An Observation on Privilege

Every now and then, I will come across some classic film I've never seen and decide to fill in that particular gap of movie knowledge. As I'm a fan of older, black-and-white pictures, this could mean Whatever Happened to Baby Jane or the Thin Man Series. Or it could mean 70s classics that I was too young for at the time like Midnight Cowboy. 

But as my interest in Black cinema increases (thanks, Jordan Peele for kickstarting that), I've noticed a lot of movies from the 90s specifically that I simply passed by at the time. 

I was in my teens and early 20s for most of the 90s. So a lot of the lessons from my younger years were still pretty ingrained. And most of those lessons involved some kind of binary. Gay and straight. Good and bad. Male and female. Black and white. These were the categories, and there was no attempt to understand anyone else's perspective or see the in betweens. 

So at the time, I would have said that movies like New Jack City, Boyz n the Hood, and others simply weren't for me. I was a white middle-class girl - how could I relate to street thugs in the inner city, gangs and turf wars? 

It's only in hindsight that I see the issues with any of that language and how it impacted my thinking. The Italians in the Godfather or Goodfellas were the mafia or gangsters. They were spoken of with reference and a touch of romanticism. But the same acts done by a Black kid made him a thug and a criminal. 

It's not that I minded that there were movies that weren't made for me. I had Goodfellas and they had other movies. It seemed fair, actually. They should have movies they can relate to. 

Yes, I've had A LOT of unpacking to do around those attitudes. 

But it also occurs to me how much British cinema I watched at the time. Specifically, Merchant Ivory pictures. Grand estates and elaborate period costumes, and closeted aristocracy, oh my! Naturally, this fandom continues as I eagerly awaited each season of Downton Abbey. 

But why? Do I secretly want to be part of that life? Is there anything about snooty Brits in corsets and other restrictive clothing that I can relate to? Okay, maybe the corsets...

Otherwise, no. I have nothing in common with those people. There's very little I can personally relate to. I appreciate the character development and humanity that is under all those ruffles and petticoats, but...

Guess what? There's humanity and character development in Boyz n the Hood too. But nice, white suburban girls weren't supposed to watch that sort of thing. 

Yeah, I still have some unpacking to do. And a lot of amazing film to catch up on.