Racism in the Entertainment World
Rebecca Holmes, Entertainment Editor
Picture courtesy of Unsplash.com
The views and opinions expressed on in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of The Vision NGU or North Greenville University.
How do we know when it’s time to forgive and forget? How do we know we’re giving our forgiveness to the right people? In light of the recent controversies involving Kevin Hart and Liam Neeson, these are now questions we not only have to answer about our friends and family, but about our most beloved celebrities as well.
The question we find ourselves needing to answer in both cases is how much is enough? This question applies to time, apologies, remorse, etc. This list is never ending. Whether it’s Hart’s homophobic tweets or Neeson’s racist murder fantasy, we have to evaluate and see how much is really enough.
I know some of you are thinking are we really justified in holding celebrities accountable to these standards? Should we really be asking the “how much is enough” question in regard to their lives both from the past and the present? I think asking these questions of their actions is the only thing we can do.
It’s not enough to just ask questions, but we also have to be diligent in holding celebrities, as well as ourselves, accountable for what is said and done. It’s all about taking responsibility.
I don’t mean taking responsibility in the sense of someone has discovered this dark thing from the past and posted it on social media so said person should own up to it. True responsibility is the way someone acts/thinks/speaks when they think no one else is watching/listening. Taking true ownership of your mistakes looks like someone coming forward before anyone finds out, knowing that there will be consequences, with the people who were hurt on their mind.
So if we’re holding our celebrities to this higher standard, and we’re expecting responsibility and ownership from them, what happens when they meet our requirements? This brings me back to my earlier question, how do we know when it’s time to forgive and forget? Or do we ever?
The instance of Hart and his homophobic tweets comes to my mind. This is an example to me where a celebrity has truly met all the standards I’ve previously discussed. Hart is someone who’s apologized completely and totally on several different occasions. He never deflected from his mistakes, but instead came forward with complete ownership with an attitude of remorse.
When someone, whether celebrity or not, shows you their worthy of forgiveness, I think it’s then our responsibility to give it to them. Everyone makes mistakes, and the person you were ten or fifteen years ago is most likely not the same person you are today. Celebrities are no different.
Now don’t misunderstand me. These previous statements on forgiveness only apply to those who are worthy to receive it. We aren’t talking about just giving everyone a free pass to say whatever they feel regardless of who it hurts or how insensitive it might be. So then what?
The instance of Neeson and his racist murder fantasy comes to my mind. This is an example of a celebrity who came forward willingly and apologized, but doesn’t seem to have an attitude of remorse or really even an understanding of the gravity of his actions.
During an interview Neeson’s body language seemed pretty comfortable while he was telling his murder fantasy of killing an innocent African American man. He doesn’t seem to have a problem with deflecting from the interview, and somehow he manages to turn his sick fantasy of killing an innocent man into a story of how cab drivers were racist to him during his time filming Schindler’s List.
He goes on to reference his racist murder fantasy as a “primal urge.” What about racism is primal? Babies aren’t born to their mothers knowing racism. Yet another example of Neeson’s incredible deflection capabilities.
In situations like this I think the only safe thing we can do is hold true to the standards that we not only want to see celebrities meeting, but ultimately the standards we want our nation to meet.
We are the culture that embodies America. What kind of future do we want to set up for the future generations? A culture that lets comments like these go, or a culture that’s willing to stand up for people that we’ve historically and culturally oppressed because we aren’t willing to let history repeat itself. You decide.
