So, what's with al the black people?
????
shareSo.....you had an issue with it?
share
MovieChat Forums > Beauty and the Beast (2017) Discussion > So, what's with al the black people?
I did think it was a little odd. It made more sense since in Cinderella because that's an imaginary kingdom in no particular time period (could be anywhere from the middle ages to 1800's) so they can do what they want, whereas B&B is set specifically in France in a somewhat specific time frame.
shareI am all for diversity, yet I also care about historical realism. Eg. It annoys me if half of King Arthur's Knights are Asian and African.
In this case, yes it is clearly supposed to be France sometime in the 18th century, but it is an alternative France with beast, magic and sorceress, so sure why not also tons of all kinds of ethnicities?
You don't expect historical realism in a fairy tale, do you?
Not tons of ethnicities, just a whole pile of black people, all seemingly dating or married to white people. When there is a movie like Loving that comes out showing how bad things were not too long ago, and then we show people, look, it wasn't THAT bad, it sets up a bad example for both kids and not too bright adults. The problems of our past represent the problems we suffer from now, and to whitewash the way blacks were treated in the past does not make up for what was done
Disney has long followed stereotypes and done great harm to minorities, women, and child actors. I am glad they are trying to even the playing field a bit by giving Belle her own backstory and personality, not showing her as a weak woman waiting for her Prince. That's a good thing. But rewriting history does not help. Think of it this way, were there gay people back then? Yes, but they were mostly in the closet. Sure we got a glimpse of it in the movie, but if there was a same sex married couple in a Disney movie at this time, people would be in shock, and complain it isn't ok. But to say it isn't ok to have an interracial relationship in the movies brands you a racist in the eyes of many people (which is stupid) so most people would never argue with the point.
Did you see any Asians in the movie? Hispanics? People from India? Nope, you didn't. And that is what the OP means by what's with all the black people. There is nothing wrong with black people in a movie, but if you are going for diversity, why focus on blacks, other than last year's protesting about not enough black roles? Once again this is Disney walking the line to appease people and look like the good guy, rather than them doing it before there are complaints.
Most movies need more diversity, but there are ways it looks and feels organic, and ways it looks like pandering. This looked like pandering.
Very well-said and I agree. I loved the movie but these actors were out-of-place and out-of-time.
If Disney wants to include more minorities in their productions then they need to create more roles for minorities, not plunk them into historical roles just so they can include black actors.
I saw the Crucible on stage (local theater) and they had a prominent man played by a black actor and the slave woman played by a white actress. Ruined the whole production.
I would not have an issue with a live-action Little Mermaid with black (or any race) actors, since merfolk are imaginary creature to begin with. Same with Snow White, although she would obviously have to be white.
I agree. Mixed-race relationships were pretty taboo in the plague era and for pretty much any era until the last 30 years, so if just one would be weird enough, to see like 4 or 5 mixed-race couples in this film set in the 14th century is very strange. Also, a black person owned the library, and a separate black person ran the tavern/bar. For a black person to run a high profile building in this time period is also highly unlikely, and quite distracting.
I don't have any sort of issue with hiring a diverse cast, but it felt like Disney went out of their way to hire black people for the sake of hiring black people, as if to say "no, we need more black people to show how diverse and universal we are!" Why not write roles intended for black people? The same goes for the recent Magnificent Seven remake, where the entire cast is filled with Asians, Mexicans, native Americans, being led by a black cowboy, in a very racist era of American history, and none of the townsfolk bat an eye. It was okay for Django in Django Unchained to be black because of his skin color and the oppression he rises up against was the entire point of the film.
I can suspend my belief enough to buy magic and shapeshifting in this movie, but then the film states several real things that actually happened in history, such as the War Of France and the Black Plague. In fact, the film could actually be pinpointed to an exact year: 1374. That completely sucks out any magic or wonder the original film had. The animated version was timeless and genuinely felt magical, this one does not. I think the idea of the diverse cast would've worked better had the film felt more like a magical fantasy and not something grounded in reality.
Agree 100%. That's the same reason why I hate her dress. That style and fabric probably wasn't even in use or created during that time period. Totally takes me out of the historic French setting. 😤
share“ And that is what the OP means by what's with all the black people. There is nothing wrong with black people in a movie, but if you are going for diversity, why focus on blacks, other than last year's protesting about not enough black roles?”
I completely agree with @amovieadaykeeps
PANDERING
Disney has been pulling this since at least 1990 with the live action "Pinocchio." It's also not absolutely impossible some black people might have lived in Italy long ago, but it's atypical. The same occurs in other movies. One of the more ridiculous examples was a black Nancy in "Oliver Twist." So not only were Bill Sykes and Nancy an interracial couple, Nancy, as a sort of streetwalker/thief/what have you, was supposed to blend in and be easily lost in a crowd, whereas many people in Britain did not ever even see anyone of African descent until World War II! The black couple dancing in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" is less out of place, as that's a later time period in which their appearance might be quite authentic, but in other shows set in earlier times this calls for extreme suspension of disbelief. If this must be done, keep it down to one person from out of the country, such as Morgan Freeman in the Kevin Costner "Robin Hood." As for when interracial couples were accepted, they were somewhat looked down on when Shakespeare wrote "Othello," but became much more of a problem once a "color line" was established, which in France it maybe never was. One would have to look up the history, but again many people in France did not see a black person until American soldiers came over in World War I. Word of their acceptance spread and some black Americans expatriated to France, Switzerland, and other European countries where color was not the problem it was in British and American cultures. Why was this done in this case? Probably a combination of choosing the most talented actors regardless of race, and because they'll catch hell if they don't. Look at the complaints over lack of diversity in Tim Burton's "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children."
share1) Diverse films do better world wide. So it makes more money.
2) It means they can have more variety over what actors they have.
3) It's a fairytale with magical fairies wandering around and a giant Bull-Man living in a castle; it doesn't have to be realistic. If this was War and Peace or a documentary of Napolean, I'd understand the complaint. But in a fairytale it's pretty stupid.
If we're being realistic, then no one would have accepted all that magic and likely several characters would have been burned alive for witchcraft; Belle wouldn't have been tolerated and neither would have LaFou if his being attracted to men was obvious to all.
As in the 1 or 2 in this film, compared to the many many white people. I can see the trolls made the crossover from imdb.
I'm trying to go for an engaging, funny youtube channel so, if you have the time, take a look. Hope you enjoy what you see. Thanks in advance. A review of the movie here- https://youtu.be/AD4MjlFtI4k
I was a bit puzzled by the amount of Blacks too, given the film makers attempt to ground the film as much in reality and to the time period as possible. They actually got rid of the Eiffle Tower which was featured in the 1991 version in the "Be Outr Guest" sequence because it had not been built yet.
They probably did have Blacks in France at that time, but I don't think they would be in numerous, and I can't see them living out in the country. I think that Disney just decided to make sure that there were some POC for the box office reasons, making sure that they were just in a scene or two. And the two main Black cast members spent most of their time just doing voice overs. It wasn't a deal killer for me (and I'm Black) but it was puzzling.
Absolutely ridiculous.
shareDisney is bound and determined to cave to the 12% of the population that is black.
It looks forced, and therefore I agree with others. It is PANDERING.
There's several reasons for this:
1 - Disney has become so "woke," that they feel it would be a total crime not to include black people in every one of their films.
2 - Relating to the reason above, they were Virtue Signaling with this movie, saying "Look at us! We're inclusive! We're making sure black people are represented in a fairy-tale that normally has all white people in it! We want blacks to come see this movie and spend their money!" I personally thought having two interracial couples in the movie was overkill.
3 - They took full advantage of the fact that this was a fairy-tale and not a real story about France (though inserting black people where they didn't exist hasn't stopped any of the fake historical movies and tv shows made recently). It wasn't quite so bad in the Cinderella movie, but here it felt really shoe-horned and obnoxious, like they thought the audience was so stupid they wouldn't notice the diversity unless at least 1/3 of the cast was black.