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While it is not uncommon to see a broader mixture of races in film, are the race movies of the pre-1950’s era really outdated? In a culture, where moviegoers of all shades attend any movie they desire, there are still ethnic movies that feature a predominance of minorities in leading and supporting roles–movies produced and/or directed by Will Smith, Spike Lee, John Singleton, Pedro Almodóvar and Tyler Perry to name a few.

I recently came across a sales ad in Jet Magazine for race films on DVD. Besides the 1970’s blaxploitation films, I had not heard of race films. Dating back as far as 1928, the ad defined Race Films as movies geared toward African Americans by African Americans with African American actors in roles that included drama, comedy, romance, musicals and westerns. The movies with such titles as Look Out Sister, Boarding House Blues, The Black King, Moon Over Harlem and others, allowed black actors to show their abilities in serious dramatic roles. An opportunity not provided by mainstream movies during that time period due to racism and segregation.

While some black actors are able to command leading roles in mainstream movies, there is still a segment of the movie industry that caters to black audiences featuring black and other minority actors in primary roles. That segment fulfills a niche mainstream movies have yet to truly satisfy.

Movies much like stories usually have characters with pre-determined physical characteristics. It is natural that storytellers whose words are acted out on screen or bound by books would possibly envision a lead character like ourselves or someone we know even if the trials they go through are not our own.

For movies that delve outside cultural experiences, hopefully characters will be casted with little regard to color of skin or the accent that mingles with our words.

Related Posts:

• The Abundance of Interracial and Multicultural Themes in Movies: Hancock