Please.

I say this because television is getting taken over by REALITY TV. It is tremendously popular and it’s all kinds of people navigating life, loving, raising children, attempting business or craft success not just WHITE MALES. Although I am a fan of quite a few Caucasian male actors. Sean Penn is about as good as it gets. Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymore I-can-do-anything-you-give-me Hoffman are also. But, enough is enough with white males being the only ones who can save the day, or who have the wisdom, who are the boss, who get the girl. It’s a narrative that excludes so many other people in the same roles too much of the time. And audiences think it’s malarkey lol.

There are some individual producers working hard to put this trend behind us (and a BIG SHOUT OUT TO EM)….but they’re outgunned aren’t they?

I hope this new generation cracks things open, turning the present Hollywood paradigm on its head.

It’s time.

I want my little heart (a child who I worked doing Son-Rise with for nearly two years) to GROW UP AND SEE IMAGES OF HIMSELF ON SCREEN outside of KUNG FU MOVIES.

He is Chinese American as is his little sister (4), and when they start watching movies (upgrading from cartoons), I need them to be able to find strong images of themselves on screen when they venture to the theater with friends. Other than the illustrious Lucy Lui, wonderful as she may be.

Black kids, Hispanics, middle easterners and white children should see themselves interacting on-screen because we live here together. So writing in a more inclusive way, that kicks novelty even to the curb, will be my commitment in the work I create.

I’ve been thinking about this because there is so much disrespect of people of color happening across the big screens of America…as television gets it right. It’s like Hollywood are these old white men who just can’t let go of old narratives, when everything else around them is changing. Television is like their creative children… full of wonder, creativity, moving past the old.

Yes. Tyler Perry has a studio . But his movies have the move-the-ball-along quotient of -600 and he’s injecting society with more negative stereotypes than the other gang of hollywooders. Plus, everything is not just your community, what about others looking in on that? As rich as he is, his vision for himself and us is minute, and now he’s handing that to the world.

Joy.

I was walking to my gym earlier today and I saw a poster for a film that’s coming out. One of America’s biggest black stars was situated after both white stars in name. Why…would he be last? It looked quite odd. I imagine producers thought, America is not ready for a black man to have top billing. But they are wrong, hello Obama?? And Denzel Washington gets top billing all the time. Geez take some risks and catch up with the rest of society.

I felt bad for him. He is one of the weightier black actors, who has paid his dues and who has a large (and loyal) black and white following. But they placed him behind another top biller and a MEDIUM RANGE actor who isn’t very well-known. Both of the others white. If I were the director I would have said no and fought the producers.

Well people will see it and there will be all kinds of commentary across the net in the next few days. Audiences are razor-sharp when it comes to movies. They are loyal to them because everyone wants to be entertained, but they catch the stupid stuff.

The other trend, is making black women one big digestible ball of woman (maybe Latin, maybe interracial, you know, something where you can’t tell she’s black). Apparently many of the writers, directors and producers experience sexy black women as the interracial ones alone. So automatically this is the only type of black woman who is desirable…your lighter more Caucasian looking black.

Now, there can no longer be an identifiable black couple (identifiable black female partner).

Or if there is a black couple (black male + female) there is abuse or they hate one another. News flash Hollywood, black people have romances, fall in love, date, get married (with no abuse included), have children, raise children, buy houses, cars, start and maintain businesses…

…as does every other ethnic group and nationality on the planet.

Big wide world outside of L.A.

Why don’t you get to know it, on your next vacation. Get on a plane to somewhere, mingle with common people. Make some friends, outside the HW production network. Talk to them about all this.

These non-Hollywood types purchase tickets here and internationally.

So do that, and if you can stand to, repeat.

Stop requiring black women to be ‘ethnically ambiguous,’ stop hiding your black star. We see you.