The First African-American President in Real Life; But Not in the Movies

Update (3/3/13): I recently was flipping channels, and I found a sitcom depicting the First Family and they were African-American. The TV show is called "The First Family" and was created by Byron Allen. See Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Family_(TV_series). Unfortunately, I personally didn't think the writing was that great. We'll see how it does.

Original post:

With the election of President Obama for the second term, maybe now there will be an African-American President portrayed in the cinema. I assert that the movie producers thought Obama would be a one term President, and now with his re-election, we should see more movies with a President that reflects our current reality. Or will we?

In film, there is no lack of movies that have drama and adventure with the President of the United States. And to some degree, we don't or can't quarrel that there's not an African-American President before 2008, because in reality, there hadn't been one. However, I thought the movies were always a place for going beyond reality or pushing our imagination. Here are few movie examples from the 1990s. Images from Imdb.com.

Kevin Kline in Dave (1993)

Michael Douglas in The American President (1995)

Harrison Ford in Air Force One (1997)

From the large screen to the small screen, we have NBC's The West Wing where Martin Sheen plays the President for nearly most of the series. However (spoiler), only in the last two seasons (Seasons 6, 7) does the first Latino President played by actor Jimmy Smits get his time in office.

Actor Jimmy Smits plays the first Latino President Matt Santos in The West Wing

We also can't forget the first African-American TV President from the hit TV show 24. Actor Dennis Haysbert plays David Palmer for Seasons 2 and 3; and returning for a bit in Seasons 4 and 5. Notably, Palmer plays Jack Bauer's main antagonist.

Dennis Haysbert played David Palmer, the first
African-American and person of color President on 24.

So with Obama's re-election, why do we still have NBC set to debut in January 2013, 1600 Penn with Bill Pullman??? 

Upcoming TV series on NBC with Bill Pullman

A fictitious conversation on why there's not an African-American President in films or prime time TV shows even now that Obama has been re-elected.

ME: Hello, and thanks for agreeing to this discussion.

MEDIA PEOPLE: Of course. We value your feedback as a viewer.

ME: Thanks. I am a viewer. I definitely grew up on TV as a Gen X-er. Let me get right to the point. When I was growing up, I always saw older, White, straight men as the President of the United States on TV or in the movies.

MP: Yes. This is because we've only had, umm, White men be President.

ME: Yes. I understand. But, in 2008, former IL Senator Barack Obama ran and successfully won the Presidential election. His term was for four years with the hope of another four, which just got realized last week.

MP: Yes, you are correct.

ME: As a kid, I always thought that what played on TV or in the movies could be based on reality, but had the beauty and flexibility of being more. Showing the audience... what could be even if we weren't quite there yet.

MP: Like Star Trek or Star Wars.

ME: Well, that's a little bit different. Those are science fiction genres... although we still typically have White, straight men in power - but that's a different article.

MP: It's true. What we show the American people is a balance of reality and fiction.

ME: So, do you think we can expect to see more African-American Presidents, when the TV or movie is set in today's reality? 

MP: Possibly. We're not sure if the viewing audience is ready for a Black, I mean, African-American President.

ME: Really?

MP: Really. People are finicky. They come to TV or the movies to escape. While the piece might resemble reality, people don't want reality.

ME: Really?

MP: Really.

ME: So what will it take for there to be an African-American President on TV or in a Blockbuster movie?

MP: We'd first have to find a suitable actor who can...

ME: Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Chris Rock, Tyler Perry, Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Don Cheadle... Do you want more names?

MP: No, thanks.

In conclusion, there is no reason (except for ignorance and racism) that there should not be an African-American President on the small and large screen. There are plenty of superb actors. Obama will have four more years. Hollywood is not stupid. They know their power and privilege. They are just continuing the status quo in the agency they have access to.