When people go to a movie theatre they expect to see a good movie that is worth $5 or $6. They want to be “pulled into” the movie and feel what the actors are feeling. Whether it is a horror, science fiction, drama, comedy or a mixture of all, people want to leave the movie with a feeling of satisfaction.On Saturday, Jan. 13, I went to the movies hoping that a particular movie would be worth my $5. I did have my reservations about this movie, but I jumped on the bandwagon and went to see it anyway. The movie was “Save the Last Dance.” I was very upset with the whole movie because it is a racially biased movie. Now, many people will read this and say, “Dang Shannon! Its just a movie. Get a life!” But I cannot and will not sit idly by and let people go see this movie that degrades the whole African- American race. My first problem with this movie is the interracial relationship. Im not against anyone who dates a person outside of their race. Hey, to each his own! Do what you like. My problem is the way the relationship was set up. Why did the couple have to be (just to be politically correct) an African-American male and a Caucasion female? Why couldnt it a be Caucasion male and an African-American female?My belief is that society wants everyone to believe an African American male will be better off with a Caucasion female. Chew on this: how many movies have you seen with this type of relationship? I can name two right away: “Jungle Fever” and “Guess Whos Coming to Dinner?” Now how many times have you seen the Caucasion male with the African American female? I can only think of one and it did not go to the movie screen, yet it was also made by MTV-“Love Song.” My question is, “Why didnt this movie go to the movies like “Save the Last Dance?” “Love Song” even featured celebrity R&B singer Monica. However, the roles were reversed for “Love Song.”Society does not want people to believe that a Caucasion male would be interested in an African-American female. Yes I said it, and I dont care what anybody thinks because it is true.I can talk about that one problem forever, but Ill move on so that you can try to understand my point a little better.Why did the writer have to put the students and/or school in a poor environment? Why couldnt the students and school be middle to upper class? Using the poor type of enviornment depicts what society wants people to believe. And that is how the African-American race lives. We all come from poor homes. We all live in a house with no mother or father figure. We all are gangbangers. All of the teen girls have kids. Not one of the teen boys takes care of his kids.These are all stereotypical images of the African-American race and they are all very obvious in this movie. Why must the African-American race be shown in this light?F.Y.I. “In Love Song” the African-American family was upper-class and the Caucasion male was lower-class s.Hmm, makes you think-huh?Im not trying to stir up trouble among my fellow Bearkats, I just want everyone to open their eyes a litle bit wider. Dont believe everything you see. The saying , “seeing is believing” is not true.Let me break it down for you so that it can forever be broken: “The playing field” is not leveled. We are not equal. There are still racist and prejudiced people in the world. How can people say that minorities and majorities are equal? If that were true, why are we still using the words minorities and majorities? Yes, minorities have come a long way, but it took 100 years for African Americans to get out of slavery and to get to where they were 30 to 35 years ago. It was not so long ago that schools, buses, churchs, jobs, restaurants were segregated. It was not so long ago that the KKK and Black Panther parties were legal. Lets think about this: If it took 100 years to end slavery, then its most likely going to take another 100 years for society to become equal. We still have 70 years to go.If you want to go see this movie, fine, but dont look at it and not pay attention to the racial aspects. My suggestion is dont go see it at all, but I cant tell you what to do.Decide for yourself.
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