Hollywood Lies No More
Written by Teodrose Fikre, March 28, 2017, 0 Comments
Imagine for a minute if the horrors of the holocaust and the terrors unleashed at Buchenwald and Auschwitz were retold through a new blockbuster Hollywood movie. But instead of the victims looking like the Jews in Europe that were brutalized by the Nazi crime machine, imagine if the lead actors and the heroins of the movie were played by Japanese actors. You can imagine the uproar that this movie would cause; actually you can’t even imagine this because the major Hollywood studios from Paramount to 21st Century Fox would NEVER let an asinine idea like this see the light of day.
But this exact same scenario takes place on a regular basis as actors of European descend keep being cast to play the part of historical figures from the continent of Ethiopia. Yes I said the continent of Ethiopia for the continent that we now imprudently call Africa was once named Ethiopia and was recast as Africa to honor the deeds of a malicious tyrant worse than Hitler by the name of Scipio Africanus. Oh wow look, history being recast in order to destroy the truth and retell the past through the lens of victorious tyrants. Bingo! I just revealed the depth of Hollywood’s systematic racism and bigotry that has for generations buried the truth in a mountain of lies.
I did not mention the horrors of the holocaust gratuitously to in any way to make light of a most horrific time. But if we refuse hatred in one shape then we should rebuke the same hatred in all forms. There is no other way to describe the intentional perversion of history that Hollywood regularly embarks upon as a bunch of highly paid producers pass on propaganda as historical fact in ways that would make Joseph Goebbels, the despicable Nazi and father of modern propaganda, proud. There is nothing as powerful in this world as the power of mass media; those who control information have in their hands the trident of Poseidon and are thus able to make the world bend to their will.
This is why the military’s first target at the outset of war is to always go after the enemy’s communication and why they target TV and radio stations. Those who have power understand very well the sheer potency that resides in media outlets. Hard power like bombs and bullets can conquer people but it’s soft power spread by mass media that can subdue people in perpetuity. In this way, Hollywood is the most powerful arm of an aristocratic society that has subjugated most of the world with a web of lies and an inversion of history in ways that shocks the conscience.
This article was inspired by my search yesterday for a picture of Sheba, the once queen of Ethiopia, as I traversed Google to find a perfect image for the article “Sheba to AvevA”. What I found instead were a bunch of movie posters where the queen of Ethiopia was cast by Caucasian actresses from Betty Blythe to Gina Lollobrigida. Let me break some news here–I’m Ethiopian so I think I qualify as an expert on this topic–Ethiopians look nothing like Betty or Gina. This is not something unique to the topic of the Queen of Sheba, Hollywood has for decades lied in ways that would shock Judas by continuously miscasting historical figures as something they never looked like. Once or twice is an accident; when it is done endlessly and intentionally, it speaks of a malicious plan to propagandize the past.
If this conniption that Hollywood has of lying about history was a relic of past, I would leave well enough alone and focus on other things in life. Except the pricks at Hollywood continue to do this to this day as Moses was played by Russel Crow even though the people who lived in that region back then looked more like Djimon Hounsou than they do Russel Crow. I know I have stated in the past and still hold to this to be true that labels are ridiculous and that we should not ascribe to artificial tags like “black” and “white”–these labels which were imposed upon us to begin with (watch the video below to see why). However, just because I believe in our common humanity and espouse who we are above what we are does not mean I turn a blind eye when devious producers and directors set about to commit a genocide on truth.
These things I write of are not trivial for there are serious and injurious consequences that are derived when the prevaricate gnomes in Hollywood go about lying through their teeth about history. The Aryan supremacy propaganda that is passed off as blockbuster movies inflict real life damage and harm. Martin Luther King once said that “little white boys and little black boys” will one day walk hand in hand in equality and that was the dream that MLK sacrificed his life for. Well the bigots in expensive suits in Tinsel town keep incinerating this dream because their fictitious drivel inculcate into the minds of children who happen to be brown end up thinking they are inferior when their ancestors are recast as others and those who are brown keep being cast in the most servile light.
It’s like Hollywood wants to just present folks from the continent of Ethiopia as either slaves or servants and nothing else. In reality, the continent of man’s inception (scientifically proven by the by) was the hotbed of civilization where math, science, philosophy, and literature thrived while most of the world was still in the shadows of the stone ages. I don’t write this to boast but I’m tired of the continent where I was born being cast in the most depraved condition while those who once lived there are cast as fair-skinned and blue eyes. As much as I read the bible, I refuse to watch the bunk that Hollywood produces as they project the image of Yeshua (Jesus) looking like a Roman idol–if you believe that is what Jesus looked like I have a bridge to sell you on Pluto.
It is high time that we call out the pugnacious and pernicious endeavors of Hollywood. I’ve said in the past that we need to stop screaming racism every two seconds whenever someone says something we disagree with. I still stand by this comment; even if a random “white” person calls me a nigger right now, that is not racism for that person has no power over me. Racism is when bigotry is combined with power and thus a person’s hatred is combined with the ability to impede the progress of my life. When it comes to the continued malice of Hollywood executives, this is the classic example of institutional racism because movie producers have powers few posses combined with bigotry when they choose to present lies as history.
As we point fingers and accuse Hollywood appropriately for their continued maliciousness, let us also take a look within. Perhaps we as consumers need to stop giving our money to studios and companies who insist on Goebbels like propaganda and vote with our wallets. The minute a Hollywood studio presents a movie with a cast that looks nothing like the people they portent to represent, it is up to us to say “hell no” and rebuke their pugnacious movies and shows for the despicable lie that they are and moreover refuse to patronize the company behind the production and any company that is tied to that piece of propaganda drivel.
Here is a novel idea, how about we stop depending on others to tell our story and instead we tell our own story. We keep giving our hands to elite imps from Wall Street to Hollywood and letting them dictate what is news, movie, and truth. No more being fed lies, let us nourish our minds and our souls by feeding ourselves through the goods that are made by and within our own communities. At the risk of sounding self-serving, how about you engage people on social media about this topic and use this article to spread awareness instead of patronizing TMZ and CNN by partaking in meaningless “news” and in the process empowering these entities to keep casting us in the most unpleasant light. We have a choice; either empower each other and reinvest in the communities we live or we can choose self-nullification as we let the elites from DC to Wall Street to Hollywood keep burying us in lies.
“The oblique paradox of propaganda is that the lie in the throat becomes, by repetition, the truth in the heart.” ~ John Grierson
Instead of letting others tell our stories, how about we let the story come from our own communities. Liberation of the mind will not come by depending on oppressors to educate us. Watch the video below and get a new perspective about our history. Lastly, empower independent journalists and outlets like this, if you agree with what you read, share this article on social media using #HollywoodLiesNoMore and let the world hear us.
Teodrose Fikre
Teodrose was born in Ethiopia the same year Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by the communist Derg junta. The grand-son of Emperor Atse Tewodros Kassa II, the greatest king of Ethiopia, Teodrose is clearly influenced by the history and his connection to Ethiopia. Through his experiences growing up as first generation refugee in America, Teodrose writes poignantly about the universal experiences of joys, pains and a hope for a better tomorrow that binds all of humanity.
Teodrose has written extensively about the intersection of politics, economic policies, identity, and history. He is the author of "Serendipity's Trace" and newly released "Soul to Soil", two works that inspect the ways we are dissected as a people and shows how we can overcome injustice through the inclusive vision of togetherness.
Latest posts by Teodrose Fikre (see all)
- Hollywood Lies No More - March 28, 2017
- Sheba to AvevA: When the Melody Hits Ya! - March 27, 2017
- Sabbath Epistle: Hubris versus Grace - March 26, 2017
