Why are black films struggling this year?

Most of those movies cover Depression life, institutional corruption and wrongful imprisonment. Maybe audiences are tiring of movies about what writer/comedian Demi Adejuyigbe boils down to as "black pain?" I name-dropped him because I still remember something he wrote about Mudbound on Letterboxd:

"I'm over watching black pain like this. There's merit to it for sure, but I'm just... exhausted by it. I want more black movies that aren't concerned with delivering a modern-day moral about race in old settings. I want more stories that let black actors do more than live out the terrible history of their ancestors in the hopes that they get awards for it. I want to get to the end of one year and be able to see that the year's most acclaimed black performances aren't performances they were racially-necessary for, but performances they absolutely killed while they happened to be black. Why is black pain always en vogue?"

Yes, he's only one guy, and yes, I know some of those 2024 movies are set in modern times. Still, look how well black movies that cover high points rather than low points like Hidden Figures and BlacKKKlansman did at the box office.

People aren't obligated to consume certain genres or digest certain messages just because they're morally righteous. Particularly when the message has already been sent and received many times over.

Even if it's indeed the case that the masses are actively avoiding "black movies" it doesn't necessarily mean that they disagree with the message. It may just mean that they don't feel like giving whatever specific issue their time and attention. Maybe they simply don't have faith in the movie being a particularly good or interesting one for a subject that has been explored many times before. Maybe something else. Lower interest for this type om movie doesn't by itself mean that things are moving in the wrong direction. There may be no correlation at all.

Zen trolling is still trolling I'm afraid, just quieter.

I have some more thoughts.

Every ****ing body is bewildered by black this black that black black black BLACK BLACK BLACK fuuuuuck me shut the **** up.

You aren’t designating bad boys to black movie either cause there be one more black lead actor than the standard in a franchise Michael Bay started. you just shit on him - for the wrong reasons lol

Oh so I dismantled the claim the two black movies that did perform well are not black.

So it just the really BLACK movies that underperformed … hmm hmm you know why, you wanna know why? Because black ain’t no inspired starting point to tell a story and every mother ****er on that set has been cherry picked by some board to fill a black quota sheet for how many black movies we need in a ****ing year and we get some tepid by the number soulless drivel

One of few films I am interested in seeing this year is “Blitz”

Steve Mqueen ? Steve? Mqueen? Ste… oh **** it

It’s not a black film either

Denzel won’t have it, Morgan don’t want it, Lil Wayne don’t have it, Candace Owens is too pregnant for this and Jessie Lee Peterson will slap the shit out of you 😂

Omg I dunno why this is fruitless endeavour 2 people will read.

I don’t mean to call you a **** but I had to go and do a quick check and Bad Boys 4 is directed by 2 Moroccan Belgium dude and written by a whitey.

We should close this thread

Okay so I just went Google this. LMAO I don’t need to comment further about why this movie flopped. Is that literally Mickey Rourke on the cover looking like a cartoon version of his 30 year old self. What the ruck is happening.

Omg I accidentally left the tab open, that is actually Jamie Foxx. Great film choice Jamie.

Might as well finish off, Taylor Pherry is one of these guys nobody has a ****ing clue who they are outside the US. He’s stood between fake Mickey Rourke in an open shirt red top and weird ass Jamie Fox in a blonde hair wig with a chainsaw. I’ll be honest I’m a bit scared.

Anyway fail, digitally enhanced Mickey Rourke is on the cover.

Next

Exhibiting forgiveness

Okay might actually be quite good

“An artful masterpiece about generational trauma”

This one does actually appeal.

Half the people who walked out of surprise screening were obviously racist and nothing to do with a dark sombre movie about abuse and trauma thrust on to them presumably in the middle of a day. To be honest it make perfect sense. I get why people walked out. So this black film did well and did not underperform at all despite your misleading anecdote

Hard Truths

Written directed by white English Mike Leigh

Black movie

Mufasa

I don’t even know how to spell this shit.

Great name of movie.

Another Lion King live action movie just what everyone ask for.

They had so much hope for this they give the directorial job to some guy with back to back flops (oooookay)

I guess cause it’s in Africa right, they had to get black stars to do voice roles.

Only 80% voice roles

OP decide to point this out despite it being higher percentage than at least half of the other underperforming black movies

This one underperforming not because it looks ****ing terrible and some PC squad of goons demanded it will be a black film.. and so ya know again cherry picked cast crew who are the right shade of wheat and not because they beat at their job.

No. it’s because lion king live action Disney fans can detect black voice and they don’t like it.

Sing Sing has UNIVERSAL ACCLAIM but Siddon needed another black film that underperformed and so was the only person to see it on this board.

We are racist guys.

This is released on Christmas Day and has generally favourable reviews.*

It it doesn’t crack the top ten there is racism at play.*

I have a fire inside my belly

The piano Lesson

This one as well generally favourable reviews and with big name l stars Samuel L Jackson and John David Washington.

I mean this is a good one to finish on. I’m surprised I have not heard of it considering the big names stars. Not much publicity?

There is clearly a racist element here. Jackson one of the biggest name and recognised actors in the world who has made about 3000 movies (slight exaggeration does the guy ever stop)

It is a fitting conclusion. Incredible

Can I like my own posts

It’s not even bias confirmation.

They either aren’t black films at all or they did perform well but nobody on the board watched them.

Menace II Society*

Because half of them aren’t doing poorly.. and the other half are ****ing dreadful.

Ps - read all my posts*

I actually did research and wasted like 2 hour of my life dismantling nearly every word you said and it was really quite an insight but it was also sadly what I expected.*

Every Denzel Movie

That was an epic stream of consciousness. Not sure what you're getting at, but I did read them all. 14 that's gotta be a record.

Colorblindness is a normative ideal. It is a beautiful ideal. It is an American dream. Our dream, handed back to us as a renewed promissory note in 1963, reminds us that all men are created equal.

If the dream of colorblindness is regarded as a heresy or a conceit to be treated with mockery (see above GIF), the alternative is the unending nightmare of color-awareness. On this path, "The struggle" will never end, because it cannot end. Any increase in unity or accomplishment, no matter how important, will be dismissed by pious scolds who say, "Insufficient funds! There is more to be paid!"

There is, of course, work that always needs to be done (and on several fronts at that), but this does not mean that every setback or imperfection is the "New Jim Crow." Moreover, it does not mean that we should not be able to celebrate gains and build on success, motivated by the joyful hope for even more success, rather than suffer being whipped by flagellants wielding the shame of our remaining percentage of inconstancy. How can we truly strive to be better if our self-image is one of self-loathing with only the occasional reprieve of punishing others who fail more than ourselves?

Colorblindness is not, by some perverse necessity, a "mission accomplished" banner that announces that we're above it all. It's not about announcing that we're all better, but that we strive to be so. My initial post in the thread was a bit of a joke, but our fundamental commitment to Dr. King's vision should not be short-changed, voided, or denied.