James, with thought processes like that, you're going to fit in here like a gladiator at the Coliseum in Rome...
And no, I doubt that a Black Jack Bauer would've flown too well in the American mindset. Even though a man of color resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave SW, Blacks, a Black man using that level of violence to achieve his means, even in the name of the greater good, would run into all sorts of visible disfavor. I recall an incident a few years back, involving movie posters for two different movies, one featuring a Black actor (whose name unfortunately escapes me - my memory is showing wear and tear these days, apologies), the other Christian Slater, both holding a gun. The Black actor's poster came under intense criticism, and was eventually pulled and redone, while Slater's still exists to this day. (His movie I remember, "Kuffs".) ---------[ Received Mail Content ]---------- Subject : [scifinoir2] Jack Bauer, and the series 24 Date : Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:40:49 -0000 From : "James Nelson Smith" <goldenboy...@hotmail.com> To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com I'm been intending for some time to take this blog thing seriously, but I didn't really want to just throw anything out there for public consumption. I'm of the Harlan Ellison mind that "everyone is not entitled to their opinion, they are entitled to their informed opinion." I especially think this is true when it comes to people of color. We truly do need to do more critical thinking. So I'm studying the essay form (something I hated in school, and destested just as much in college) and I'm trying to come up with interesting essay ideas, many about media and culture from a black perspective, and because my major as an undergraduate was film production. While walking around outside it occurred to me that the character of Jack Bauer is really the kind of ideal "white guy" that white men in particular want to be. Even though the show was progressive enough to portray a black man as president of the U.S. the underlining message was "Sure, you made president, but if it weren't for Jack Bauer your administration would fall, and the country would collapse. It's really a more sophisticated version of the Black story told from white viewpoint protagonist's perspective that we generally get from Hollywood aka "Last King of Scotland", "Amistad", "Glory", ad infinitum. I also wonder would Jack Bauer or 24 even been as popular as it is if the character of Jack Bauer had been Black? Just curious if I'm on to something, or if the topic is really worth exploring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
