The bigotry of Hollywood

A few days ago, I watched The Happening, the latest film offering from Manoj Night Shyamalan. Shyamalan is best known for flicks like The Sixth Sense and The Unbreakable and except for his previous directing venture (Lady in the Water), I’ve enjoyed his work. I read reviews of the movie beforehand and based on their negativity, I thought I was in for a rehash of Lady. This was not the case. I actually liked the movie, except for one major plot hole- the movie is about air-borne toxins and yet, for some inexplicable reason, the actors run around corn fields trying to escape. What? Couldn’t they just lock themselves in a basement and wait for the whole thing to pass?  

This isn’t the first time that Shyamalan’s movies have garnered such terrible reviews. So, I wonder, could Hollywood have a problem with a successful Indian-American filmmaker? Kim Newman, over at the Guardian certainly thinks so and I am inclined to agree with him. The particular viciousness with which film critics and movie viewers alike treat Shyamalan is truly breathtaking and alarming. His critics often claim that Shyamalan is a talentless hack who tends to rely on similar plots, an unfair characterization that he has tried to fight. Honestly, how many talentless hacks do you know whose movies have grossed over 800 million?Others have claimed that Shyamalan has a bloated ego and his fall is appropriate for a man who lacks humility. Umm, this is Hollywood. There are hundreds of film makers who think a great deal of themselves and yet, articles aren’t dedicated to their egos.

The truth is, we’re not often privy to the ugly side of Hollywood but episodes like these expose the bigotry that permeates the industry. Last year’s release, A Mighty Heart, about Mariane Pearl and her slain husband featured Angelina Jolie as Pearl. They got a white woman (in brownface, no less) to play a role that should have gone to an African-American actress. Struck, a new movie by Stuart Gordon, revolves around an African-American woman and her experience with a hit-and-run accident. The woman will be played by Mena Suvari, who will be sporting cornrows (wtf?) for the movie. Notice a pattern yet? Finally, you have Spike Lee who raised legitimate criticism of Clint Eastwood when he noted that Eastwood’s recent flicks about WWII lacked a single African-American actor. Eastwood responded by telling Lee to “shut his face.”

The presence of Shyamalan and his success (despite the odds) is not taken lightly by the folks in Hollywood. They bristle at the thought of a “foreigner,” a dude with a funny name, who makes better movies than most of Hollywood. The negative backlash and harsh personal commentary are people’s way of dealing with successful minorities- lord knows, this wouldn’t be the first time.

-Indira