Kareem Abdul Jabbar Calls Out The Race Issues In 'La La Land

function onPlayerReadyVidible(e){'undefined'!=typeof HPTrack&&HPTrack.Vid.Vidible_track(e)}!function(e,i){if(e.vdb_Player){if('object'==typeof commercial_video){var a='',o='m.fwsitesection='+commercial_video.site_and_category;if(a+=o,commercial_video['package']){var c='&m.fwkeyvalues=sponsorship%3D'+commercial_video['package'];a+=c}e.setAttribute('vdb_params',a)}i(e.vdb_Player)}else{var t=arguments.callee;setTimeout(function(){t(e,i)},0)}}(document.getElementById('vidible_1'),onPlayerReadyVidible); Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has shared some incredibly poignant thoughts on the way Oscar-favorite La La Land handles its black characters.The critically-acclaimed film stars Emma Stone as an aspiring actress who falls in love with Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a struggling musician with dreams of opening his own jazz club one day.In an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday, Abdul-Jabbar praises the film for being bold, daring and deserving of all its critical and financial success, but points out that it has a few weaknesses, specifically its portrayal of jazz, romance and people of color.The NBA icon thinks the films biggest fault is in its only main black character Keith (John Legend), a jazz musician who has found success in the mainstream.No, I dont think the film needs more black people,Abdul-Jabbar explains.Writer-director Damien Chazelle should tell the story as he sees fits with whatever ethnic arrangement he desires. However, it is fair to question his color wheel when it involves certain historical elementssuch as jazz.Abdul-Jabbar goes on to add that hes disturbed by the fact that the only major black character in the film is portrayed as the musical sellout, while Goslings character is seen as more authentic and more passionate about jazz.Its not that a black man cant be the sellout or the drug dealer, its just that they shouldnt be if theyre the only prominent black character in the story, he says.Whether its intentional or unintentional, that sends a bigoted message rippling through our society.La La Land is currently the favorite to win Best Picture at the upcoming Academy Awards, where it leads with 14 nominations. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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