‘Get Hard’ not so funny in age of mass incarceration
Mesa Legend
It’s all funny and cute until someone gets expelled from school. With colleges operating more like businesses these days, Oklahoma University had no choice but to protect its image when it shut down an entire fraternity after they were caught on camera chanting a racist song. The leaders of the chant were expelled from the school to add to consequences that some say were too harsh. Around the same time, another video surfaced of the frat’s “house mom” spitting out as many “N” words as she could in a couple of seconds. Every time these private racist moments are made public, we’re presented with an opportunity to confront the reality of not quite existing in a post racial society.
One institution that I feel plays a major role in perpetuating the kind of behavior seen out of Oklahoma is Hollywood. I see them – the film producers, writers, and executives – as a kind of fraternity; operating by the same rules of exclusivity and traditions. Like the Kappa Sig fraternity at USC, who for years practice a tradition of passing down a never-before-washed blue suit to the hardest-partying pledge to wear at parties, Hollywood has an outfit that is beyond worn out, yet one they continue to use. Typically found in the genre of comedy and dressed in a load of standard racial stereotypes. I’m talking about those “wealthy white guy gets schooled on how to be gangsta by black people” movies.
It might have been cute the first couple times, but now it’s just corny. This is why I cringe at the commercial trailers for the latest film of this kind starring comedians Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell. “Get Hard,” the title of this not-so-creative movie could very well be translated into “get hood,” “get criminal,” or more basically, a hour and a half instructional on how to “get black.” The previews alone elucidate the movie’s plot and message: If you’re white and/or never been to prison, you must enlist people from the race who, by naturally being criminals, can help you survive in it.
These “jokes” in this day and age are distasteful and divert attention away from constructive discussions about race and mass incarceration in America, especially for African American communities. I can at least be thankful that on a stage such as the Oscars, John Legend, while accepting the award for best song along with Common, shed some light on the issue. “There are more black men under correctional control than were under slavery in 1850.” It will take more moments like this to get us all to talk and make progress in resolving race issues rather than ignoring or laughing at them. We’ve done so long enough. Someone tell Hollywood it’s time to wear new clothes.
