Here at Boom Click Movies, we were curious what was the perception at the local level. So we reached out to one of our contacts to get their point of view.
Hi, Thanks for letting me share your opinion on how the industry utilizes characters for this region in film. So, what do you think U.S.and U.K. filmmakers get right and what do they get wrong?
In the American film industry, many specific groups can be seen in good or bad ways. Populations of the USA and the U.K. get the most information about different groups, that is to say, the nations from movies or series. In Hollywood movies today, but also in the past, there are many films in which ethnic groups from Eastern Europe are shown in good or bad way. It is not unusual at all. However, these groups, or power players of a particular country, are shown in the movies as they really are, but they are often shown in the wrong way that can lead to the viewer (in the USA or UK) getting the wrong impression and knowledge about a particular nation, in this case, the people from the countries of Eastern Europe.
In many Hollywood films, actors who play members of various East European nations can be seen, both from the Balkans and from other countries of the region. However, especially in films, two nations, namely Russian and Ukrainian, stand out. Representatives (men) of these two nations are most often shown in poor light, like drug dealers, spies, mobster gangsters, paid murderers or thieves. Women are also shown in a non-glossy light, as prostitute or as sweeping stereotypes. Certainly such groups exist in every country, but the bad thing is that in the presentation of a nation, or an ethnic group, in a film in this way, a general picture of this nation or people can be created.
What is good in American / UK movies with Eastern European characters is that certain movies, like Spies Like Us, use stereotype about East European nations to make Russian characters very sympathetic and interesting, and therefore real. In addition, in films about James Bond, although the main character often fights against Russian spies, there is always a lady (Russian) who is a Bond companion that breaks up the usual stereotype of women from Eastern Europe.
I guess the takeaway from this is that the if people get their facts about people from Eastern Europe from film alone, they are not getting the full picture. Yes, there are cultural differences and issues such as politics, digital piracy, outsourcing, etc. that affect the relationship between the U.S. and Eastern Europe, but it does not mean that everyone would fit the character mold that a number of Hollywood films use in their productions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts V.
