The Negrification of Television

[DGS49]

Speaking specifically about the Sound of Music, the producers of this film went to great pains to make everything as close to the original as possible. The dialog was exactly as originally written, the scenes and backgrounds were as close to original as practicable. Having a "black" woman cast as the Mother Superior was, in this context, ridiculous.

It would be the equivalent of casting Josh Groban as Porgy in Porgy & Bess. How many Black people would find that offensive? I suspect maybe a couple.

Consider another sort of production. Occasionally, you will see a compilation of music from an opera or a musical and it is produced for the sake of the music only, not as a play or film. The singers stand on the stage and sing, in "street clothes." In that context, it would be perfectly fine to have anyone who is talented enough to sing any music in the show. Have Johnny Mathis sing the songs of Admiral von Trapp. Let Mariah Carey sing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." Wonderful.

But this production took great pains to be true-to life in every other way. Thus, casting a "black" woman as the Mother Superior was ridiculous and offensive.

Going back a while, I was equally offended when Audrey Hepburn was cast as "Maria" in the movie version of West Side Story. Ridiculous. They couldn't find a Hispanic girl who could sing (ironically, Hepburn didn't sing - she lip-sinked)?

 

[Desperado]

We all knows they ain't no nigga nuns in Austria! That is what you meant to say, but had to bore us to tears and derisive laughter over your overt style of racism.

DGS49 went out of his way to avoid sounding like a racist while bring up a good point. Is it now racist to question anything when it concerns black?

 

[Asclepias]

I noticed the same thing in a Sound of Music. Not only that but Mother Superior spoke of having grown up in those hills and played there as a child. This is literary license that permits ignoring the woman's color in favor of her voice.

Did you see the SyFy show Merlin? Queen Guinevere was black. How did that happen?

Yes it is part of the general propaganda of how life should be lived. It is doing the same thing that television did when it depicted a stable family with a responsible father as was done in the 50s.

Sounds a lot like how they use to portray the Egyptians as white people when everyone already knew they were Black.

 

[Asclepias]

Last week, while looking for something to watch on television, I clicked on a "link" to "The Sound of Music Live," which has been promoted rather heavily on the cable system. How can you go wrong with the Sound of Music?

As I watched the opening scene - a convent in Austria around 1938 - the first face shown in the center of the screen had a rather odd "hue." I wondered if my TV was out of adjustment. Within a few seconds as the other nuns came fully on the screen I saw that my television was not out of adjustment, but there was a bizarre casting anomaly. Dumbfounding, actually. The Mother Superior of this convent in Austria was an African American.

Oddly enough, I have been to Salzburg, Austria, and I think I can say with absolute certainty that the probability of any nun in any Catholic convent in this city being of African origin is approximately equal to the probability that I will win the MVP award in the NBA this season.

Gimmeafuckingbreak.

Then a few days later I tuned into a nice "holiday" movie called, "A Snow Globe Christmas." The description in the guide said that the story was about a hard-edged woman who, while cynically preparing for a Christmas pageant, was bonked on the head by a Snow Globe, and found herself in the "idealized world" of the Snow Globe, with her own self ensconsed in a "perfect snow globe life," which she struggled to understand and deal with.

OK.

So I start to watch the story (really, a lame takeoff on Scrooged and other such holiday nonsense). After the snow globe knockout, we come to see that the main character - in the idealized world of the snow globe - is married to a Black guy and has two bi-racial kids.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ. This is the "ideal"? The imaginary perfect world? In whose mind, exactly?

I see a commercial with nauseating frequency - I believe it's from the S. C. Johnson company - of a fairly large group of young people singing a stylized Christmas carol. Not one of the kids is caucasian. There are a few Asians, but basically it is the Harlem Kids Choir - or some variation of it. This is inclusion? This is diversity? I don't think so.

Invariably, in television dramas, sit-coms, and even reality shows, black people are portrayed as more intelligent, insightful, compassionate, reasonable, talented, and patient. With few exceptions, the "Black" people who are cast in these programs have light skin, caucasian features (blue or green eyes, etc), and perfect bone structure. The wide noses and negroid lips that characterize the vast majority of "Black" Americans are rare or non-existent.

Television advertising is amazingly inclusive of mulattos of various shades. A martian viewing nothing but American television would conclude that the American population is 20% gay and 50% bi-racial.

How many people recognize this is a giant propaganda campaign, similar to the ongoing campaign to portray all homosexuals as wholesome and wonderful? I find it quite tiresome.

Wow, God forbid a certain group of people people are portrayed in a positive uplifting way vs. a negative way. End of the fucking world as we know it....

Are you just as pissed off when a movie like Gladiator portrays the main star to be ridiculously strong or ridiculously courageous because it's not "realistic enough" for you? Do you make just a big of a stink over that too [MENTION=36589]DGS49[/MENTION]?

It isn't that a certain group of people is portrayed in a positive uplifting way. It's that they are portrayed in a positive uplifting way out of context or historically inaccurate. Yes it's true that a movie like Gladiator portrays the main star to be ridiculously strong or ridiculously courageous, the main star isn't Woody Allen either!

Why is it that after all these years its only a problem when Blacks are used in the roles that are factually white?

 

[Mr Natural]

Jesus was Black.

 

[Unkotare]

I wonder if the next rendition of Snow White will be a black woman.

Why not? "White" is a fairly common surname among African Americans.

 

[MikeK]

[...]

Are you just as pissed off when a movie like Gladiator portrays the main star to be ridiculously strong or ridiculously courageous because it's not "realistic enough" for you? Do you make just a big of a stink over that too [MENTION=36589]DGS49[/MENTION]?

Portraying the Gladiator as exceptionally strong and courageous is intended to emphasize the essential nature of a fictional character and is in no way deceptive. Many gladiators have been portrayed in movies as being Black, which has not been disputed. There probably were Black gladiators who didn't all look like Woody Strode.

But to portray Santa Claus as Black conflicts with long-held traditional beliefs. And to portray a 1930s Austrian nun as Black occurs as a deliberate attempt to alter an historical reality and may be thought of as a form of socio-political indoctrination. What other reason could there be for such a deliberate distortion?

What would your thinking be if a play or a movie portrayed Mohammad Ali as a blue-eyed blond?

In the movie Elf, Santa Claus's sleigh was shown to be equipped with Jet packs. That also conflicts with long-held traditional belief that the sleigh is powered solely by magical flying reindeers. Are you equally concerned about this too? If not, why?

You know what also distorts reality? Implying that St. Nick had elves, or that he lives in the North Pole, or that he's immortal, or that he's fat, or that he gives gifts to all the Christian children of the world. That distorts the "truth" too - right?

The fictional Santa Claus legend is intended for indulgence by children -- not mentally competent adults. The fictional Santa Claus character I am familiar with is a fat, "jolly," White man with a beard. I dismiss any deviation from the traditional incarnation of Santa Claus as either nonsense or purposeful deception.

 

[KevinWestern]

The fictional Santa Claus legend is intended for indulgence by children -- not mentally competent adults. The fictional Santa Claus character I am familiar with is a fat, "jolly," White man with a beard. I dismiss any deviation from the traditional incarnation of Santa Claus as either nonsense or purposeful deception.

I'm just saying that he's a fictional character, and that people aught to have the freedom to change attributes of that fictional character if they want to.

You don't have to accept a black Santa, but if a family wants to tell their kids Santa is black/asian, they aught to have the right to do that without getting criticized for it. No one is suggesting that you be forced to do anything.

 

[Katzndogz]

[...]

Are you just as pissed off when a movie like Gladiator portrays the main star to be ridiculously strong or ridiculously courageous because it's not "realistic enough" for you? Do you make just a big of a stink over that too [MENTION=36589]DGS49[/MENTION]?

Portraying the Gladiator as exceptionally strong and courageous is intended to emphasize the essential nature of a fictional character and is in no way deceptive. Many gladiators have been portrayed in movies as being Black, which has not been disputed. There probably were Black gladiators who didn't all look like Woody Strode.

But to portray Santa Claus as Black conflicts with long-held traditional beliefs. And to portray a 1930s Austrian nun as Black occurs as a deliberate attempt to alter an historical reality and may be thought of as a form of socio-political indoctrination. What other reason could there be for such a deliberate distortion?

What would your thinking be if a play or a movie portrayed Mohammad Ali as a blue-eyed blond?

The woman was chosen for her voice not her color which is something we are supposed to overlook. Although her voice wasn't all that hot.

The whole Sound of Music story is so far from reality anyway, putting in a black mother superior is the least of the falsities.

 

[MikeK]

The fictional Santa Claus legend is intended for indulgence by children -- not mentally competent adults. The fictional Santa Claus character I am familiar with is a fat, "jolly," White man with a beard. I dismiss any deviation from the traditional incarnation of Santa Claus as either nonsense or purposeful deception.

I'm just saying that he's a fictional character, and that people aught to have the freedom to change attributes of that fictional character if they want to.

You don't have to accept a black Santa, but if a family wants to tell their kids Santa is black/asian, they aught to have the right to do that without getting criticized for it. No one is suggesting that you be forced to do anything.

No argument. And DGS49 should have the freedom to observe and express an opinion on any such changes without being denounced for "racism."

 

[KevinWestern]

The fictional Santa Claus legend is intended for indulgence by children -- not mentally competent adults. The fictional Santa Claus character I am familiar with is a fat, "jolly," White man with a beard. I dismiss any deviation from the traditional incarnation of Santa Claus as either nonsense or purposeful deception.

I'm just saying that he's a fictional character, and that people aught to have the freedom to change attributes of that fictional character if they want to.

You don't have to accept a black Santa, but if a family wants to tell their kids Santa is black/asian, they aught to have the right to do that without getting criticized for it. No one is suggesting that you be forced to do anything.

No argument. And DGS49 should have the freedom to observe and express an opinion on any such changes without being denounced for "racism."

Personally I don't think calling someone racist for starting a thread entitled "The Negrification of Television" is all that unfair. He clearly has an agenda against black folks.

He complains about the fact that only blacks with perfect bone structure are on TV - as if it's just an issue isolated to black people - and completely ignores the fact that ALL people, black, white, latino, asian, etc are generally beautiful on screen. When was the last time a 230 lb white woman won best actress?

His argument is racist at the core...

.

 

[Asclepias]

Portraying the Gladiator as exceptionally strong and courageous is intended to emphasize the essential nature of a fictional character and is in no way deceptive. Many gladiators have been portrayed in movies as being Black, which has not been disputed. There probably were Black gladiators who didn't all look like Woody Strode.

But to portray Santa Claus as Black conflicts with long-held traditional beliefs. And to portray a 1930s Austrian nun as Black occurs as a deliberate attempt to alter an historical reality and may be thought of as a form of socio-political indoctrination. What other reason could there be for such a deliberate distortion?

What would your thinking be if a play or a movie portrayed Mohammad Ali as a blue-eyed blond?

In the movie Elf, Santa Claus's sleigh was shown to be equipped with Jet packs. That also conflicts with long-held traditional belief that the sleigh is powered solely by magical flying reindeers. Are you equally concerned about this too? If not, why?

You know what also distorts reality? Implying that St. Nick had elves, or that he lives in the North Pole, or that he's immortal, or that he's fat, or that he gives gifts to all the Christian children of the world. That distorts the "truth" too - right?

The fictional Santa Claus legend is intended for indulgence by children -- not mentally competent adults. The fictional Santa Claus character I am familiar with is a fat, "jolly," White man with a beard. I dismiss any deviation from the traditional incarnation of Santa Claus as either nonsense or purposeful deception.

No one cares what you dismiss. People define their fictional characters to suit their own tastes. None of them ask your permission. Since there are claims that St Nick was Black or Greek or Nordic you don't get to arbitrarily impose what you think is the correct depiction.

 

[rightwinger]

It all started with the Cosby Show

Trying to portray blacks as normal people

 

[kkline99]

I gave up on TV and movies several years ago. I can't say I've missed anything.

 

[rightwinger]

I gave up on TV and movies several years ago. I can't say I've missed anything.

Yea......you sure showed them

 

[rdean]

Tim Allen, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks: Stars Who Have Played Santa

 

[bianco]

It's called "affirmative action takeover"...it's happening all around the world.

Won't be long before there are no White faces on tv anywhere...no White doctors, no White anyone in the workforce etc etc etc.
Might be a couple of token Whites in the movies...so Black characters can scalp them alive as 'Chris Rock' did as Morgan Freeman's partner in crime in 'Nurse Betty'.
Got the message loud and clear.


It's nothing new;

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/white-men-can-go-jump/story-e6frf7jo-1111118260457

2008

DISCRIMINATION against dominant white males will soon be encouraged in a bid to boost the status of women, the disabled and cultural and religious minorities.
Such positive discrimination -- treating people differently in order to obtain equality for marginalised groups...

Businesses and individuals would be required to change their ways even if a complaint had not been received.

Action could be taken where an unlawful act was "likely to occur", not just in cases where discrimination has taken place.

The first raft of changes to the Equal Opportunity Act were introduced into Parliament last week.

 

[Gracie]

It's a story. Hollywood. A tale being told. Who cares what color the actor is?

The problem I have is the "Black Nativity" or "Black Miss America" or "Black Voices" and the like. Whats wrong with NATIVITY, MISS AMERICA, VOICES? Why put a race on it?

Otherwise, enjoy the theater of actors acting a part in a STORY.

 

[bianco]

If a White actor stuffed a sock in the mouth of a Black actor's character, took a knife and cut along the top of his forehead, and then ripped his scalp off...all hell would break loose.

 

[Meathead]

In the movie Elf, Santa Claus's sleigh was shown to be equipped with Jet packs. That also conflicts with long-held traditional belief that the sleigh is powered solely by magical flying reindeers. Are you equally concerned about this too? If not, why?

You know what also distorts reality? Implying that St. Nick had elves, or that he lives in the North Pole, or that he's immortal, or that he's fat, or that he gives gifts to all the Christian children of the world. That distorts the "truth" too - right?

The fictional Santa Claus legend is intended for indulgence by children -- not mentally competent adults. The fictional Santa Claus character I am familiar with is a fat, "jolly," White man with a beard. I dismiss any deviation from the traditional incarnation of Santa Claus as either nonsense or purposeful deception.

No one cares what you dismiss. People define their fictional characters to suit their own tastes. None of them ask your permission. Since there are claims that St Nick was Black or Greek or Nordic you don't get to arbitrarily impose what you think is the correct depiction.

No one is claiming that Saint Nicholas is Nordic, although that scenario would be far more likely than your dingbat claim he was a black Muslim (LOL). He was a Greek and I've lived in Greece for about 22 years and have never seen a "black" Greek. With the possible exception of JoeB, you just might be the most simple-minded and patently uninformed bozo on this site.