Recently, a sequel to the 2006 smash hit; Devil Wears Prada was announced. Before this, there were other sequel announcements including Legally Blonde, Shrek 5 and Pixar’s overall pivot to sequels. Sequels are not foreign to Hollywood. Its first experiment was with the Thomas Dixon Jr film; The Fall of a Nation. The industry has always applied this technique to appease the hunger of dedicated fans or for making money. But lately, Hollywood seems to have made sequels its religion and plans to remain devoted to its worship.
Hollywood’s overt concentration on sequels makes it difficult for original ideas to thrive. This is more evident in the state of Black filmmakers who already have a hard time pushing Black stories to the main stage. A UCLA diversity report conducted in 2022 showed that people of colour accounted for 22% of lead actors, 17% of directors and 12% of writers. With the industry’s gaze trained on sequels with white origins, in a world with little to no diversity, it has become harder for Black filmmakers to carve a piece of Hollywood out for themselves. Yes, there have been some DEI initiatives aimed at giving Black filmmakers a shot but what good are they if the industry continuously demands white centred sequels?
Sequelisation has inadvertently shone a light on the lack of representation that has persisted in Hollywood for years. The outcome, a reduced representation of Blackness on screen. It widens the gap between Black characters and leading roles; they are kept in the shadows, wrapped up in disposable girlfriends, loyal best friends and comic sidekicks.
However, there are occasions when Hollywood has attempted to make amends for its racial disparity by casting Black actors in stories with white roots. In the now cancelled Gossip Girl sequel two Black girls assume the roles closely related to Blair and Serena. Though the show has been praised for its diversity, it fails to address race, almost like it doesn’t exist in the Upper East Side. Although this was not a big problem for its predecessor, it is important to note the preceding cast was very white.
It is essential for little Black girls and boys to grow up seeing themselves reflected in the media they are infatuated with, but sometimes the concept coined ‘race bending’ falls flat because it sees through Hollywood’s lazy attempt at a consolation. The stories rarely hone in on the character’s Blackness neither do they centre it. And when they do, they simply graze it, a light lifeless tap. The seclusion of Blackness on screen doesn’t seem like a big price to pay for sequelization. One wonders if it counts as a cost at all.
In 2022, Moses Ingram stepped into the shoes of Reva Savender in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and was made the target of online hate and racism.. Her DMs were filled with racist comments and threats. Some of which included “Your days are numbered”, “You are not the first ni**a in Star Wars fool”, “You have now been converted into the Saint George of Floydium of Star Wars, are you happy?”
A similar situation occurred when American actress Amandla Stenberg was announced as the latest addition to the Star Wars franchise, The Acolyte. House of The Dragon’s Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) had his share. Even 14-year-old Leah Jeffries who stars as Annabeth Chase in Percy Jackson and the Olympians was not spared.
Some of the producers already have their statements condemning the racism and supporting their cast ready for the storm which shows they are not in oblivion. The reason they created race bending is due to the gaping racial disparity on screen. With blind casting, Black actors can step into the shoes of any character regardless of race and showcase their craft. It is indeed a well intentioned idea that puts more representation on screen. However their actions negate their intentions. If racebending exists for representation, why have they adamantly refused to greenlight Black stories seeing as Black actors have to “endure” racism to be on screen?
The sequel trend is bound to make Hollywood repetitive because we are being fed the same stories. Variety will be lost and what we would be left with is a burnout.
For films/shows with a cult following, a sequel can feel like the exhumation of a corpse for the purpose of soilage. Sequels are not easy to create especially when its prequel wrapped up the story neatly. To create a sequel for a story means to poke holes and undo beloved characters’ progression, meaning that fans can no longer recognise their favourite media and characters they have formed bonds with.
The art of storytelling is holy grail and the cup bearers do not seem to respect it. Issa Rae in her interview with TIME in February made a daring statement “I’ve never seen Hollywood this scared and clueless, and at the mercy of Wall Street”.
The 'Wall Street Effect' could account for the push for more sequels. There are more “business inclined” executives with little to no knowledge of the art. They are profit based individuals, products of a capitalist system who do not understand that art cannot solely be for profit. This is not to dismiss the need for profit but art cannot be highly dependent on profit. It taints the form, begins to pander and fails to tell the truth.
It's probably time for executives to (in Issa Rae’s words) “Stick to the money.” We can’t have art without artists in decision making. More artists need to be in the boardrooms urging them to try “making ten $20 million movies, fifty $4 million movies”, else we are doomed, especially Black storytellers.
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