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Re: A "no cost" way …..
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From: Christine Taylor-Butler <kansascitymom_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2014 13:14:20 -0600
They are, and aren't. But there is a feeling that it is still a trend in what mainstream studios and audiences will recognize as valid and therefore those are the types of movies that will get more support to be made. And it was meant to say that there is what consumers say in public to support their "own" and what they express concern about in private. Which is we don't really want a proliferation of African Americans as the protagonists in those types of films. Although i will say that the world has changed a lot since Howard Rollins was snubbed for his stand-out lead role in Ragyime years ago.
Being Mary Jane, the new BET series for example, was meant as a one-off movie. But its popularity turned resulted in a re-release as a series. Flawed people at all levels of the economic rungs and where race isn't the central issue and the protagonist is wealthy. Unfortunately, After Earth (the Will Smith/Shamalyan production) was a good concept poorly executed and much reviled and hence made it harder to get those types of films made. Even though my family worked past the flaws and a large number of black fathers pointed out that they FINALLY had a movie to watch with their sons. Be still my heart about the excitement in the community about SleepyHollow and Scandal in terms of casting which shows people of color can carry shows in which their race has nothing to do with the conflict or plot.
So what People of Color consume out of obligation versus genuine pleasure - and that's not necessarily captured in publishing focus groups (if we are even included in the first place). 12 Years A Slave may not have been marketed TO US but it's still a proliferation of difficult angst-based films ABOUT us with few alternatives. People of Color have a lot of purchasing power if we focused on their needs rather than what will sell on "main street."
So my comment was to point out that existing decision makers may not be in the best position to determine the cause or the solution and then develop the methodology for measuring the outcomes. I would submit that some of that has been done from that perspective and the result is still poor book sales.
What we need is a collaborative environment where the stakeholders are all looking at this as a whole rather than a straight numerical test.
We get what we measure. But only if we understand the underlying causes and effects first. Which, in publishing, isn't happening to enough degree because we exclude the end-users from any input except at a superficial level…….C
On Feb 7, 2014, at 12:39 PM, Lyn Miller-Lachmann wrote:
> Christine, I wouldn't consider movies like 12 Years a Slave, The Butler, and Fruitvale Station as necessarily directed to African-American audiences. I reviewed Fruitvale Station on my blog, a piece picked up for a teacher's guide on that film, and I believe its strength is in what it reveals to white audiences whose only other exposure to this tragedy was media accounts that dehumanized Oscar Grant. The film is more of a window for outsiders than a mirror for young African Americans, so I certainly understand why young people are tired of it being the only image they get. But I also think we're better off because that film was made and might open the eyes of someone who isn't young and black.
>
> http://www.lynmillerlachmann.com/developing-characters-the-lesson-of-fruitvale-station/
>
> Until we have total racial justice and human rights, films like this will be necessary--though pure fun and entertainment are important too.
>
> Lyn Miller-Lachmann
> Gringolandia (Curbstone Press/Northwestern University Press. 2009)
> Rogue (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin, 2013)
> www.lynmillerlachmann.com
> www.thepiratetree.com
>
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2014 13:14:20 -0600
They are, and aren't. But there is a feeling that it is still a trend in what mainstream studios and audiences will recognize as valid and therefore those are the types of movies that will get more support to be made. And it was meant to say that there is what consumers say in public to support their "own" and what they express concern about in private. Which is we don't really want a proliferation of African Americans as the protagonists in those types of films. Although i will say that the world has changed a lot since Howard Rollins was snubbed for his stand-out lead role in Ragyime years ago.
Being Mary Jane, the new BET series for example, was meant as a one-off movie. But its popularity turned resulted in a re-release as a series. Flawed people at all levels of the economic rungs and where race isn't the central issue and the protagonist is wealthy. Unfortunately, After Earth (the Will Smith/Shamalyan production) was a good concept poorly executed and much reviled and hence made it harder to get those types of films made. Even though my family worked past the flaws and a large number of black fathers pointed out that they FINALLY had a movie to watch with their sons. Be still my heart about the excitement in the community about SleepyHollow and Scandal in terms of casting which shows people of color can carry shows in which their race has nothing to do with the conflict or plot.
So what People of Color consume out of obligation versus genuine pleasure - and that's not necessarily captured in publishing focus groups (if we are even included in the first place). 12 Years A Slave may not have been marketed TO US but it's still a proliferation of difficult angst-based films ABOUT us with few alternatives. People of Color have a lot of purchasing power if we focused on their needs rather than what will sell on "main street."
So my comment was to point out that existing decision makers may not be in the best position to determine the cause or the solution and then develop the methodology for measuring the outcomes. I would submit that some of that has been done from that perspective and the result is still poor book sales.
What we need is a collaborative environment where the stakeholders are all looking at this as a whole rather than a straight numerical test.
We get what we measure. But only if we understand the underlying causes and effects first. Which, in publishing, isn't happening to enough degree because we exclude the end-users from any input except at a superficial level…….C
On Feb 7, 2014, at 12:39 PM, Lyn Miller-Lachmann wrote:
> Christine, I wouldn't consider movies like 12 Years a Slave, The Butler, and Fruitvale Station as necessarily directed to African-American audiences. I reviewed Fruitvale Station on my blog, a piece picked up for a teacher's guide on that film, and I believe its strength is in what it reveals to white audiences whose only other exposure to this tragedy was media accounts that dehumanized Oscar Grant. The film is more of a window for outsiders than a mirror for young African Americans, so I certainly understand why young people are tired of it being the only image they get. But I also think we're better off because that film was made and might open the eyes of someone who isn't young and black.
>
> http://www.lynmillerlachmann.com/developing-characters-the-lesson-of-fruitvale-station/
>
> Until we have total racial justice and human rights, films like this will be necessary--though pure fun and entertainment are important too.
>
> Lyn Miller-Lachmann
> Gringolandia (Curbstone Press/Northwestern University Press. 2009)
> Rogue (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin, 2013)
> www.lynmillerlachmann.com
> www.thepiratetree.com
>
---
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Received on Fri 07 Feb 2014 01:14:50 PM CST
