Alright, let’s talk about somethin’ real interestin’. You know, them scary movies? Yeah, the ones where folks get chased and, well, you know… Anyways, I was thinkin’, when was the first time a black fella actually made it to the end of one of them things? It ain’t always been easy for black folks in them movies, that’s for sure. Seems like they always gettin’ it first, ya know?
So, I heard tell that way back when, like in the 19-somethin’, things were pretty rough. Real rough. They didn’t even have black folks playin’ black folks half the time! Can you believe that? Some white fella would just paint his face black and pretend. That ain’t right, I tell ya. They called it “blackface” or somethin’ like that. Made a whole movie outta some book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” and the black fella was just a white guy all painted up. Hmph!
Then, things started changin’, but real slow like. There was this movie, “Night of the Livin’ Dead,” back in ’68. A black fella, Duane Jones, he was the main guy! That was a big deal, let me tell ya. First time a black man wasn’t just some side character who gets killed off quick. He actually fought and tried to survive. That was somethin’. It was the very first horror movie survivor who was black. A true pioneer for the black community.
- Duane Jones in Night of the Living Dead
- Ken Foree in Dawn of the Dead
- Keith David in The Thing
- Jada Pinkett-Smith in Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
- Duane Martin in Scream 2
- Alvin Alexis in Night of the Demons
Now, even after that, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Lots of times, black folks still got the short end of the stick in them horror flicks. They’d be the first to go, or they’d be some kinda monster or somethin’. It’s like they couldn’t just be regular folks tryin’ to survive. But little by little, things started gettin’ better. You had other fellas like Ken Foree in “Dawn of the Dead” and Keith David in “The Thing” – tough guys, smart guys, who actually had a chance.
And the women, don’t forget them! Jada Pinkett-Smith, she was kickin’ butt in “Tales from the Crypt,” showin’ them monsters who’s boss. And there were others too, slowly but surely breakin’ down them old barriers. There was even this fella, Tony Todd, playin’ this scary character called Candyman back in the 90s. Now, he wasn’t a good guy, but he was a powerful one, a memorable one. That counted for somethin’. It showed that black actors could play more than just victims.
It’s important to remember these things, ya know? It shows how far we’ve come, even if we still got a ways to go. Black folks in horror movies, they ain’t just there to die anymore. They can be the heroes, the survivors, the whole dang story sometimes. And that’s somethin’ to be proud of.
I even heard they wrote a whole book about it! Call it “The Black Guy Dies First,” somethin’ like that. Talks about all the black folks in them scary movies, from way back when to now. Sounds like a good read, if you ask me. It’s important to know our history, even the scary parts. It helps us understand where we are and where we’re goin’. And it reminds us that even when things look tough, there’s always hope. Just like Duane Jones way back then, showin’ the world that a black man could survive. That’s a powerful message, I tell ya.
Real powerful.
Tags: [Black Horror, Horror Movies, Duane Jones, Survival, Black Actors, Film History, Representation, Pioneers, Candyman, Night of the Living Dead]
