Is the token black guy still a working or needed formula
Two blacks are too many, three makes it an all black cast, zero is racist. It's all forced diversity and ridiculous.
shareI was thinking the same thing while watching. That character added very little.
shareActually I was rather impressed Dale had as much screentime as he did. Much more than Melvin in Dazed. As for the token black guy...no not necessary in today's culture. I almost feel though like it is still acceptable here, because in 1980, there would be only a token black guy. Sort of a representation of the times
shareBut Melvin added to the enjoyment in every scene. Dale was just filler, but I felt most of the cast was also in Wants Some.
shareMost of the cast did feel filler as the characters just aren't as good. Don't get me wrong, I thought 'Everybody Wants Some!!' was a great movie. It's just the kind of film I can easily love. However, 'Dazed and Confused' is of course miles above this spiritual sequel in every way. But I wouldn't just brush Dale off. He's filler perhaps in the sense that any of the characters could have said his lines, but he in particular made some of them more enjoyable than perhaps they might have been IMO.
"We're not too old for this sh*t!" -Riggs and Murtaugh, 'Lethal Weapon 4' (1998)
But he was just a character, it wasn't like his persona was about being "black". The only reference to his color I remember is when he balked a bit at going to the country bar, and Finnegan says something like "What in the Charley Pride...". I wonder what the college baseball demographics were in 1980. I tried to find a picture of the University Of Texas 1980 team and didn't with a quick search. But here's the Florida State 1980 baseball team. One clearly black guy.
https://bobcat.grahamdigital.com/6703d532581e02304b24c4bd26aa8171b9e901ff/fit-1280x720-000.jpg
While MLB had more dark players, a lot of those are from Latin America and wouldn't have been playing college baseball in America. Or that's a possible explanation anyway.
I thought Dale fit in with the rest of the guys just fine.