With nominee Barack Obama leading the Democratic Party, the prospect of a Black president is now highly plausible. Although this has never happened in reality, leave it up to Hollywood to take its own spin on the issue. The majority of black president roles have been either comedic or apocalyptic in nature, which leads me to believe that Hollywood is thinking pretty stereotypically about black presidents. Here are five African-American presidents that have been seen on television and film.
5. Head of State
Chris Rock wrote and directed this rather silly 2003 film. Rock plays Mays Gilliam, an alderman from Washington D.C. who replaces the Democratic party's original nominee after his untimely death. The film touches on some interesting points, but gets weighed down by some off-the-wall set pieces. It?s a shame, because Rock has so much talent and could have really used his voice to set the American public straight. Rock?s protagonist comes to the realization that he must keep it ?real? in the face of an overwhelming majority and highlights the perceived cultural differences between white and black culture.
Here is the final debate at the end of the film:
4. 24
Are you in good hands? Sorry I couldn?t help it. Dennis Haysbert plays President David Palmer in Fox?s successful television franchise ?24?. Cool, calm, collected Haysbert is the only portrayal on this list that is neither comedic nor a sign of the apocalypse. Haysbert has even said publicly that his role on the TV show may help Obama come November, and it has been hinted that Haysbert used Obama as a model for the character. Lets just hope that if Obama does win, the outcome isn?t the same as President Palmer's.
3. The Fifth Element
The arrival of EVIL is threatening the entire planet, as it does every five-thousand years. President Lindberg is trying to fight the evil Mr. Zorg and recruits an ex-soilder and current cab driver to save the planet. . In the end, Bruce Willis saves the day and President Lindberg can take credit for this, so in terms of foreign economic policy Obama may not have an advantage, but according to the Hollywood model, if aliens try to kill us all Barack is our man.
2. Deep Impact
The world is on the brink of apocalypse again! Morgan Freeman does his best ?Morgan Freeman? as President Tom Beck who warns the world of an impending comet that must be destroyed to save the world. But after the first attempt fails President Beck begins to create massive caves that can absorb the ?Deep Impact? and shelter a million people, 800,000 of which are randomly drawn to live there. This film came out right when ?Armageddon? did and because of the horrible timing the film didn?t do as well at the box office which is a shame because ?Deep Impact? has more theological questions raised in it than Michael Bay?s jittery explosion fest.
1. The Richard Pryor Show
Finally, I have to give a shout out to a man that took on the issue early and used his unique style of humor to comment on a black president. Pryor?s short lived show was full of some great sketch comedy, but also boasted the appearance of several up and coming actors like Sandra Bernhardt and Robin Williams. In this press conference we see Pryor?s attempt to maintain a level of responsibility to the press but slowly lose his cool as press from several black publications lead him to blow his temper. Let?s watch this classic sketch and hope we?ve come a long way from this satire.
