 'the black guy muders many white people (at least 15,) assaults police (albeit corrupt extorting police,( and then needs to go 'get help' from two white people.' Now many I just watch movies too much, but to me intentional or not this is worth discussion.
At first I thought the casting director's choice of a black lead for the movie was 'to make a black man the hero.' And that is in fact the case. But the other angle works too, the black guy is a criminal, however justified and sympathetic.
One of the complaints of people worrying about black stereotypes in Hollywood is they're only portrayed a few ways. Comedians, rappers, or criminals. So movies with black leads either depict the black lead in a humourous, seemingly flattering or positive way, as a struggling or successful musician, or as some variety of criminal. In the case of "The Equilizer" while it's true the lead is the hero, he's also doing his thing in only illegal ways. And one can't but notice it's against entirely white people perpetuating the stereotype that blacks are a major violent threat against white people.
In the movie 'the black guy muders many white people (at least 15,) assaults police (albeit corrupt extorting police,( and then needs to go 'get help' from two white people.' Now many I just watch movies too much, but to me intentional or not this is worth discussion.
At first I thought the casting director's choice of a black lead for the movie was 'to make a black man the hero.' And that is in fact the case. But the other angle works too, the black guy is a criminal, however justified and sympathetic.
