Colorblindness in Hollywood
Hollywood is a cultural arena in which different ideologies are played out and articulated, based on the current social order. Racial politics have continuously been depicted in Hollywood films, especially in the 20th century, when massive social change was being made in the US. Hollywood has always been devoted to the racial ideology of colorblindness that has undermined civil rights and reinforced and maintained ideas of racial privilege on the screen. The 1960s and 1970s witnessed the height and end of the civil rights movement that granted more rights to African Americans. Despite this, white ethnic revival was occurring at the same time as many Caucasians thought that it was unfair that affirmative action policies enacted by the government were giving African Americans special treatment, leading to the notion of reverse discrimination and the reinforcement of white privilege. This forms the basis of the colorblind ideology that fully emerged by the 1970s. The colorblind ideology is a race-neutral ideology that was shaped by Hollywood as films were devoted to representing the dominant order of the time of production.
Up until this point, African Americans had been depicted in films as befitting to a negative stereotype related to historically racist Jim Crow, perpetrated by the white supremacism that is prominent in Hollywood. Part of the civil rights movement was the desire to see newer and more representation of African Americans in Hollywood, which led to the emergence of a new genre in the 1970s – blaxpoitation. This time period witnessed Caucasian people moving out into the suburbs and African Americans now forming the bulk of movie theatre-goers. As such, the large black audience demanded to see not only more positive representation of African Americans but also more black-oriented films. Blaxpoitation films are usually action produced at a low budget and are aimed to satisfy the tastes of an urban African American audience. This genre of film can be interpreted as resistance to black subordination to the dominant whites that largely controlled Hollywood at the time. This genre went against the negative stereotypes as they now depicted African Americans in leading roles in a more positive light, solving crimes and playing the hero. However, many blaxpoitation films were written, directed and produced by Caucasians, which undermined this new racial representation in the industry and upheld white dominance in the industry.
Colorblindness became utilized as a tool for Hollywood to maintain the racial hegemony of the industry. This is demonstrated in Rocky, which subsequently catapulted the young Sylvester Stallone to fame and critical acclaim as it topped the box office that year and took home several Academy Awards. The film is about an underdog hero, Rocky Balboa, who goes against African American heavyweight champion Apollo Creed in a boxing match, taking place on the historically significant day of America’s bicentennial. It follows Balboa’s journey as he is given a chance to fight against Creed and how he prepares for the match. Balboa is known for employing the colorblind ideology to assert white dominance through its characterization of Balboa and Creed.
Rocky affirms white male dominance as Balboa is depicted as being a hardworking, aspiring boxer, while Creed is seemingly an arrogant champion who cares more about money and entertainment than proving himself as a boxer. The scene in which Creed chooses to fight an underdog to give them a valuable opportunity to claim the boxing title exhibits this. In this scene, Creed looks dapper in a suit and has an authoritative image as he gives orders to his subordinates when choosing his opponent. Creed’s choice of Balboa as his underdog opponent shows that he is only setting up this fight to give the audience an entertaining show on a celebrated day of the country’s history – the bicentennial. Meanwhile, this match is incredibly significant and valuable for Balboa as a boxer because it is his one and only chance to prove himself on the world stage. This juxtaposition portrays Creed as an overprivileged black man and Balboa as an underprivileged white man, which contributes to the colorblind framework of how racial order is sustained. Creed is depicted negatively due to his arrogant nature while Balboa’s depiction is positive as he is later on shown practicing and training for the fight with a lot of effort. On the other hand, audiences do not see Creed training at all. As such, Balboa is seen as more deserving of the title of champion, which is in line with Hollywood’s racial hegemony. Color and race are only brought up in this scene merely as an observation – the dialogue states that the fact that a white man is fighting a black man is simply a coincidence. This supports the colorblind ideology as race is not a factor in the decision leading up to the fight.
The climactic fight scene at the end of Rocky between Balboa and Creed is the particular scene that most effectively illustrates how colorblind ideology maintains white privilege. The boxing ring becomes the setting of the battle of who has the right to claim America as the motherland, which is demonstrated by the outfits that the two boxers wear. From the onset of the scene, Creed confidently walks into the ring dressed as America’s founding father George Washington – he dons star-striped red, blue and white trunks, symbolizing America’s flag. He later portrays Uncle Sam and points to Rocky and then the crowd, symbolic of the famous imagery of Uncle Sam saying “I want you!” in American propaganda. In contrast, Balboa wears red and golden trunks and a robe that says “Italian Stallion” on the back. His robe also has an Irish shamrock printed on it. Balboa’s outfit references the act of Caucasians tracing their ethnic roots as white ethnic revival that was occurring in response to the civil rights movement. Fitting into the colorblind framework, the symbolism of Balboa’s outfit undermines African American civil rights. This fight scene reimagines and reiterates the racial order and portrays African Americans as the race that lays rightful claim to America due to Creed’s choice of outfit, instilled with American symbolism. As such, African Americans are perceived to be privileged while Caucasians are relatively disadvantaged, which relates to the reverse discrimination that was prevalent during this time period.
The actual fight sequence portrays Balboa to be the deserving and rightful winner of the match while Creed is once again depicted to be undeserving and overprivileged as the actual winner in a seemingly unjust split decision made by the judges of the match. Even though the fight is clearly tough for Balboa as an underdog boxer, he strives to keep going for the full 15 rounds. At the end of the match, both Balboa and Creed vow not to have a rematch. Ultimately, the judges crown Creed as the winner even though Balboa is portrayed as being more deserving of the title. This serves as a metaphor of how Caucasians advocated for a more colorblind approach towards government decision-making as they felt like they were in a disadvantaged position because of affirmative action policies. Rocky is fundamental in understanding how Caucasians used the colorblind rhetoric to undermine civil rights.
In the 1960s and 1970s, colorblindness emerged as a dominant ideology that was not only utilized by Caucasians who felt disadvantaged by the government’s affirmative action policies, but also in Hollywood to clearly illustrate how white privilege was maintained in society. Hollywood has always been devoted to this racial ideological representation of the world as Caucasians have historically upheld their dominant position in the industry. Nevertheless, new depictions of African Americans on screen challenged old portrayals of inferiority and subordination. In more recent times, there has been more positive representation of African Americans on screen, with many films being dedicated to telling black stories with black characters and casts at the center of it all, such as 12 Years a Slave and Selma. In spite of this, the industry itself continues to be dominated by Caucasians, as demonstrated by the #OscarsSoWhite movement in 2016. In the current social climate of the US, where white supremacy remains rampant and people of colour are still discriminated against, Hollywood similarly has a long way to go in ensuring better and more accurate representation for African Americans.
IMAGES:
Rocky (1976) [IMDb]
Looks Like Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky IV Director’s Cut Just Took A Major Step Forward [CinemaBlend]
