bell hooks Talks About Racism And Sexism In Film and pop culture.
Whenever Hollywood wants to make a movie about violent male characters you just know that men of colour are going to be depicted as evil. Jodie Foster’s new film, “The Brave One”, has been receiving a lot of positive press. However, after I watched black feminist bell hooks talk about the representations of racism and sexism in films it got me thinking about the images of black men in film.
bell hooks is a genius because she understands the importance of popular culture and how images in movies are manifestations of not only our beliefs but also of our prejudices. Since the beginning of Hollywood there has been an impetus to depict black people in a negative light.
Jodie Foster’s new film “The Brave One”, is being presented as a feminist film yet the movie is very misandrist and racist. Foster has been typecast as the pretty white female victim, in her films for the past two decades now. Foster has received a lot of positive press for her new film even though its a rip off of the film “The Death Wish”. According to the mainstream media, it is “empowering” for Foster’s character a pretty white woman to kill men especially black and hispanic men.
Would “The Brave One” be praised by the media if say Roseanne Barr or Rosie O Donnell was the lead instead of Jodie Foster? Its no surprise society likes seeing pretty, thin, women in movies being vulnerable and in danger but somehow overcomes this by murdering men.
bell hooks reminds us from her outstanding book “Outlaw Culture”, that we must be “enlightened witnesses” to these racist images. The reason actors of colour were chosen for the movie “The Brave One” is because men of colour are traditionally viewed as the ”bad guys”. Also these racist representations of black manhood are palatable to people. Racism sells and Hollywood has been doing this for decades. People believe young black men and other men of colour are “violent” and “evil”. The filmmakers are “conscious” of this obvious racism so they place the Terrance Howard character as the “noble” good black man in the film. Howard’s character does not conceal the deleterious racist and misandrist messages this movie is sending.
In “The Brave One”, the violent men are men of colour there are the hispanic thugs that attack Foster’s character and her partner in Central Park. Also, Foster is the potential ”victim” of a rape and attack on the subway by two young black men. The trailer for the “The Brave One” has the latino and black men as the violent sadistic aggressors. After watching the bell hooks clip it makes perfect sense that the mainstream not only want to view men of colour as violent but racism sells.
Now some people may say “well its just a movie ” but bell hooks reminds us that no racism in films are socially constructed. Movies like “The Brave One” are not just movies they are powerful tools that are created to elicit a response in the public. “The Brave One” is a perfect example of the phrase hooks created called “White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy.”
People just watch movies unconsciously and they don’t “think” about what they are seeing and the collective thinking that emerges. There is a cultural production of this obvious supremacy and people should be cognizant of it. I think critical media literacy is necessary and its not surprising that the media has glossed over the blatant racist messages this movie is sending.
Gayblackcanada 
Thank you for writting this. I’m a lesbian and I’ve had a crush on Jodie since I can remember. I went to this film to get my “jodie fix”. I’m sorry I spent the money. The racism is as blatant as it comes, and yes as you say, the predictable hollywood formula works, typical unconcious white supremist america will eat this up. What you hadn’t mentioned was the only African female character. She at first is stereotyped as the angry black woman in the building. Only later to be reduced to the mystical, “mammy” that comes to the rescue of the “ailing” pretty white woman. Plus there is nothing hot about Jodie producing such trash. I ran home to log on and see if anyone else was as outraged as I am. I thank you for a place to vent.
Yes it is racist against niggers. It’s racist because niggers commit more than their fair share of violent murders, rapes, and burglaries and we all know it. The facts bear this out. So whenever niggers commit violent acts in movies it is racist, because racism is realism. Of course, Jodie’s character also is a coalburning whore who fucks an arab and flirts with a nigger in the movie, so basically your whole theory is full of shit. This movie is just another in a huge string of anti-White racist movies meant to disparage and defame White people.
So fuck off nigger. Who cares if you protest against this piece of shit movie.
Jail the Jena Six!
I’m troubled about this film, African Americans are now considered disposable by Hollywood, and the far left. African Americans wouldn’t sacrifice themselves for the far leftist political agenda (don’t presume anything, I am a liberal democrat). The gay mafia have been refusing to address their own racism and elitism. They refuse to address the racism that is perpetuated in the gay community.
Whether it’s their attempt to take down the young star of Grey’s Anatomy, or Ian McKellan’s inferring that he didn’t get an Oscar for his work in one of the Lord of the Rings trilogy because it was and I quote, “the year of the blacks”, as though Halle Berry and Denzel Washington only received their awards that year because they were pitied.
I believe that there needs to be a serious discussion about this, and it shouldn’t be allowed to just go away. It’s as though civil rights and social justice are to be redefined to only apply to the wealthiest, and that equality is only for those affluent enough to pay for it.
Well The Brave One is bombing at the box office according to http://www.boxofficemojo.com. The movie’s only made $35 million in North America. bell hooks comments about how racism is used in pop culture to sell films is just to the point. hooks documentary is over a decade old yet everything she says makes sense in today’s world.
Listen nobluegums, you sound just as ignored as your name, you the nigger. The conditions of African Americans is directly and indirectly motivated by white supremacy in this racial patriarchal known as the United States. Tell your government and president to provide better schooling, change this unfair justice system (which is a modern day form of slavery, provide better opportunities,and support systems in black communities. You would see change nigga
HI.
I am in Latin America. REnted this movie today and when I saw it was yet another movie with white woman black man I want take it back to video store. I no like movies like that Politically Correct. Stupid.
But then I saw your review and hear you complain. If you are Black and dont like this movies, then I watch it because I don’t like Black man. He too violent and weak and need white man but hate him and can not shut up for these things. Keep quiet you weak man. Now I know why they call you “boy” because you so weak and complain all times.
I watch movie now and hope it is for this that you say, ie; she killing black mans. I like.
So I summed this up as:
Shame on that screen writer for not bowing down and sucking the shaft of spineless PC fantasy world where black people don’t ever commit crimes.
People like you want half of every photo in high school yearbooks to be a kid in a wheelchair. Get a life.
bell hooks commentary in regard to negative portrayals of blacks in Hollywood movies may have been timely and in point at one time in our history, say, 1950, but today it is 180 degrees removed from the truth. In fact, it is, in general and on average, the inverse of the truth. Most Hollywood studios are loathe to put out a movie that portrays blacks in a negative light, and realize it is politically correct and safe to show whites in the ‘bad guy’ roles. So in the vast majority of the time in this day and age, they do. In fact, this trend is so blatant that I don’t know how AngryBlackCanadianMan could put up this post with a straight face. Unless of course he was being sarcastic and just looking to get a rise out of folks.
it’s so funny that you have all these racist reactions to this post.
and then the same people say ”racism is over, you people are complaining about slavery, get over it”
as far as people being against black people. congratulations. you can’t think for yourself. you dont shut off the tv and read books.
and this is the result. you are brainwashed puppets. that sums yourt lives up