Same thing happens in Logan. There's a subplot involving a black family being harassed by a crew of stereotypical Southern rednecks. Good guy Logan steps in and saves the family ... who are then killed and never mentioned again. If I were white, I'd probably feel something between adoration for Hugh Jackman's badassery and tragic sympathy for the dead black people I connected with for 15 minutes. But I'm not, so all I can think about is how little care or attention is given to the portrayal of my skin color, except when it's used to prop up how awesome and cool a white guy is.
I don't feel involved when I watch white people do all the ass-kicking for me. I'd rather watch someone like Django or Chris from Get Out save themselves. These are black characters with agency, who get character depth from taking full control of the narrative. That kind of agency gets drowned out when the most popular movies about race also feature a familiar and comfortable white face to gently guide the viewer. Like in The Green Mile, Gran Torino, and the aforementioned Blind Help Crash, all of which were helmed by white directors with white stars, and made for white people to feel like they're good people just for watching it. Maybe Matt Damon can throw us a bone and beat up some film execs for us.
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