I just ran across an interesting blog post in  The Los Angeles Times by Patrick Goldstein. Basically, he wondered whether white women would go to see The Secret Life of Bees? His was a reaction to a story that will actually run in today’s paper by one of his colleagues, John Horn. Horn has described the film as being about three black sisters. And I guess if you watch the trailer, and have never read the book, you’d probably think that’s all there is. Plus, the star-studded cast (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson) and a noted black female director (Gina Prince Blythewood of Love & Basketball fame) doesn’t do much to counter that notion.

So Horn mentions how white people have a history of shying away from movies featuring us (even good ones). It happened with crtically-acclaimed flick Amistad as well as Ray but to a lesser extent, and he wonders if this film will suffer the same fate. Well, Amistad was about slavery and that clearly makes folks uncomfortable and may not be all the entertaining to some (even though it may arguably be a cinematic masterpiece). But Fox Searchlight is hedging its bets targeting our neighborhoods as well as suburban theater heavily frequented by white women. But then Horn goes left. He has likened this phenomenon to the current Presidential race and the specter of the Bill Bradley effect. You know, you’re ahead in the polls and then lose anyway. I don’t know if I buy that arguement.

I’ve read the book by Sue Monk Kidd ( a white woman) and it is a emotional page-turner. And it is just as much about a young girl coming to terms with her own history as it is this black family. In other words, Dakota Fanning is an essential character in this movie. Maybe the marketing folks got carried away by comparing it to Waiting to Exhale in the commericals. Their tactics have gotten sisters interested but may have turned other people off. However,  an overwhelming number of women of all ethnicities read this book, it was a bestseller after all. If they loved the book as much as I did, they’ll be going to the theater this weekend. I just want this movie to do good box office numbers overall. After all, money speaks louder than the racial breakdown. From what I hear this is worth our support.