I don't know about this, my man. You seem to be suggesting that Portman was in control of all of this. She was working with an auteur who had total control of the film as well as final cut. If anything he was the one calling the shots. Look, the script was always what it was, these characters were always what they were, their actions were always what they were. I'd be willing to bet that the man her character had an affair was not initially conceived as black in the script. They likely gave him the role because he was able to audition for it and won out. Now if you want to point out that it is pretty convenient and gutless for them to give the black guy that part rather than say the husband role then I can see where you're coming from. That being said I don't think the intention was to ever have some sex romp scene between her and the dude she was cheating with; it wasn't that type of film. It doesn't matter if their "sex scene" didn't have them in the same shot. It was all about evoking memories and the director chose specific angles to best convey the mood IMO. The scene was shot with blue light if I remember correctly to convey a coldness. My counter to your critique is that in the past 30 years they wouldn't ever allow the implication of a white female lead having a relationship or sex with a black guy at all; that would have been seen in the past as a sure way to for audiences to lose sympathy entirely with this character for good. So this is a glass half empty/glass half full scenario. It depends on the person observing. You think of it is an intentional slight that ended up being insulting. I think of it as baby steps in the right direction, a slow but sure sign of progress in that even if the affair was deemed a mistake, the film presented a scenario in which a black male lover was an option at all for a central white female character.
Last of all I can't accept this theory that Portman was the one who made demands that the black actor would not be allowed to have physical contact with her. Unless we have proof of that why go there? Portman isn't someone known for love scenes anyway, especially not of late, so I could buy her being uncomfortable with such things but not because of the race of the men she will have scenes with. Her being a white feminist is not solid evidence of anything. There is no evidence that no-sex-with-black-men is some widely known stance of white feminist actresses. Hollywood's double standard racism on the other hand is another story entirely.
Are you saying this in support of her and the film because you liked it? I'm being totally neutral here. The affair played a major role in her decision making throughout the film again remember she said about being there in the first place was that she owed him that, the exact words being
“I owed him, so I went in." and that is when they cut away to the sex scene. The black guy(Daniel) alluded to them having an affair for an extended period of time and was even still pursuing her in the beginning and sold the affection better than Portman. In their final scene together she was cold as if that was the one night stand when they have been carrying it on for awhile. That is not progress my friend, would you call the movies we talked about prior as progress. Again this is one of the
comfort levels with some of them. Take away the interracial would you be okay if hollywood wanted to keep screen time to black co-stars at a minimal and call it progress. Be careful what you are good with as it could very well stay like that and matter of fact that is one of the reasons why you still have some producers in Hollywood doing IR between black men and white women how they see fit, especially with lead roles. What you would call progress they could very well turn into and HAS turned into "The Ceiling
", another barrier. Racist are good for putting up barriers. Do you really think they would've done it the same way if it was a white man she was cheating on her LATINO husband with. That could very well what they want you to believe, be careful what you turn a blind eye to. Filmmakers has mastered the art of illusion and psychological advantage over their audiences. On the TV show Life Sentences her character had a fantasy of having an affair with a white Doctor on her black husband and they filmed the fantasy sex scene between her and the white doctor she had feelings for with kissing, fondling and clothes being tore off. So think about that, brotha.
And Natalie Portman, what you just said was kind of a contradiction(I highlighted it.) if you could buy her being uncomfortable with sex scenes as to reason why it was filmed the way it was then that means her demands were met. Plus again she had an intimate scene with the guy playing her husband; in her panties, him shirtless frolicking around and kissing each other. She's not shy from love scenes. Now you could point to the fact she was nude from behind in the sex scene, then why not argue that with the producers? Again if her comfort demands were being met? Some say the "sex scene" was unnecessary and I see a attempt at a sex scene that was done poorly due to behind the scenes issues... because the the affair was presented to the audience in such a poor way! And that's why some people like you guys probably think it was unnecessary, not paying attention to her and David Gyasi's mysterious scene in the beginning where he invited her to a cookout over his family's house, their long affair being mentioned and her alluding to the affair with Daniel which led to the sex scene. They had to give the audience something about that encounter with Daniel(David Gyasi) in the beginning and give meaning to what she meant by she owed him that, as that was the reason why she went into the shimmer. That was the main reason why she went in. This was just done poorly so I understand how some missed it and didn't understand the "sex scene."
Natalie Portman has very little to do with racial diversity in Hollywood when asked a question about it I think a year ago she categorized people as "women and minorities". Her crack at the all male nominees at the Golden Globes was tone deaf as she then awarded the best director award to a Mexican Director. You could see that in a different way, but to me when people talk like that as if women and minorities are two separate groups and failure to notice those MALE minorities it speaks of
BLITHE RACIAL IGNORANCE. One of the problems with #MeToo and #TimesUp are the blithe racial ignorance that some of these white actresses behind it have. Don't forget Emma Stone tried the same "All Male" thing at the Academy Awards in a category where Jordan Peele was one of the very few Black Directors nominated. Some of them don't understand or care that Hollywood is a WHITE man's world not a black man's world. And because of that blithe racial ignorance they think they know what they are talking about.
We can't be blind to mainstream white actresses just because they're white and pretty... and in the spotlight and are having very little interaction with a black man and think that means something. It isn't just white men in Hollywood. Hell it isn't just white men overall that are uncomfortable with black men and white women being together.
but out of curiosity what white mainstream actresses do you see that are white feminist?
