Post by DancesWithWerewolves on Oct 26, 2004 0:26:15 GMT -5
Originally posted on IMDB Horror boards
Does the black guy really die first?
In recent years, I have noticed a popular stereotype amongst horror films. Ever since it was mentioned in the film, “Scream 2,” the phrase has sprung up everywhere to the point that most fans of the horror genre actually believe it. The black dude dies first. Really? Until “Scream 2” I never would have thought so, and quite frankly I’m sick of hearing it. Part of me thinks this is just propaganda to make us believe that the white man still treats the black man poorly by having him (her) die first, but the cold hard truth is that the black guy is usually near the bottom of the death list, or in some cases, is the hear and survives! I see this go as far back as the 60’s, from some of the greatest and most memorable horror films have delivered, to some lesser known ones that still hold my statement true.
In 1968, George A. Romero had delivered us a milestone horror film, known as “Night Of The Living Dead,” in which the hero of the film turns out to be Ben, a man of color and the only man who stays level-headed through the end. Keep in mind this film came out only a few years after Martin Luther King, Jr. and that it was still unthinkable in most people’s, namely Hollywood, to have a black man a hero while the white man remains careless and cowardly. Romero gave a subtext in this film most people tend to look over, and while his commentaries on race in frantic situations are mostly stereotypical (come on, are all white guys cowardly and careless?) but it was a bold statement at the time.
In 1974, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is released and haunts drive-in’s across America. Only one black character appears in the film, but he is a character who goes out of his way to help someone in need. He is an unnamed trucker who stops his truck to help Sally Hardesty as she tries to escape from the clutches of the Sawyer family. Of course, catching the sight of Leatherface, he wants to get as far away as he can, but attempts to help Sally along the way. As soon as he thwaps Leather on the head with the wrench, Sally runs farther away to another passing driver, and he does what any reasonable human being would do: get the hell on outta there!
Then comes along another Romero picture, 78’s “Dawn Of The Dead.” One of the greatest horror films of all time, and features one of the genre’s greatest characters, former S.W.A.T member Peter, played by Ken Foree. An intelligent man, charismatic, reasonable, heroic, and admirable. He only fights when he has to, and he manages to keep his head on strait through the entire film. While George played with the lines between black and white in the first film, here he manages to be more flexible with the races. Here, everyone wants to do the best they can with what they can do. People make mistakes, or things they don’t want to do but have to, even Peter. Peter survives the events in the film, but apparently this fact didn’t stay with the memories of horror fans around the world twenty years later.
Then there are various other horror films that do no feature the black dude dying first. “Friday the 13th pt 3” had a small gang of bikers, where 2 of them were black. They most certainly aren’t the ones that die first, as the first who bite the dust are some white trash grocery store owners. The head of the bikers, Ali, is a black man with an attitude (though the white biker has just as much ‘tude) and is the last of the trio of bikers to die. Ah to hell with it, he’s the last person to die in the film. It’s not like I spoiled anything, we’re talking about a “Friday the 13th” film, if you’re looking for plot twists and suspense…look elsewhere. In “Friday the 13th’s 5, 6, 7, 8,” and “Jason Goes To Hell” you have various black characters, several lame, while only a handful remotely likable, that die either towards the middle or the end. Or in Reggie from “Pt 5’s” case, survives in the end. Lamberto Bava’s cool Italian horror film “Demons” came about, where a pimp (I assume since he’s got two whores with him, and the cloths he wears) is in the theatre with the rest of the slaughter. While his whores die towards the beginning, it is he who kicks the crowd’s spirit into high gear. Unfortunately, he goes down during the middle of the film, but for the first half he’s a strong, if vulgar, focal point. In “Nightmare on Elm Street 3” we are treated to Kincaid, a character who in his dreams has super strength. Cheesy, but he lives in the end. Actually, “Nightmare On Elm Street 4” it is Kincaid that’s killed off first. Go figure. Romero’s third zombie fest, “Day Of The Dead,” had a Jamacian character in it, I guess in keeping with the tradition with the first two films, and he survives in the end. Unlike Peter or Ben, this character is no where near as strong, or charismatic, and is actually just plain annoying. But he lives. Spider, a punk in “Return Of The Living Dead” is a great mouthy character who gets most of the best lines in the film. He also gets to hang out till the last few minutes of the film. Scatman Crother’s character in Stanley Kubric’s “The Shining” may be the only real victim in the film, but he goes out with a bang during the rollercoaster-ride of the last half hour. In Ridley Scott’s “Alien” the token black guy is one of the last to die fighting.
There are more horror films out there that contain this pattern if you just look rather than let pop culture tell you. “Scream 2” is full of sh!t and I believe Kevin Williamson knew it, and decided to test our society, and naturally, this society ate it up. Shame on us. Does the black dude really die first? In very rare instances, yes, but as for a vast majority, the films prove the answer is no. Next time when someone tries to claim that the black dude dies first, remind them, or think to yourself, about Peter, Ben, Reggie, Spider, unnamed trucker, Kincaid, Ali, and countless others that disprove the statement. If anything, I feel that (for the most part) that Horror is one of a handful of genres that doesn’t racially stereotype, and it should start being accepted as one, because in the world of horror, everyone is equally screwed.
Does the black guy really die first?
In recent years, I have noticed a popular stereotype amongst horror films. Ever since it was mentioned in the film, “Scream 2,” the phrase has sprung up everywhere to the point that most fans of the horror genre actually believe it. The black dude dies first. Really? Until “Scream 2” I never would have thought so, and quite frankly I’m sick of hearing it. Part of me thinks this is just propaganda to make us believe that the white man still treats the black man poorly by having him (her) die first, but the cold hard truth is that the black guy is usually near the bottom of the death list, or in some cases, is the hear and survives! I see this go as far back as the 60’s, from some of the greatest and most memorable horror films have delivered, to some lesser known ones that still hold my statement true.
In 1968, George A. Romero had delivered us a milestone horror film, known as “Night Of The Living Dead,” in which the hero of the film turns out to be Ben, a man of color and the only man who stays level-headed through the end. Keep in mind this film came out only a few years after Martin Luther King, Jr. and that it was still unthinkable in most people’s, namely Hollywood, to have a black man a hero while the white man remains careless and cowardly. Romero gave a subtext in this film most people tend to look over, and while his commentaries on race in frantic situations are mostly stereotypical (come on, are all white guys cowardly and careless?) but it was a bold statement at the time.
In 1974, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is released and haunts drive-in’s across America. Only one black character appears in the film, but he is a character who goes out of his way to help someone in need. He is an unnamed trucker who stops his truck to help Sally Hardesty as she tries to escape from the clutches of the Sawyer family. Of course, catching the sight of Leatherface, he wants to get as far away as he can, but attempts to help Sally along the way. As soon as he thwaps Leather on the head with the wrench, Sally runs farther away to another passing driver, and he does what any reasonable human being would do: get the hell on outta there!
Then comes along another Romero picture, 78’s “Dawn Of The Dead.” One of the greatest horror films of all time, and features one of the genre’s greatest characters, former S.W.A.T member Peter, played by Ken Foree. An intelligent man, charismatic, reasonable, heroic, and admirable. He only fights when he has to, and he manages to keep his head on strait through the entire film. While George played with the lines between black and white in the first film, here he manages to be more flexible with the races. Here, everyone wants to do the best they can with what they can do. People make mistakes, or things they don’t want to do but have to, even Peter. Peter survives the events in the film, but apparently this fact didn’t stay with the memories of horror fans around the world twenty years later.
Then there are various other horror films that do no feature the black dude dying first. “Friday the 13th pt 3” had a small gang of bikers, where 2 of them were black. They most certainly aren’t the ones that die first, as the first who bite the dust are some white trash grocery store owners. The head of the bikers, Ali, is a black man with an attitude (though the white biker has just as much ‘tude) and is the last of the trio of bikers to die. Ah to hell with it, he’s the last person to die in the film. It’s not like I spoiled anything, we’re talking about a “Friday the 13th” film, if you’re looking for plot twists and suspense…look elsewhere. In “Friday the 13th’s 5, 6, 7, 8,” and “Jason Goes To Hell” you have various black characters, several lame, while only a handful remotely likable, that die either towards the middle or the end. Or in Reggie from “Pt 5’s” case, survives in the end. Lamberto Bava’s cool Italian horror film “Demons” came about, where a pimp (I assume since he’s got two whores with him, and the cloths he wears) is in the theatre with the rest of the slaughter. While his whores die towards the beginning, it is he who kicks the crowd’s spirit into high gear. Unfortunately, he goes down during the middle of the film, but for the first half he’s a strong, if vulgar, focal point. In “Nightmare on Elm Street 3” we are treated to Kincaid, a character who in his dreams has super strength. Cheesy, but he lives in the end. Actually, “Nightmare On Elm Street 4” it is Kincaid that’s killed off first. Go figure. Romero’s third zombie fest, “Day Of The Dead,” had a Jamacian character in it, I guess in keeping with the tradition with the first two films, and he survives in the end. Unlike Peter or Ben, this character is no where near as strong, or charismatic, and is actually just plain annoying. But he lives. Spider, a punk in “Return Of The Living Dead” is a great mouthy character who gets most of the best lines in the film. He also gets to hang out till the last few minutes of the film. Scatman Crother’s character in Stanley Kubric’s “The Shining” may be the only real victim in the film, but he goes out with a bang during the rollercoaster-ride of the last half hour. In Ridley Scott’s “Alien” the token black guy is one of the last to die fighting.
There are more horror films out there that contain this pattern if you just look rather than let pop culture tell you. “Scream 2” is full of sh!t and I believe Kevin Williamson knew it, and decided to test our society, and naturally, this society ate it up. Shame on us. Does the black dude really die first? In very rare instances, yes, but as for a vast majority, the films prove the answer is no. Next time when someone tries to claim that the black dude dies first, remind them, or think to yourself, about Peter, Ben, Reggie, Spider, unnamed trucker, Kincaid, Ali, and countless others that disprove the statement. If anything, I feel that (for the most part) that Horror is one of a handful of genres that doesn’t racially stereotype, and it should start being accepted as one, because in the world of horror, everyone is equally screwed.
