Last week, Netflix released a new Black Lives Matter collection of more than 45 movies, shows, and documentaries about the Black experience, as the black lives matter movement became global and people started turning to the visual medium of storytelling to educate themselves about racism, police brutality, and the Black experience.
In recent weeks, older titles like The Help, Dear White People, 13th, and When They See Us gained immense popularity on numerous streaming platforms and made their way into Netflix’s Top 10 as users strived to become socially aware of the black experiences.
These movies are the typical movies we associate with the black experience, however these movies fail to truly showcase the experiences black people go through, as they depict black people as stereotypical characters and feature the white saviour complex trope.
‘The Help’ for example was written and directed by white creators and it features the ‘white saviour’ complex, which is characterised by a scenario in which a white character saves a person of color from their troubles.
Other platforms such as HBO Max have also taken steps to contribute to the movement, last week HBO max temporarily removed ‘Gone With the Wind’ from its library, as they believed that the racist depictions in the movie should be explored in their historical context.
Mass media has a powerful educational impact on people who have little or no direct contact with members of the Black community, who are being treated unfairly. Media not only depicts the realities of our lives but also plays a vital role in shaping our world views. Through movies and tv shows, media influence helps transform how others view Black people and also how Black people view themselves.
In recent years, mainstream movies have started focusing on inclusivity and have begun casting black actors and actresses as lead characters in mainstream movies. Black panther, for example, portrayed multiple black actors in a positive light, depicting these characters as role models for the Black community.
Similarly last year, it was announced that Little Mermaid will be played by Halle Bailey, a black actress. Casting a black actress in the role of Little Mermaid, a character which has been traditionally depicted by white women, was a massive step in the right direction regarding minority representation in Hollywood and was met with great enthusiasm.
As we move closer to more inclusivity in the film industry, our movies and TV still lack representation of black experiences. Majority of the movies that do feature black people, fail to put forth their true narrative, fail to showcase their actual experiences, fail to represent the black community.
