Hollywood, you’re the easiest equation of all

The recent blockbuster film “21” was on Fox tonight. I watched most of it, and mentally noted a few of the very tired conventions that Hollywood continutes to use for mainstream flicks. 

It's popular knowledge now that "21" was based on true events which involved all Asian American college students---and it's not entirely shocking that Hollywood made the two leads; a frazzle-haired dude (who really grated on me after 30 mins) and Kate Bosworth, White. 

From what I gathered in the 2nd half of the movie, the story premise is of 4 smarty-pants 20-somethings who developed their own strategy of counting cards; and steal a usurious amount of $$$ from Vegas casinos. I must say, amidst all the poorly-scripted, predicatable moments (and occasional bad acting from mop-top boy) I was intrigued by their slick methods and table tricks, which included using code words: e.g.: "sweet"= 16, "paycheck"=15 at the game tables.

However, the real purpose of this post is to outline the strategic formula behind Hollywood's retelling of the story.

 

 The characters appeared and ranked in the order "we" the audience most "desire" to see them: 

1) White Male-The star, the center of the story, and the only true "genuis" of the entire group

2) White Female-Played by Bosworth. She’s hot, White boy's not. Naturally, they hook up anyway.

3) Asian Female- Didn't get to learn much about her

4) Asian Male- Had the least amount of screen time and dialogue of all 4 characters

Of course, the ending is on a sweetened, feel-good spin, as the White boy/hero narrates that he “scored the prettiest girl in school” (aka Bosworth) who of course, like almost every mediated female, served as little more than the protagonist's love interest and eye candy. Women are commodities, after all. All worked out just fine for him: his mother forgave him for lieing to him, the veteran Casino watchdog chose not to turn him in, and in the last scene he dazzled a gaping-mouthed Admissions Officer with his impressive story, and got accepted into his dream school.

It will be a refreshing day in Movieland when a story (let alone a TRUE one) can be told from the perspective of someone who is not White or Male. I'm sure as hell not waiting on that day. I may die before it comes. In the meantime, I'll keep mapping out every blockbuster I watch, presuming that it'll always fit their tried and true equation. And I'll never guess wrong.