Brie Larson alienating audience.

Hari Seldon
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Brie Larson alienating audience. Jun 15, 2018 14:58:47 GMT

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Post by Hari Seldon on Jun 15, 2018 14:58:47 GMT

Well, as a "white dude" in my 40's, it seems the Captain Marvel star doesn't like my demographic.

www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/brie-larson-doesnt-want-hear-201518222.html

I'm fine with not being at the theater if that's how she feels.

haxemon
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Brie Larson alienating audience. Jun 15, 2018 16:04:21 GMT

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Post by haxemon on Jun 15, 2018 16:04:21 GMT

Meh. Overblown IMO. Though I will admit I have not dug around for quotes or clips etc.

I assume she means it more that if any "40-year old white dudes" have an issue she doesn't care. Nor should she. Hollywood (and everything else) has been dominated in the past by "40-year old white dudes" so getting away from that is fine by me. And I'm a 47-year-old white dude.

Safe to say (based on what little I know about you via comments here) she's not talking about you specifically.

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ayanami
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Brie Larson alienating audience. Jun 15, 2018 17:32:55 GMT

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Post by ayanami on Jun 15, 2018 17:32:55 GMT

Well, apparently that comment was made in particular about the movie A Wrinkle in Time and that she doesn't care about the (negative) opinion of "40-year old white dudes" about it, since they're not the target audience. Fair enough, I guess, but then again, I think the goal of any movie should be to be relatable to all kinds of people, no matter if they ever experienced the issues the main character(s) is/are facing. Or maybe even more so in that case.

I'm not black, so should I not have an opinion when watching "The Color Purple"? Nor am I Jewish, so why even bother watching "Life Is Beautiful", right?

While I don't want to turn this into a full-blown socio-political discussion, I just want to point out that I truly hate the types of "feminists" who are all "men suck, women rule now!" That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works! I wholly support equal rights, duties and opportunities for all, but some people act as if "straight while male" has suddenly become a four letter word. Gimme a break!

P.S. haxemon, I wouldn't be so sure Brie wasn't specifically talking about Hari Seldon . I can entirely imagine that.

Last Edit: Jun 15, 2018 17:34:49 GMT by ayanami

"Sooner or later, humans will kill all the Aen Seidhe. All dwarves and gnomes. Then they'll start murdering one another. Your kind knows no other way. It's in your genes. You keep killing each other until only one remains. The strongest among you. A thousand years from now, a dim-witted human barbarian will climb to the top of a pile of bones, sit down and proclaim: "I win"."

haxemon
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Brie Larson alienating audience. Jun 15, 2018 18:16:13 GMT

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Post by haxemon on Jun 15, 2018 18:16:13 GMT

Hmm okay. Was there a specific opinion or assumed opinion from that demo that spawned this? It still feels like an answer to a leading question of some kind.

"Brie are you worried that A Wrinkle In Time won't appeal to mass audiences?" Or something along those lines.

Anyway, I agree that films can have a certain audience in mind for a particular story, but should aim to produce something that can appeal to anyone.

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nillindeiel
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Brie Larson alienating audience. Jun 15, 2018 18:16:59 GMT ayanami, aquaangel, and 1 more like this

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Post by nillindeiel on Jun 15, 2018 18:16:59 GMT

In this case, I'm going to say context matters and this article (at least IMO) sheds more light into what she's trying to get at:

www.indiewire.com/2018/06/brie-larsons-i-do-not-hate-white-dudes-lack-of-inclusion-film-critics-1201974617/

...she wanted to address “an issue that’s been bubbling”: the lack of representation among film critics.

On Monday, the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative — led by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, honored earlier at the ceremony by Frances McDormand — released a report that examined nearly 20,000 reviews of last year’s 100 top-grossing movies. The report found that 63.9 percent of those reviews were written by white men, versus white women (18.1 percent), underrepresented men (13.8 percent), and underrepresented women (4.1 percent).

“Am I saying I hate white dudes?” asked the Oscar-winning “Room” actress, a question that she’d repeat twice more during her speech. She answered with a sneer, “No, I’m not … [but if] you make the movie that is a love letter to women of color, there is an insanely low chance a woman of color will have a chance to see your movie and review your movie.”

Larson continued, “[Audiences] are not allowed enough chances to read public discourse on these films by the people that the films were made for. I do not need a 40-year-old white dude to tell me what didn’t work for him about ‘a Wrinkle in Time.’ It wasn’t made for him. I want to know what it meant to women of color, to biracial women, to teen women of color, to teens that are biracial.”

The Annenberg report noted that the national demographic breakdown for the aforementioned groups is 30/30/20/20. Larson advocated for more diversity among reporters and photographers assigned to red carpets and junkets, and a forthcoming, unnamed tool that will help studios find critics from minority groups.

In addition, she announced that the Sundance Institute has pledged to give at least 20 percent of their top-tier press passes at next year’s Sundance Film Festival to underrepresented groups. The Toronto Film Festival is eyeing a similar goal for this September, she said.

“It really sucks that reviews matter,” she conceded. “Good reviews out of festivals give small, independent films a fighting chance to be bought and seen, good reviews help films gross money, good reviews slingshot films into awards contenders, a good review can change you life — it changed mine.”

Editing to add, I don't think she's saying that the problem is that white men get to weigh in on films that aren't necessarily intended for them, but more that because white men dominate the film critic world they then have the privilege of dominating the conversation about a film when they may not be the target audience. And I can definitely see how that can be frustrating due to the weight and influence a film critic can have on a film's success.

Last Edit: Jun 15, 2018 18:22:25 GMT by nillindeiel

Nillindeiel

Maria Hill: ...Then aliens invaded New York and were beaten back, by among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the 40's.... and a god.

Grant Ward: I don't think Thor is technically a god.

Maria Hill: Well...you haven't been near his arms.

~Agents of SHIELD; Season 1 Episode 1 "Pilot"

ayanami
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Brie Larson alienating audience. Jun 15, 2018 20:46:31 GMT

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Post by ayanami on Jun 15, 2018 20:46:31 GMT

Jun 15, 2018 18:16:59 GMT nillindeiel said:

In this case, I'm going to say context matters and this article (at least IMO) sheds more light into what she's trying to get at:

www.indiewire.com/2018/06/brie-larsons-i-do-not-hate-white-dudes-lack-of-inclusion-film-critics-1201974617/

...she wanted to address “an issue that’s been bubbling”: the lack of representation among film critics.

On Monday, the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative — led by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, honored earlier at the ceremony by Frances McDormand — released a report that examined nearly 20,000 reviews of last year’s 100 top-grossing movies. The report found that 63.9 percent of those reviews were written by white men, versus white women (18.1 percent), underrepresented men (13.8 percent), and underrepresented women (4.1 percent).

“Am I saying I hate white dudes?” asked the Oscar-winning “Room” actress, a question that she’d repeat twice more during her speech. She answered with a sneer, “No, I’m not … [but if] you make the movie that is a love letter to women of color, there is an insanely low chance a woman of color will have a chance to see your movie and review your movie.”

Larson continued, “[Audiences] are not allowed enough chances to read public discourse on these films by the people that the films were made for. I do not need a 40-year-old white dude to tell me what didn’t work for him about ‘a Wrinkle in Time.’ It wasn’t made for him. I want to know what it meant to women of color, to biracial women, to teen women of color, to teens that are biracial.”

The Annenberg report noted that the national demographic breakdown for the aforementioned groups is 30/30/20/20. Larson advocated for more diversity among reporters and photographers assigned to red carpets and junkets, and a forthcoming, unnamed tool that will help studios find critics from minority groups.

In addition, she announced that the Sundance Institute has pledged to give at least 20 percent of their top-tier press passes at next year’s Sundance Film Festival to underrepresented groups. The Toronto Film Festival is eyeing a similar goal for this September, she said.

“It really sucks that reviews matter,” she conceded. “Good reviews out of festivals give small, independent films a fighting chance to be bought and seen, good reviews help films gross money, good reviews slingshot films into awards contenders, a good review can change you life — it changed mine.”

Editing to add, I don't think she's saying that the problem is that white men get to weigh in on films that aren't necessarily intended for them, but more that because white men dominate the film critic world they then have the privilege of dominating the conversation about a film when they may not be the target audience. And I can definitely see how that can be frustrating due to the weight and influence a film critic can have on a film's success.

Some very good points both Brie and you made. Thanks for giving more context to the line.

"Sooner or later, humans will kill all the Aen Seidhe. All dwarves and gnomes. Then they'll start murdering one another. Your kind knows no other way. It's in your genes. You keep killing each other until only one remains. The strongest among you. A thousand years from now, a dim-witted human barbarian will climb to the top of a pile of bones, sit down and proclaim: "I win"."

Hari Seldon
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Posts: 1,411

Brie Larson alienating audience. Jun 16, 2018 2:35:47 GMT

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Post by Hari Seldon on Jun 16, 2018 2:35:47 GMT

Jun 15, 2018 17:32:55 GMT ayanami said:

Well, apparently that comment was made in particular about the movie A Wrinkle in Time and that she doesn't care about the (negative) opinion of "40-year old white dudes" about it, since they're not the target audience. Fair enough, I guess, but then again, I think the goal of any movie should be to be relatable to all kinds of people, no matter if they ever experienced the issues the main character(s) is/are facing. Or maybe even more so in that case.

I'm not black, so should I not have an opinion when watching "The Color Purple"? Nor am I Jewish, so why even bother watching "Life Is Beautiful", right?

While I don't want to turn this into a full-blown socio-political discussion, I just want to point out that I truly hate the types of "feminists" who are all "men suck, women rule now!" That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works! I wholly support equal rights, duties and opportunities for all, but some people act as if "straight while male" has suddenly become a four letter word. Gimme a break!

P.S. haxemon , I wouldn't be so sure Brie wasn't specifically talking about Hari Seldon . I can entirely imagine that.

Probably the most popular critics at the time, white guys Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were 39 and 43 respectively when The Color Purple came out and they gave the highest praise possible for the film.

www.imdb.com/title/tt0088939/criticreviews?ref_=tt_ql_op_6

Mostly I'm sick of the people who call out others for being intolerant and hateful being the most guilty of it.

haxemon
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Brie Larson alienating audience. Jun 16, 2018 13:27:26 GMT

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Post by haxemon on Jun 16, 2018 13:27:26 GMT

I get that the phrasing could be better, but I really don't think Brie (or anyone) is saying *all* white dudes in their 40s. Siskel and Ebert are exceptions within that group in that their job is to be "everyman" (is there a gender neutral term for that that's not too awkward?). But there is something to the idea that some films appeal to different groups in different ways. Doesn't mean they can't be enjoyed or even that some groups can't "walk a mile" during a film. But if you set out to make a film to tell a story about "x group" then it's fair (IMO) to not really worry if groups a-w really "get it" the same way. Obviously the ideal is that groups a-z get something out of the film. Whether its "walk a mile" type stuff or just plain enjoying the film.

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