Are the Images of African-American Men on the Big and Small Screen Changing for the Better?

Are the images of African-American men on TV and in Movies changing for the better? Today I watched the promo for Not Easily Broken, a movie starring our favorite chocolate drop Morris Chestnut. In it Morris plays a "Do right man"who is married, seemingly faithful, and the caring coach of a kids baseball league. I can't tell you how that promo alone spawned all kinds of Internet conversation that all my girls summed up in five words, "That's What I'm Looking For!!! The same happened after a recent episode of Atlanta Housewives in which NFL Pro Bowler Ed Hartwell, (Not too hard on the eyes either), cooked homemade soup for his sick wife and served it to her in bed, no less! A bouquet of what appeared to be several dozen newly delivered long stemmed red roses just outside of the bedroom door to boot. Okay so one guy is fake and one is real. Does that really matter??? Or does it matter that images of African-American Men showing love, honor, and fidelity are being shown to the masses??? I often wonder how having an African-American President on the mainstream hit television series 24 may have played a roll in America's acceptance of an African-American man as president. I'm not saying that Obama would not be in this position had there not been a black President on a hit show, (Obama's stellar credentials speak for themselves), but I am saying there may be some validity to the fact that America's populace might not have given him a chance had the show not introduced the idea and given viewers a look at a President, (albeit fake), who was no different when decision making than any other powerful leader, irrespective of color. I do wonder how more positive images of African-American Men on screen could affect America's treatment of them off-screen. What if they were no longer shown as robbers and rapists but as loving father's and competent leaders? I'm reminded of a story I heard about two African-American Men getting on an elevator at a casino with a middle-age Caucasian woman. The woman had a bucket of chips she had won. Looking from one guy to the next on the elevator, she covered her bucket "protectively." So obvious was she that one of the men yelled, "Boo!" , startling the lady into dropping some of her chips. After helping the lady pick up the chips she'd dropped and waiting until she exited the elevator, the two burst out laughing. The next day the lady received a bouquet of a dozen roses with a $100 bill attached to each stem, ($1200 in total), and a note that said, "That was the best laugh we've had in a long time!!!" The note was signed...Eddie Murphy and Michael Jordan!!! Will roles that introduce black men as business professionals, Heads-of State, caring husbands, and present fathers change the perception of African-American Men in America? We'll have to wait and see but it's good to see Hollywood moving in that direction.




Click below to view Not Easily Broken Promo: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/noteasilybroken

~d-the-VIP