In the midst of watching the recent reworking of the legendary Roots miniseries, I was disappointed but not surprised by the large number of Black folk who complained, "I don't wanna see any more slave movies." Thrown into the fire of disdain are also films about Black people being butlers and maids or marching under the "we shall overcome" banner. At first, I was gonna write a post about why I don't have a problem with slavery movies and the like for two primary reasons: 1) they're a part of our narrative and, unfortunately, the remnants of the worst period in American history still rear their ugly heads in numerous ways in communities across the United States; and 2) I don't believe in letting the descendants and proponents of our oppressors off the hook, especially when they're still oppressing our people. I also thought about taking a few gratuitous shots at many of those same folks don't wanna see any more movies about slavery, but have no problem listening to or watching us as drug dealers, substance abusers, promiscuous and/or misogynist lovers, money-hungry hustlers and heartless killers. However, instead of launching a divisive diatribe and since this blog is New Problem Tuesdays, I decided to do some problem solving to help the disgruntled. So for all of you rebels against 12 Years a Slave, The Help, The Butler or the new-age Roots or those of you who feel like Denzel Washington should've received an Oscar for X long before Training Day, I have carefully carved out a five-step guide regarding how you can be a part of the process of seeing more movies about you and people who look like you made. Get your notepads ready...
