If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

courtesy mycine

As I mentioned before, it was a Jet magazine article about Kerry Washington that lead me to see Lakeview Terrace, her new movie starring Samuel L. Jackson and produced by Will Smith’s production company, Overbrook Entertainment Management.

             In short the movie is about a young interracial couple who is terrorized by Abel Turner, a black veteran police officer played by Samuel L. Jackson who does not approve of his neighbors’ interracial marriage.

             More than just a movie about interracial relationships and racial intolerance, this movie hit home for me on many levels. I loved the idea that we were witnessing the white male’s point of view. We always seem to focus on the disapproving white family or white society when dealing with interracial couples or the passive aggressive feelings exhibited by the African American families associated with the interracial romance.

             While we finally get to see that side I found it a little annoying that in this movie and in Something New, when the white male expresses exhaustion at the constant reminder and discussion of race, his African American partner can’t empathize with him, because her life has always been about race. While I understand the implication that finally this white person is getting a taste of what we put up with everyday of our lives, I don’t think it is wrong for him to find it difficult or hard to endure. After all, if we as African Americans didn’t have to deal with it, would we? He doesn’t have to, but chooses to because of his love for this woman of color. If you can’t express those moments of anxiety and emotional exhaustion to your significant other who happens to live it every day as well, then who can he turn to?

             There were a couple of other themes that ran through this movie that I had experienced in my own interracial relationships and it caught me off guard to see them depicted here.

             First, undoubtedly, I have been African American all my life, and while I’ve had many non-blacks say they don’t see me as a black person just a person or just me, it is not as reassuring or comforting to hear as they might have hoped. While being black is not all that I am, it is an important quality of who I am. I say quality because I appreciate and cherish it. So, I want people to see my beautiful toffee skin, my full lips and my penetrating coal-like eyes.

             In this movie, all those things that should be celebrated were now for naught, because Kerry Washington’s character, Lisa had bonded herself in marriage to a white man. Even in Abel’s rage over the white man “getting everything and anything he wants including our women” Abel degrades her as he lusts for her.

             In the opening scenes, when Kerry’s character, Lisa is doing the walk-through of the house with her father, Abel was more comfortable seeing a potentially older black man receive the flirtatious affections of a woman young enough to be his daughter than see that young black girl with a white man her own age.

             In playing a strict disciplinarian to his teenage children, it was perfectly ok to drop trou in front of Lisa to demonstrate to his daughter that parading around in a bathing suit despite being poolside in a backyard was inappropriate.

             Also noteworthy, is a brief scene between Chris and his friend at the couple’s housewarming party. The friend, who is a white male, tells Chris that he’s hit the jackpot in marrying Lisa and that he’s hoping to land a black girl of his own one day. For now, however, he’s getting a taste of the Pacific Rim. It’s that notion that men regardless of race are perfectly free to taste all the female flavors, but as far as the women who share their race, they better know to whom they belong. This is something that is brought up again in conversation between Abel’s daughter and Lisa in case the audience missed it the first time.  

Other themes that hit home were the contrast between Lisa’s husband and the minority men in the film. On more than one occasion Chris’ suitability to protect his family came up in the film. First, his father-in-law asked directly how he planned to protect Lisa and his future grandchildren, and later, Chris isn’t even given the chance to protect Lisa from an intruder because Abel dashes in with his gun drawn to “take care” of the attacker.

             In my own relationships, that often came up as well. There are alpha and beta men in every race. No matter the melanin levels, some men are protector types and some are not. I didn’t date the men I dated because I wanted a protector and yes, I didn’t feel especially “safe” around them; at least no safer than when I was with anyone else. Maybe that’s one of the reasons those relationships didn’t last. While women don’t always look to be protected, maybe the men in their lives have to feel trusted that they could protect them if the need should arise?

             And yes, if you’re wondering, I was a daddy’s girl and always felt safe with him nearby. Unfortunately he is only near me in spirit now.

             I really went into this movie not expecting to find anything more than a new twist on racial intolerance, but I came out with reassurance that my own interracial experiences were not unusual or isolated. They were a part of bigger social and generational interrelationships that are further complicated by gender and race.

                 In a year where the African American community may begin to see the fruit born from generations of struggle, is society becoming too casual about race?

                 While there is nothing straightforward about race relations, no one could imagine that African Americans may have to lighten up philosophically-speaking in order to see their race advance to full equality, currently exemplified in America’s first nomination of an African American presidential candidate.

                 In order to enjoy and benefit from this historic event, the recent acts of the media seem to require that we stop carrying the melanin-heavy luggage of our past in order to truly embrace the total equality dangling overhead beckoning us toward our potential future.

                 But is the price too high? This year along with Barak Obama and Cynthia McKinney’s successful political nominations, the African American community has had to endure several racially questionable depictions in order to get a glimpse of full racial equality. Does fair play require the ability to not only laugh at ourselves but to laugh at the painful transgressions of others who meant to keep us inferior?

                 In an era where many members of the African American community thought references to our supposed monkey likeness, racial profiling, and black-faced minstrel shows were a distant memory, the media has resurrected the images in the name of art and satire.

                 While there were many instances that occurred this year, one of the most memorable, alluded to earlier, is Vogue’s King Kong depiction of LeBron James, the first black man to debut on the U.S. version of the magazine, claiming his white model prize in Giselle Bundchen.

                 While many explain that LeBron was not directed to pose in such an animalistic and aggressive manner, many are offended by the lack of sensitivity and its perpetuation of stereotypes not often spoken but not far enough in the past.

                 Even I have argued that basketball players make aggressive faces and unlike the King Kong movie posters, Giselle doesn’t appear to represent the damsel in distress.  However, without rigorous analysis, the first impression of the photo is a beautiful woman and the ferocious black ape man. Additionally, the picture feeds the generalization implication that black men strongly desire white women.                 

                  Next, The New Yorker decided to satirize the ridiculous notion that’s been haunting the Barack Obama campaign. The presidential nominee, dressed in Iraqi garb receives a celebratory gesture from his wife, Michelle, dressed in her fully-armed and angry militant best. While the fireplace with a portrait of Osama bin Laden sitting on the mantle ravages the American flag just below. The caricature seems to suggest the absurdity of it all while feeding the frenzy of the angry militant black woman, the threat of terrorism and the lack of patriotism that the closed-minded and ignorant believe exist in anything that doesn’t mirror American commonality.              

            Then there’s the release of Ben Stiller’s comedy satire that pokes fun at Hollywood and the pretentious personas that inhabit the pompous world within west coast’s version of New York City. Tropic Thunder tells the story of a movie director and his self-absorbed cast, who, despite the movie studio’s fleeting support, is determined to film an epic Vietnam movie. Robert Downey Jr., knowing the repercussions, is quoted as taking on the role of an Australian obsessed with embracing his role as a black soldier by committing to a full transformation. The media garners publicity for the film by misrepresenting Downey’s portrayal of a black man rather than his actual portrayal of a black soldier being portrayed by a white Australian. However, concerns still remain in Downey’s depiction. His interpretation sadly may not be viewed as realistic if his portraying a white man trying to capture the essence of a black Vietnam soldier doesn’t incorporate the stereotypes we’ve worked so hard to discredit.

                 Finally, the last week in August saw not only the historic nature of the official presidential nomination of Barack Obama, but also the belittling of race in the rubbing of singer/actor Tyrese’s head by a white talk show host on MTV’s TRL. The picture credited to the Associated Press and Evan Agostini carries the caption, “Just for Good Luck.” While meant to be in good fun, there’s something inherently wrong with this photo. It seems to reek of selective acceptance. It also portrays an uneven playing field between the black man getting his head shined and the white one doing it.  

                 What all these examples seem to suggest is that generalized stereotypes of black men are good for a laugh but not worthy of intellectual discourse or even managing the free world from the Oval office. When selective racial acceptance is no longer in the forefront of the majority’s mind, then we will be able to let go of our disenfranchised past.

Minority cultures often struggle between losing themselves in assimilation or alienating their communities with acts that suggest separatism. The majority of society assumes that their rituals, morals and traditions should predominate because in terms of sheer numbers they dominate.  As a result, we have a historical discourse that features people of color as a footnote to the generational advancements of this society.

While race relations have improved compared to the experiences of our ancestors, prejudice and intolerance is a rippling undercurrent that taints our relationships and our social interactions, regardless of ethnic background. This state of existence is felt and read about in every sector of life.. It is a source of entertainment, ridicule and violence.

Most recently, I find myself bombarded by this as I interact in my romantic literary circles. In April, I attended two writers’ conferences. At the first one, I was a minority face in the crowd. Many of the reactions I received in response to my multicultural/interracial platform were, “That’s actually cool,” and “That’s interesting.”  However, meeting an editor and a reader grateful for my platform made the time and money I spent worthwhile. The second conference I attended that month was Romance Slam Jam, an African American romance writer’s conference. I felt like one of the girls in this crowd. It was nice to meet others who wrote interracial and multicultural romance as well as many talented women who wrote strictly African American romantic fiction. It allowed me to enhance the relationships I had been forming with many of these women online.

The separatism and assimilation question came up when I got back from Slam Jam. When I went to my local Romance Writers of America meeting, I reconnected with a few women who had been absent from the most recent meetings. I reluctantly told them about Slam Jam. They had no idea what I was talking about. The women, one Caucasian and the other Hispanic, listened with mild interest.  The woman of Hispanic decent began to show a growing interest as she asked if you had to be Black to attend. To be honest the question took me off guard because it highlighted the reason for my reluctance to discuss it in the first place. Of course, you don’t have to be Black to attend, but it is a natural presumption that non-Blacks make. I’m not sure if it’s because they think we don’t want them involved or if it’s because they don’t really have an interest in being involved. Yet, it is expected that we want to be a part of whatever it is they are doing. In reality, we have fought long and hard to be included. However, the existence of separate but equal activities and organizations makes me wonder if our struggle has more to do with equal opportunity, respect for our culture and our existence as human beings rather than truly being involved in the activities of the majority. Many members of the majority say, “See, they are being separatist. They want us to include them but then they create their own organizations.” This was never been clearer to me than when I stumbled upon the debate over the Black National Anthem. African Americans on the blog condemned it for perpetuating separatism. Many Caucasian bloggers agreed, stating this is America and a Black National Anthem was disrespectful. So much for being a melting pot of ideas. Can we be a part of the majority and still claim some things as our very own?

This notion confronted me again when I picked up the latest RWA Romance Writers’ Report. In this issue, there was a quarter-page announcement for the recipients of the Emma Awards that took place at Romance Slam Jam. There was no information about the conference or the history behind the awards. The announcement also came three months after the awards ceremony, despite the fact that there were RWA representatives at the conference. Please note the Romance Writers’ Report, RWA’s industry member magazine, is published monthly. Hey, I guess better late than never, maybe they have really long lead times. There was also a very interesting interview about the experience of multicultural authors in the romance writing industry. It indirectly spoke to the idea of assimilation and separatism when famed author Beverly Jenkins spoke of the emergence of African American romance novels. It was clear that the publishing industry didn’t think black female dollars were significant enough to warrant a book line catering to the life and loves of African Americans. Nor did they think it was necessary, after all black women have been reading about white love stories for ages. Isn’t the point of these novels to provide fantasies and a glimpse into the lives we couldn’t possibly have the chance of living ourselves?

These occurrences have lead me to realize that my multicultural platform is more than about people of differing cultures and persuasions living, loving and interacting with one another. I don’t desire to create a fondue pot where the contents melt to create a blended product, but a crock-pot where all the ingredients of the stew are still distinct but the different textures compliment and coexist together.