Geeks logo

'White Man's Burden': Reality Just Changed Sides

A Look Back At The 1995 Film Starring John Travolta & Harry Belafonte.

By Matthew KresalPublished 7 years ago 3 min read
Like
John Travolta and Harry Belafonte in a still from the film.

One of the things that film can do is give the viewer a new perspective. It can be an empathetic medium, allowing us to see the world through a different pair of eyes. Or even turn the world on its head in the modern equivalent of fables. 1995's White Man's Burden from director Desmond Nakano is just such a modern fable. It's a film that takes the racial and economic status quo of America and turns it on its head with fascinating results.

It's the premise that very much makes the film. As one of the film's taglines puts it rather succinctly: “Reality just changed sides.” The America of White Man's Burden isn't too dissimilar from the real world of 1990s America except for one big difference: Whites are the lower class and those of African descent are the dominant class From the very first scene of the film with a group of wealthy African-Americans sitting around a dinner table being served by an older white woman in typical maid outfit with Thaddeus Thomas (Harry Belafonte) expounding deeply racist views which echo historical views about his race in our world, the truth of the tagline is clear. It's a tale that could easily have come out of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone or from a number of alternate history works but the film (outside of some interesting choices in costumes and architecture) doesn't focus much on the how of this world. That's something that some have and will continue to complain that the film doesn't do enough to develop to set up this world, but the point isn't to talk about the past but the present and the future.

The opening minutes of the film further drive that point home. The focus of the film is on men at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of both class and race: Belafonte's business mogul and John Travolta as factory worker Louis Pinnock. It is through the differences between these two men that we are introduced to this world and a series of circumstances that build on one another. What starts out as Pinnock trying to curry favor sets off a sequence of events that will eventually lead to eviction, threats, and kidnapping. It's a plot that at once feels familiar yet different thanks to Nakano's premise.

Nakano, a Japanese-American writer/director, perhaps brings a different perspective to the film than a different director might have. Some of his points aren't subtle at all, observations that have been time and time again until they become cliches. Other times they are subtle and more effective for being so such as early in the film when young Desmond (Andrew Lawrence) flips through TV channels and sees nothing but African-American characters with the exception of a TV report of a white criminal or when the same young boy goes into a toy shop on his birthday and wants the more expensive superhero action figure rather than his white sidekick. The issues are familiar from media representation to police brutality but it is what Nakano does by turning them on their head that gives the film its power.

As do the performances. Belafonte and Travolta both give suitably chameleon-like performances in their respective roles. Belafonte's Thomas finds himself at times lost and at other times trying to understand the situation he finds himself in while the everyman quality apparent in some of Travolta's better performances shines brightly in this one as a hard working man forced into a desperate act which turns into a spiral from which neither man will leave the same. The interactions and relationship between the two of them form the core of the film from moments of friendliness to profanity laced confrontations. There are some surprising performances from the supporting cast as well, especially from Kelly Lynch as Pinnock's wife, who plays the role with a sense of dignity throughout and perhaps most evident in a scene where they are evicted from their home where she is the one who effectively takes charge. The three of them lead a solid, if not very showy cast.

When it was released more twenty years ago, it seems to have been a blip on the radar. It was overlooked, written off to a large extent. Looking on the film with some distance, that seems unfair. White Man's Burden has interesting things to say in flipping reality around and many of its points remain relevant. If you can track it down, it's a film well worth a watch as a modern fable.

controversiesmovie review
Like

About the Creator

Matthew Kresal

Matthew Kresal was born and raised in North Alabama though he never developed a Southern accent. His essays have been featured in numerous books and his first novel Our Man on the Hill was published by Sea Lion Press in 2021.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.