Do black people really die first in horror movies?

[SwampDonkey]

Black people always die first in horror movies?

yeah I heard this from my girlfriend this evening and Ive heard it before. Its almost cliche but is it true? I got to thinking about it and couldnt think of a single one. Anybody have any stats on this? Or can anyone remember a SINGLE movie where the black guy died first?
And if not, why did the phrase get so popular? Its a mystery to me.

 

[Contec]

Here you go, a good long list :Dying Young: Black People Dying in Horror Movies - Black Horror Movies.com african-american DVD film deaths

 

[CB2001]

Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett (Jada Pinkett Smith) both died first in Scream 2. But other than that, I can't think of any other films where African-Americans died first. I can think of one where the African-American character is killed that people misinterpret as the "first to die" (a lot of people at the IMDb think that in the TV mini-series The Langoliers, that Don Gaffney is the "the black man the first to die." This is incorrect as people forget about the other people that were onboard the plane, which included a wide variety of races. It's just that Don Gaffney was the first person to die on screen), a couple that died third or a few more later in the film (i.e. Andrea from the Dawn of the Dead remake and Ben in the original Night of the Living Dead). And the only other African-American character I can think of that "survives" is Peter in the original Dawn of the Dead, and his fate isn't fully certain at the end of the film.

Honestly, I don't think anyone knows where it began, but its certainly not always true in film.

 

[CTF]

That's quite a politically correct post, ya know.

 

[STEALTH]

Colin Salmon, Resident Evil

I was really pissed when they killed him off so early. lol

He had such a good presence in the movie and one of the strongest actors in it.
It was so NOT needed.

 

[CB2001]

Colin Salmon, Resident Evil

I was really pissed when they killed him off so early. lol

At least he wasn't the first to die. :lol

 

[NAZGÛL]

That list isnt of characters that got killed first?

To me its weird that there is never a romance between black and white characters though.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

That list isnt of characters that got killed first?

To me its weird that there is never a romance between black and white characters though.

save the last dance, guess who etc etc....

 

[CB2001]

save the last dance, guess who etc etc....

Don't forget O, based off of Shakespeare's Othello. Should we mention Foreman and 13 from House? What about The Score where Robert De Niro's character has Angela Bassett for a girlfriend? And what about Max Cherry and Jackie from Jackie Brown? Yes, not really boyfriend/girlfriend, but they appeared like they were going that way.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

i think this couple counts too

 

[Solo4114]

They don't always die FIRST, but they definitely die a LOT.


On the other hand, Taye Diggs survived (with some flirtation between him and Ali Larter, I might add) the remake of House on Haunted Hill. Meanwhile, the leggy white girl (Famke Jansen) died pretty early.

 

[Colin Droidmilk]

They die last in The Thing. The last 3 alive (ostensibly) are Nauls, Childs and MacReady.

 

[Satxer]

On the other hand, Taye Diggs survived (with some flirtation between him and Ali Larter, I might add) the remake of House on Haunted Hill. Meanwhile, the leggy white girl (Famke Jansen) died pretty early.

I was gonna say the exact thing, he did survive. But, you did mistake, Famke Jansen didn't die until the end of the movie, you are thinking of Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, the TV show chick.

Bridgette Wilson-Sampras Photos - Yahoo! Movies

And the only other African-American character I can think of that "survives" is Peter in the original Dawn of the Dead, and his fate isn't fully certain at the end of the film.

He got on the helicopter, flew away with Fran. I'd say that counts as a survive.

While they may not die first all the time, there is definately a cliche' that they try to put in movies.

 

[allosaur176]

Nick Cannon lived at the end of the remake of Day of the Dead.......... :lol

Im not very proud to have seen that mess, but it was a Xmas gift, so I felt compelled... Needless to say, that person isnt gonna get **** this Xmas from me!

 

[firesprite]

Let's not forget Deep Blue Sea. Not only does LL Cool J survive the film, but the female lead/love interest gets eaten! :lol

 

[handler]

I don't know where that myth got created, but there sure are a lot of white people that die first in horror movies.

 

[SSgt Burton]

I don't know where that myth got created

Ditto. Never heard of this one.


Kevin

 

[firesprite]

I don't know where that myth got created, but there sure are a lot of white people that die first in horror movies.

I don't know so much that the black guy/girl dies FIRST, but if you look at the vast majority of horror movies, the survivors at the end are almost always white and there's usually one male and one female who wind up 'in love'.

 

[Amish Trooper]

So if you are a black guy/girl in a red shirt then you are truly doomed in a movie.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

I don't know where that myth got created, but there sure are a lot of white people that die first in horror movies.

Ditto. Never heard of this one.


Kevin

I believe it was created in the Scary Movie series by the wayne brothers