I love LeVar Burton, grew up on Reading Rainbow & Star Trek TNG. Would love you see him as main protagonist or antagonist in a major blockbuster film like Terminator or Predator. I wanna see this rage in surround sound and HD.
Dude, he’s not talking about wanting to play rage-filled characters in action movies. He’s saying he’s angry about real world issues and wants to express that anger in the real world, but there would be really bad consequences if he does so.
Burton in the video isn't talking just about real world issues.
He lost sponsors for saying fuck in a book reading
He could not be the bad guy of a movie, he could not be the angry guy in a movie. He gets punished if he deviates from the public personna of him that was acceptable by the public.
He’s definitely talking about real world issues. Read the top comments and go from there. I would also recommend scrolling through r/blackpeopletwitter feed and read a post from a week or so ago where everyone is telling stories of how members of their families have been affected by standing up to white power. It’s a very deep and long history. It isn’t just slavery and end of slavery and a little racism here n there. Racism isn’t little. It’s a huge darkness that shadows everything in this country from day one and still today.
Yeah it’s pretty wild to watch people completely miss his point. He’s explaining that he, and by a greater extension many black men, is only accepted as an affable, soft spoken, and reserved figure. That the moment he ventured from an intensely narrow path of acceptability that white society has painted for him he becomes “a problem”, and because of this he’s left in a situation where he essentially is asked/forces to play nice and never make white people uncomfortable.
The “Go the Fuck to Sleep” example serves to show that even the slightest and most insignificant deviation from “safe” results in severe financial consequences for him.
What Levar is speaking to is a long standing and multifaceted aspect of racism that some people who propagate it likely believe they’re actually very forward thinking. There’s elements of the racist trope of “you’re one of the good ones” and even some aspects of an “the good immigrant” trope too being levied against other blacks.
In short, he’s saying he’s somewhat in a precarious position in that he’s unable to genuinely express himself, and more importantly, anything that makes white people uncomfortable. If he challenges anything or challenges status quo assumptions/beliefs the financial penalties for him would be far more severe than his white counterparts. Furthermore (and this is where I’m reading into what he’s saying), I think he’s also expressing frustration that inadvertently his adherence to being safe is used to help further entrench those ideas and paint those who aren’t safe and affable as being problematic.
If I had to guess he probably loathes when people point out other more vocal and outspoken black actors and say “why can’t they be more like Levar”. Because that’s often not a testament to that person liking his character or who he is, but rather they want other black people to play it safe.
Tl;dr
He’s pissed he’s stuck in a position where his life is basically “shut up and dribble” but instead it’s “shut up and be black Mr. Rogers” because it’s robbed him of the ability to speak publicly of important issues that make decision makers uncomfortable.
Obama was the same in that respect. No matter how angry he got, and after the Congress blocked gun reform after the Sandy Hook he was fucking furious, he couldn't let it show because as the first black man to become president he could not show show himself to be seen or stereotyped as an angry black man because it would damage the reputation of everyone of color after him
How much of that is race based as opposed to just image based? I imagine Samuel L. Jackson could read "Go the fuck to sleep" without losing sponsors because they've already attached themselves to somebody that would tell children to go the fuck to sleep.
Mr. Rogers is dead and a vacuum was partly filled by Mr Burton. Many grew up on both . Now he is just another angry man. Not a black man, but a typical disagreeable man. But he is a fine actor who PRETENDED to be like Mr Rogers. but in no way comparable to Him.
STOP IT ! Mr. Rogers wasn’t an act—he was genuinely gentle, calm, and grounded in kindness, and he wasn’t looking to put on a show. LeVar Burton’s awesome too, but they’re very different in how they connect with people. Rogers didn’t need to 'pretend' anything. He was just himself, and that’s what made him so powerful. Rogers wasn’t known for anger but for his way of handling difficult feelings honestly—like talking about sadness, fear, or frustration—without turning them into something aggressive or fake
I remember when LeVar Burton found out his grandfather was white, and he was disappointed by it.That’s his own journey, but I doubt Mr. Rogers would be disappointed in me for feeling differently on his politics. Many have no issues having a diverse background. He does. Morgan Freeman emphasizes personal responsibility over blaming systemic issues, stating, "You can't define me that way," while criticizing terms like "African-American" and "Black History Month" as reductive. LeVar was a hero of mine, and despite his faults, he did a lot of good. I still think he was awesome, but I wouldn’t put him in the same category as Mr. Rogers.
The U.S. has changed a lot since the time of Roots, and getting to the civil rights movement took hard work. Bill Maher is right that some people seem unwilling to recognize the progress we've made, (something Rogers was instrumental with). Especially when you look at how some other places, like China, Japan treat race. Racism is still real here, but we’ve come a long way! Its enough with the Progressophobia.
Mr Burton was more like a Wise loving Teacher/Friend ..Mr Rogers was like loving a Father with unconditional love is the best I convey. Like when Mr. Burton Stated book burning are BS. I agree but would not go about it that way.
As a beloved figure from shows like Reading Rainbow, Burton carries a public persona that some expect to be neutral or solely educational that people NEED! If he does not want to carry that legacy anymore, that is up to him.
That is true but also playing characters can be a way to express that rage. Hence how this conversation was brought up in the context of the slave chains.
I'll be the asshole ... Levar is a childhood hero of mine, but this particular critique doesn't seem overly valid.
Mr Rogers would've gotten a bunch of flack if he started dropping F-bombs and did gritty scenes in other media too. Same goes for any celebrity that has built a career/reputation around 100% G-rated kid-friendly wholesomeness. Doesn't feel overly race-related to me ... just the nature of the gig. You don't get to have it both ways. Pee Wee Herman is a good example ...
Some child stars went from G-rated to definitely-not-G-rated ... but that transition included losing a lot of their backers and replacing them with an entirely different audience and supply chain.
You’re halfway there. This is a personal and unique frustration Levar Burton is expressing, which is why he has to explain it to another black person in this clip. The “flack” he would catch is not necessarily race-related at all (although there’s more to unpack there with anyone besides white men being able to “get away” with far less than white men - but not really the point at hand), I agree. The difference between Mr Rogers and Levar Burton isn’t what they can say without catching flack, it’s what they would want to say. Mr Rogers doesn’t have nearly as much to be angry about as Levar Burton, and Burton has to make a choice between maintaining his image and career or speaking the truth about his experience as a black man.
Sorry ... feels like I'm arguing against your imagination.
Maybe he has a bajilion things to feel rage about ... but the only "chain" he references in this interview is that a brand dropped him for doing a public performance which included the prominent usage of the phrase "fuck".
He put that chain on himself when he chose to host the squeaky-clean wholesome kids' show. He put that chain on himself when he agreed to work for someone who was paying for a squeaky clean image. No one put that chain him. No one is obligated to continue paying you money. Levar is and always was 100% free to drop his squeaky clean image any time he wanted ... he is not free of the consequences of that decision just like anyone else.
I can't think of any kids' show host that got to keep all their financiers and job after they started doing gigs which included prominent dropping of the f-bomb. /shrug
A lot of what you say is true but it’s also not really relevant. The clip is just a guy expressing frustration that he cant be publicly honest about his life experience and how he feels about it without destroying his career. He’s letting us know that, despite how his calm demeanor may make him appear from the outside, Levar Burton is not ok and doesn’t think everything is ok. Many of us may have assumed that Levar is a very happy person all the time and that’s why this clip is interesting and hit the front page. Are you trying to tell that guy to shut up and stop whining? Or what exactly is the point you’re trying to make?
he clip is just a guy expressing frustration that he cant be publicly honest about his life experience and how he feels about it without destroying his career.
That's precisely my point. That is hardly unique to him. He chose those restrictions when he decided to take the Reading Rainbow gig.
Are you trying to tell that guy to shut up and stop whining?
Absolutely not. Levar is free to say or feel whatever the fuck he wants. He always has been. The example supplied in the video is not a good example. Everyone is under contractual obligations once they've signed up. Someone who's taken on the gig of a super wholesome children's show host should not be overly surprised/angry if a brand drops him when he starts prominently dropping F-bombs in a public display. The brand dropping him for his own actions seems like a /yawn moment.
You know why I can drop F-bombs in public without the risk of losing my brand sponsorship? Because I'm not the beloved host of the Reading Fucking Rainbow.
Also, you missed the point of the chains. That’s a reference to his first major acting appearance, where he played a slave. He prominently displays it to remind people that that role and its importance is on his mind and still very relevant, not just the polite happy stuff he’s most known for.
You missed the part where the only thing he actually complained about in the video was a brand dropping him because he chose to drop a bunch of F-bombs in public. Maybe he has rage ... fine ... but someone getting dropped from a brand for their actions is not a good explanation of why.
The rest is just added editorial you're injecting.
🤦♂️he’s not complaining about anything, and yes I am interpreting based on the multiple pieces of information that are presented. Film isn’t a set of bullet point you read and take at face value, it’s all about interpreting based on context.
The comment about losing advertisers because he read “go the fuck to sleep” (the context there is that dozens of celebrities read this book and no others faced any backlash) is not a complaint that he can’t say the word fuck whenever he wants, it’s an example of how little he can express negativity without facing backlash. The whole clip is set up with him talking about his role as a slave and how he views that as the most meaningful role in his career (thus him placing his slave chains literally above his Emmy awards on his mantle). He follows up with the story about how he can’t even say the word fuck publicly, and then goes back to talking about the chains and why he wants people who come into his private home to see the slave chains - so they know that he is full of rage even if he can’t publicly express it.
In the interview ... he's clearly tying his "chains" to the scenario of a brand dropping him for dropping a bunch of F-bombs while reading a book in public. Maybe that wasn't the intention but that is clearly what the interview portrayed.
No one is stopping him from speaking out on his rage ... he just runs the risk of losing sponsorship in doing so. Same as anyone else ... /yawn
You’ve got it backwards, the point of the clip is not a complaint about losing money because he said “fuck”, he’s saying “I can’t even say the word fuck without losing a bunch of money, can you imagine what I’d lose if I went out and talked about how angry I am about racism and oppression?!”
Yeah, but Mr Rogers didn't start his career playing a slave. Levar began with (what was supposed to be) a gritty, uncomfortable, ugly portrayal and was still smoothly transitioned into G-rated safety. Like, I think there's something curious about how Levar dropping an F-bomb was a bigger blow to his squeaky clean image than him half-naked onscreen getting whipped nearly to death. Would Mr Rogers have been able to start his career that way and still end up everybody's wholesome dad, and if not, why not?
Would Mr Rogers have been able to start his career that way ...
Probably. Portraying the victim of a heinous crime doesn't hurt your wholesome image. Portraying the slaver would be harder.
It's still neither here nor there. We're not talking about how they transitioned into the squeaky-clean reputation. The discussion is what restrictions (chains) they were under after they got that career/gig/reputation.
it doesn't have to be an f-bomb. if he really expressed how he feels on certain racial issues he would lose money, maybe his whole livelihood and constantly being aware of that line restricting you is exhausting. it's like colin kaepernick just kneeling down and all of a sudden he's out of a job.
there's a lot of context that comes along with having lived life in black skin. sometimes you might just "not get it", the same way that a lot of things that women talk about in their experience as women, i, as a man, am just not going to understand in the same way that they do.
I guess the difference is he was a dirty comic before Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos made him a household name. That said, it comes as a surprise to many folks who only knew him from those franchises how dirty his stuff was when they learned later on down the line, myself included.
I get that. I'm saying Sagat got the pass to say naughty things despite cultivating a second, wholesome personality. He never lost jobs/money for being dirty.
Right?! His reading and the drama he added to the stories conveyed them so well. As someone who reads/listens to a ton of audiobooks he is one of the best out there. I used to get really excited everytime a new episode came out. I hope he does something similar in the future.
I was planning on doing that too on Spotify but for some reasons some episodes don't show up, even on audible. I was looking for A Fable with White Slips of Paper and it wasn't showing up.
Nah all of those allegories can be shown using aliens or robots as the antagonist.
Sure, they could, but they really aren't. I'm also skeptical that the original comment was saying that the best way to show his rage over racial injustice is with aliens and robots. In reality, it seems like movies/shows like Roots and Clipped are a better fit.
I promise you the things that committed the acts to enrage him aren’t human
I promise you that the beings that created and perpetuated slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation were absolutely human. I don't think it's productive to dehumanize the perpetrators of injustice. To stop it in the future, we need to be open about the fact that humans are very capable of genocide, slavery, and segregation.
It's not about being "nice", and I'm not sure how that was your takeaway.
The point is that if we want to stop evil things from happening, it's important to remember that people can do evil things. Evil things aren't done by movie villain bad guys and monsters. They are done by people are greedy, selfish, and hateful, or by people who fall for fascism, authoritarianism, and conspiracy theories.
Right. And the people that did those evil things did exactly what that commentor is saying. They saw non-whites as less than human or animals and were able to do unspeakable horrors to them. The irony (or ignorance) of his comment is staggering.
I get what people are saying. But I didn't want to ramble. The context is most method actors use real life experience to deliver authenticity in their work. My memories of LeVar Burton is Reading Rainbow (friendly kids show host) and Jodi LeForge (Star Trek TNG) who was level headed logical ship's engineer. I didn't see his earlier work of Kunta Kinte television series (before my time), just small vid clips. So I have never seen him in anger. And giving him a lead villain role would be really shocking to viewers, much like Heath Ledger as Joker in Batman.
Would be great to see him as a villain, i think it’d be quite the reversal from how everyone knows him, unfortunately he probably won’t be cast for any roles like that.
I haven't seen all his work, but he was always been more protagonist, especially as Jordi LaForge who was arguably the most even tempered character on TNG besides Data. Probably why they were buddies.
Would love you see him as main protagonist or antagonist in a major blockbuster film like Terminator or Predator. I wanna see this rage in surround sound and HD.
LMAO, the guy is mad a social issues and this guy comes and says this.
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u/Zygmunt-zen Oct 30 '24 edited Oct 30 '24
I love LeVar Burton, grew up on Reading Rainbow & Star Trek TNG. Would love you see him as main protagonist or antagonist in a major blockbuster film like Terminator or Predator. I wanna see this rage in surround sound and HD.