White Man's Burden

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The premise is interesting, but the execution fails to live up to any of its potential. White Man's Burden imagines an America where black people are the ruling class and whites are underprivileged minorities. John Travolta stars as a factory worker who is fired after making a delivery to the house of the factory owner (Harry Belafonte) and accidentally peeping the man's naked wife through a window. Now jobless and unable to support his family, his wife (Kelly Lynch) leaves him. In desperation he kidnaps Belafonte. The best part of the film is seeing African American actors filling the smaller, background roles that usually go to white actors (such as police officers and wealthy suburbanites), but the movie fails in its poorly thought-out ideas. Transposing the characters' skin color out of the thinly veiled metaphor, John Travolta's portrayal of the poor black man as violent and uneducated (but family oriented), combined with Belafonte's rich white man as just and compassionate (and also family oriented), borders on being truly offensive. The fact that it's helmed by an Asian American director, Desmond Nakano, only makes you wonder why Asian Americans are conspicuously absent (as are Hispanics) and where the heck they would fit into this world, anyway. --Andy Spletzer

Description

From the producer of "Pulp Fiction" --set in a time where color roles have been reversed, John Travolta is Louis Pinnock--a poor man struggling to keep his wife and children fed and clothed. But when he loses his job, Pinnock snaps and decides to fight back the only way he knows how.

Customer Reviews:

One of Travolta's better performances.......2006-10-21

This movie is really good in that it deals with prejudice and injustice in a more realistic way. Except that here we find whites as the downtrodden race. The performances are exellent by everybody, and this movie gives Travolta a chance to show his talents for a role with more substance to it - something we don't see him do in all his films. A rare treat, this film.

about the movie White Man's Burden...............2006-06-21

This DVD film/movie is sold at Singapore videoshops and I manged to grab one copy....hee hee...I have watched it and the story is about a waetern losing his job in a nigerian company that manufacture chocolate. The problem is that a rich man whom is a nigerian complained to his comapng saying that he peeped at his wife which caused him to get fired. He later kidnapped the rich nigerian and asked for money but vould not get it due to them reaching the bank too late. The rich man is with the western and at the end of the film story, the western was shot by police which the police thought that he is a wanted man whom create trouble around the area. He actually shoot at cars and nearby shops to cause alerm to goes off so that someone could save the rich man's life due to him having heart attack. The rich man got well and went over to the western man's wife house and decide to give her sum of money which he claims the western man owe him. His wife rehected the offer and he went off. His kid is waiting for him but didn't get to see him and the story ended. The story tell people about the hard luck life of this western guy whom in the end die for nothing whom has some good heart to alert surrounding people that the rich nigerian man is having heart attack.Recommended to those whom are interested in this genre of DVD film/movie....

Review by:

(Dr)Ang Poon Kah
Rogue University Professor certificate.
PhD (Prof) in political science from Cambridge University and NUS.
PhD (Prof) in Neuroscience from Cambridge University and NUS.
PhD (Prof) in Technology from Cambridge University and NUS.
PhD (Prof) in Security System from Cambridge University and NUS
PhD (Prof) in Computer from Cambridge University and NUS.
PhD (Prof) in film from Cambridge University and NUS.
PhD (Prof) in Business from Cambridge University and NUS.
PhD (Prof) in Electronics Engineering from Cambridge University and NUS.
Bachelor degree in computer studies from Techco University
Imagine entertainment for film/movie the Da Vinci Code.
Zakkers film director

On The Outside Looking In.......2006-05-24

This review refers to "White Man's Burden"(VHS)...

Fresh off his success as a take no prisoners hitman, in "Pulp Fiction", John Travolta steps into the shoes of another man with a gun, Louis Pinnock. Louis is your everyday factory worker, living from pay check to pay check to support his family. He lives in the inner-city, and hopes to someday get just a little ahead, so he can move his family to a quieter, safer place. He's about to have a really bad week!

Volunteering to run an errand, delivering a package to factory owner Thaddius Thomas (Harry Belafonte), Louis has the unfortunate timing to glance Belafonte's wife as she undresses, and worse, Thomas sees him. The next thing we know,circumstances go from bad to worse. Louis is out of a job, a home and his mind. Blaming his boss, he feels he is "owed" what he lost,and becomes a desperate man.He kidnaps Belafonte, from his very upscale home and car at gunpoint.

This film is a real eye-opener. You may think you understand what it is like for inner-city, black families(or any minority group)and feel empathetic, but this is a film that will really make you sit up and take notice.

The roles are reversed.Travolta's character and his family are treated very much like second or third class citizens.Police automatically assume guilt, and take whatever means they want to make an arrest. The inner-city is mostly inhabited by whites, and is portrayed as crime infested neighborhoods. A little white boy is watching TV, as he flips through the channels, almost every program and commercial are black actors. The little boy wants a super hero action toy for his birthday. The super hero is black and more expensive then the white side kick, but the little boy wont settle for less.An elegant fashion show is put on by the very wealthy. It is to benefit the inner-city kids. The kids are showcased at the end... they are all white... the audience dressed to the nines, all black.

The film doesn't completely say everything is either black or white. It shows there is good and bad in every walk of life,has a sprinkling of whites in jobs that yield some power, but gives a good look at what many people must endure as human beings in day-to day life. It's not just about color..it's about the nature of man. How will Belafonte's character react, when he becomes desperate to escape his situation as well? Does it matter what color you are when faced with adversity?

The cast really became the characters they portrayed. Travolta and Belafonte were excellent. A young Andrew Lawrence, Magaret Avery(The Color Purple)and Tom bower add their talents as well.Even the angry gang members, played by stunt guys including Tony Zeller were very believable. A film for times you may want a little more substance then just entertainment.

It is a film that will make you think.It is a film that has something to say. It says it well, but it is probably not one that would stand up to repeated viewings. A rental would be best if you can find this obscure film.....Laurie

Xenophobic Cinema.......2006-03-19

This movie is designed to view black people in a negative light because they are portrayed as the oppressor. What kind of bad joke is this?? There is a scene where John Travolta is robbing Harry Belafonte's character and he puts a gun to his head and starts to curse him. Do you understand that this is a white man putting a gun to a black man's head? Does that not make you sick? Its like watching bad white actors who are trying to act black, but because their white they come off as being racist. I don't know who wrote this movie but it was obviously written by a white person. This kind of trash should be a reminder to everyone that America is one of the most backward, racist, brainwashed countries in the world. And this is because white people run things. The writers of this masterpiece put black people in power of the white man's system. In reality, if blacks ruled instead of whites, I guarentee we would have a more peaceful world. If you like this movie well, your just above the level of retarted, to the point we're you can drool a little bit and pee on the floor if you want to.

HUGE Potential here...........2005-10-14

VERY little tapped. It's not that the talent was lacking; it was there to spare. But the script bordered on lame; it was almost completely predictable and even amateurish in spots. You could see the "reverse Rodney" thing coming 200 miles away, and the dialogue was so bad it was almost laughable. You really have to be a fan of someone in the film to take this even semi-seriously. A shame, because this could've been so much more with a different screenplay and director....

Average customer rating:

White Man's Burden [Region 2]
Starring: John Travolta , Harry Belafonte , Kelly Lynch , Margaret Avery , and Tom Bower
Director: Desmond Nakano
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004VYH5

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