by Ron Bronson, Jr.
February/March 2002

Whenever I decide I want to see a movie, I usually scan through to see what’s playing and ever-present theme is generally the same. That is, the lead cast members are usually monoracial (all black/all white) and if there is a movie that explores any sort of diversity in society, it rarely touches on the aspects that make interracial relationships appealing.

While I would argue that we end up with our specific mates due to our own personal preferences, there are those who believe that those of us who involved ourselves interracially are either trying to “find something” or are somehow “unhappy” with our “own race”. Some will concede that “a few” of us have chosen our mates because we love them, but that the rest of us are confused or were trying to dispel social ideas by doing what we have with our love lives.

There are any numbers of movies that have been released where the casts could have been integrated to have a “mix-match” of colors in the family. Certainly, it might have upset the dominant ideas and perhaps an actor or two would have been uncomfortable. But, if it is true that movie studios and television only produces what people want to see, than I would argue that we have been overlooked for too long!

For instance, when was the last time you saw a “black” mother talking to her “white” son in a commercial? That’s because people who either view it is as “unbelievable” or it would offend some of the racist social theory that determines that we need things like “race” to dominate our lives. And if you do see a movie that explores interracial relationships, it’s likely to be just two people who end up dating and that are it. You rarely ever see casts that have children who are offspring of these marriages, therefore leaving the “tragic mulatto” ideas intact, despite the overwhelming number of biracial children who are successful in American society today.

If the future is to be anything, we must not allow the dominant ideas of those who cannot relate and have false notions about who we are, to continue to litter the media landscape. Movies, television and other media must recognize that the racist implications of the “one-drop rule” will not be tolerated by those directly affected by it. Until we make this clear not only in our words, but also by where we spend our dollars, our voices and those of our children, will continue to be silenced.

Ron Bronson, Jr., is originally from Plainfield, NJ. His essays and columns have been published in various publications including USA Today, Washington Witness and is the Editor and Publisher of The Schoolhouse Review. He has previously served as Director of several national student-run organizations, including The ChangeAmerica Foundation and is a veteran of the US Air Force. Presently, he student at Monmouth College in Illinois majoring in Economics with double minors in Philosophy/Religious Studies and Political Science. After graduation intends to pursue his PhD in Public Policy.