Race and Hollywood is bell hook's �opic
By ALLISON JONES
Michigan Citizen
DETROIT - Identifying the
force of white supremacy, capi­
talism and patriarchy in two re­
cent movies, The Crying Game
and The Bodyguard, author and
educator bell hooks offered a 80-
cial and cultural critique of
western society for a standing
room only crowd at University of
Detroit Mercy on Thursday, Oc­
tober 28.
"Race is a hot issue, " one that
Hollywood has profited from
and perver+sd, hooks said in her
speech, "Race" Gender, Repre­
sentation: Moving from Pain to
Power," sponsored- by the
school's Women's Studies pro-
gram. '
Movies offer a cultural expe­
rience that bonds people across
class and race lin • hoo id.
In that r spect movie are
unique. But unfortunately, Hol­
lywood has squandered its hold
on American audiences by rein­
forcing racist and sexi t stereo­
types.
I ts message over the years
has been that interracial sex is
tragic, it won't work, hooks aid.
And with r spect to Crying
Game and Bodyguard, "the mes­
sage hasn't changed." ,
bell hooks
"MOMMA, THERE' A
Man In Your Bed "was a French
movie that broke out of the Hol­
lywood racial mold, hooks said.
By portraying interracial love as
a complex relationship,
"Momma" transc nded the
stereotypes.
Society encourages u to'
everything as eith r-or rather
than a complex 1 yering, hooks
id, and Hollywood reinforces
that competitive, either-or
.world view.
One Hollywood tereotype,
for example, of Black women is
that they are incapable of ch -
tity, hooks said, explaining the
basic joke Whoopie Goldberg's
"Sister Act" was written around.
The success of Sister Act, Cry­
ing Game and Bodyguard, point
up how white supremacist atti­
tudes can be packaged for mar­
keting, hooks said.
Crying Game and Bodyguard
had many similarities, hooks
said, although Game was criti­
cally acclaimed while Body­
guard was trashed.
give the
The film fail to deal with the
critical qu tion, does desire for
someone different create a bet­
ter context for transformation of
a relationship; or, is it a form of
domination where racism, sex­
ism or capitalism is played out.
Both are romance films; and
both look at romance that is ta­
boo.
Both movies are about cross­
ing boundaries, hooks said, al­
though the directors and
producers - even star Kevin
, Costner - refused to acknow­
ledge thatrace had anything to
do with the movies.
Vet, both exploited racial sub­
ject matter, Never before Body­
guard had audiences n a
white male icon opposite a Black
female icon, hooks said. "Yet, in .
an interview, Kevin Costner
said what a pity to notice race(in
the movie)."
White supremacy allows
those in power to refuse to ac­
knowledge race exists, she said.
Bodyguard grossed $138 mil­
lion because it portrayed a topic
that fascinates American soci­
ety: interracial love.
IN BOTH FILMS, the racial
id ntification of the female hero­
ines giv an edge to the movie,
hooks said.
Hooks then digr ed to take
a eriou look at ShaNaNa on
Fox television series "Martin,"
becau ,she said, the figure is a
comment on Black women and
how to see Black gay men.
Calling Sha a "bitchified,
hostile and filled with nega­
tiv ," hooks id many whi es
who will never know a real
Black 'woman think they are get­
ting to know one when th y
watch Sh NaN .
ing h Black woman out of the
inn rr circl I marginalizing
Black worn n, Hooks also said to
n t how many tim people are
hi ting h Na.
. Black p pl h ve turned off
.r i 1 I thinking," hooks
warn d, in iv ly watching
films nd vid
In addr ing "Menace II So­
Cl ty, II h film hat d picts the
Hoo encouraged her li t n­
ers to noti how m ny imes
ShaNa is out in he hall, put-
In Bodyguard, for example, hitney
ton had her own money but he
was till a "ho," hooks aid. And in Crying
Game, the heroine had ajob a
hairdre er, but he wa till a " 0."
ven killing of young African
American with graphic vio­
lence, hooks id,"I don't want
to groove on pornographic vio­
lence. I don't want th d th of
youngBlackmen to myen r­
tainment."
then
hooks
In Bodyguard, for xampl,
Whitn y Houston had h r own
mon y-but h was still a "ho,"
-
See HOOKS, 82
