Chance the Rapper Sparks Debate About Underlying Messages in 'Bright' Movie
By Nerisha Penrose, Billboard
December 27, 2017
Netflix's latest action flick Bright was almost immediately eviscerated by the critics when it debuted over the weekend, despite stirring up anticipation after unveiling the official trailer and stellar soundtrack. Amid all the clamor surrounding the film, Chance the Rapper turned to Twitter to initiate a discussion with fans about Bright's underlying messages.
"Wondering how you guys are feeling about the lynched ork in #Brightmovie," Chance asked his followers. One user replied and said that Bright is "an exact representation of the social injustices minorities face." However, Chance added that using "mythical creatures" to express America's racial issues in the film were "a little shallow."
"I always feel a lil cheated when I see allegorical racism in movies cause that racism usually stems from human emotion or tolerance but not by law or systems the way it is in real life," he said of the film. "The characters in #Bright live in a timeline where racism is gone... cause we hate ork now."
Another user suggested that maybe the movie wasn't intended to spark so much debate and deep discussion but was instead created as just another "interesting story." Chance admitted that he initially tried to view Bright as just another film but that quickly changed when he heard Will Smith's character (police officer Daryl Ward) said, "Fairy Lives Don't Matter" a play off the Black Lives Matter movement.
View Chance's tweets below.
Wondering how you guys are feeling about the lynched ork in #Brightmovie
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017
I found the way they tried to illustrate americas racism through the mythical creatures to be a little shallow. #Brightmovie
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017
I always feel a lil cheated when I see allegorical racism in movies cause that racism usually stems from human emotion or tolerance but not by law or systems the way it is in real life. The characters in #Bright live in a timeline where racism is gone... cause we hate ork now 🤨
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017
I think the idea is that they’re a step below bottom of the spectrum blackness. Which is why Will’s character, the Mexican cop and the ork have that dialogue in the street. https://t.co/LaFMysw2WG
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017
I tried to look at it that way but a few minutes into the movie they make wills character say “Fairy Lives don’t Matter” https://t.co/j721N38cdR
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017
Photo: Getty Images