Do Black Guys Die First?

How many times have you heard someone say, “They always kill a brotha first.” “Well, you know who’s gonna die next; they always kill off niccas first.”  Blah blah blah.

    

I have heard this many times. No doubt, you have too. I’ve repeated it dozens of times, myself.

    

But is it true?

    

Do black men die first more than whites? Is this a justifiable complaint or is this just our perception? Is there a disproportionate representation of black males being killed off first, relative to their white counterparts?

    

I don’t know. But I wonder.

    

In film, often people have to die. Somehow, some way and seemingly all too often, for no obvious cinematic reason, a “choice” is made by someone. 

    

A choice is made by someone. A choice is made by someone.

    

And so it is... the boss has spoken... the rules will be enforced... the law laid down... for It has been determined… and it will be done...  the black man is to die first.

    

I’ve seen the black man die first many times but never took note of the frequency of this occurrence.

    

Immediately, The Perfect Storm (2000) comes to mind. The black fisherman was the first fisherman to die. And if I remember correctly, in Apocalypse Now (1979), Larry Fishburne was the first soldier to go. 

    

Can anyone think of films in which the black guy dies first?

    

Of course, sometimes there is a cogent cinematic purpose for the black guy to die first, but I’m talking about when the choice to kill the black man first is an arbitrary choice –- and when the story points don’t necessitate this, and when the white guy could have easily died first without affecting the story.

Comments

[Kimi]

I remember back in the day it seemed like black folks always died first in movies, but I think that has changed over the years.

I've thought it several times over the years but never kept track either.

The only flick that comes to mind is The Last Boy Scout & it was actually a female, Halle Berry, who was the 1st AA to die in that flick I believe.

[theblackactor.com]

Thanks, Kimi.

[LaJane Galt]

I wish I'd taken notes. Usually if there is a black character, he/she will get killed first...or soon.

[johnny wishbone]

i am laffin my brains out. because the brother still always dies first in film. THere are so many.. i don't even know where to start. seriously.. SO MANY my brain overloaded when i started thinking about it

[johnny wishbone]

examples, 3000 miles to graceland, kill bill, (black woman actually) and when we say the black person dies first we do mean character of note, not thug number 289.

[johnny wishbone]

oh man.. you guys are gonna LOVE this link.. roflmbao
http://www.feoamante.com/Movies/Racial/racial_1960.html
this is 70 instances of what we are speaking of.. enjoy

[johnny wishbone]

oh and even in the TRANSFORMERS. the ONLY black voiced autobot (good guys) gets killed.. not just killed.. RIPPED IN HALF

[johnny wishbone]

in happy gilmore .. a movie about GOLF.. the only black character played by carl weathers dies a freak accident.

[johnny wishbone]

in the longest yard remake.. the only person to die in the movie is chris rocks character caretaker

[Afrodite]

We talk about this all the time but it's more in a joking sense but there is some truth to it. The movie that comes to mind is "Jurassic Park".

First guy to die was black...

[theblackactor.com]

@ Johnny

Hi Johnny! Thank you for giving us the website. I took a quick glimpse at it but will look at it later. Great!

I figure if enough people respond to this Q, I'd put a little list together which might help us determine the answer to the Q in today's post.

Oh; and Johnny -- It can be a principal character or thug 289; don't matter.

I ain't finished with this question. LOL.

Thanks, everyone.

[Caesar Cannon]

Kelly Rowland in Freddy vs Jason
Brandy in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

it's more females than males. Seldom a male comes to mind.

[SONGi]

i think due to that lack of roles for Black [non white] people..whenever, there's a character, in a big hollywood flick, that requires a Black [non white] character to die.. people will always take the roles!
[i mean, if you were paid $50, 000 to appear for 2 scenes and ur role was to die..[and you were only required to shoot the scene for 2 weeks] would you not do it?
to be honest, i know i would..
but i have a problem when the character that is killed is someone who is the only Black [non white] actor in the flick..
ie happy gilmore//.the longest yard!
SONGi

[Orville]

Vivica A Fox is a black woman but she was the first black person to die in Kill Bill. I thought Vivica A Fox's performance in Kill Bill was incredible even though she was only in the movie for 10 minutes. I was very disappointed when I saw the film I thought Vivica would have much more screentime. I was really pissed about that.Vivica deserved more time to shine. I think another question should be about black actresses in their 40s perhaps?

[LaJane Galt]

-in happy gilmore .. a movie about GOLF.. the only black character played by carl weathers dies a freak accident.

That was cold-blooded. They already killed him in Rocky IV too!

-oh and even in the TRANSFORMERS. the ONLY black voiced autobot (good guys) gets killed.. not just killed.. RIPPED IN HALF

Not only did they kill the memory of one of my favorite cartoons, they killed the black guy.

-Saw 2 killed Glenn Plummer...I don't think he was the first though, but you know good & damn well he wouldn't survive.

-The Aliens franchise was brutal for minorities. I remember they killed that Puerto Rican(?) Vasquez. Shit, she was the toughest one of the bunch!!! A minority, female, lesbian - hat trick. I think there was an Asian in one of them, he didn't make it either.

-If you want to talk about thug 289 - don't watch Charles Bronson's Death Wish series.

-Didn't Marcus Chong die in the Matrix?

-Did any black person survive a Vietnam War movie (other than Dead Presidents)?

It seems there are 3 issues:

(a) Does the black person die first?
(b) If not, how soon does he/she die?
(c) Can a black person ever make it to the credits?

[Titus]

I don't know about the big answer.
But I have here some movies where the black does make it to the end credits : Ghosts of Mars and Anaconda.

This invites the question : Can a black guy survive to the credits, if he's not Ice Cube ?

Well there's also Dan (Forrest Whitaker) in Species.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Titus

I guess they let them survive sometimes. LOL.

[The Wolf]

I think that the movies where the black guys always die first are scary movies and survival movies. Like where they're trapped in a haunted mansion, or there is some kind of monster hunting them. Movies where everybody is dying. War movies also work. So I don't really think Happy Gilmore are very valid ones. Maybe Kill Bill. Everyone fucking dies.
The only time that a black guy survives in a horror/survival/war/gory movie is when the aforementioned black guy is famous. Like if it's Will Smith, Denzel Washington, maybe Ice Cube, sometimes Samuel L Jackson (but he is always so fun to kill off).

Basically, the thing that never happens in scary/survival/war movies is a multi-racial cast, led by a black main character, played by a fresh and unknown black actor with very little fame in any niche. Like you know the main character in Wanted, the unknown white guy who becomes a hero? That unfortunately could never be a black character.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Wolf

*** sigh ***. Yes, Wolf; we still have a long way to go, it seems. *** sigh ***

[D.L. Chandell]

Two more prime examples of this include:

--Isaiah Washington in "Ghost Ship"
[Warner Bros./Dark Castle, 2004]

--Joe Morton (as Miles Dyson) in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"
[Carolco, 1991]

This is the movie that ironically immortalized and introduced the world to S. Epatha Merkerson (who played Miles' quivering wife at the hands of Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor) who referred to her as a bitch in the film.
Something to also notice is that more men than women get killed in movies. This is in general, with an almost guaranteed rate for Afriaan people.

Always Watching,
D.L. CHANDELL
Music & Entertainment Analyst and Historian/
DLC IndustryWatch

[theblackactor.com]

@ D.L.

Oh yeah, Joe Morton, Terminator II. Yup. Thanks for adding that one, D.L.!! I'd forgotten!

[theblackactor.com]

@ D.L.

Hell, more black men prolly get killed cuz more black males have more (meatier) parts in films.

*** sad :( ***

[theblackactor.com]

@ D.L.

Hell, more black men prolly get killed cuz more black males have more (meatier) parts in films.

*** sad :( ***

[D.L. Chandell]

Meaty or weak, B.A., Hollywood doesn't care.
It never did.

For crying out loud, one of the founders of United Artists was D.W. Griffith -- the same man who produced "The Birth Of A Nation", one of America's first indoctrination of racism to the masses of America, and also to the neo-Nazi movement.

Always Watching,
D.L. CHANDELL
Music & Entertainment Analyst & Historian,
DLC IndustryWatch

[theblackactor.com]

@ DL

Thank you for sharing your insights with us, DL.

[Vanessa]

I watch more television than I use to and have noticed this repeatedly. I'm watching a movie called "The Edge." It's a powerful movie but--- A nice young brother gets eaten by a bear. The two white guys of course survive. One of the two dies but hay. White guy is always hero and survives.

Somehow the word survives seems appropriate. I'm not a racist but this is extremely suspect.

Wesley Snipes has a lot of creative control I suppose. He never dies but he has one down side. The man is rarely cast with a sistah!

It happens too often to be coincidence. It really looks like a collective conspiracy against brothas and sistahs in Hollywood. Who is writing this stuff?

[theblackactor.com]

@ Vanessa

I doubt this is an accident. This is by design, Vanessa. BTW -- eaten by a bear??!!! Oh Lawd. LOL.

[Graeme]

The UK Dr Who Christmas special (The 'Titanic' spaceship one)...

[theblackactor.com]

Thanks, Graeme!

[Nic]

SPOILER ALERT: I can think of one exception - Night of the Living Dead. The black guy is the lone survivor...though he still gets killed by the stupid "rescuers" who think he's a zombie when they see him through the window. But I think they would have done that if the character was white, too. I think it was just a movie twist that had nothing to do with his race. But, yeah, when I saw that movie for the first time the other night, I said, "Whaddaya know, the black guy wasn't the first one to get killed!"

[Nic]

PS: I mean the original Night of the Living Dead, I haven't seen any remakes of it.

[theblackactor.com]

Thanks, Nic. Well, I'm glad to know the black guy survived one time! LOL.

[Jacob Black]

alicia keys music video nigga dies there first !!!!

[Jacob Black]

Lorant in NEW MOON nigga dies;; i actually worked with the guy in that film!!! ECLIPSE came out you guys you need to WATCH IT oh by the way i take off my shirt so dont worry you guys oh and big shout out to my brotha alex meraz who plays PAUL the grey wolf. This brings me to my next point my nigga WILL SMITH DIES IN 7 POUNDS. OH BIG SHOUT OUT TO THE LUNA FAMILY.. especially BUBBA.

[Infinity]

Enter the Dragon

[Warsun99]

And now The Last Airbender movie. They add a black guy and gee guess what. He is the first person in the movie to die. The lead characters are all white in a Asian Area or Eskimo area. So theres like 40 Asians but the only people with talking roles are the 3 White people. Yeeaaah... um... bad movie and if you do a Youtube search on The Last Airbender Rant or Boycott you will know what i mean.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Warsun99 - LOL.

[boca]

i saw the xmen movie this weekend and i really enjoyed but MINUS the part of the black guy dying. this shit is really starting to piss me off! now mind you, the black guy's powers should have prevented him from dying at all. and not only did he die first, other than the "evil" guy, he was the only mutant to die. really matthew vaughn and/or hollywood? really?!?

[theblackactor.com]

Sad. I wrote that article 2.5 years ago... and this persists. Sigh. Thanks for chiming in, Boca!

[ClubPenguinCheats]

I think it was just a movie twist that had nothing to do with his race.

[Greg Marks]

The black guy in two of the X men dies first.

[theblackactor.com]

Thank you, Greg!

[Stevie18]

Just saw Chronicle and . . . .

***SPOILER ALERT***

Black dude dies. 1ST out of 3 deaths in the movie. I was like WTF man, dang?

[theblackactor.com]

@ Stevie18 - IKR? SMH. This is def getting old. Sigh.

[Cheyenne McClain]

I feel like I should say something to this. My boyfriend and I were talking about movies where black people die first and we really couldnt think of any movies, so I looked it up and found this site. Though I agree that in some movies the black characters die somewhat quickly, in all the movies you have named they didnt die first. So the saying "The black guy always dies first." really does seem to just be a racial cliche' and the debate was started around horror movies and the other group of movies that were named dont fall into that catagory. SOmeone on here mentioned the moralality of getting paid for their performance but put that they only get a certain sum. In movie production, characters that die actually get paid more than the characters survivng at the end. On top of that Sammuel L. Jackson's role in Deep Blue Sea is one of his must famous scenes that he is accredited for, even though he was the first person to get shown actually being killed by the shark. And on that note LL Cool J's character was one of the heroes of the movie: Black guy beats mutant sharks butt! Jason X's last surviving character was a black man and he was actually the hero of the story. And need I mention Blade?: Even though thats a not a horror movie. I just dont see any real proof to support the racial ongoings that poeple are so emotional about. Things like this just proove that some people might not really be over such things if we have to look at low budget movies and production to try to pinpoint out the character flaw before seeing what else might have come from them.

[theblackactor.com]

Cheyenne:

Thank you for sharing your point of view!

[dani s]

just watched "x-men first class" --though there were a few insignificant civilian deaths at the beginning, the first major character to die was "darwin," a black kid. he was the first to try to stop a (white) villain and the villain killed him.

[theblackactor.com]

Yep. No surprise, Dani. :)