Why do black films do poorly outside the US?

Demetrius Caldwell · (#1 (**permalink**))

Do any of you know why black films are not huge money makers outside the US?

Besides the occasional Wil Smith or Eddie Murphy movie, I can't think of any movie(well except maybe Coming to America)with an almost all black cast that has reached the 100 million dollar mark overseas. I mean movies from the Barbershop and Friday series, which make a good profit here in America, are almost ignored overseas. Why is that? Could people in other parts of the world still be afraid or racist of black people? What do you people think?

Also I just like to say that I've gotten rid of my old message board and replaced it with a new one. To go there clickon(sorry you cannot posts links to otherforums without permission...)

COLTRANE · (#2 (**permalink**))

because most of them are CRAP and not opnly black films but most films made in hollywwod

why do you think Blaxploitation was huge back in the day?

why do you think nowadays black music from America is CRAP?

why do you think there are many black men in jails than in Universities?

Why do you think there are so many black kids being raised in single house hold?

why do you think we have lost a direction?

why?

dimoke · (#3 (**permalink**))

The reason i wouldn't pay my money to wacth majority of black American films is because they are simply RUBISH! Sorry, but its the truth, i can't for the life of me sit for an hour just to listen to some grown ass black people who should know better going around calling themselves ******S!.....:P:P

Most of them are just made to make fun of black Americans....its like some of you are quick to sell your people with steroetypes just to make a quick dollar....well, i have made a conscious decision not to be part of that delusion.

Most of blacks in Europe and all over the world find it absurd with your abssesion of the ****** word, and blond weaves, women who look like they only have about 5% black in them being called BLACK women, and brothers living just doing what is necesery to survive at the expense of the black community they come from.............confused3

Sorry dear, you asked....

King Tubbs · (#4 (**permalink**))

COLTRANE wrote:

Quote:

because most of them are CRAP and not opnly black films but most films made in hollywwod

why do you think Blaxploitation was huge back in the day?

why do you think nowadays black music from America is CRAP?

why do you think there are many black men in jails than in Universities?

Why do you think there are so many black kids being raised in single house hold?

why do you think we have lost a direction?

why?

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I agree with your points Coltrane but you havent really answered the question, why do black films do badly vis-a-vis white films which as you suggest are in many cases just as bad.

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I agree with Dimoke on this one most, not all, are very poor (SoulPlane, Beauty Shop, Friday etc) self hating rubbish.

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However Dimoke you say most blacks in europe find the US blacks obsession with n****r absurd, sad truth is nowadays many of our youth (in the UK) have adopted it hook line and sinker, I overhere the word used by black youngsters on the bus all the time.

COLTRANE · (#5 (**permalink**))

king

BECAUSE MAJORITY OF THE FILMS ARE CRAP FROM SCRIP,ACTORS,CINEMATOGRAPHY TO EDITING AND PROMOTION

do u think Weinstein got where he is because of CRAP

dimoke · (#6 (**permalink**))

King Tubbs wrote:

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.

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I agree with Dimoke on this one most, not all, are very poor (SoulPlane, Beauty Shop, Friday etc) self hating rubbish.

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However Dimoke you say most blacks in europe find the US blacks obsession with n****r absurd, sad truth is nowadays many of our youth (in the UK) have adopted it hook line and sinker, I overhere the word used by black youngsters on the bus all the time.

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Well KT, thats where it ends. The difference is that in the US, GROWN men and women go around using the word like water.....and then they take it to the screens with them, for the whole world to see and here us blacks degrading ourselves even more....that my dear is where the difference lies....here a few confused rap listening kids can delude themselves with theword for a few teenage years, then they grow out of it once they know better....over there they have literaly reclaimed it as something worth whileadopting.

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However as you did see, i said not all of them...some of them are quite enjoyable and are my favourite classics...Soul food was a good film, and i can bet you that if it was a *white* film, their would have been some golden globes trophies for the actors...

afroamericangirl · (#7 (**permalink**))

Well one thing to keep in mind is that Comedies and Action films make all the big bucks in America (especially Action films). These kinds of movies may not be as popular overseas as they are in America.

Very few dramas make 200 and 300 million dollars!

Yet I assume from my time on this forum, people on here prefer to see Afro-Americans in slavery films!

Niani · (#8 (**permalink**))

Demetrius Caldwell wrote:

Quote:

Do any of you know why black films are not huge money makers outside the US?

Besides the occasional Wil Smith or Eddie Murphy movie, I can't think of any movie(well except maybe Coming to America)with an almost all black cast that has reached the 100 million dollar mark overseas. I mean movies from the Barbershop and Friday series, which make a good profit here in America, are almost ignored overseas. Why is that? Could people in other parts of the world still be afraid or racist of black people? What do you people think?

Also I just like to say that I've gotten rid of my old message board and replaced it with a new one. To go there clickon(sorry you cannot posts links to otherforums without permission...)

It might be because most of them are crap. I would dare say that if a trend toward healthy, historic and current films were made which depicted African/Black peoples in our proper context....not all of this cooning and buck-dancing..in time they would be supported. This is more than a notion, it can't be a fair weather endeavor. There are many African/Black screen writers out there with worthy material and I know of atleast one Black owned studio, started by Tim Reid....I thoughtI heard about another being started.

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We (Africans/Blacks) MUST take control of how our images that aresent out around the world. We don't control "the media" so we must be very careful of how we carry ourselveswhilst allowing someone else to film and edit us. Until we define and control our images those that are not our friends are going to continue to do what they are doing....and this includes those with brown and black skins.

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@Dimoke

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Sista, I am one of those barely-Black womenthat you are referring to, however I was raised in the African-American culture and was raised to know I was and aman African. I was reared in the southern part of the US and for many of my brothas and sistas outside of the US, growing up in the south meant.......far more often then not..... that you retained quite a bit of your African culture. Altho you may not have been able to say what it specifically was.....you knew it wasn't what the white folks were doing.

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I have no control over what happened with my African grandmothers and those vile, savage, rapicious (sp) europeans. My motto now is: I may not have been born in Africa, but Africa was born in me.

Baron_Samedi · (#9 (**permalink**))

I have to agree with some of the posters that a lot of the Black movies are crap, I,e, Soulplane, Friday, Booty Call and the likes.

Also a lot of it has to do with Marketing. A movie made foe $3 million in the States and grosses $40 million has already done what it was intended, couple that with DVD rental a sales and you have a winner in terms of economics. Most major studios do not put marketing muscles behind these films like say a Will Smith movie or an Eddie Murphy or Chriss tucker movie that cost over $50 million dollars to produce.

@Dimoke:

I noticed that you take issue with Western Blacks. Your continuous commentary speaks volumes of you attitude. Light skinned Black Women like Thandie Newton and others in the UK and SA are no different from the Vanessa Williams, Christina Milam's, and Lisa Raye's. Blond Weaves were prevalent on the MTV Base premiere in Africa by Africans.

@ Coltrane:

The prevalence of the N-Word used by adults is sad but just as with music that you call crap it is the choice of people abroad to listen to 50 cent or Talib Kweli. There are choices, every piece of enetertainment medium isn't negative.

Baron_Samedi · (#10 (**permalink**))

@ Niani:

Dame, don't get offended by these posts, you will see a pattern of contempt for Red bones and BA culture by people who never read Harlem Renaissance writers, Never been to America, don't have BA friends and don't have a clue. You will catch wreck for being light skinned by Dames who use Bleaching creams and hear kats dissin BA culture while mimicing us. It's a damn shame but that is how they do! Oh, Redbone you gotta a pic?

chi · (#11 (**permalink**))

Black US films depict the Black American way of life and therefore they tend to relate to those communities.

chi · (#12 (**permalink**))

Does every thread have to make it's way to a dark skinned V light skinned issue?