is one of the most popular actors of his generation. The 85-year-old has won an Oscar for his role in the film “Million Dollar Baby” and a number of nominations for the prestigious award. The Academy also appreciated his performance in “Invictus – Undefeated”, “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Smart Man” from 1988. In one of the recent interviews, the artist talked about the changing reality for black people in the film industry.
Morgan Freeman: Everyone has their own representation, it’s a good change
As part of the promotion of Zach Braff’s latest film “A Goo Person”, Morgan Freeman answered some questions in an interview with The Sunday Times. The actor admitted that he resents the idea of ”Black History Month” and the widespread acceptance of the use of the word “African American”.
Freeman mentioned that when he was growing up, he rarely saw black actors in films and lacked such representation. The situation is still not ideal, but the approach to creating cinema is changing to the benefit of groups that have been discriminated against for years. As Freeman notes, filmmakers strive for equality, and more and more LGBTQ+ people, Asians, black people and interracial couples appear in productions. “Everyone has a representation. Everyone is visible on screen and that’s a big change” – notes the actor.
However, as a person belonging to one of the mentioned groups, he also has a few remarks. Freeman admitted in an interview that he did not like the idea of Black History Month. The holiday originated in the United States, where it is also known as African American History Month. Although it is intended to commemorate important figures and events in black history, the actor believes that reducing the theme to the month of celebration is an “insult”.
Morgan Freeman thinks the word “African American” is an insult
According to the website, Morgan Freeman has trouble with the word “African American”. “It’s an insult,” says the actor. The artist admits that black people have already struggled with several other, worse terms, such as the English nigga (nigga, Negro), which years later was officially considered offensive. However, the actor cannot understand why, despite the visible progress, there is still widespread acceptance of the use of the word “African American”. “You use the word ‘Africa’ as if it’s a country, and it’s a whole continent, like Europe.”
In this way, the actor points out that the word downplays the cultural richness of the aforementioned continent. He also notes that it is no coincidence that the term Italian-American or Irish-American exists, but that the term “Euro-American” is not used. Therefore, it is best to talk about black people in the context of the country of origin or using the term “black”. Unfortunately, in Poland the situation is more complicated due to the negative connotations and etymology of the word “black”, which has dangerously many associations with the offensive “nigger”.
The Sunday Times journalist during the discussion quoted the words of Danzel Washington, who once said that he is very proud to be black, but skin color is not all he has to offer and with what he identifies. Freeman agreed with these words.
Idris Elba has a similar position regarding the description of black actors, who in February this year explained why he does not call himself a “black actor”. The creator pointed out that this limits his career development and emphasized that the obsession with race is incomprehensible to him. “It’s just skin. Nothing more” – he emphasized.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
