Published 13:29 IST, June 29th 2020
Anthony Mackie expresses his views on racism, says 'preparing my children for future'
American actor Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson aka The Falcon in the Marvel movies, recently criticized Marvel’s hiring process behind the cinematic crew.
American actor Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson aka The Falcon in the Marvel movies, recently expressed his views on the ongoing civil unrest in the US regarding the death of George Floyd. The actor opened up about the same to a a media outlet and said that during childhood he aspired to be a fireman or a police officer, but after watching what happened some time back, the actor called it a harsh reality which he feels that his children should know.
Anthony Mackie expresses views on racism
The actor while elaborating upon the statement said that, opening the eyes of the kids to what the world is around them, to how police view them as young black men is very tough for him. The actor reportedly said that he wants his sons to dream big but also wants to keep them in touch with reality and prepare them for the difficult future. Anthony said that his children don't understand the lack of humanity in a person to do that to another person. They are 11 and 7-years-old. He further recalled the incident of visiting the balcony where Martin Luther King was assassinated, and that moment overwhelmed the actor with emotions. He explained that the emotion just blew his mind to think that this man worked so hard, and gave his life. Yet people here are dealing with the exact same thing and nothing has changed much.
Anthony elucidates further and said that this is one thing which hurts him the most because his grandfather was a sharecropper and his father was a contractor. The actor had to drop out of school in eighth grade to work with his grandfather so that he could give him the opportunity to go to Juilliard and become an actor.
Earlier, the actor called out Marvel for their hiring process and said that it bothered him as all the seven films of Marvel that he has done every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white. The actor also pointed out that even Marvel’s superhit film Black Panther, which was praised for its on-screen diversity, did not have a diverse crew. He explained that even though the film had a black producer, and the cast was mostly back, the production crew consisted of white people. He reportedly said that the team had one Black producer; his name was Nate Moore.
He said that hiring black people for a film like Black was completely a racist thing. He further said that if people can hire the Black people for the Black movie, this indicates that they are not good enough when a film mostly has a white cast. The actor later reportedly suggested that the studio should focus on hiring the best person for the job regardless of his/her race, gender, or any other related factors.
The actor decided to open up about the issue amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement against the death of George Floyd and all the other black victims of police brutality. Earlier this month, as per reports, during an appearance on an American show, the actor spoke about how the social issue affects him as a black father and a black son. He mentioned that black people have to face the reality of society at a very young age.
(Image credit: Marvel Studios/ Instagram)
Updated 13:29 IST, June 29th 2020