There’s more to movie characters than the color of their skin. And not every movie about minorities has to be about their struggles. Sometimes, audience members want to watch awesome people do cool wizard or sci-fi stuff on-screen without being reminded of the challenges they face every day. That’s the idea that TikTok creator Chinforshort (aka Chinyelu Mwaafrika from Indianapolis) put across in a video that’s been going viral.
Chin’s idea is simple: he’s had enough of ‘black pain’ movies that focus exclusively on racism, slavery, and civil rights. They’ve had enough of watching struggles that are only based on how people look and where the main premise is “being black is hard.” What the video creator wants is high-quality films with good stories and black characters facing more challenges than “just being black.”
Chin shared a video where he explained why he's had enough of 'black pain' movies. Check his TikTok out below
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
Image credits: chinforshort
The video creator suggested that filmmakers bring back black fantasy films with adventurers killing dragons, as well as sci-fi stories about exploring space and fighting aliens. And, you know what, he’s absolutely spot-on. Those movies sound awesome and we need more of them in our lives.
Chin’s friend chimed in, suggesting that black wizards are a cool premise and also pointed out that a proper coming of age story without police brutality would be good to see featured as well. The video creator summed everything up by pointing out that if the main villain is racism itself, he’d rather watch something else.
In an article, The New York Post suggested that it all comes down to a lack of representation. According to them, white Hollywood only knows how to tell stories about ‘black pain’ because it only has a few limited narratives available to them.
Writer and director Justin Simien, who debuted in 2014 with ‘Dear White People,’ said in a 2016 roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter that “there is an obsession with black tragedy.”
He said: “If you see a black movie, it’s typically historical, and it tends to deal with our pain. You know what that says, very subtly? It says that we’re not human. Because human beings are multifaceted.”
Here's how some people have been reacting to the video since it was posted
What did you think of the video, dear Pandas? Would you like to see Hollywood put out more fantasy, sci-fi, and coming of age films with black characters? Do you think that ‘black pain’ movies play an important role or do you have a more cynical view that they’re how filmmakers pander to audiences? On a scale of 1 to 10, how cool do you think black wizards are? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below!