Nick Cannon Is Sick of Seeing Movies About Black Slaves + Elise Neal Says She Was Disappointed In ’12 Years A Slave’

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Contrary to popular belief, there are some African Americans that are none too pleased about films surrounding slavery. While some think that this type of story should be told in Hollywood, others think quite the contrary. Well known media mogul, Nick Cannon, is fed up with films like ‘12 Years A Slave‘. He recently took to this twitter venting:

If I see another damn Slave Movie…

AARRRGGHHHH!!!!! I think they keep making them because they want to keep Black Folks on edge! They don’t want us to get to comfortable! Yeah we know about Obama…But don’t forget about Toby!

He shared a photo of his great-grandmother, adding:

They called this lady a slave, I call her my Grandmothers Grandmother. Why don’t they make movies about our African Kings & Queens? #OurHistory I would love to see a film about Akhenaton and his beautiful wife Queen Nefertiti! Or Cetewayo, a King who was a war hero. Im about to drive to my office RIGHT NOW and start the development! New Hollywood Trend, Black King and Queen films! Starring Black People!! #NoDisrespectToElizabethTaylor Without Twitter how would I get people to listen to me rant about stuff that is really none of my business?!

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And Nick isn’t the only one concerned with the lack of storytelling, in terms of the black story. Actress Elise Neal is being vocal about her disappointment as well. In an interview with Erica Vain, she explained:

Everybody is talking about how great “12 Years of Slave” was. No, it wasn’t great. I’m sorry. I was very disappointed…. I’ve seen the best best budgets being spent on Malcolm Lee, you know when the first  “Best Man” was released. I think it’s sad that a great film maker and a friend of mine, like Spike Lee has to even think about doing a kick starter to get a movie made in the right way with owning his own films. He is a legend in our game and he still deserves respect, you know what I mean? I just don’t understand that, I don’t. I don’t like it. And again I’ll say, I miss the time when Will, and anyone of African American descent could do a movie about us and not have to try to down play the role or just go to the story of slavery or whatever. I don’t like it.

She added:

Why do we need movies to remind us of where we used to be? I feel like, that’s not what we should be doing. We should be doing things to encourage us where we are right now. What we’re doing right now. What black people’s lives are like right now. And if you are going to produce a movie that reminds us of where and who we used to be, TELL THE FULL STORY. I said this last night after seeing that movie [ 12 Years a Slave], and I will say this again, I love the direction of Steve McQueen and the movie’s amazing cinematography, but I guarantee you, if I go to the bookstore and pick up “12 Years a Slave,” I’m not going to just read about the beatings. I’m not just going to just read about people calling each other niggas. I’m not going to just read THAT. I’m going to get a full story of a African American man, living in a certain time period; A story about how he met his beautiful wife and created his wonderful family. The book will detail how this African American man made his way to being amongst a circle of white people and what it was like to be in artistry during that time. It seems that the movies only depict the negative.

What are your thoughts on their comments? Are you tired of ‘slave movies’? Or do you feel this story should continue to be told? 

[Twitter, Erica Vain]