Senate "Race" Relations (was "U.S. Society and Black Men")

I think that's absolutely correct. This film seems like all it's aiming to do is turn its main characters into bizarre cartoons. Which is, admittedly, not all that hard with those three characters. But, yeah, if someone's going to try to make a serious biopic, which, well, it's going to happen eventually, that's one thing. This just feels especially like a . . . well, kind of a mockery, really.

 

As someone mentioned, it kind of seems like it will be a really long SNL skit. Just because this is a real bizarre story that you want to know more about because WTF... Doesn't mean it should be a film.

Kind of seems like this is just going to wind up making a mockery of Jackson. In which case, casting a white guy then does feel a bit uncomfortable.

 

Going off of that here's a video I saw today...



It's fascinating to see so many Bible figures included in this video given that hardline Christianity has been one of the causes of so much white identity problems and systemic racism.

 

It's all for that last shot.

But seriously, that video brings up all sorts of difficult issues, given that the video includes a lot of great performances in great movies. It would be easy to just include the really egregious ones, but the video has the balls to include Robert Powell as Jesus, which is an amazing performance, and Anthony Quinn in Lawrence of Arabia as well.

 

I thought it was odd that he wanted to do that, too. But we don't know if Jackson wanted to be white. He may just have wanted to look child-like. You know, since his father abused him and ridiculed his looks, Jackson didn't want to look anything like his dad. I think that Jackson did have body dysmorphic disorder. From what I've read, Jackson was probably not a pedo. He most likely was asexual and 11-years-old in his mind. He was a great singer, and I love his music videos. This is my favorite song of his. Michael Jackson cared about people. He wanted to help all kinds of people. His heart was in the right place.

 

Yeah, honestly when casting real people, they should go with people they can make to look like them and and act like them. Despite all the mixed heritage, when they eventually make a movie about the guy who figured out quantum gravity, Jello won't be playing me, most likely Rogue Ten will.

 

*VLM

 

Oh yeah I don't think there's a whole lot of bad actors in that video. It used to be a testament of an actors range to show them playing other ethnicities. I like look at some of the earlier silents with Lon Chaney. He made himself up as Asian characters a great deal and although comparatively the performances didn't engage in the horrific stereotypes of say a Fu Manchu film they are still rough to watch. It's also incredibly offensive to think that having an Asian character required a character actor in heavy makeup.

Also Re: Bible characters. I think the most subversive thing a filmmaker could do in today's climate would be to accurately cast Christ. He'd look like Bin Laden. The whole 'Force Awakens' white genocide garbage would be a microcosm compared to the reaction to that. There'd be protests.

 

Well, in fairness a lot of the tradition of white blonde blue-eyed Jesus comes from Renaissance painters. They "idealized" him that way, and pretty much everyone in the west (filmmakers included) has followed suit ever since.

Here's a friend of mine who played Jesus in an avant guard play at our college... I thought the casting was at least an improvement and would like to see more like this:



But hey, props to Bill O'Reilly for casting this Muslim actor for his Killing Jesus TV movie:

 

I think it's too soon for a Michael Jackson film per se. What we would need is the right director and actor. But that's such a subjective opinion, of course.

If David Bowie were still living, he would be a good person to ask who should play Jackson. I doubt Bowie would be interested in doing it himself, of course, but he was a great mind for singers and actors. He did both, after all.

 

David Bowie was actually more than ten years older than Jackson. That doesn't particularly speak well for Michael if he was the best person to play him.

It'll only be a matter of time before a more serious Jackson bio pic is made. I have to think the buzz around this will encourage Hollywood to attempt a 'Ray' or 'Walk the Line' type film. This thing will be long forgotten other than the controversy it stirred.

 

I'm sure. It's probably a temporary controversy, as you said.

I wasn't necessarily advocating that Bowie portray Jackson. I was just saying he might have good opinions about who should portray singers in movies. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

What I think we need is another Martin Luther King movie. Selma was good, albeit not always accurate, some said. Personally, I would love to see a movie about King during his last years. He was courageous for his opposition to the Vietnam War and his desire to help poor people.

I appreciate the Malcolm X film. Denzel's performance is great. What an artist!

Anyway, Michael Jackson is a complicated figure. Many fans feel they understand him, and he definitely merits a movie that praises his talent but also examines the depth of how hurt and lonely he could be.

 

Well, it's a February release, so you can take comfort in the fact that the studio is probably dumping what they know to be a failure instead of releasing it in the summer.

 

Isn't it Alex The Crow/Dark City Proyas?

 

I was really confused when the trailer for this movie dropped because I was getting it confused with Exodus: Gods and Kings



I guess this is a whole Thing now.

 

I am pretty sure pretending that Egypt was people by whites has been a "thing" that has existed since Europeans realized there notable artifacts in Egypt.

 

No, I mean. Not just the idea that ancient Egyptians were white. These movies specifically are extremely similar. Like Christian Bale and Gerard Butler are indistinguishable in these two pictures.

 

I think this one has flying robots and laser beams and stuff though.

 

It could be one of those dueling movie things, such as Armageddon/Deep Impact and Antz/A Bug's Life. Someone went around pitching the idea, "You know those epics from the fifties and sixties where white people would play every ethnicity? Let's do that again, except with just Egypt for some reason."

 

Yeah, it must be. I just was disoriented when people started critiquing the trailer because I didn't realize they were different movies for a little while. Also, I just went to find the trailer and YouTube autoplayed the trailer for a new Tarzan movie after it. lol.

Wocky - so apart from the race, it'll be the more historically accurate of the two?

 

I'm not seeing it for the same reason, among others. I haven't seen any movies lately except The Force Awakens and Joy.