Comments on: ‘The Express’ – Gripping gridiron history

By: cftoto

cftoto — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:18:25 +0000

Whiskey, I haven’t seen any evidence that talented white players are being denied certain roles on pro team based on their color.

Today’s audiences may not be able to relate to late-1950s America where racism was so ugly and in-your-face. But I’d bet movie goers, especially those under 30, would be horrified to learn what went on a mere 45-50 years ago.

By: whiskey

whiskey — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:04:50 +0000

The Reason the Express did not work, for most audiences, is that it speaks to a world so alien and ancient it does not exist even in memory.

Nearly all positions in most major College programs and the NFL are considered “Black” and off-limits to Whites. The only exceptions are QB, TE, O Linemen. That’s it. You have at most 3-5 White players on a 53 man roster.

Wow, a Black player battling against White racism does not do well box office wise, when most Whites are restricted to three positions on the field. Hall of Famer Chris Collinsworth, if he were starting out today, could never play because of his skin color.

Given the dominance of Blacks on most professional sports, to the point where it’s rare to see White players (Blacks are 12% of the population), no one really cares about these “racism” movies anymore.

By: cftoto

cftoto — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:54:52 +0000

Plenty of truth in your post, Opus. It’s hard not to follow the basic plot points of a true story, though. It definitely works against this film that “Glory Road” and “The Great Debaters” predated it.

For me, “The Express” had enough heart, and a few solid performances, to make me mostly forget those complaints.

By: opus

opus — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:36:35 +0000

I tired of most of these films long ago and this film appears to be a collage of a lot of differnt things about films that bug me.

At the top of the list, if they’re going to make a movie where the main character is black or the story is about the black experience, civil rights, racism etc..etc…..then don’t throw in a white character/s, and tell the story through their eyes. If they want to make a movie about Ernie Davis make it about Ernie Davis, not the Coach and Ernie Davis.
While I understand this is a true story, the movie sounds like one of the five plot lines that are used for every film where the main character is black, or a woman, or a black woman.

“Main character has to overcome the racism/sexism or both from the evil white men.”

Wan’t it just last year where we had a film about a debate team from a black university fighting racism and competing against a white university. Yet another about a black basketball team fighting racism to play. Both true stories but aren’t there any other stories to tell where the main characters are black or are we doomed to see an endless stream of movies about the first black dentist, chiropractor or furniture salemen?
How about an original story.