Posted on 03/03/2018 9:53:06 AM PST by EdnaMode
As we know, one way activists like to energize a serious campaign is to make them fun. That’s the approach taken by a group of young UK campaigners who want to shine a light on the lack of on-screen diversity.
In what one local communications director described as the PR stunt of the day, a group of young black Londoners, going under the banner Legally Black, have reimagined the posters of famous movies and TV shows such as Titanic, Harry Potter and Doctor Who by replacing white actors with black leads. “If you are surprised it means you don’t see enough black people in major roles,” says the group, many of whom are teenagers. Legally Black chose a fitting week to go viral as movies and activism will be particularly linked this weekend. Something tells me Three Billboards’ Mildred would approve.
The group, which roped in friends and family to star as their new ‘actor leads’, initially reached out to private media agencies about an official campaign on London buses but didn’t get a response. So fellow activist unit Special Patrol Group, which has in the past run “vandal advertising” campaigns targeting police corruption, took it on themselves to print out the posters and placed them in bus stop billboards overnight this week.
The stealth campaign, which has been seen in the Brixton area of South London, has proven a hit with locals and the media.
✊🏽wakanda forever✊🏾 @livcornibert can’t believe how amazing it is to see this! @legallyblackuk @AdvocacyAcademy #blackrepresentationmatters 6:31 AM - Mar 1, 2018
Prominent UK actors such as Lenny Henry (Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban) and Adrian Lester (Hustle) are among those to laud the stunt on social media.
By yesterday evening the posters had been taken down and replaced with adverts for McDonald’s. But not before the campaign caught fire and reminded us of the serious message at its heart. How can people feel an equal part of society if they only see one type of star on screen? Recent research by the British Film Institute shows that black actors played only 218 lead roles in the 1,172 British films released between 2006 and 2016, meaning black actors played less than 1% of the total available roles. More than half of UK films made over the past 10 years do not have black actors in any role and only 15 black actors have played two or more lead roles in films since 2006.
To make white people feel guilt and shame.
I simply reject the concept of diversity out of hand, the concept that simply having a wider range of cultures and colors by itself improves something.
I reject it as Leftist stupidity at best, and Leftist malignancy at worst.
If I even get a sniff of it, I avoid it like the plague. I just saw a preview for “Fahrenheit 451”, and it looks like exactly that. Not interested.
Now THAT’S funny!
Yup - let’s start replacing Rosa Parks and Malcolm X pics... In fact, let’s start portraying the Obamas as white people.
The secret dream of some oppressed men is to become the oppressor not the liberator.
Will the iceberg be “black ice”?
Sounds like a plan! lol
Too late. Didn't a old magazine called "Time" lighten-up BHO?
And, more recently, that official "portrait" of hers looks to be a tab on the white side, in my, and others, humble opinions.
Hahaha! That’s very funny.
Yeah same here. It’s basically just diversity for the sake of diversity.
Whoopi Goldberg or Oprah.
In fact, I wonder if there even is a movie industry in Africa.
Wouldn't it be cultural appropriation for black people to star in an industry created by white people.
I suppose if this keeps up we'll have to demand that more white people be allowed to create rap songs.
“’If you are surprised it means you don’t see enough black people in major roles,’ says the group, many of whom are teenagers.”
Plenty of black films being made in Nollywood. This is the Nigerian Hollywood where many cheap movies are made. But they make over 1500 films a year.
Likewise, Bollywood, the Hollywood equivalent in India is predominantly casted with “Indian people of color.” They produce nearly 2000 films per years.
And there are sizable film markets and productions around the globe.
China is actually the largest film market.
The reason Hollywood produces films that feature more white people is because these movies are in greater demand, except for Chinese characters. But China restricts the amount of foreign-produced films that can be shown in their theaters.
I remember a little while back on a thread wondering how Leftists would feel if they made a movie about Martin Luther King Jr. and cast someone like Chris Farley in that part.
Would they be offended?
That sounds more like a skit than a movie.
It sounds funny to say it, but is anybody in showbiz today in the same league as Chris Farley?
Just as many as were Founding Fathers.
You are correct, though that would be more like a skit, but...how do we as conservatives feel when we see some leftist like James Brolin play Ronald Reagan in a movie? (To be fair, Brolin did have some very positive things to say about Reagan after he played the role, which makes sense, because most leftists are ignorant about conservatives.
How many black people were actually on RMS Titanic as passengers?
____________
There was one black man on the Titanic. He was from Haiti and he had studied in France. He was on his way back to Haiti.
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