Black Actor nixes I/R storyline

S

shion

New Member
Y'all remember this:
"We have to take care of the message that we're sending as African-Americans or any other group of minorities, that we have the exact same type of exchanges with our mates that we get to see our White counterparts have,"
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Eriq La Salle of "ER" TV fame is mindful of the images that he portrays on television.
He is so mindful of it that earlier this season he reportedly asked producers of the top-rated drama to do away with his character's interracial romance.

It had nothing to do with the fact that his character, Dr. Benton, is Black and his love interest, Dr. Corday (Alex Kingston), is White. It had everything to do with his character being shown as loving toward Corday but troublesome in his relationships with two Black women on the show

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Did Eriq have a point?
 
True That...

and while I respect bro Eriq's stance at the time, the two of them made a hot couple for sure!:cool:
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Plus the final episode sort of left it open that they might even get back together.
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:smt023
 
With respect to Sir Nose, I think it was idiotic. His relationship with Cordey wasn't that much more positive than the ones he had had with African American couples. And if it had been...so what?

How positive were Carter's relationship before he met the mother of his late child?

How "positive" are anyone's relationships before they find someone that sticks?

I lost entirely all respect for Eric LaSalle when he did this.

I'm sick of the excuses to break up IR couples in entertainment. Did you guys know that the comic book character Cyborg was originally meant to be in a relationship with a white female character back in the 70's, until the creator got an email about how IR couple portrayals negatively affect the Black Community? How great would that have been to read?

The whole argument presupposes that monoracial couples are more "positive" or "helpful" than interracial ones. I reject that entire concept. Interracial couples are not shameful, and need not be hidden.
 
I supported his decision as I did Denzel who chose to forgo a similar storyline in at least one film. There is a palpable tendency of the industry and fans alike to erase the link black actors have to the larger black community once they reach mainstream success. In rejecting that, Denzel and Eriq reminded the audience of who they really are once the cameras stop rolling.
 
satyricon said:
I supported his decision as I did Denzel who chose to forgo a similar storyline in at least one film. There is a palpable tendency of the industry and fans alike to erase the link black actors have to the larger black community once they reach mainstream success. In rejecting that, Denzel and Eriq reminded the audience of who they really are once the cameras stop rolling.
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Yes, because otherwise no one would ever remember that either one was a Black Man. And certainly everyone's forgotten that Wesley Snipes or Omar Epps is Black.

It's a good thing Denzel & Eric remembered that the most important factor in "who they are": dating only Black Women. Everyone knows you can't date White Women and still be Black.
 
CBQ said:
Everyone knows you can't date White Women and still be Black.
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I am with you on all this, CBQ.I am always amused when I hear things like that. Some people will make everything or say anything to appear "black enough" so they don't feel alienated by the black community in the United States. Cheikh Anta Diop, the champion of African/Black identity, was married to a white(French) woman.
 
Nope, no black actors are in danger of losing their blackness by virtue of an onscreen romance with a white woman, but Eric and Denzel realized the dearth of quality portrayals between black men and black women in the same context. It is a personal and political decision and I commend them for it.

The rest of your post is flippant nonsense.

CBQ said:
Yes, because otherwise no one would ever remember that either one was a Black Man. And certainly everyone's forgotten that Wesley Snipes or Omar Epps is Black.

It's a good thing Denzel & Eric remembered that the most important factor in "who they are": dating only Black Women. Everyone knows you can't date White Women and still be Black.
Click to expand...
 
satyricon said:
Nope, no black actors are in danger of losing their blackness by virtue of an onscreen romance with a white woman, but Eric and Denzel realized the dearth of quality portrayals between black men and black women in the same context. It is a personal and political decision and I commend them for it.
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It is a stupid and cowardly decision, and moreover the "dearth of quality portrayals between black men and black women in the same context" is one of those bullshit myths that people with problems with IR make up to shame people out of them.

There were, and there are, more portrayals of monoracial couples than interracial. ALL of the relationships Eric's character had been portrayed in had been monoracial thus far. But one tipped the balance, eh?

Further, if this lack of "quality" monoracial fictional couples was a real problem, why is it that no Black Actress has, to my knowledge, EVER cited it as a reason not to be portrayed in a fictional IR relationship?

Finally, even if this insane BS had an ounce of truth to it, what would it matter? Even if the majority of couples involving Black people in entertainment portrayed interracial couples, why would that be so bad? What horrible messages would that be sending?

Unless you see something inherently wrong with interracial couples involving BM & WW, that is. In which case, you're right. We wouldn't want to send young Black men the wrong message, about it being okay. That would be wrong. It would damage the community, and make people think monoracial Black couples are not possible, despite the overwhelming majority of couples anyone has ever met in real life.
 
CBQ said:
It's a good thing Denzel & Eric remembered that the most important factor in "who they are": dating only Black Women. Everyone knows you can't date White Women and still be Black.
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This is a very ignorant statement. Black men will be black from birth until death. Being black is who you are, not whom you date.
 
CBQ,you hit it on the head! Meanwhile,WM and BM are dating and having relationships like there was no tomorrow in the movies. It should be the same for BM and WW.
 
satyricon said:
Nope, no black actors are in danger of losing their blackness by virtue of an onscreen romance with a white woman, but Eric and Denzel realized the dearth of quality portrayals between black men and black women in the same context. It is a personal and political decision and I commend them for it.

The rest of your post is flippant nonsense.
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Can you define "blackness" for me please? Because so far, no one I've met was able to give a clear definition or example of what "blackness" is or should be.
 
thefieryphoenix said:
This is a very ignorant statement. Black men will be black from birth until death. Being black is who you are, not whom you date.
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I am guessing that the point she was trying to make was that many black folks consider dating/marrying a white woman as a sign that someone isn't "black enough" or even black. And that's why many black people who are famous chose not to do it because they worry about their image in the black community.

I could give you many examples on this, bu I hope this would be sufficient.
 
He had a good point for saying and doing what he
did, but at the same time that doesn't mean make dating
a white woman a bad thing and alienate those neither.

Lets not forget the guy almost every black actor look up
to and all respect is sidney poitier who is married to a
white woman.
 
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