I stayed up late last night to watch CNN’s updates on the Election, when they announced Obama had crossed the finish line first, I went to bed. I slept well.
This morning I got to thinking about how everyone is focusing on the “First Black President” and I joked with my wife that he wasn’t the first. Of course Morgan Freeman and the guy from Fifth Element sprung to mind first, but way back in 1972 (mine and John’s Birth year) when it was a bigger controversy, James Earl Jones played a president on screen.
So I did a quick search on IMDB and found a list of other Black Presidents.
The Man (1972) – President Douglas Dilman – James Earl Jones
The Fifth Element (1997)- President Lindberg – Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister Jr
Deep Impact (1998) – President Tom Beck – Morgan Freeman
Head of State (2003) – President Mays Gilliam – Chris Rock with black running mate Bernie Mac
Idiocracy (2006) – President Alonzo Camacho – Terry Crews
24 – Wayne and David Palmer – D.B. Woodside, Dennis Haysbert
Darth Vader gets an honourable mention since he is more machine than man, and that machine is painted black. And with the exception of one very weak “noooooo!” he was voiced by a black man (James Earl Jones) …also he was technically only Vice President to that raisin of a Sith Lord, but he did all the real work.
So has film eased the path of racial acceptance to accepting a black president? Its hardly a new thing in films and TV to depict the president with a black actor. However one thing I did notice is that in movies like Head of State and The Man, the title characters end up in the presidency (or race to) by some sort of accident. Glossing over the plausibility that such a person would have got their on their own.
I think there is a long bitter line that leads back to a different era in history that still influences people today, but at the end of this day we are in a different era where we have moved past that naive way of thinking, but some people are brought up with different values and cannot see outside of them.
I have tended to live a colour-blind existence, and the ethnicity of a president doesn’t mean a lot to me, but I am not ignorant of social injustices that might have prevented this in the past. Race is just the excuse given to to discriminate instead of looking at the politician’s platform or capabilities.
I was impressed that I didn’t hear a lot of people throwing the race card out there when trying to discredit President Elect Obama. I was waiting for it, but I guess for the most part people realize how quickly that argument would be shot down. But imagine 50 years ago, and how those conversations would be different.
Since us Canadian folk who run the Movie Blog were not allowed to vote in your election, all we could do was form our own opinions. We were not shy with them, but we form a symbiont circle with these United states. What happens to the Naboo will affect the Gungans. We see that. And no. I don’t think Canadians are Gungans.
So while everyone is saying, “First Black President! We are watching history in the making” keep in mind that it is just another President, and every election shapes history regardless of the colour of his skin. His ethnicity is a trophy of progress for racial acceptance and I hope that the world is a better place with every President you elect.
I can’t wait until you elect a woman!
Edit: This discussion is about the fading Racial Tension in the US, and if you think depicting the President as a black man had anything to do with it. (Or perhaps the other way around) Please refrain from making this a platform to insult the candidates.
