Boseman, my king ! Period !
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@Cold Spring, you must have never seen a picture of the Honorable Thurgood Marshall...
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I was enjoying this article till I read the comments! The first few graphs about the underdressed gentleman made me laugh out loud.
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There goes the Times again with its identity politics. "Dignity" knows no color nor gender. Mr. Boseman embodies dignity. No demographic embellishments needed.
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This actor has played a number of black male icons, as is made very clear in the article. It is hardly "identity politics" to point this out.
This increasingly popular pastime of calling out descriptions of difference and the articulation of minority experience as "identity politics" can only benefit one group - those people whose identity is already so central you American culture that they never need to acknowledge it.
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A "peerless performer of moral authority." Right. The make-believe version.
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I enjoyed Chadwick as James Brown and in Black Panther; I did not see 42. I'm going to take a bit of a different turn here. Hollywood likes a few choice actors and nobody else gets a turn. I did not see Marshall. On purpose. I think Chadwick is a fine actor. HOWEVER, Thurgood Marshall, WOULD NOT, COULD NOT have been who he was, AT THAT TIME in our nation's history if he had been a dark skinned black man. Chadwick was MISCAST. And by doing so, the producers and director missed an opportunity to tell the story of the role of COLORISM in the African American community. There were social groups, communities, schools that one could not attend if they were a certain hue. That is the truth. I am not agreeing with it, but we have to tell the story as it was, so we don't forget and we understand HOW WE GOT TO THIS PLACE HERE AND NOW.
This is also why the Nena Simone movie bombed. There were PLENTY of DARK SKINNED actresses who could have played her. There was no need to put Zoe Saldana in blackface. And to do so was an affront to Ms. Simone's memory.
But America likes its black men DARK and its black women LIGHT. I enjoy Chadwick, but please, let's not talk about him on a "short list to play Obama," a bi-racial man.
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@Psych RN
You missed a very good movie with an excellent performance by Boseman for an absurd reason. Thurgood Marshall was not as dark-skinned as Chadwick Boseman, but he was hardly light-skinned. The best thing about Boseman's performance was that it wasn't uncomfortably reverent. He was self-assured (almost to the point of arrogance) and playful. From what I've read this was an accurate characterization of Marshall during this phase of his career. His intellectual brilliance was a constant in his life, but projecting dignity and thoughtfulness came with age and experience.
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Mr S Jackson complained bitterly that Daniel Kaluuya was 'miscast' in 'Get Out', apparently because though black Kaluuya is not American.
Than the whole of black black America complained when Saldana was cast as Simone.
Than nobody complained when two African Americans were cast into the lead roles, of Africans, in 'Panther'.
Bottom line is film makers make films with their money, not mine. If they want to cast Affleck as Poitiers they should go ahead. If they make money good for them. If they do not we can all howl with laughter and righteousness.
After that we can go right ahead and cast Viola as Nina and with our own money.
As it happens Saldana bombed and Kaluuya didn't.
But we all need to agree that in an age where we look beyond the performance, and where we are talking about flesh and blood real life heroes who walked amongst us and from whose lives similar looking people take courage and inspiration Boseman as Marshall was as miscast as Saldana was as Simone.
Oh, and if you do not agree with the casting don't go see.
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Whoa! I agree that Chadwick is great, but there are few others who have been around for some time. Morgan Freeman. Sidney Poitier. Ossie Davis. James Earl Jones. Idris Elba should be a contender. Okay, Chadwick for 'younger than me' generation but don't forget the classics.
Dignity: Good manners, projecting a positive moral code, presence
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Boseman Forever
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I’ve been to weddings where the vows were less romantic than what I’ve just read here.
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"...embodies Black Male Dignity."
Well, he's an actor. He should be able to embody a whole lot of things, dignified, undignified and everything else. To me, Paul Robeson still remains the great archetype of Black Male Dignity. An extraordinary man who possessed great talent and great ideals while staring into the face of oppression.
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I am somewhat dismayed by the comments here.
Maybe I read this with pride for the biopics brought to life by Bozeman, beginning with 42. Maybe I just simply enjoyed reading about his process as an actor. Maybe I liked the fact that black actors and black subjects matter in movies were not readily available in my youth. Maybe I'm just a fan who didn't analyze the writer's motives. Maybe I'm just a person who enjoyed reading about Chadwick Bozeman and who is looking forward to what it does next.
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That’s what I get for writing late at night! Corrections:
*black SUBJECT matter...
*...wait to see what HE does...
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I was thrilled to read this article about Chadwick Boseman, he is my all time favorite actor for his greatness both on and off the screen. The encounter with the kid made me think of the scene in Get On Up where James Brown has to talk to the near rioting crowd in Boston. Everything I've ever read or listened to about him has been positive, and I agree with Helgeland, there is just something about the way he carries himself that signifies, calmness, intelligence, kindness and strength. He is incredible and I can't wait to see him in future movies.
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I'm surprised that the writer didn't refer to Boseman's role as T'Challa in the perfect bookend to Saturday Night Live's "Black Jeopardy" with Tom Hanks. Both hilarious comedy sketches are worth looking up online.
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The first dozen comments stun me. "Critical" doesn't begin to describe the tone.
If Chadwick Boseman were white... but he's not, so he can never be enough of a role model.
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You had me until you wrote “he is cut squarely from the mold of Barack Obama — generally cool-blooded, affable, devoted to unglamorous fundamentals”. None of these descriptions fit Obama. He was a good president but let’s not make him a superhero.
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Agreed. And can’t we think about people as PEOPLE, without pigeonholing them into a race or gender demographic? Kind of like praising every superior white basketball player as “Larry Bird-like” with “good fundamentals”.
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@David
ALL of those descriptions fit Obama. They don't make him (or anybody else) a ""superhero". They helped make him a good human being, a good leader, and as you said, a good president.
So why do you think he was a good president, if NONE of those descriptions apply - and why are trippin' with the superhero nonsense?
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I'm thrilled that Boseman is getting to make big bucks in Hollywood. But the truth is Black Panther is, startlingly overrated as a movie and as a progressive agent of change.
Super hero movies are as empty headed as Hollywood. And don't believe for a second that making a tiny percentage of minority players rich will somehow fix the real problems in the African American communities including horrible places to live and mass incarceration.
Anyone that believes that Hollywood cares about ANYTHING other than $$$$$ is delusional at best. Not to mention that at least 80% of all Hollywood products (yes they stopped making films years ago) involve mass murder, non-stop guns, guns, guns, molestation, rape, etc, etc, etc...
America is obsessed with depravity and Hollywood is more than happy to deliver the goods.
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At the end of the day he's simply another rich and popular black man who chose a non-black woman to share his new found success. That would make him average.
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It's in his eyes. He's got it.
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I'm confused, are we that hard pressed to find black male role models that we have to use someone who portrays strong Hollywood characters? If that's the case, let me know and I can come up with many REAL PEOPLE just off the top of my head.
@Jonathan Several of the "Hollywood characters" he has portrayed are real people (Justice Thurgood Marshall, James Brown, Jackie Robinson) all of whom are excellent role models for anyone, not just "black role models." Mr. Boseman has succeeded in an extremely competitive business by preparing himself through education and hard work. The fact that his profession is acting does not negate his worthiness as a role model.
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And Tom Cruise is my favorite lawyer. He went to law school didn’t he?
He's just an actor, Reggie. He's an actor, and it's just the movies. No one is peerless.
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He is an excellent actor. He has played courageous and heroic men. Why can't we leave it at that without conflating his personality with his work? It shouldn't matter. If he was a coward in real life it wouldn't diminish his acting whatsoever. Also, it isn't quite courageous to embarrass someone at a concert to the amusement of your friends. It isn't quite heroic to make someone else's summer evening worse so you can have a more perfect concert experience.
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@Michael McLaughlin Wow! Embarrass someone and ruin THEIR evening?? The person who was "underdressed" was embarrassing innumerable people, and I applaud Mr. Boseman for approaching him.
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The writer of this article obviously knows very few African American Gentlemen. Men who get up day after day, dress immaculately, go to work, and raise their families in quiet dignity just like all the other gentlemen in this country be they Anglo, French, Indian, or Arab. Nothing could be more racially condescending than to choose one person out of millions as the paragon of dignity and virtue for people you do not know. Has anyone spoken about the need for men of Anglo dignity because of the crimes committed by Men of power in media and entertainment, politics or corporate America? No. Because such an assertion is factually absurd. Then why would one posit such an example for African Americans as though the culture were monolithic? Unfortunately, the article underscores a prescient reality in America, that many in the media and entertainment drink their own Kool-Aid. If you want to know the people in our country with dignity leave the theater, the stadium, the movie house and the News at 5:00 and go see the real world. You don't have to travel far. Just walk next door.
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If Frederick Douglass came back and read this, especially the headline and lead-in, he'd gasp, then swallow hemlock. Black and dignified male, what a novelty. This is the worst hollywood puffery I've read in years.
I do admire Mr. Bosemen, yet I can't help thinking that President Obama would have had a different tack at that concert. As, for example, "Excuse me sir, but the ladies behind you are embarrassed, although we're sure you're not doing it on purpose."
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I systemactily fall asleep when I go to the movies. However I did stay up and watch all of 42; with my favorite part being where the white ballplayer said to Jackie Robinson as a result of a heckler calling out Robinson in such a vile fashion that they'd all wear 42 at their next game, so that all the players would take the heat of the heckler, quite profound. My next mission is to watch this gentleman in the James Brown movie.
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I didn't get to see Black Panther, but did see Jackie Robinson, and Marshall. I'm more of a history buff, so would enjoy seeing him in films about Booker T. Washington, Jesse Owens, and Frederick Douglass to name a few.
History is so important, we all need to learn more about what makes us the society we are today.
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I’ve heard that in a nod to Hamilton-style casting, Jesse Owens will be played by Pete Davidson.
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Yes, Boseman is an excellent actor and I'm so glad he's getting more attention. Black Panther was one of my favorite films of the year. Not sure if it's just a coincidence, but most of my favorite films of the year featured strong black actors: BlackkKlansman, Sorry to Bother You, and Blindspotting....
13
I was mesmerized by him as James Brown in "Get On Up". His dancing and singing (I assume he sang in the movie because I saw him sing on Dave Letterman) were phenomenal. So much talent rolled up in one package foretells huge things for this actor. Bosman, Michael B. Jordan, Mahershala Ali and Brian Tyree Henry are incredible actors, who hold up the banner for the brotherhood (of actors) as well as Denzel, Samuel L., Fishburn, Potier, and Gossett ever did.
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Boseman is remarkably talented. But maybe we pump the brakes (just slightly?) on the deification.
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Chadwick Boseman is a terrific actor, but let's give a moment of applause to the guy who wrote the piece. It's unusually elegant, captures the subject, has wit and humor to boot!
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Hats off to Chadwick Boseman for his talent, work ethic, and choice of roles. And that he's being recognized for this.
He and other actors like David Oyelowo, Michael B. Jordan, Idris Elba, Mehershala Ali, et al are all building upon the fine foundation laid by men like Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, et al.
Shout outs for Chewetel Ejiofor and Derek Luke (who seems to have gotten lost in the recent pantheon of terrific black actors).
Apologies to all the other fine actors AND actresses I've not listed.
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Chadwick Boseman did a good job playing my hero Thurgood Marshall and that's all I could or would expect from him. We do ourselves a disservice when we put performers on pedestals. He might be a good man, but whether he is or not is irrelevant.
The number of actors who play great characters and also have great characters is smaller than you would think Being a great actor doesn't equal being a great person, but it doesn't have to ruin our enjoyment of their craft. We also shouldn't expect this and we won't be disappointed when they fall short. Since stars are human, not Gods and they will disappoint.
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The reality is that celebrities become role models, whether we, the public, like it or not.
Given the terrible tales of abuse of celebrities and those in power industry this last year, why are so many complaining here about the fact that this man was raised with the same values of morals and responsibility that many of us were?
I find it refreshing to read that a man, who will be a role model to some, has no scandal attached to his career.
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I have no problem with Chadwick Boseman playing the part of a black male character in a movie. He seems to be quite good at it. I do have a problem however, with society and the media propping up an actor as if he/she is someone other black citizens should emulate. We the average citizen have no idea what Mr. Boseman's personal life and history are like, so why should we try to emulate him? I do however agree that his ambition and success are something other young men should admire.
The other problem that I have with this article is the "black male dignity" part. Intended or not, it kind of gives the impression that to be a dignified black male is something special and uncommon.
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@Ken Where was it suggested we emulate him? I admire Gene Hackman and have been uplifted by many of his movie roles, same with Meryl Streep, I never once thought enjoying their work meant I should emulate them.
What is with the red herring, "We don't what his personal is like?"
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@Ken Relax. I believe from the article and the off-camera interactions you get a feel for what sort of person he is, the perspective and context he shows for his craft rather than the job of being a star, and his willingness to take on meaningful roles (he could not have done the job in BP that he did if he had not played Marshall and Robinson and Brown).
Also, take from it what you wish, but they did not state that it is rare, but rather that he embodies a valuable thing. A nice side benefit of that would hopefully be for the people in this country who don't even recognize the words "black male dignity".
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We're talking movies, here right? He plays roles. He an actor. If he plays a criminal does that make him any less of an embodiment of black male dignity? Actors vary the roles they perform to expand their audience and keep them working. They don't want audiences to get bored with them.
"Hey, honey, you want to go see that movie with Chadwick Boseman tonight?
"No, I had enough of that black male dignity. I'd rather go see the Grinch"!
17
Count me as a fan. I've been watching him since "42" and I have enjoyed him in everything I've seen so far.
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Just what the world needs, another celebrity to model our lives after.
You know what else the world needs? More lawyers and politicians and celebrity chefs and MBA graduates and reality TV and social media stars ...
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@John actually, more black lawyers, MBAs, and politicians would be a great thing.
10
I don't know this actor at all since I don't watch films. But the headline struck me, "Black, male dignity". And I wondered- is that a different kind of dignity? a special Black kind? Is there a special Woman kind? Shouldn't we all strive for dignity and celebrate it wherever it is found, whether among the privileged of Hollywood and MLB, or among the downtrodden immigrants at our borders? It seems to be a quality especially missing in our government. Do we only see Black males having dignity when they are well-paid actors or athletes? I mean we just saw a story about the firing of Black NFL head coaches, leaving only two in the ranks for now. We've seen so many stories about Black males accidentally getting shot by Whites. What happened to their dignity? Perhaps this Black actor with dignity can speak up for others, like Kapernic did, and hopefully not lose his vaunted position over it.
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The talent of Boseman has been evident for some time. I look forward to all the more he has to bring. Why the article had to bring a visual of crack cleavage, not sure.
18
Really enjoyed him in Black Panther and on SNL skits. An inspiration.
14
I'm sorry. Chadwick isn't a representation of black Male dignity. But another brother policing black morality. I'm sure in the world of Hollywood, where immorality and racism abounds, Chadwick lacks the courage to enforce his sense of moral codes in the presence of power. Put simply, he's not dignified; he's a bully.
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@MC
I cringed at that opening anecdote. Such a detailed and loving portrait of One Of The Good Ones.
2
Here we go again, prompting up the fake moral values of someone no one knows about. Damn, stupidity repeats itself over and over again.
7
I first saw Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, and was mesmerized by his talent. Subsequent roles have solidified his lofty high placement among current actors. But it was his commencement address at Howard University in 2018 that haunts me. It was so human, so honest, so inspiring, so eloquent, so raw, so real.......
He is the real thing. I wish him the best.
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Thank you for this read and the insightful nuggets within.
17
He is on my list of "wouldn't it be great to have coffee with...?" person. Smart, talented, insightful, and cool.
Looking forward to many decades of watching his films and projects!
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@MT
Don't forget that smile of his....
2
Chadwick Boseman's got class. To hear about his mom's resolve, his dad's work ethic, and the mentoring by his brothers, I am inspired by his leadership, his example. Denzel's contribution to his success brought tears to my eyes. I am a relation of Harriet Beecher Stowe who is currently teaching 'Raisin. May the circle be unbroken...
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Unbelievably, Chadwick Boseman was not nominated for an Oscar for Get On Up, the James Brown bio-pic. And completely forgotten by movie critics.
An incredibly hard job - to act, to play an actual person, to sing and dance.
Chadwick Boseman was amazing - and should have been nominated and awarded the Academy Award.
A great talent!
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@LS - I too was shocked at how much Chadwick was ignored after Get on Up. I appreciated his work in 42, but was completely blown away by his performance as James Brown. That movie solidified my fandom. He officially became my favorite actor that year. I feel compelled to add that I'm a 50+ year-old white suburban mom (probably not what one would think of as his typical fan). Thanks for your comments, LS.
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