Taylor Dykes
MFS 260, 10/10/22
A. Bogle describes the Era of Tan as a phenomenon where black stars and characters were essentially gentrified. Anything involving black culture would be removed from the characters to make them more palatable to white audiences and aid in ignoring the issue of race. They wanted the characters to be black, but not necessarily be black, so they would scrub them into a sort of tan, as Bogle describes.
B. The dilemma of early Eddie Murphy films was that they often had traces of antiquated stereotypes. Murphy was never allowed to have a love interest or more dramatic moments. He was there to be the reliable and hilarious buddy to the white hero, who got the girl, the drama, and the action. Because of this, though Murphy’s comedic talents shone through, a lot was left on the table and his capability as an actor was not fully realized.
C. The controversy surrounding The Color Purple has multiple elements. The black community disliked the treatment of black men in the film. Black men are almost exclusively shown as abusers of women, and the change in Mr.’s relationship with Celie is done very abruptly when compared to how it was done in the novel. Another big criticism, and one that i personally strongly agree with, is that the film strips one of the most powerful elements of the novel, which is that it’s told through Celie’s voice. Celie firsthand describes her immense struggle and her triumph. You meet her as a scared, traumatized 14 year old girl and when the novel concludes, she has blossomed into a strong, confident fulfilled woman with her family restored. Instead, the film is told through Spielberg’s voice. Spielberg turns the novel, brilliantly humble, into an overdone sweeping affair. Spielberg also quietly snuffs out the lesbian relationship between Celie and Shug Avery, which is part of how Celie comes to the end point in the novel. This part is moreso blatant erasure, but it takes out a crucial element in the book.
C. Another film that Bogle criticized was Enemy of Mine. I had never heard of this movie and the description of it seemed wild. Bogle’s criticism is that Gossett’s character is merely there to teach the white character. Even though Gossett plays an alien, Bogle points out that it sometimes reads as a thinly veiled allegory and that Gossett is there to act as the other for the white character, die tragically, and live on as a lesson.