I'm embarrassed to say yeah, me neither. Tho I wasn't watching ANY TV at that time (buried in 30pgs/lecture sciences classes) n only heard people talking about the trial n riots. STILL, I feel like that should be something I know about by NOW!
I had to find the trailer on RUclips in an attempt to convince my girlfriend this movie was made. And she still thought the trailer was cobbled together with scenes from other movies.
What Jim Carrey did when acting like a beat up Reginald Denny was horrible, and should have got him canceled long ago. Playing the part of a guy doing his job, getting pulled from his truck and beat almost to death for no reason.
This video is so much more nuanced and in depth than I had expected when I clicked on this random movie review presented by the algorithm. Thanks for the good content
As a Black Guy that was 17 when this came out, I can honestly say that this Movie was ahead of it's time, and people just were NOT READY for something like this. I liked it, I got it, and I knew that it would either be ignored, or it would be hated. It went largely ignored. They were really advertising and pushing this, but nobody in the Hood wanted to see this, and it was obvious that White Folks wanted nothing to do with it. It was an up and down Movie at best. Wasn't terrible, but it wasn't all that good either. Oh, and they played it way too safely too. If they were going to do a concept like THIS, they should've leaned all the way into it. As the reviewer essentially said; they didn't want to go too hard with the concept, and risk offending the White Folks who were never going to see it anyway. They should've just gone for it, and they probably would've gotten a bigger Audience of people just curious about what actually happens in the Movie that everyone can't stop talking about.
Yep, I liked it back then because I liked the concept but it was way to safe even I knew that and I had very few information about the USA back then on the other side of the world.
I'm white and was maybe 15 when this came out. My high school friends and I all went to see this together. I appreciate your comment. That's how I remember it, all the advertising I mean. We all liked the movie.
Agree. The idea was there but I felt that they just switched the visuals and that was it. It could have been so much deeper . To me, the result was very much an after school movie. I watched once when it came out so it’s been awhile, my memory may not be correct. I’d watch a remake of this if they did it right
I'm a time traveler from 2025 and just popped in to say thanks for fixing racism. We all thought it was hyperbole at the time, but we were pleasantly surprised.
Harry Belafonte actually had an enormous role to play in the civil rights movement. He was extremely close with Martin Luther King Jr., helped to fund the movement and very actively protested and used his voice.
And then went to Venezuela and Cuba & praised dictators who incarcerated and murdered those that opposed them and got rich by stealing from the people. Great civil rights leader
@tonyluthor9167 That makes no sense, every country has leaders that do it. No one knew Cuba or Venezuela was doing it. There wasn't internet like today.
@@TheCaptainhowdy11 Dude I don't know how old you are but you're talking to a fucking cuban kid here, everybody fuckin' knew. Castro was not elected, he overthrew Batista. Catch up on the Bay of pigs conflict and Kennedy's withdrawal from it and Cubans resentment of him as a result . Even the movie Scarface dealt with Castro sending convicts to Miami from his prisons to piss off the thriving exile community there ( in the movie that's when Tony Montana arrives in the United States ) Much like today in the United States, those who constantly yell that they are "anti-fascists" tend to be the most fascist of all. You got two kinds, those that blindly follow to the point of stupidity and those that know exactly what's going on and accuse the others of doing the exact same thing they're actually doing or trying to do or wish to do. Now I know both sides have contradictions to their ideologies, But the ultra left wing ideology is the one that preaches that they will bring equality to the masses. But in order for that to happen, the role of government has to become bigger and larger in the country and individuality has to decrease as well as private goods. In a nutshell translation for you, to be free and equal, we must own you. Now does that make any sense when you break it down? Harry Belafonte was talented guy for sure and very accomplished, but a rich hypocrite in the end nonetheless as a person
@@tonyluthor9167 even if what you said is true, who cares? Its like hearing that guy that saved your life later on robbed a store somewhere. What sort of own did you think you were going for? Kind can also have various seedy facts about him shared - but like, who cares if he cheated on his wife alot or whatever?
@@xBINARYGODx "Even if what I said was true" Oh Lord, the future is not bright for sure. The same idiots that cheered for Chavez to take over the country are not crossing the border because the guy they cheered destroyed the country and are now helping destroy the United States. Belafonte had extreme left wing views and promoted those policies and the sheep are uninformed and easily manipulated. My God years ago a man getting pregnant was a Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy.. now it's a documentary apparently.
The RUclips genie dropped this in my lap. I had no idea this movie existed. It was a good idea but so many times it left me hanging. The TV scene was the best.
I rewatched this today and this is actually really good. Crazy how rewatching something can totally change your mind about it. Sorry i said it was pretentious. Its very well put together.
The LA Uprising happened more in response to the sentencing the Korean store owner who shot Latasha Harlins in the back of the head after an argument, as the teenager paid for her item and turned to leave. "The judge sentenced Du to 10 years in state prison but the sentence was suspended and the defendant was instead placed on five years' probation with 400 hours of community service and payment of $500 restitution, and Harlins' funeral costs." (Wiki) This murder happened 13 days after Rodney King's beating, and the acquittal of the officers happened around the same time as the clerk's sentencing.
They turned this against white people fast so they can better divide and conquer. Americans needed more than a decade to came together in the Occupy Wall Street protest what was also successfully ruined fast and now the wall street sponsor the LGBT movement. It was better for them if all the races can rally against white people. The divide and conquer tactic works best if it is as close to 50/50 as possible like the two party system.
Exactly, everything "they" show us in the media is all FAKE NEWS! You never make these fools believe you, it's impossible. They're so arrogant and narcissistic they'll never go look for themselves because they're always right, always!
It's always seemed terrible to me that Kings debacle overshadowed Latashas tragedy, even though it's really the straw that broke the camels back, most people don't even know who she is now but everyone knows Rodney King. I guess that can be attributed to him being made fun of so often in Pop culture, but still, it just seems like another small injustice to go along with the rest.
I remember when this movie came out. It stirred a lot of controversy and conversation and then just disappeared. I was a kid at the time and I wanted to see it for the premise alone. I never forgot about it but for whatever reason never quite got round to watching it. I don’t recall it ever being on TV except once a few years after its release. Oddly enough, there’s a book by the same name which has nothing to do with the film. I had the book (can’t recall how it came into my possession) but never read it either!
I may be in the minority of having seen it when released. Oddly enough .. even with my of that era sensibilities , I definitely saw the flaws of the premise . Either do or not do … there were no fine lines to be walked here if one is going to commit to this premise for a movie .. it’s not a lukewarm story to tell
Whenever I find a superb movie commentary channel, it only has a handful of videos, and this is no exception. Please keep making these, RUclips needs you!
I watched the whole thing and just assumed this was a huge channel. Shocked to check and see that some of these videos have less than 1k views. This is some real high effort quality content. Tough subject to tackle in this video, but overall an interesting in depth look at this movie and why it didn’t work, well done.
On the candy making scene: It's marshmallows covered in chocolate. MARSHMALLOWS! Now, if one has ever applied the term marshmallow to a person, one knows it's an insult, meaning they're 'soft'.
Harry Belafonte was the reason why the Smothers Brothers show was canceled because in a duet with a white woman the lady touched his hand! SHOCK! HORROR! I was waiting for you to bring that up, but I guess it's not super well known. This was great. I hadn't thought about this movie in years.
For what it's worth, I think you did a fine job of navigating this difficult subject. It's the type of conversation where you really can't win by doing it right, but you can sure lose by getting it wrong. Congratulations on acknowledging the nuance that this film apparently was completely oblivious to.
If only, I had a babysitter who played 70s TV shows for us when we were out sick from school. I'd loved that show (also What's Happening & Good Times & Barney Miller), that's not that accent. It's a very sad attempt at a watered down old (older than 90s) stereotype accent. IMO anyways, n only from the clips I heard, but OOOOFFF!
I saw this in the 90s and have been looking for it since- no one I know has seen it, and no one I know believes that it exists, either. It’s fueled my frustration for decades!
Juice, Fresh, Above the Rim, Set It Off, and Menace 2 Society were very helpful for me as a sheltered white suburban kid in helping me form a basic understanding that the whole picture of race relations in late 20th century America, at least as it was being portrayed in the rest of the media and being taught in our schools, was sorely lacking in the elements of humanity and realism that give the historical recitation of events some context and an inroad for an outsider to find understanding thereby. They weren't perfect by any means, but they were a big step for me in breaking out of the prison of propagandized misunderstanding that was supposed to give me a safe and accepted understanding of our shared history in this country without ever touching the truth of the horrors that white people visited upon black people and the legacy of those horrors that we still live with today.
I should've put "American History X" on that list as well, in hindsight. It's a movie that I find to be so powerful and pertinent that I think it should be shown to high schoolers all across America as part of their curriculum.
Your anecdote at the end is a great indicator of why international film is so important. We can all watch a film from the other side of the world and go 'huh, me too'.
Yeah.. i think if you need to SEE other PEOPLE being PEOPLE for you to realize they are PEOPLE too.. you have MUCH bigger issues than what movies are in production.
@@xBINARYGODx didnt go over my head in the slightest. White people excusing why other white people dont see other humans as people is a old american pass time. Shit wasnt deep.. its just the same old bullshit
Thank you for providing context for the time this movie dropped. I remember ads for it (I was still in high school ten) and it pretty much disappeared after it was released. I'm not sure how your video ended up on my feed but I'm glad it did
I remember when this movie was in production because i was starting to work for the company that cast the extras for this film. I don't have a ton of memories outside of that though.
Had no idea this movie ever existed and I loved movies in the 90s and tried to watch as many of them as possible. Also had no idea "can't we all get along" was a reference to Rodney King. I always wondered why that line was supposed to be funny in Mars Attacks.
The reason that Quentin Tarantino's use of the word in Pulp Fiction works is absolutely the context. The two characters brought a freshly deceased man into his home. The biting use of the word reminds Jules of the seriousness of the situation, and that there's zero percent chance of him smooth-talking this over with Jimmy. And you can empathize with Jimmy, too. If someone did that to you in real life, brought what they had brought into his home and put his marriage at risk? The use of that word is the least concerning thing going on in his home that day. Jules doesn't say a word about it back to him, because he understands how messed up the situation is for him. You don't really get any "righteous" uses of that word, from a white person to a black person. But that scene comes closer then any other scene in a movie probably ever has.
It’s so funny that you talk about how nice the house of the white people’s house is and then immediately cut to the “hood” films where the houses are even nicer. lol
The mid-90s cinema seemed very invested in making white guys the "real" victims in the United States. I think of this, and Joel Schumacher's "Falling Down," which came out a couple of years before.
D-fens in Falling Down is not supposed to be the good guy, you really missed the subtext in that movie lol of course there are a lot of people(ignorant fools) who root for him, just like how there are a lot who root for Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.
i remember someone telling me "you need to see birth of a nation not because it's good but because it's how people saw race back then", i feel like it's the same with this movie it's not good but it's how people would tackle the subject of race in the 1990s after rodney king and OJ
I remember this film and the 90's. The culture at the time was electric, and maybe that is my youthful view at the time, Belafonte ironically was a icon from the civil right era, and this film was important to him, I have no source but he was promoting it also. And you are very correct to point out the kid glove treatment with the film attempting to depict systemic racism. I believe your essay is future proof from criticism. I wish Hollywood would stop with wanting to scrub and hide the embarrassed offerings from the extensive catalog of film. It's those errors that is part of the human experience.
wow, i've NEVER heard of this movie haha. I've REALLY enjoyed your vides man, I'm excited to see your channel grow. I hope you continue to highlight these strangely tone deaf films lol
Bruh! Well done! Damn! I watched this and as a black man and an artist really appreciate your insight and attention to historical detail. Well done sir. Subscribing now!
Dude. You need more subs, because you go so deep! (That's what she said) But seriously, it's grand what kind of research you did, and hopefully still will do in the future! 11/10
10:28 I can't believe you edited yourself into a scene of the movie just to carry on your explanation, literally rotoscoped John Travolta, and put convincing film emulation and motion capturing on yourself. I'm totally stealing that idea if I ever transition my content into docs/essays. And of course the only video that surprises me with technique I've seen in years has even less subs than I do, the irony I see in my life is consistent at least
Your essay is pretty insightful. The issues are complex and nuance is needed to effectively convey what this movie wanted to. I forgot this movie even existed lol. You got a new sub
Wow, this is part of my DVD Collection, so it's hardly forgotten on my part. It was the vision of the Japanese-American Writer/Director that brought this dubious film to life. Travolta's character is ridiculously shallow. Harry Belafonte plays the interesting one in this movie.
I was a young kid, 12 years old, when the LA riots happened. I still remember seeing King's plea broadcast during the violence, and although it seemed as naive as it was sincere, I never understood the churlish glee with which everyone in the media piled on with the endless mockery of a man, a regular every day dude, who got caught up in a series of events that he did not choose to be a part of, and was now the butt of a national joke as a result. He was just sickened by the violence he'd experienced and that he saw unfolding, and to the best of his ability tried to communicate his wish that we can live up to our potential as supposedly logical creatures and rise above what our past and more animalistic urges has demonstrated over and over is our tendency to reactionism and violence when facing the same being done to us, completely ignoring the cycle that is obviously being formed and fed by such actions. I always thought that it really showed the darker, unlit corners of our spiritual closet when instead of responding with love and understanding after the riots, we just went back to exact same racial bullshit we'd been engaging in that brought us to the conflict in the first place. I wish I could say that things have improved greatly since then, but I think the last 3 decades really speak for themselves on that subject.
Love this series. You gotta do one on ALOHA The Cameron Crowe disaster. It’s my The Room. They had no idea what they were making. Jay Baruchel was supposed to be Bradley Cooper’s AI best friend. I’m not kidding
At the time Rodney King's statement was taken seriously and had an effect, it wasn't mocked. More that it was funny to use something deadly serious in comical contexts. It was cathartic for anyone that actually lived through this and saw the street beatings first hand.
Yeah I wouldn’t call it mockery really - it was a very moving thing he said and it made a huge impact. Using it as a punchline was to throw a satirical contrast rather than to mock or minimize.
King was also on PCP. He pulled out 2 different tazers and continued to get up and resist. They also never mention he's 6'5. Then he went on to try and run over another cop with his car among other things
Just starting this video and looking forward to to finding out how wrong I am, but I remember this movie (from the early 00s and associating with Tarantino nerds) and the commitment (Travolta in particular never breaking with that wtf accent) to such gut-wrenching cringe in such a dopey movie really helped this blossom into one of the better sleeper films on race in America imo. It felt like the heavy handedness of the plot really worked in a surprising way and maybe even intentionally leveraged the type of proto-hipster ironic enjoyment that was increasingly sweeping the culture as the 90s wore on to lure people in with some comfort in being able to quietly laugh to ourselves at these situations being so on the nose, only to have it dawn on you glitch by glitch through the matrix -- no matter how PC and practicing our version of "anti racism" of the time we were -- how many layers deep our ingrained expectations were and how many details just _couldn't_ be switched no matter how layers deep they were reproduced. The fact that they usually showed the detail of the human side at points of how so many people, cops, etc. thought they were trying to not be racist and were cutting them a break and were torn up about some of these things really nailed in the systemic nature of it all, before we even really had the language to describe it. I think the lack of outright slurs even ended up highlighting this. I personally at least found the effect really unsettling and punched way above the execution of the film otherwise and was left thinking about it longer than I'd have thought.
The problem with White Man's Burden is that the central race-swapping conceit not only doesn't add anything to the plotline, reducing it to a simplistic "haves-vs-have-nots" parable, but it also implicitly argues that racial privilege is entirely a matter of population size. The film's message becomes that any group that is in the majority will have and exercise power over the minority groups and the racial characteristics of either group will be irrelevant to that. This does undermine the argument for white supremacy -- hardly a groundbreaking claim, even in 1995 -- but it also hobbles progressive racial politics by presenting racial problems as a natural, to-be-expected consequence of racial minorities simply existing. The film doesn't "expose" racial privilege. Rather, it unintentionally excuses it by forwarding the argument, "Given the opportunity, anyone would do it. Blacks aren't special in that regard." If the film were taking place in the "real" world and the lead roles were consequently reversed, the plight of Belafonte's poor struggler would be cliché but at least relevant because it would reflect the world we live in. Making Travolta the "black guy" merely forces us to realize how shallow these kind of stories are in terms of writing and plotting.
As a kid, i always heard about Rodney King, & remember seeing all the parodies of his "can't we all just get along" speech, which at the time, i didn't understand. I was unaware of the events surrounding his beating, & had never seen the footage of his famed quote. I didn't see it, & learn all the facts about his beating, & the unfortunate verdict, until years later. I particularly remember the In Living Color skits parodying his quote.
I really want Donald Glover to take on a remake/rewrite of this movie. "Atlanta" was an amazing series that dealt with race in a real way. The video for "this is america", very finessed yet bold.
The movie was not about plot or story so much as achieving an effect on the audience. I was jarred by the TV and the action figure. I was put in a feeling I never felt before and had no words to describe. Not emotionally, but physiologically. Physiologically. Not nausea. Just a feeling of being jarred from any sense of place. I am doing a poor job describing my reaction because I never was put in that viewing experience before or since.
I think that scene is so powerful because we’re seeing this kid interact with a racist system as opposed to a racist individual. In a lot of the other scenes, it could be argued that the black characters are choosing to think that way about the white characters, and if they could just change their mind and see Travolta’s humanity all would be solved. But in the TV scene the kid isn’t interacting with a racist person. The kid isn’t complaining about race or advocating for anything. No choices are being made in this situation by anyone on the screen. He’s simply watching TV and not seeing anyone who looks like him. That’s it. It’s just how the world is. The audience immediately feels the effect of it, but the kid doesn’t because it’s normal to him. He just continues flipping channels, and I think that’s part of what’s so disconcerting about it.
I saw this movie in the theater when it came out. This was the weirdest movie I ever saw. It was pointless. It was like…let’s make a movie that makes stereotypes of white and black people all set to a plot as goofy and unbelievable as possible. I had just smoked a fatty of some really strong weed so I thought that maybe I was too high to enjoy it but no, glad to know that movie was a steaming can of hot garbage after all and I’m not an idiot.
YEP 100% you deserve credit for that. Didn't see it coming AT ALL. @This Was A Movie - Pin that comment so people are reminded n you get more of the credit you deserve! 😁
I saw this movie one night on HBO when I was a teenager in about 1995 or 1996. At the time, I thought the film was brilliant. My stoned mind was like, "WHAT IF black people and white people had their roles REVERSED, man?" It blew me away. Still, as you say, the movie falls fall apart at a certain point. I remember knowing that at the time. I lost interest in it once the kidnapping thing happened. I've thought about this movie many times since, and have never heard anyone talk about it. I've also never seen it again. Thanks for covering it. This brought back memories and explored the film better than my Swiss cheese brain could remember it.
I like the song you used in the closing. Wreck of the Old Southern '97 by Ernest Thompson. I have most of Ernest Thompson's Columbia recordings, they're quite good. Anyway, good video.
Fantastic essay. I remember watchin this flick as a young lad. I understood the attempt then. But also at least understood that there was a lot of wrong pieces in this movie too. Travolta being one
I thought this movie was amazing when it came out. I remember talking to someone who completely missed the point and actually thought the film maker was trying to depict white people being the side held down in real life. I couldn't believe how badly they got it.
Christ I had no idea people saying 'can we all just get along' was mocking Rodney King; I'd never seen that footage before.
I found out about that really recently and the fact that it became a source of public mockery is seriously astounding.
He also said "won't someone please think of the children"
This is how language and culture work. How many phrases and words do we use every single day that have lost the original context or meaning.
@@blahmcblahface3965 lol
I'm embarrassed to say yeah, me neither. Tho I wasn't watching ANY TV at that time (buried in 30pgs/lecture sciences classes) n only heard people talking about the trial n riots. STILL, I feel like that should be something I know about by NOW!
people think I'm making this movie up to this day
People think we’re just ghosts out here, glowin in the dark. Woo !
I had to find the trailer on RUclips in an attempt to convince my girlfriend this movie was made. And she still thought the trailer was cobbled together with scenes from other movies.
If you don’t wanna give me the Forman job ok but I need my fuckin job Mann. That accent travolta had in this movie 😂
nope, I clearly remember watching this as well.. once and never ever heard abt it agaib
What Jim Carrey did when acting like a beat up Reginald Denny was horrible, and should have got him canceled long ago. Playing the part of a guy doing his job, getting pulled from his truck and beat almost to death for no reason.
This video is so much more nuanced and in depth than I had expected when I clicked on this random movie review presented by the algorithm. Thanks for the good content
As a Black Guy that was 17 when this came out, I can honestly say that this Movie was ahead of it's time, and people just were NOT READY for something like this. I liked it, I got it, and I knew that it would either be ignored, or it would be hated. It went largely ignored. They were really advertising and pushing this, but nobody in the Hood wanted to see this, and it was obvious that White Folks wanted nothing to do with it. It was an up and down Movie at best. Wasn't terrible, but it wasn't all that good either.
Oh, and they played it way too safely too. If they were going to do a concept like THIS, they should've leaned all the way into it. As the reviewer essentially said; they didn't want to go too hard with the concept, and risk offending the White Folks who were never going to see it anyway. They should've just gone for it, and they probably would've gotten a bigger Audience of people just curious about what actually happens in the Movie that everyone can't stop talking about.
Yep, I liked it back then because I liked the concept but it was way to safe even I knew that and I had very few information about the USA back then on the other side of the world.
I'm white and was maybe 15 when this came out. My high school friends and I all went to see this together.
I appreciate your comment. That's how I remember it, all the advertising I mean.
We all liked the movie.
Agree. The idea was there but I felt that they just switched the visuals and that was it. It could have been so much deeper . To me, the result was very much an after school movie. I watched once when it came out so it’s been awhile, my memory may not be correct. I’d watch a remake of this if they did it right
It wasn't that they weren't ready... They Choose not to Care...
I'm a time traveler from 2025 and just popped in to say thanks for fixing racism. We all thought it was hyperbole at the time, but we were pleasantly surprised.
You should thank David Guetta, he did most of the work!
In the 90’s it was gone a little…
But it came back …
@@eclat4641so true
No such thing as "fixing" (changing what is normaal and healthy by nature instinct) fixing is forcing and used as a blungeon to extort. 💯 % malicious
Harry Belafonte actually had an enormous role to play in the civil rights movement. He was extremely close with Martin Luther King Jr., helped to fund the movement and very actively protested and used his voice.
And then went to Venezuela and Cuba & praised dictators who incarcerated and murdered those that opposed them and got rich by stealing from the people. Great civil rights leader
@tonyluthor9167 That makes no sense, every country has leaders that do it. No one knew Cuba or Venezuela was doing it. There wasn't internet like today.
@@TheCaptainhowdy11
Dude I don't know how old you are but you're talking to a fucking cuban kid here, everybody fuckin' knew. Castro was not elected, he overthrew Batista. Catch up on the Bay of pigs conflict and Kennedy's withdrawal from it and Cubans resentment of him as a result . Even the movie Scarface dealt with Castro sending convicts to Miami from his prisons to piss off the thriving exile community there ( in the movie that's when Tony Montana arrives in the United States ) Much like today in the United States, those who constantly yell that they are "anti-fascists" tend to be the most fascist of all. You got two kinds, those that blindly follow to the point of stupidity and those that know exactly what's going on and accuse the others of doing the exact same thing they're actually doing or trying to do or wish to do. Now I know both sides have contradictions to their ideologies, But the ultra left wing ideology is the one that preaches that they will bring equality to the masses. But in order for that to happen, the role of government has to become bigger and larger in the country and individuality has to decrease as well as private goods. In a nutshell translation for you, to be free and equal, we must own you. Now does that make any sense when you break it down? Harry Belafonte was talented guy for sure and very accomplished, but a rich hypocrite in the end nonetheless as a person
@@tonyluthor9167 even if what you said is true, who cares? Its like hearing that guy that saved your life later on robbed a store somewhere. What sort of own did you think you were going for? Kind can also have various seedy facts about him shared - but like, who cares if he cheated on his wife alot or whatever?
@@xBINARYGODx
"Even if what I said was true" Oh Lord, the future is not bright for sure.
The same idiots that cheered for Chavez to take over the country are not crossing the border because the guy they cheered destroyed the country and are now helping destroy the United States. Belafonte had extreme left wing views and promoted those policies and the sheep are uninformed and easily manipulated. My God years ago a man getting pregnant was a Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy.. now it's a documentary apparently.
Neil Diamond in black face and an Afro is now downloaded into my brain.
he gets away with everythin. His two most popular songs are love/romantic songs about under age women.
@@matthewoehler2472
J-ws essentially have a license to kill.
They can usually get away with anything.
@@matthewoehler2472 ugh. his music sucks too
@@matthewoehler2472😮
The RUclips genie dropped this in my lap. I had no idea this movie existed. It was a good idea but so many times it left me hanging. The TV scene was the best.
the last chapter of this video you made is a masterpiece. bravo.
I rewatched this today and this is actually really good. Crazy how rewatching something can totally change your mind about it. Sorry i said it was pretentious. Its very well put together.
The LA Uprising happened more in response to the sentencing the Korean store owner who shot Latasha Harlins in the back of the head after an argument, as the teenager paid for her item and turned to leave. "The judge sentenced Du to 10 years in state prison but the sentence was suspended and the defendant was instead placed on five years' probation with 400 hours of community service and payment of $500 restitution, and Harlins' funeral costs." (Wiki)
This murder happened 13 days after Rodney King's beating, and the acquittal of the officers happened around the same time as the clerk's sentencing.
They turned this against white people fast so they can better divide and conquer. Americans needed more than a decade to came together in the Occupy Wall Street protest what was also successfully ruined fast and now the wall street sponsor the LGBT movement.
It was better for them if all the races can rally against white people. The divide and conquer tactic works best if it is as close to 50/50 as possible like the two party system.
Exactly, everything "they" show us in the media is all FAKE NEWS! You never make these fools believe you, it's impossible. They're so arrogant and narcissistic they'll never go look for themselves because they're always right, always!
It's always seemed terrible to me that Kings debacle overshadowed Latashas tragedy, even though it's really the straw that broke the camels back, most people don't even know who she is now but everyone knows Rodney King. I guess that can be attributed to him being made fun of so often in Pop culture, but still, it just seems like another small injustice to go along with the rest.
I remember when this movie came out. It stirred a lot of controversy and conversation and then just disappeared. I was a kid at the time and I wanted to see it for the premise alone. I never forgot about it but for whatever reason never quite got round to watching it. I don’t recall it ever being on TV except once a few years after its release. Oddly enough, there’s a book by the same name which has nothing to do with the film. I had the book (can’t recall how it came into my possession) but never read it either!
I may be in the minority of having seen it when released. Oddly enough .. even with my of that era sensibilities , I definitely saw the flaws of the premise . Either do or not do … there were no fine lines to be walked here if one is going to commit to this premise for a movie .. it’s not a lukewarm story to tell
Whenever I find a superb movie commentary channel, it only has a handful of videos, and this is no exception. Please keep making these, RUclips needs you!
I watched the whole thing and just assumed this was a huge channel. Shocked to check and see that some of these videos have less than 1k views. This is some real high effort quality content. Tough subject to tackle in this video, but overall an interesting in depth look at this movie and why it didn’t work, well done.
Deducting 2 dollars from $3000 is TRUELY more effort than its worth. Probably the funniest thing Ive ever heard.
On the candy making scene:
It's marshmallows covered in chocolate.
MARSHMALLOWS!
Now, if one has ever applied the term marshmallow to a person, one knows it's an insult, meaning they're 'soft'.
My mom got this movie at Rasputin's in the 99 cent section in 2019, it had a very dystopian/utopian feeling and was very interesting
Your channel is so small yet your production quality is so good! Subbed and waiting for more
This is really well done! I have no idea how I found you, and no idea how you don't have a million more subscribers, but you earned one more today!
Jammed door arc sold me this movie. Also nice cameo by Mrs. Doubtfire as a Belafonte maid.
Harry Belafonte was the reason why the Smothers Brothers show was canceled because in a duet with a white woman the lady touched his hand! SHOCK! HORROR! I was waiting for you to bring that up, but I guess it's not super well known. This was great. I hadn't thought about this movie in years.
White Man’s Burden was actually an interesting premise, and it’s one of those films that does awkwardly stay with you.
Let's be honest, Travolta is right about the salt.
For what it's worth, I think you did a fine job of navigating this difficult subject. It's the type of conversation where you really can't win by doing it right, but you can sure lose by getting it wrong. Congratulations on acknowledging the nuance that this film apparently was completely oblivious to.
Travolta brought back the accent he perfected on 'welcome back Kotter'
If only, I had a babysitter who played 70s TV shows for us when we were out sick from school. I'd loved that show (also What's Happening & Good Times & Barney Miller), that's not that accent. It's a very sad attempt at a watered down old (older than 90s) stereotype accent. IMO anyways, n only from the clips I heard, but OOOOFFF!
I couldn't remember the correct name! I kept thinking 'Danny!'. Meaning early Travolta but not Grease!
@@legoqueen2445 Vinnie Barbarino, sweat hogs 4 life!
@@williamdixon-gk2sk there it is!!!!
@@legoqueen2445 I had to refuse the urge to Google it, it took me hours but I got it.
This would be a great movie for Jordan Peele to remake
I can see that. Good call.
I'd watch that
It'd be REALLY hard for him to make if he refuses to cast white people in lead roles...
@Liquid_Mike Dude did you not see Get Out?? The Armitages, the antagonist of the movie are a WHITE FAMILY.😂
@@Liquid_Mike Damn, Jordan Peele's based
I saw this in the 90s and have been looking for it since- no one I know has seen it, and no one I know believes that it exists, either. It’s fueled my frustration for decades!
this movie is IMPOSSIBLE to find!
I had this movie in my Netflix queue for 3 years until Netflix stopped sending DVDs. I saw this in the theater in 1995.
Phenomenon and Michael were big hits.
Didn't help his career though
@@StrifeSoul990? Didn't help *JOHN TRAVOLTAS* career?!??
I'd say he's doing halfway decent
and enjoyable movies.
Juice, Fresh, Above the Rim, Set It Off, and Menace 2 Society were very helpful for me as a sheltered white suburban kid in helping me form a basic understanding that the whole picture of race relations in late 20th century America, at least as it was being portrayed in the rest of the media and being taught in our schools, was sorely lacking in the elements of humanity and realism that give the historical recitation of events some context and an inroad for an outsider to find understanding thereby. They weren't perfect by any means, but they were a big step for me in breaking out of the prison of propagandized misunderstanding that was supposed to give me a safe and accepted understanding of our shared history in this country without ever touching the truth of the horrors that white people visited upon black people and the legacy of those horrors that we still live with today.
What university did you go to?
@@kayhoww George Mason University
I should've put "American History X" on that list as well, in hindsight. It's a movie that I find to be so powerful and pertinent that I think it should be shown to high schoolers all across America as part of their curriculum.
This video is actually way better than I expected.
Suscribed :p
Your anecdote at the end is a great indicator of why international film is so important. We can all watch a film from the other side of the world and go 'huh, me too'.
Yeah.. i think if you need to SEE other PEOPLE being PEOPLE for you to realize they are PEOPLE too.. you have MUCH bigger issues than what movies are in production.
@@Se7Tripz * woosh *
@@xBINARYGODx didnt go over my head in the slightest. White people excusing why other white people dont see other humans as people is a old american pass time. Shit wasnt deep.. its just the same old bullshit
@@Se7Tripz 🤦
@@jonnybarnard8578 the fact that two mayobased commenters agree with the first isnt shoccing in the LEAST bit
Thank you for providing context for the time this movie dropped. I remember ads for it (I was still in high school ten) and it pretty much disappeared after it was released. I'm not sure how your video ended up on my feed but I'm glad it did
The problem with Hollywood isn’t the movie it’s the motive behind the award.
4:08 that's just sad
After so much destruction and death, the very guy that was the victim in the first place, calls for peace
And is ridiculed for it
This is one of the greatest film analysis videos I've ever seen. This channel has a bright future. Keep up the amazing work.
I remember when this movie was in production because i was starting to work for the company that cast the extras for this film. I don't have a ton of memories outside of that though.
I remember Cinemassacre talking about this way back in the days, it's nice to see such a thorough examination.
You have a great channel
Had no idea this movie ever existed and I loved movies in the 90s and tried to watch as many of them as possible. Also had no idea "can't we all get along" was a reference to Rodney King. I always wondered why that line was supposed to be funny in Mars Attacks.
Bravo! Excellent video essay. Well researched and thought-provoking. You did a great job approaching a very thorny topic with a forgotten movie.
Phenomenon and Michael were NOT "flops."
You may not have liked them, but they still did really well at the box office.
Beautiful perfect anecdote at the end - for all the well-placed snarkiness of the video, to end on that spiritual note was profound. Well done! 👍🏽
The reason that Quentin Tarantino's use of the word in Pulp Fiction works is absolutely the context. The two characters brought a freshly deceased man into his home. The biting use of the word reminds Jules of the seriousness of the situation, and that there's zero percent chance of him smooth-talking this over with Jimmy. And you can empathize with Jimmy, too. If someone did that to you in real life, brought what they had brought into his home and put his marriage at risk? The use of that word is the least concerning thing going on in his home that day. Jules doesn't say a word about it back to him, because he understands how messed up the situation is for him. You don't really get any "righteous" uses of that word, from a white person to a black person. But that scene comes closer then any other scene in a movie probably ever has.
It’s so funny that you talk about how nice the house of the white people’s house is and then immediately cut to the “hood” films where the houses are even nicer. lol
The mid-90s cinema seemed very invested in making white guys the "real" victims in the United States. I think of this, and Joel Schumacher's "Falling Down," which came out a couple of years before.
the theme of falling down is "move over white man, its women and minorities turn now"
D-fens in Falling Down is not supposed to be the good guy, you really missed the subtext in that movie lol of course there are a lot of people(ignorant fools) who root for him, just like how there are a lot who root for Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.
i remember someone telling me "you need to see birth of a nation not because it's good but because it's how people saw race back then", i feel like it's the same with this movie it's not good but it's how people would tackle the subject of race in the 1990s after rodney king and OJ
I remember this film and the 90's. The culture at the time was electric, and maybe that is my youthful view at the time, Belafonte ironically was a icon from the civil right era, and this film was important to him, I have no source but he was promoting it also. And you are very correct to point out the kid glove treatment with the film attempting to depict systemic racism. I believe your essay is future proof from criticism. I wish Hollywood would stop with wanting to scrub and hide the embarrassed offerings from the extensive catalog of film. It's those errors that is part of the human experience.
Travolta's accent in this movie is a choice.
wow, i've NEVER heard of this movie haha. I've REALLY enjoyed your vides man, I'm excited to see your channel grow. I hope you continue to highlight these strangely tone deaf films lol
Really? You should check it out
You should do a video on 1986 film Soul Man. i just had to look it up because it was one i barely remembered and thought i had imagined it.
Bruh! Well done! Damn! I watched this and as a black man and an artist really appreciate your insight and attention to historical detail. Well done sir. Subscribing now!
Dude. You need more subs, because you go so deep! (That's what she said)
But seriously, it's grand what kind of research you did, and hopefully still will do in the future!
11/10
Plagiarized
Rodney King should have trademarked that line
10:28 I can't believe you edited yourself into a scene of the movie just to carry on your explanation, literally rotoscoped John Travolta, and put convincing film emulation and motion capturing on yourself. I'm totally stealing that idea if I ever transition my content into docs/essays. And of course the only video that surprises me with technique I've seen in years has even less subs than I do, the irony I see in my life is consistent at least
Thank you for pointing that out... cuz i was confused as it happened.. and then forgot about it until this comment
Your essay is pretty insightful. The issues are complex and nuance is needed to effectively convey what this movie wanted to. I forgot this movie even existed lol. You got a new sub
I remember this because Harry Belafonte was in it. Legend. And the concept was ahead of it's time I'll say
I like the essay on the movie. However there is not enough history on Harry belafonte, who was so important in civil rights.
I remember coming across this movie on daytime tv 20 years ago.seemed like a fever dream....glad I didn't just dream it up
This video really was better than expected. Subscribed.
I thought the same.
Figured I'd create a little engagement. This channel deserves to grow.
😄 This was the first video I've seen from this channel, and this will be my go to comment for the YT engagement algorithm as I watch more.
Wow, this is part of my DVD Collection, so it's hardly forgotten on my part. It was the vision of the Japanese-American Writer/Director that brought this dubious film to life. Travolta's character is ridiculously shallow. Harry Belafonte plays the interesting one in this movie.
I was a young kid, 12 years old, when the LA riots happened. I still remember seeing King's plea broadcast during the violence, and although it seemed as naive as it was sincere, I never understood the churlish glee with which everyone in the media piled on with the endless mockery of a man, a regular every day dude, who got caught up in a series of events that he did not choose to be a part of, and was now the butt of a national joke as a result. He was just sickened by the violence he'd experienced and that he saw unfolding, and to the best of his ability tried to communicate his wish that we can live up to our potential as supposedly logical creatures and rise above what our past and more animalistic urges has demonstrated over and over is our tendency to reactionism and violence when facing the same being done to us, completely ignoring the cycle that is obviously being formed and fed by such actions. I always thought that it really showed the darker, unlit corners of our spiritual closet when instead of responding with love and understanding after the riots, we just went back to exact same racial bullshit we'd been engaging in that brought us to the conflict in the first place. I wish I could say that things have improved greatly since then, but I think the last 3 decades really speak for themselves on that subject.
Love this series. You gotta do one on ALOHA The Cameron Crowe disaster. It’s my The Room. They had no idea what they were making. Jay Baruchel was supposed to be Bradley Cooper’s AI best friend. I’m not kidding
My great-aunt was an extra in it, we didn't know what movie it'd be when she told the family but it was clearly this one.
At the time Rodney King's statement was taken seriously and had an effect, it wasn't mocked. More that it was funny to use something deadly serious in comical contexts. It was cathartic for anyone that actually lived through this and saw the street beatings first hand.
Yeah I wouldn’t call it mockery really - it was a very moving thing he said and it made a huge impact. Using it as a punchline was to throw a satirical contrast rather than to mock or minimize.
One of the best made video essays i've ever seen on this godforsaken site.
King was also on PCP. He pulled out 2 different tazers and continued to get up and resist. They also never mention he's 6'5. Then he went on to try and run over another cop with his car among other things
This is just the type of film analysis I've been looking for. Subscribed and hoping for more!
Just starting this video and looking forward to to finding out how wrong I am, but I remember this movie (from the early 00s and associating with Tarantino nerds) and the commitment (Travolta in particular never breaking with that wtf accent) to such gut-wrenching cringe in such a dopey movie really helped this blossom into one of the better sleeper films on race in America imo.
It felt like the heavy handedness of the plot really worked in a surprising way and maybe even intentionally leveraged the type of proto-hipster ironic enjoyment that was increasingly sweeping the culture as the 90s wore on to lure people in with some comfort in being able to quietly laugh to ourselves at these situations being so on the nose, only to have it dawn on you glitch by glitch through the matrix -- no matter how PC and practicing our version of "anti racism" of the time we were -- how many layers deep our ingrained expectations were and how many details just _couldn't_ be switched no matter how layers deep they were reproduced.
The fact that they usually showed the detail of the human side at points of how so many people, cops, etc. thought they were trying to not be racist and were cutting them a break and were torn up about some of these things really nailed in the systemic nature of it all, before we even really had the language to describe it. I think the lack of outright slurs even ended up highlighting this.
I personally at least found the effect really unsettling and punched way above the execution of the film otherwise and was left thinking about it longer than I'd have thought.
Saw this in the theater. A dollar theater in the 90's and i was in high school, but i liked it.
Informative for children, why not?
I’m so glad the algorithm brought me here. Subscribed and can’t wait for your next video!
Dude, this is really really well done; thoughtful and smart. I look forward to more!
The problem with White Man's Burden is that the central race-swapping conceit not only doesn't add anything to the plotline, reducing it to a simplistic "haves-vs-have-nots" parable, but it also implicitly argues that racial privilege is entirely a matter of population size. The film's message becomes that any group that is in the majority will have and exercise power over the minority groups and the racial characteristics of either group will be irrelevant to that. This does undermine the argument for white supremacy -- hardly a groundbreaking claim, even in 1995 -- but it also hobbles progressive racial politics by presenting racial problems as a natural, to-be-expected consequence of racial minorities simply existing. The film doesn't "expose" racial privilege. Rather, it unintentionally excuses it by forwarding the argument, "Given the opportunity, anyone would do it. Blacks aren't special in that regard."
If the film were taking place in the "real" world and the lead roles were consequently reversed, the plight of Belafonte's poor struggler would be cliché but at least relevant because it would reflect the world we live in. Making Travolta the "black guy" merely forces us to realize how shallow these kind of stories are in terms of writing and plotting.
Yes, White Man's Burden was created & executed with the same unfortunate naivete, that the creators of 1986's Soul Man, had.
@@brandonpage7087 Soul Man is beyond naivete, it's just straight up ignorant lol
As a kid, i always heard about Rodney King, & remember seeing all the parodies of his "can't we all just get along" speech, which at the time, i didn't understand. I was unaware of the events surrounding his beating, & had never seen the footage of his famed quote. I didn't see it, & learn all the facts about his beating, & the unfortunate verdict, until years later. I particularly remember the In Living Color skits parodying his quote.
Your knowledge and presentation is genuinely impressive. Nice work!
feels like birth of a nation 2.0 is coming out this november
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
This video is not bad
Quite a bit better than I expected
I really want Donald Glover to take on a remake/rewrite of this movie. "Atlanta" was an amazing series that dealt with race in a real way. The video for "this is america", very finessed yet bold.
I've always wondered why this movie wasn't far bigger, it was a striking turn of expectations with a perspective that many have never considered
The movie was not about plot or story so much as achieving an effect on the audience. I was jarred by the TV and the action figure. I was put in a feeling I never felt before and had no words to describe. Not emotionally, but physiologically. Physiologically. Not nausea. Just a feeling of being jarred from any sense of place. I am doing a poor job describing my reaction because I never was put in that viewing experience before or since.
I think that scene is so powerful because we’re seeing this kid interact with a racist system as opposed to a racist individual. In a lot of the other scenes, it could be argued that the black characters are choosing to think that way about the white characters, and if they could just change their mind and see Travolta’s humanity all would be solved. But in the TV scene the kid isn’t interacting with a racist person. The kid isn’t complaining about race or advocating for anything. No choices are being made in this situation by anyone on the screen. He’s simply watching TV and not seeing anyone who looks like him. That’s it. It’s just how the world is. The audience immediately feels the effect of it, but the kid doesn’t because it’s normal to him. He just continues flipping channels, and I think that’s part of what’s so disconcerting about it.
your editing is so good esp for ur channel size! keep up the work i look forward to watching more TWAM
I never saw this but I'll never forget it.
Phenomenal video essay. Great work
Gotta admit, I don't recall this movie whatsoever. Thanks for presenting it. Cheers!
Phenomenon and Michael were both hits. Mixed critical reception, but good box office.
I saw this movie in the theater when it came out. This was the weirdest movie I ever saw. It was pointless. It was like…let’s make a movie that makes stereotypes of white and black people all set to a plot as goofy and unbelievable as possible. I had just smoked a fatty of some really strong weed so I thought that maybe I was too high to enjoy it but no, glad to know that movie was a steaming can of hot garbage after all and I’m not an idiot.
not gonna lie, that circular tangent was pretty awesome
YEP 100% you deserve credit for that. Didn't see it coming AT ALL.
@This Was A Movie - Pin that comment so people are reminded n you get more of the credit you deserve! 😁
I watched this movie when I was a kid and it was on HBO and totally forgot about it until now. This movie does not get talked.
This is a really balanced take on this movie. Really great job with the video.
I saw this movie one night on HBO when I was a teenager in about 1995 or 1996. At the time, I thought the film was brilliant. My stoned mind was like, "WHAT IF black people and white people had their roles REVERSED, man?" It blew me away.
Still, as you say, the movie falls fall apart at a certain point. I remember knowing that at the time. I lost interest in it once the kidnapping thing happened.
I've thought about this movie many times since, and have never heard anyone talk about it. I've also never seen it again.
Thanks for covering it. This brought back memories and explored the film better than my Swiss cheese brain could remember it.
Can relate
I like the song you used in the closing. Wreck of the Old Southern '97 by Ernest Thompson. I have most of Ernest Thompson's Columbia recordings, they're quite good. Anyway, good video.
Fantastic essay. I remember watchin this flick as a young lad. I understood the attempt then. But also at least understood that there was a lot of wrong pieces in this movie too. Travolta being one
this video was just as good as i expected. no it was really good keep it up dude. cant believe ive never heard of this movie
I literally laughed out loud at the final line. You need to up production, more videos please and thank you!
Minor thing, but W.E.B Du Bois is pronounced "Do Boys" since he was American
Thanks. I commented that, but then saw yours and deleted mine.
I can't believe this youtube video managed to actually solve racism forever.
I thought this movie was amazing when it came out. I remember talking to someone who completely missed the point and actually thought the film maker was trying to depict white people being the side held down in real life. I couldn't believe how badly they got it.
Drug store cowboy was a great movie
Steven Seagal would later go on to adopt Travolta's accent in this movie.. 😂
I saw this movie when I was around 12. I'm 40 now and still use the salt in the ketchup hack.
I never saw the movie, but that definitely is the best way to salt your fries.
Dude. You were born to do this.
Great job.
I forgot this movie ever existed. I do remember the commercials tho. I just started high school when it came out.