RED TAILS CHASING SKIRT TAILS AND ARCHETYPES

Iconic film director, George Lucas, has taken on the risky
business of producing a Hollywood film telling the WW II breakthrough story of
the Tuskegee Airmen, titled “RED TAILS,” featuring a mostly Black cast of
actors. The number two ranking as the
highest grossing film in its initial weekend on the big screen is less a
testament to the broad based interest in the Tuskegee Airmen Experiment by
America’s film goers than to the effectiveness of the Internet and Social Media
communication networking in the Black milieu.
In spite of the millions of Black ( and white ) Americans and
aviation enthusiasts who showed up in support of RED TAILS’ cinematic victory
in presenting this major piece of the American Civil Rights mosaic, the
Facebook and Yahoo Groups have blasted us with too many societal experts
imparting myriad criticisms of RED TAILS. The dissing of the film has varied from charges
of “one dimensional characters,” gratuitous archetypes, ie, devout flag waving Christian,
booze burdened and romance crazed renegade pilots, leadership bogged down in banal,
platitudinous speeches and finally an implausible a POW sub-story that
concludes with magical reappearance of shot down airmen at the end of the
movie. Any criticisms of RED TAILS’ lack
of credibility or deviations from historical accuracy miss the point. We should
be thankful the breadth of real romance stories occurring back then in Italy were
tactfully omitted. Those critics who really care about historical validity
should see Lucas’ prequel companion to RED TAILS, “DOUBLE VICTORY.” The latter documentary had powerful technical
input from Original Tuskegee Airmen to assure historical accuracy in capturing
the civil rights breakthrough. The OTA’s also consulted on RED TAILS, but it
was the intent in the latter case to produce a film more focused on entertainment
than factual representations, as many other epic military films like “MIDAWAY,”
“PEARL HARBOR” and “THE GUNS OF NAVARRONE.”
I give the military history buffs their due in justified
criticisms if there were erroneous factual references made as to the number of missions
or sorties flown, number of U.S. bombers lost or Luftwaffe aircraft shot down that
were not supported by history. We have
bountiful examples of African American contribution to the advancement of society
without undermining our credibility by resorting to the neediness of hyperbole.
In the final analysis, it appears that most of the Black
folks who would criticize RED TAILS are too young to remember or have not experienced
the burgeoning Civil Rights struggle of the Freedom Rides and the 1963 March on
Washington that cracked open the door leading to the historical progress
African Americans have achieved in this country. Yes, the march for equality must go on.
As successful as they
have been, perhaps NO African American film director, not even Tyler Perry or
Spike Lee, could have drawn this large an audience for a Black fighter pilot
combat movie as George Lucas. The Black
community support has been outstanding, whether we get more films of this type
or not. What is important is that we collectively appreciate what the making of
this film represents vis-à-vis greater Black participation in achieving the
American Dream and having our stories told. It’s a long, long way from Amos
& Andy, Rochester and Step and Fetchit. We should welcome any sources that are
inspired to tell our stories, eschewing inclinations to engage in bad-mouth-
nit-picking of great cinematic efforts like RED TAILS. It’s entertainment; let’s enjoy it and be
proud!
The author of this piece is a next generation Black combat
pilot whose aviation career stands on the shoulders of the RED TAILS. A former airline captain and now author, Captain
Brian H. Settles, has written a Real Deal story of what it was like flying
combat missions as a Black fighter pilot in a war Dr. King denounced as “immoral”
and politically unjust. No Reason for
Dying: A Reluctant Combat Pilot’s Confession of Hypocrisy, Infidelity and War. See www.CaptBrianSettles.com and www.NoReasonforDying.com to see details and order copies.