Lack of representation = systemic racism: Footloose is Exhibit A

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember when they were outraged Dunkirk had no black characters.

A friggin WW2 movie in Europe where the English were trying to escape for their lives……and they’re mad because that historical story has no major presence of black people. Truly insane how DEI is a de facto cult. You can’t even tell stories from history now as they were.

Black Americans fought in WWII. My own mother’s uncle fought in WWI — and sent home letters and pictures that we still have. The real cult is the effort to erase POC from history— and from fictionalized depictions of history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of rural Kansas was Black in 1984?

6%

But does it matter?

Movies are made for a national and ultimately global audience.

America was 12% black in 1984.

And they opted to only have white kids in the big dance scene. Probably 100 kids, and all are white. They feature dancers, including a blue eyed blonde hair guy doing MJ-esque breakdancing moves, and it didn’t occur to anyone on the set to add any diversity?

I agree with the general observation that minorities were ignored in movies but the movie chosen by OP is the really the wrong choice. It was supposed a rural and conservative Kansas community, the racial depiction was probably spot on. My DH from a non rural, non small industrial town in upper Midwest had a grand total of one Black kid in MS and 2in HS. Rural areas around his town had farms and zero Black (basically still have zero Blacks). It’s like complaining that a movie about Queen Elizabeth 1 has mostly white actors. Duh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I remember when they were outraged Dunkirk had no black characters.

A friggin WW2 movie in Europe where the English were trying to escape for their lives……and they’re mad because that historical story has no major presence of black people. Truly insane how DEI is a de facto cult. You can’t even tell stories from history now as they were.

Black Americans fought in WWII. My own mother’s uncle fought in WWI — and sent home letters and pictures that we still have. The real cult is the effort to erase POC from history— and from fictionalized depictions of history.

Dunkirk was about the British in WWII, not the Americans. History exists outside of the US, you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who cares? If you don’t like the movie, don’t watch it.

I care to at least have the balls to acknowledge it instead of being willfully obtuse. Of course it's important. I still LOVE these movies but that doesn't mean that they were not without problems.

What is this word vomit? Please, appreciate that you clearly have no real problems in life and then spend your energy on something that actually matters.

[Anonymous]

Not a lot black people in rural Kansas in the 80s. Or Nebraska or Iowa or Minnesota or South Dakota. I lived in one of those towns and there wasn’t any diversity, except for migrant farm workers.

Get over it, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I remember when they were outraged Dunkirk had no black characters.

A friggin WW2 movie in Europe where the English were trying to escape for their lives……and they’re mad because that historical story has no major presence of black people. Truly insane how DEI is a de facto cult. You can’t even tell stories from history now as they were.

Black Americans fought in WWII. My own mother’s uncle fought in WWI — and sent home letters and pictures that we still have. The real cult is the effort to erase POC from history— and from fictionalized depictions of history.

Do you understand that Dunkirk happened 1 and a half year BEFORE the US even joined the war, there were no Americans, while or black, at Dunkirk

While Germans were white, the private fishermen and sailors who saved the day were likely all white or mostly white, British troops, French and allies all had colonial troops (Indian and African) and they should have been included

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I remember when they were outraged Dunkirk had no black characters.

A friggin WW2 movie in Europe where the English were trying to escape for their lives……and they’re mad because that historical story has no major presence of black people. Truly insane how DEI is a de facto cult. You can’t even tell stories from history now as they were.

Black Americans fought in WWII. My own mother’s uncle fought in WWI — and sent home letters and pictures that we still have. The real cult is the effort to erase POC from history— and from fictionalized depictions of history.

Be that as it may, Dunkirk wasn’t about Americans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I remember when they were outraged Dunkirk had no black characters.

A friggin WW2 movie in Europe where the English were trying to escape for their lives……and they’re mad because that historical story has no major presence of black people. Truly insane how DEI is a de facto cult. You can’t even tell stories from history now as they were.

Black Americans fought in WWII. My own mother’s uncle fought in WWI — and sent home letters and pictures that we still have. The real cult is the effort to erase POC from history— and from fictionalized depictions of history.

Dunkirk was about the British in WWII, not the Americans. History exists outside of the US, you know.

And before anyone says the British are ignoring blacks, there were less than 40,000 non whites in the entire UK in the 1940 census. Out of 40 million people.

People need to get over the representation obsession. Because one can just as easily turn it around and weaponize it in ways you might not think or expect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I remember when they were outraged Dunkirk had no black characters.

A friggin WW2 movie in Europe where the English were trying to escape for their lives……and they’re mad because that historical story has no major presence of black people. Truly insane how DEI is a de facto cult. You can’t even tell stories from history now as they were.

Black Americans fought in WWII. My own mother’s uncle fought in WWI — and sent home letters and pictures that we still have. The real cult is the effort to erase POC from history— and from fictionalized depictions of history.

Dunkirk was about the British in WWII, not the Americans. History exists outside of the US, you know.

And before anyone says the British are ignoring blacks, there were less than 40,000 non whites in the entire UK in the 1940 census. Out of 40 million people.

People need to get over the representation obsession. Because one can just as easily turn it around and weaponize it in ways you might not think or expect.

+1 White colonizers are always ready to weaponize things. So don’t make ‘em mad!

[Anonymous]

A lot of things that wouldn’t happen now happened then. What’s your point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where were the white people in New Jack City, Next Friday, Tyler Perry films.

Why were POC allowed to play white roles in Hamilton.

This is an outrage and must be stopped!!!

There were several white actors in new jack city. Judd Nelson was Ice T’s partner. I don’t think you watch Tyler Perry shows and movies because there are plenty of of white actors in his shows as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Football and Basketball are all black and white. Where is the representation among Latinos and Asians. Pales in comparison.

And don’t get me started on all the TV ads. The United States is almost 60% white, yet all we see now is black actors in just about everything. I get catalogues at home with all black models. That in itself shows a lack of diversity. Diversity is just a code name for hire more African Americans and disregard everyone else.

Do you consider Samoans a part of the Asian race. If so, the NFL has plenty of players of Samoan descent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are still only about 12-15% black people in the population and yet they're on TV and in movies like 50-80% of the time. Massive over representation now.


There should be more Hispanics on the screen than blacks if you want to correlate this with demographics.

Hispanics are well represented in the movie industry. Unfortunately they are primarily represented by white hispanics and viewers think little about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I remember when they were outraged Dunkirk had no black characters.

A friggin WW2 movie in Europe where the English were trying to escape for their lives……and they’re mad because that historical story has no major presence of black people. Truly insane how DEI is a de facto cult. You can’t even tell stories from history now as they were.

Black Americans fought in WWII. My own mother’s uncle fought in WWI — and sent home letters and pictures that we still have. The real cult is the effort to erase POC from history— and from fictionalized depictions of history.

Dunkirk was about the British in WWII, not the Americans. History exists outside of the US, you know.

And before anyone says the British are ignoring blacks, there were less than 40,000 non whites in the entire UK in the 1940 census. Out of 40 million people.

People need to get over the representation obsession. Because one can just as easily turn it around and weaponize it in ways you might not think or expect.

Britain and France were colonial empires. Both of them had non-white troops at Dunkirk. The Indian Army Service Corps were there, as were French North African and Senegalese units. The British Merchant Navy at that time was also about 1/3 non-white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I remember when they were outraged Dunkirk had no black characters.

A friggin WW2 movie in Europe where the English were trying to escape for their lives……and they’re mad because that historical story has no major presence of black people. Truly insane how DEI is a de facto cult. You can’t even tell stories from history now as they were.

Ok.

I’m the op if this thread…surprised to see it pop up again!

I’m fine with historical films using actors that make sense rather than inserting diversity for the sake of diversity. But any slavery-era film will have black and white actors. And black men did fight in WWII.

But if you rewatch mainstream movies from the 1980s primarily made for a teenage audience—like Footloose—you’ll realize Hollywood made a choice to not include black actors in even a token way. It begs the question…why?

The dance scene is what is most stark, particularly given this was the era of dance films and breakdancing.

Would you be upset if it were a film about an academic team? You know black people do things besides dance, right?

Bless your heart for trying to spur deep thought, but you have missed the point, Dear.

The point is I think it’s wrong for all the Hollywood films of the 80s targeting a teenage audience to not include any black actors…regardless of the setting or focus of the film.

Their choice to not even include at least a few black actors during a big dance scene at a time when Hollywood was churning out dance movies just baffles me. It seems like a choice they made rather than an oversight. I mean, imagine being on set as they choreographed the scene. It didn’t occur to anybody that the scene was perhaps shockingly white?

Wonder who choreographed the film.

I feel like you would be upset if they had included black actors in Footloose because it would be giving those towns false credit of diversity, whereas in rural Kansas it didn’t exist (and maybe still doesn’t).