Lack of representation = systemic racism: Footloose is Exhibit A

[Anonymous]

Asians were not a thing back then

[Anonymous]

In 1973 my Catholic School in Bronx was 100 percent white. Today in 2024 it is 100 percent black and Spanish. Times change.

My HS was 86 percent Jewish today it is 99 percent Asian

My college was 99 percent white in 1985 today it is 80 percent minorities

[Anonymous]

I don’t think lack of representation in film is racist. I think it’s realistic. Outside of office friends/coworkers hanging out, I rarely see diverse groups out and about together, even in very diverse urban areas.

[Anonymous]

Movies should reflect society now though. As a child, I barely saw representation in film and TV of my background. It makes you feel invisible.

I am glad that studios are making more of an effort to show people of different races and not just the ones who make the movies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In 1973 my Catholic School in Bronx was 100 percent white. Today in 2024 it is 100 percent black and Spanish. Times change.

My HS was 86 percent Jewish today it is 99 percent Asian

My college was 99 percent white in 1985 today it is 80 percent minorities

Stuyvesant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just finished rewatching Footloose.

Filmed in 1984 when 12% of the American population was Black, yet there are zero Black kids in a movie about dancing.

Remember the big dance scene at the end? They had white guys breakdancing. This was at the height of the breakdancing craze btw. All white cast, and they didn’t even bother to add any Black or brown dancers in the big school dance. Zero.

Pretty shocking.

How many Asians are in the movie? Or Hispanics? Come on, op. Do better!

Apparently they don’t counts as POC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know what show was racially diverse in the 80's? Fame.

That’s because they could dance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what show was racially diverse in the 80's? Fame.

That’s because they could dance.

Flashdance was racially diverse too. It came out in 1983. Footloose in 1984.

[Anonymous]

There is nothing productive about criticizing a 1984 movie with 2024 eyes.

[Anonymous]

It's more than made up for now. You can't turn on a TV show now or watch a movie that doesn't have representation of just about everyone. Look at Barbie, it even had a trans-Barbie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are so wise. Thank you for sharing your entirely new observation and for educating us.

lol my thoughts exactly. This observation and discussion began 30+ years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what show was racially diverse in the 80's? Fame.

That’s because they could dance.

Flashdance was racially diverse too. It came out in 1983. Footloose in 1984.

But Footloose was set in a town and focused on parts of the town's community that probably had very little diversity. It was telling that story, not another...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what show was racially diverse in the 80's? Fame.

That’s because they could dance.

Flashdance was racially diverse too. It came out in 1983. Footloose in 1984.

But Footloose was set in a town and focused on parts of the town's community that probably had very little diversity. It was telling that story, not another...

The film's producers chose to put it in Podunk, Kansas. They could have had largely the same story in Topeka, Kansas and put in a person of color as acknowledgement that all of America isn't lily white. Choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just finished rewatching Footloose.

Filmed in 1984 when 12% of the American population was Black, yet there are zero Black kids in a movie about dancing.

Remember the big dance scene at the end? They had white guys breakdancing. This was at the height of the breakdancing craze btw. All white cast, and they didn’t even bother to add any Black or brown dancers in the big school dance. Zero.

Pretty shocking.

Do you also complain about the lack of shirt Jewish guys in the NBA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what show was racially diverse in the 80's? Fame.

That’s because they could dance.

Flashdance was racially diverse too. It came out in 1983. Footloose in 1984.

But Footloose was set in a town and focused on parts of the town's community that probably had very little diversity. It was telling that story, not another...

The film's producers chose to put it in Podunk, Kansas. They could have had largely the same story in Topeka, Kansas and put in a person of color as acknowledgement that all of America isn't lily white. Choices.

No. Because the whole point was Ren had to move to this tiny, isolated town that had banned dancing. That's a rural, small town story, not an urban story.

The lack of diversity 100% made sense in that context. Perhaps they could have had Ren comment on it as part of the culture shock in moving there from a big city.

My kids go to a very diverse HS and have commented on "why is everyone White" when we watch some 80s-90s teen movies since that is totally not their experience. We talk about why it would be realistic or not for the time and place.

I grew up in an affluent LA suburb and my 2000+ HS had two black students, a handful of Hispanic students, and maybe 10% Asian. I just looked it up and it's still 74% white but larger Hispanic than I recall (13%), 7% Asian, 1% Black.