Why Black Hollywood Films Don’t Thrive -Eddie Murphy
American actor, Eddie Murphy, during a virtual media parley with the cast of Coming 2 America, an upcoming sitcom, discussed black films in Hollywood.
According to him, the reason why black Hollywood films don’t travel that far is because it is only provocative to their race.
Murphy whose career spanned over three decades stated: “Around the world, they don’t give a sh*t about our stuff. Most of our movies, you know, shine a light on some social injustice, civil unrest, or some sh*t that we went through. Around the world, they don’t give a sh*t about that. They just want the basic stuff.”
Continuing, he added: “Coming 2 America is not about any of those things. It’s just about family, and love, and doing the right thing and tradition. That’s what the movie is about. It’s these amazing images of black kings and queens and princes and princesses and all of that..”
In his estimation, the only other film that draws parallels to his films is Black Panther, because of its depiction of Africa as developed society.
On the legacy of Coming 2 America, Murphy explained that “in the history of movies that had an all-black cast that was successful all around the world, the very first one ever to achieve that feat is ‘Coming to America,” said the 59-year-old actor and comedian.
“There’s just a handful of movies that have had an all-black cast that has been successful all around the world. You can count them on one hand, and you’ll have fingers leftover. Two of those movies are Coming to America and Coming 2 America. The legacy of this movie is that it’s accessible to all audiences.”
