Samuel L. Jackson Criticizes Lupita’s Movie

American film and television actor and film producer, Samuel Leroy Jackson, has criticized the Academy Award nominated film 12 Years A Slave in which Kenyan actress, Lupita Nyong’o made her Hollywood debut.

In an interview in the International Business Times over the weekend, Jackson said that Hollywood, by and large, still avoids dealing with racism and that 12 Years A Slave is a perfect example of that.

According to Jackson, the only reason why the film got made was because director Steve McQueen is British and not African-American, implying, I assume, that his take on slavery would be “safer” in a manner of speaking.

 

As Jackson said: “I would think that if an African-American director went into a studio and pitched that particular film, they would be like: ‘No, no, no.’ It is a film about African-Americans – a dark period of history that they don’t like to explore in that particular way.“

He further added that: “Look, I’m glad 12 Years got made and it’s wonderful that people are seeing it and there is another view of what happened in America. But I’m not real sure why Steve McQueen wanted to tackle that particular sort of thing.“

Lupita in ’12 Years A Slave’

In America many people have asked why it has taken so long for a film to do justice to the appalling plight of African America’s slave ancestors and why no US film-makers have succeeded before in confronting their country’s shameful past with such unflinching power and historical accuracy. Variety said it was a “disgrace” that, after so long, it has taken “a British director to stare the issue in its face”.

 

Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Django Unchained’