My wife and I used to go to the movies nearly every weekend. However, since our son was born, my wife and I have found our movie-watching to be much more limited. As a result, we now only catch a flick, on the average, once a month. So, we scrutinize our movie picks a little more.

A few nights ago, my wife asked me what I knew about the movie “Freedom Writers”. I jokingly told her it was about a white woman who saves black kids through writing. She laughed and shook her head knowingly — it’s another movie about white folks rescuing black folks.

So, today, I come across an article by Kai Beasley, a senior at Emory University, writing for the Black College Wire. His article, “Hollywood Says Only White People Can Save Us”, was right on time for me.

In it, he speaks about movies like “Dangerous Minds”, “Freedom Writers” and “Blood Diamond” all having a common theme: white folks coming to the rescue of black folks who couldn’t otherwise do it for themselves. (I would add “Mississipi Burning” to that list, also).

He lays out the fallacy in pushing movies like this as standard fare:

But seriously, are we as helpless and naive as our characterizations in film portray us? No! Do white people really care about our problems as much as they do in films? No! That’s the reason things are they way they are. If people cared as much as they do in the movies, there wouldn’t be any more movies like that, because society would have changed. (emphasis mine) But what really grinds my gears is that few movies give black people credit for the things we do for ourselves. In fact, the only thing they do give us credit for being good at is drug dealin’, rappin’ or pimpin’.

So, Kai, wherever you are today, thanks for the message.

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