MovieChat Forums > The Equalizer (2014) Discussion > Stop demonizing the Russians.

Stop demonizing the Russians.

posted 9 years ago by gss2
28 replies | jump to latest

Hollywood loves to beat on the Russians. XXX, Eastern Promises, Training Day, John Wick, The Equalizer, and many other films feature Russian mercenaries or mobsters as villains. If you count other peoples from Eastern Europe, you can add Taken, The Dark Knight, Lord of War, and The Drop, and the series Banshee to that list.

The U.S. government loves to beat on them too. Lots of shady stuff going on with NGOs like Freedom House and such encouraging color coded revolutions. I don't defend Putin at all, mind you, or what has happened in Georgia, Crimea, and the Donbas. However, if Russia is a snake, then the U.S. government has done everything it can to provoke it into striking. The British government has sheltered several high profile oligarchs after they have fallen out of favor in Russia. Two of the more notorious ones owned Chelsea FC. Do you really think that these people are any less ruthless than Putin in kind, if not degree?

I think we have a disconnect between fantasy and reality here. Russian mobsters exist, and they can be nasty. However, they commit crimes that are a drop in the bucket compared to what America's own citizens do. I want every person who reads this article to look at the FBI's most wanted list. Then check the US Marshalls List for each state. Check your local Sheriff's office. Those lists are packed with lots of Blacks, a good number of Hispanics, a few Asians, and very many native born, white Americans. I guarantee that you will find very few Russians. Simeon Mogilevich, a crooked financier, is the only one who comes to mind as a wanted Russian fugitive in the FBI list. I recently found one Ukrainian woman on the NJ State Police most wanted list. She is there for kidnapping her own daughter, which I assume is related to a custody dispute or some other relationship BS. I haven't seen anyone else from anywhere in Eastern Europe on one of the federal lists for a very long time.

Why is this? Because Russians, statistically speaking, do not cause much crime in America. Native-born Whites, American Blacks, and Hispanics of various origin cause almost all (99.99%) crime in America. I would venture to say that Eastern European immigrants are some of the most law abiding and hardest working of all Americans.

Call me racist or nationalist or whatever, but I swear to god that I am telling it as it is. Look in the mirror first before you condemn a group of people for their leadership or for the spaces of a few.

[–] booley118 9 years ago

Dude seriously...we get it ur Russian...no one cares its a movie...and its america ..no one cares that your offended

[–] gss2 9 years ago

I'm not Russian at all. I'm just tired of people demonizing Russians because of what they see on TV. Mexicans and Americans kill far more people than they do, at a far higher statistical rate.

[–] mtlddrms 9 years ago

Russian/East European mobs. Japanese Yakuza. Chinese triads. Italian mafia. IRA. Mexican cartels. Middle Eastern terrorists. Corrupt American authorities. Southern hillbillies. Everybody is demonized. Typical Hollywood stereotypes are a common trope because it's expected. If it's not one nationality, it's another.

[–] wyldeone2 9 years ago

Yes, exactly, the bad guys have to be somebody and all groups have played the part off and on. By the way, wasn't the 3 corrupt cops (the 2 extorting money who later paid it back because they were on film and then the Boston cop in the car with the hose from exhaust pipe white native American?
_____

Just try to stay alive and see what the next minute brings.

[–] MarthaJonesSmith 9 years ago

Noo...it's too damned fun!

LIZ 10:I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule.Dr.Who

[–] Nathan_Arizona 9 years ago

With all the troubles in the world; homelessness, hunger, war...you spend your energy worried about hurting someone's feelings?

Or my isn't name...

[–] mac1165 9 years ago

I agree, it's become a tired cliche to use Russians as the bad guys in movies. And, I'm not Russian. There was a time in this country, before the pussification of it, that we had no problem pinning evil onto practically any nationality, religion, or skin color. When will we ever return to demonizing radical Islamics in movies, an accurate target if there ever was one? It would be a nice change of pace. Throw in a few Atheists, Buddhists, and Christians for good measure and you've got a fair representation of "bad guys". Of course, Hollywood should also portray these same groups as the "good guys" as well. As for radical Islam, whose clear goal is kill anyone who disagrees with their form of religion, they are the poster child for evil and they should be portrayed as such.

[–] mikainen 9 years ago

Is there a radical islamist mafia working in USA they could have used in this film?

[–] Hulksmash247 9 years ago

They are not demonizing Russians.. They are demonizing the Russian mafia which is considered to be among the most dangerous in the world. These same type movies are made about Colombian Cartels and Mexican crime families as well. If you are not apart of the Russian mafia I don't see why you are so offended.

[–] xystophoros 9 years ago

Russians are convenient bad guys for movies because they're white, they don't complain about how they're portrayed, and no one is going to cry about being offended if Russians are portrayed as evil.

Whereas if you make a movie depicting Arabs as bad guys or terrorists you'll never hear the end of the whining about stereotypes. Likewise, you can no longer have Asian criminal gangs in movies, or Mexican drug cartels. If you want to have bad guys and not deal with people crying about being offended, then you go with Russian or vaguely Slavic types, and no one complains.

[–] Dejay 9 years ago

and very many native born, white Americans

They're not native born. All immigrants except the native americans! ;)

I still can't grasp though why the majority of Russians actually support Putin. I get it he is brilliant and democracy in the west isn't doing too good either. But they must be stupid to choose to go back to dictatorship?

[–] fiero-49251 9 years ago

You believe what you hear so if the gov't has control of the media, what else can happen but to believe the propaganda? Last I heard, Russia's in a real state of decay and corruption, but there's not a lot that can be done from within! I agree Russians are easy to demonize, but it's brought on by their actions so they have no one to blame but themselves! The US is not much better and our media only goes so far in exposing our improprieties abroad and within! There are few places you can escape how bad things are and will continue to be!

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[–] robken0174 9 years ago

@Fiero

The Russians have no one to blame but themselves? What a moronic, ignorant generalization. Should we say all Ethiopians brought hunger onto themselves? No, it's only okay to generalize white nations, huh! Moron.

[–] robken0174 9 years ago

@Dejay, the so-called native Americans were originaly from Asia. So they too immigrated to the US. Facts are good.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] actionmanrandell 8 years ago

Native is defined as a person born in a region you *beep* moron. anyone born in the united states of america is a *beep* native you twat.

[–] hovaoc149 9 years ago

You said it yourself, Russian mobsters do exist so whats wrong with using them as the bad guys in movies? FYI they use Asians and hispanics and African Americans many times too.