NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
Racism still exists. It doesn’t matter the place or time, America is still dealing with race issues. The problem is, it’s by choice now. No one has to be this way, and yet, some people still are. The entertainment industry has always displayed racism in TV, Movies, Stage Plays, Music, and even Cartoons. Now, Netflix took a shot at racism with their new film, You People which aired January 27th. The reviews have been mixed and that’s largely due to people who still view racism as a way of life.
The words “you people” combined, are often regarded as a racist term. That’s what makes this movie so funny. Yes, we’ve seen the whole black/white relationship played out across Hollywood before and we’ve even seen similar “You People” storylines done numerous times. However, this one was a bit different. Maybe it’s the same as kids dancing in Save The Last Dance. Maybe this is the same as The President and “The Fixer” on Scandal. You People focused on two regular people looking to escape the box of being labeled “you people.”
With everything going on with Kanye West and Kyrie Irving regarding African Americans and the Jewish community, I admit that You People was a risk not only for Netflix but for Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lauren London, and Jonah Hill. Hill co-wrote the movie so he understood the significance of the moment and Netflix put it out at the right time.
You People May Not Be For Everybody
Murphy was outstanding as the Kufi-wearing Muslim father of Amira (London) and Dreyfus was exceptional as Ezra’s mother (Hill) as both families displayed their shade of racism. While the critics bashed the movie for the lack of chemistry between London and Hill, much of that is not a surprise as London is just getting back in front of the camera after a hiatus following the death of her boyfriend, Nipsey Hussle.
Every good love story/family film has its ups and downs as far as storylines go. There will be joys in the beginning, anger, and sadness in the middle, then the big come together at the end. You People had all of those things. The plot was rather predictable in terms of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, then boy gets girl back. But it was the point in between the cliche stuff that made this movie not only watchable but relatable.
The black and jew jokes were floating back and forth. But it was the reason for the racist remarks that those in America still trapped in that time wrap need to pay attention to. Akbar, despised Ezra because, well, he was white. He didn’t care who Ezra was on the inside, he didn’t see the playful kid that his daughter fell in love with. All Akbar saw was skin color. And because of that, Akbar hated everything Ezra stood for.
On the other side of the coin, Shelley just didn’t understand. She saw the skin color but that was not her hurdle. Her hurdle was doing too much. She didn’t hate Amira because she was black, she just reverted to every stereotype she could muster up and placed Amira and her family in that box.
It wasn’t until the end, that both parents realized, it was their own form of racism that kept their kids and families apart. We hate what we don’t understand. We hate what we refuse to learn. While You People was just a movie, it’s also a lesson. Put the jokes and hate aside and listen to what another person of a different race has to say. Truth be told, we’re not all that different from one another.
