The discussion surrounding the white-washing of black stories on the silver screen has resurfaced in recent years with the release of films such as “42,” “Get On Up,” and “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” all being helmed with a non-black director.
Despite the resurgence of black films in theaters, some black filmmakers, like Forest Whitaker, feel that it’s important for blacks to be able to tell their own individual stories, but should not be limited by any one specific race or culture.
“I think you want to make sure there’s a truth that’s being told,” Whitaker told HuffPost Live's Nancy Redd during an appearance on Wednesday. “And I think if you’re from an experience of times that allows you to be able to look at some of the layers that weren’t maybe seen…I think there’s been amazing films, stories and story tellers that told stories about different cultures too…we have to have both.”
“We have to not limit ourselves to just a color palette, but we have to be able to say that those people of that culture should be allowed the opportunity to be able to tell those stories. More specifically, that they should be given the room to explore their own social experience, their own life, their own race, their own culture alongside all the other stories told too.”
Check out more of Forest Whitaker’s HuffPost Live segment in the clip above.
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