New York Times film critics watch “while white”
Against racialism in film and art
By
David Walsh
19 January 2017
It would be very nearly possible at present to post a daily column devoted to the fixation of the American media and Hollywood filmmaking (or the “entertainment business” in general) with race.
There is, for example, the ongoing “controversy” as to whether Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) and Nate Parker (Birth of a Nation) are receiving equal treatment when it comes to their consideration for awards; the worries in some quarters about whether Fences, Moonlight and other African American-themed films will be sufficiently honored this year; the legitimacy or illegitimacy of a white actor, Joseph Fiennes, playing black performer Michael Jackson, and so on. By this time next week, there will likely be a new list.
The concerns pressing forward these issues, for the most part, are not remotely democratic or politically progressive. They do not reflect the desire to see artistic depictions of the conditions of black or Latino or immigrant workers and poor, or more accurate pictures of life in general, but rather the strivings of already prosperous layers of the upper middle class for more wealth and privilege. Large amounts of money, the success of careers and entire studios and more are at stake.
The New York Times, including its cultural pages, continues to play a leading role in presenting every important social phenomenon in racial terms. A recent remarkable conversation between film critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis, “Watching While White: How Movies Tackled Race and Class in 2016,” published January 7, underscores this.
Of course, the issues are not so cut-and-dried when it comes to the motives and efforts of individual artists, who…