You have to give Harold Perrineau points for being brutally honest.
The Lost star, who (spoiler!) blew up last night in the season finale of the show, can't believe that he came back to the show only to be killed off. In fact, his exact words about the decision to kill off Michael are "...what the hell? I came back for that?!"
Perrineau didn't know he was getting killed off until he got a phone call from the producers right before he received the script for the season finale. He's also unhappy that they didn't give Michael and Walt a happy ending. But perhaps the most interesting part of the interview with TV Guide's (but not for long) Michael Ausiello is where Perrineau says the show doesn't know how to treat black characters...
Listen, if I'm being really candid, there are all these questions about how they respond to black people on the show. Sayid gets to meet Nadia again, and Desmond and Penny hook up again, but a little black boy and his father hooking up, that wasn't interesting? Instead, Walt just winds up being another fatherless child. It plays into a really big, weird stereotype and, being a black person myself, that wasn't so interesting.
Do you think he has a point? Producer Carlton Cuse says that isn't the case at all and that the show has a diverse cast. Perrineau did have positive experiences from being on the show, including filming in Hawaii and meeting one of his best friends, Daniel Dae Kim.















Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
5-31-2008 @ 4:02PM
Tony Cee said...
What the hell is an active television watcher , a channel surfer?
5-31-2008 @ 2:50AM
Bash said...
You just hate dumb people. Admit it.
5-31-2008 @ 12:17AM
A.S said...
Also, Bash, get your white head out of your even more white behind and read a book other than Blacks Are Lying And White People Are Right. I find it interesting you feel so vehemently to DENY systemic racism that you have to go through every comment on this post.
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5-31-2008 @ 2:24AM
Bash said...
I think people have progressed far enough to stop calling the differences between black and white racism.
I know I would see it completely different if I were black but then again what's the difference between black and white, woman and man, rich and poor? Would you call it "racist" that women are still paid less than men if they are working the same exact job? Is it "racist" that 2% of the population own 85% of the money?
I know there are racists out there. But there's a difference between genetically encoded behavior (fearing everything that is not like oneself) and the process of hating everything that is different than oneself.
And honestly I think african americans are on the right way to be just as opressed as women in the US. You know, here in germany we have a population of 82 million, 5 million of those are from turkey. I live in a mixed environment in my hometown, where a lot of old people lived and after a while moslim turks moved in when those died instead of young germans - because they couldn't stand living next to "those old people". What would you call that then? "Ageism"?
I really don't understand why people are so keen on underlining that yes, we all hate each other and hammer it into our heads day in and day out. My point is simply that as long as it's been repeated over and over and over and especially because of unfounded stuff like this, it will never go away.
If you ask me the problem on Lost is not Michael getting killed off. I still think that even though there were people from Korea on that plane I miss a lot of other ethnicities. There's ONE guy from Britain who most fortunately speaks english (of course) and one guy from Iraq. Where are the Aussies on that plane? Or New Zealanders? Germans? Frenchmen? Overall more people from Europe are missing from the list of folks on board or better: characters who appear on the show.
The problem is: you can _always_ say it's racist and I'm sorry that I call that ridiculous.
And the reason why I comment so frequently on this thread is because I love the Show and I found the remarks Perinneau made after leaving the show the first time ridiculous to start with. He behaved like a princess and that's where the comparison with I. Washington stems from (at least Perinneau is not a homophobe).
The Washington story, to be honest, is a whole other deal. That was even more ridiculous with two interest-groups battling each other so I guess it was wrong from me to say it's similar here. It definitely isn't.
And again yes I couldn't understand the situation in the US and no I am not racist towards black people because germany is basically like Wisconsin - you have a hard time finding colored people on the streets. So if I were racist it would have to be towards turks, people from Poland, England (they have garrisons in my town) et cetera.
And honestly I really don't hate people from other ethnicities. I hate people who behave like assholes towards me and to be honest that's a group that usually is very diverse through all age groups and races. People are selfish. People are anti-social. And capitalism isn't helping with those problems either.
5-31-2008 @ 4:01AM
A.S said...
You're right. I do hate stupid people.
I considered not replying, but since you said you care about Lost, I figured I should show the respect of responding with what I care about as well, especially because I had the gall to call you out by name.
There are NO inherent differences between black or white, man or woman, rich and poor. Race is about as genetically significant as the colour of your hair. But people attach behaviours to skin colour and make them significant, also acting on the unacknowledged assumption that these differences in behaviour are natural. It's how EVERYONE operates on this planet. What we see and grow up with is what we think is natural until we start challenging status quos.
This insistence that we are different has MATERIAL effects. That is why people HAVE to point out racism, sexism, classism, homophobia when they see it. If we don't, the material changes will not occur. True equality will not be achieved unless we change our behaviours and assumptions.
If you are heterosexual, white, male, middle or upper-class and so on, it is less likely for you to recognize instances of homophobia, racism, sexism, and classism. Do you know why? Because we live in a world of quaint categories that are placed into a hierarchy, rich is privileged over poor, white skin over darker skin, heterosexuality over homosexuality, men over women. A part of that hierarchy means that those at the top don't get to see the negative effects because they are the ones benefiting from being at the top. It's not "racist" when you're pointing out pay inequity between men and women, you're pointing out sexism. Classism exists between the rich and poor. The same goes for your point about ageism. Elderly are not exactly valued in most industrial societies because they are seen as non-workers, so capitalism can't thrive on their labour).
What you're not realizing and what was frustrating me earlier (and prompted my comment) was that you're not seeing that racism is a system that operates on more than an individual level. Our institutions are built on racist ideologies and continue to work that way - white skin gets privilege in representation and material effects. One person can't change an institution. It's going to take a long time.
Thanks to globalization, there's now a global hierarchy of race, and it's become even more difficult to challenge racism because it does not manifest in a blatant way. Racism is not always a conscious action. Most people don't go around saying, "I hate black people" but it does not mean that they don't behave differently towards and around blacks. It's implicit and subtle, which makes it incredibly difficult to challenge. You may charge that you are not "a racist", even towards Turks, but you are a part of a racist system that will give you more material benefits than someone with a darker skin colour.
Ignoring it does not make it go away. Since when has doing NOTHING ever changed inequality? If we ignore inequalities, they will fester and continue infecting us. You say that people are keen on underlining that we hate each other, but it is not so simple. Minorities do not want to underline that they are being hated on. It is a dangerous move. A career breaker. A life breaker. To call out on racism, sexism, and so on as a member of the minority group is costly, especially when you're doing it within your industry. If minorities don't point out that there is racism, how is anyone supposed to know? A white person isn't going to wake up one day and realize "oh hey, I wonder why I hold my purse tighter when a black kid walks past me?"
I'm not even going to address any problems on Lost, but in my experience as a television watcher, North American television on the whole has a problem with minorities. They are consistently relegated to undeveloped roles or death. Of course, more white people are killed off on television all the time. But when you think about it in proportions, there are far more successful white actors in the industry than minority actors. The chances of a minority character being mishandled is incredibly high, and not always showcased through death. Their character development is skimped on, they aren't used enough, or they just aren't given interesting storylines so that viewers don't bat an eye.
The problem does not lie with just Lost. It's an industry problem. Media is not separate from our prejudices that we have grown up with. Writers, directors, producers, actors, they're all people too. People can harp on about being liberal or conservative or 'colour blind', but it does not undo the fact that we live in a world where there is a hierarchy of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and yes, age.
These hierarchies have MATERIAL effects in representation and ACCESS to resources. It's difficult for a minority actor to get a foot in the door, and once they do, their chances of being on a successful television show with decent characterization drops immensely. The solution is not to try and cram as many minorities into one show or to get representation of "everyone" (see: Heroes). The show would just end up with terrible characterization, and most likely the minority actors will portray negative stereotypes.
I can't even talk about Perrineau's relationship with the show in terms of what his contract was like or what have you. Obviously black people can be a$$holes too. Isaiah Washington was a massive one.
This doesn't mean he didn't make a valid comment about his characterization. There's a history of this type of characterization being RAMPANT. I concluded many years ago that it's dangerous to be a black male character on television (it's different for black women on TV).
It's also important to recognize that race and gender and sexuality and class are not separate from each other. One can be a middle-class black person, or a Chinese lesbian woman, or a disabled white male, or a working class white woman, so on and so on. They interact in different ways. You can have privilege in your race and still be disadvantaged in other ways, which is what happened with Isaiah Washington. He may be black, but he's also heterosexual. He probably experienced racism sometime in his work in television, but he still holds the privilege of being straight.
I want to say again that racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia are not always about outright hatred. So you don't hate anyone because of their ethnicity. Most people are like you. Not a lot of people hate. Every time your life gets a little bit easier, you're not going to notice it if it's because of your skin colour. But while you get something a little easier, someone with darker skin gets it a little harder. Because you can't see it does not mean there is no racism. We don't even NOTICE it because we want to be like you, Bash, and pretend it doesn't happen. We want to be good little liberals and pretend we are never implicated in anything. It's too dangerous to do that and we have to start recognizing it otherwise nothing will change.
6-01-2008 @ 2:44AM
Ashh said...
well. If you really look at it, most of the people that run the entertainment business are white. People like to cast within their own race. Black producers, directors, etc. tend to have a predominately black cast. And a lot of times, the few white characters usually play very stereotypical roles. The people who make these shows and movies are, for the most part, white. So of course they automatically choose white actors. If there were more minority filmmakers, things might be different, and probably would. It takes more than one person to write the script and i'm sure that no harm was intended. I think it just kind of depends on who is actually making the movie.
We should just let Spike Lee do all the directing...He gets it
5-31-2008 @ 12:52AM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
Can't we all just get along? I'm not racist. I hate everyone equally:P I really don't think his comments were that bad. At least he didn't go crazy like Mr. Washington and hit all the talk shows and talk shit about everybody for 2 months straight, at least not yet. I can see where he's coming from as far as ABC making the big deal at the upfronts about him coming back and then just getting killed off. But he knew anybody on this show is expendable with the exception of maybe 4 people. If anyone should be pissed it should be the actress that played Shannon. She had just bought a house in Hawaii and Darlton knew that and they still killed her off. He shoulda known what he was getting himself into. Hell, he's an actor, he should know it's part of the business. He should have signed a 3 year guaranteed contract if he wanted to make sure he was gonna be there til the end.
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5-31-2008 @ 1:44AM
Tim said...
People don't seem to be staying dead on this island for long, so maybe Harold should rethink his comments, fast- or else his character really *will* be dead. Permanently.
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5-31-2008 @ 10:20AM
Jacqueline Harrington said...
RE: Summer Movie Comment - Iron Man has Terrence Howard and Samuel (Call me Sammy!) L. Jackson in key roles. It's the 2nd biggest movie of the year.
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5-31-2008 @ 1:45PM
Suzy said...
I was thinking that Michael may have escaped as perhaps did Jin, but it was sad to see him go. Maybe it was Walt's height development that threw their storyline off track. When the show first came on, it was good to see blacks in pivotal roles with forward thinking characterization. The storyline of him being an artist and his wife a lawyer who goes off with another lawyer, to Holland I think, was different. Plus, it was different seeing Walt initially growing up with his mother there.
I thought Michael, Walt and their dog Vincent, brought some semblance of a family to the crash survivors, who had issues, nevertheless, but were moving towards some sort of reconciliation. Then Walt had to go and "GROW", which totally changed the dynamics. And I'm assuming possibly threw off the producers and writers.
All is not lost, no pun intended, but things have a way of transforming into something else. That's the neat thing about this show. There are two more years, who knows what will happen to Walt, Michael & Vincents' storyline, or for that matter all of the other black members of the cast.
Maybe, Rose & Bernard's story will come back into the fold. It is true that a number of black cast members have been killed off, but Abaddon has been added and Walt's grandmother, however limited the part. But I have to say that this show has one of the more diverse casts in television. That's another reason to care about the show.
So congratulations to the cast & crew, for giving us a wonderful turn around season, and hopefully things will work out for all concerned. This is a special show, of which we haven't seen the likes of before, so here's to staying on track & to continuing the final 2 seasons in the tradition of season 4!!!
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5-31-2008 @ 2:40PM
Tim Dorr said...
I'm glad to see Michael go. I never really liked the character. Hell, I was more of a fan of Mr. Eko and he was on the show for less time.
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5-31-2008 @ 7:51PM
NATE said...
Ha another black person playing the race card....like someone said the guy was a douche and the most unlikeable character in the show....he got what he deserved, i hope he is dead for good....you blacks need to get over yourselves and stop blaming everybody else for your problems, it's pathetic..."bold and insightful stance" that's a joke and your a joke....get a life....and romeo and juliet sucked.....but this is one of the best shows on tv next to entourage....love it
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6-01-2008 @ 10:12AM
jmt said...
Nate, slavery was the problem in the past that has had a domino effect on the present. It is not so much about blaming others for our problems as it is about us understanding how we got to where we are today. Whether Perrineau is right or wrong he still has a right to voice what he feels is an injustice. The pathetic thing would be to feel like you have been wronged and say nothing about it.
5-31-2008 @ 8:20PM
Rusty Viewer said...
Michael hasn't been killed off. Perrineau has been told to PRETEND TO BE UPSET to put fans off the scent.
When Jack's Dad said to Michael it was time to go, he was teleported out just as Jac's Dad was teleported in.
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5-31-2008 @ 9:10PM
Dylan said...
One of the major plot lines on the show is unhealthy father/son relationships. If Michael and Walt had developed a healthy father/son relationship, it would have appeared out of place on a show in which not a single major character appears to have a worthwhile father.
I don't think the decision to kill off Michael was to play into a stereotype. I think the decision was in keeping with a common theme of the show.
It was still unfortunate that he had to die...
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6-01-2008 @ 3:56AM
elle said...
stirring debate, but i must agree with those who pointed out the actor in question signed a contract which must have had a clause about how long his services were needed. Also, his was a weak character from the start. Not in the same league as Mr. Ecko. But then again, he knew that before he came back. Quit complaining. As for the racism mentioned, does anyone remember Trinity Baptist Church which is becoming famous for its racism towards WHITES? I am white and grew up a minority in a black neighborhood. There are lots of blacks who hate white people, not all of course, and why is that such a surprise?
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6-01-2008 @ 4:19AM
eb said...
He kinda does have a point. Black guys have it pretty bad on this show (and I'm a white female so don't clobber me) this other point was valid too: with all the "bad" fathers on this show I reallllly wanted to see the one guy who IS a good parent get a happy ending. but I guess he kind of made up for the bad things he did, so he completed his character arc and he's at peace. He will be missed:(
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6-03-2008 @ 8:12PM
Bash said...
Nice to see that you consider someone who murdered three people and back-stabbed his friends a good father. Yeah I see it now too. Michael was such a good guy he needed forgiveness for being so selfish. What a great example he is. *eyeroll*
Seriously, I would not mind Michael returning to the show, especially if Walt has a special gift of some sort (like Hurley who now talks to dead people like the new guy). I would love to see him making peace with his father after he sacrificed himself and therefor redeemed himself.
But honestly, without dying Michael wouldn't have gotten his redemption and wouldn't have been a good father - or better a father who did horrible things and now did good to even the score. Please don't say he's one of the good guys, because he clearly wasn't up until the explosion of the boat.
6-02-2008 @ 8:18AM
MosquitoControl72 said...
I fail to see how race plays into this. He happened to be black. I fail to see how this would be different had he been white.
What, does he think that if he was playing Desmond that Desmond would never have met Penny? Or had Whatshisname played Michael instead of Sayiid that Michael would have survived?
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6-03-2008 @ 9:26PM
Richard said...
Wouldn't be racism to leave him on the show because he is black?
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