--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: During the last decades, films about the…" description: "\"During the last decades, films about the black experience have been produced, directed, and even scripted by white men. Some of them are excellent. But..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/ishmael-reed-7430_bernard-shaw_during-the-last-decades-films-about-the_3045597.png" --- # During the last decades, films about the black experience… ![“During the last decades, films about the black experience have been produced, directed, and even scripted by white men. Some of them are excellent. But most reflect George Bernard Shaw’s warning that 'if you do not tell your stories others will tell them for you and they will vulgarize and degrade…” quote by Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/ishmael-reed-7430_bernard-shaw_during-the-last-decades-films-about-the_3045597.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/ishmael-reed-7430_bernard-shaw_during-the-last-decades-films-about-the_3045597.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9c/ishmael-reed-7430_bernard-shaw_during-the-last-decades-films-about-the_3045597.png) > “During the last decades, films about the black experience have been produced, directed, and even scripted by white men. Some of them are excellent. But most reflect George Bernard Shaw’s warning that 'if you do not tell your stories others will tell them for you and they will vulgarize and degrade you.'” [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. White creators often tell Black stories, risking distortion; authentic voices are needed to avoid misrepresentation. **In simple terms:** White tell Black stories; authenticity needed. Key Takeaway Support Black creators in film. Themes representation race storytelling film industry authenticity Mood reflective critical Type social ethical When to use this quote - film criticism - activism - education - publishing Key Concepts cultural appropriation voice narrative control Questions to Reflect On - Who gets to tell your story? - How can we amplify authentic voices? A Different Perspective Even well‑intentioned works can perpetuate stereotypes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Hollywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollywood/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Warning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warning/) [White man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-man/) ## Related quotes > [As George Bernard Shaw observed: "All great truths begin as blasphemies." Yet I have to say, the idea that there is intelligent life elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/as-george-bernard-shaw-observed-all-great-truths-begin-as-blasphemies/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Churchill was one of the few men I have met who even in the flesh give me the impression of genius. George Bernard Shaw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-low/churchill-was-one-of-the-few-men-i-have-met-who-even-in-the-flesh/) [David Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-low/) > [“Some men see things as they are, and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were, and say, ‘Why not?’” —GEORGE BERNARD SHAW”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-robbins/some-men-see-things-as-they-are-and-say-why-i-dream-of-things-that-2/) [Anthony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-robbins/) > [“His method resembles George Bernard Shaw’s way of using the /f/ sound of GH in “tough,” the /i/ sound of o in “women,” and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kahn/his-method-resembles-george-bernard-shaw-s-way-of-using-the-f-sound/) [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) > [“George Bernard Shaw once observed: “People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ury/george-bernard-shaw-once-observed-people-become-attached-to-their/) [William Ury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ury/) > [I made use of the college library by borrowing books other than scientific books, such as all of the plays by George Bernard Shaw,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-pauling/i-made-use-of-the-college-library-by-borrowing-books-other-than/) [Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-pauling/) > [People believe pictures. It's a photograph that's in your passport, not a painting. Now, George Bernard Shaw said, 'I would exchange every painting of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jones-griffiths/people-believe-pictures-it-s-a-photograph-that-s-in-your-passport-not/) [Philip Jones Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jones-griffiths/) > [“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-bing/the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the-world-the-unreasonable-one/) [Stanley Bing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-bing/) > [“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-levinson/the-people-who-get-on-in-this-world-are-the-people-who-get-up-and/) Steve Levinson > [Rees's First Law of Quotations: When in doubt, ascribe all quotations to George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-rees/rees-s-first-law-of-quotations-when-in-doubt-ascribe-all-quotations/) [Nigel Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-rees/) > [“It was George Bernard Shaw who famously said that you should not do to others as you would wish to be done to -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-buckingham/it-was-george-bernard-shaw-who-famously-said-that-you-should-not-do/) Will Buckingham > [If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance. - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-can-t-get-rid-of-the-skeleton-in-your-closet-you-d-best-teach/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Nobody can read Freud without realizing that he was the scientific equivalent of another nuisance, George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hutchins/nobody-can-read-freud-without-realizing-that-he-was-the-scientific/) [Robert M. Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hutchins/) > [If a farmer calls me to a sick animal, he couldn't care less if I were George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herriot/if-a-farmer-calls-me-to-a-sick-animal-he-couldn-t-care-less-if-i-were/) [James Herriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herriot/) > [“the first core value—We don’t whine—and its corresponding quote, courtesy of playwright George Bernard Shaw: “The true joy in life is to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/the-first-core-value-we-don-t-whine-and-its-corresponding-quote/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) ## More by Ishmael Reed > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Richard Price, who has made a fortune writing fake ghetto books, says he takes a cab into the ghetto, transcribes Black speech for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/richard-price-who-has-made-a-fortune-writing-fake-ghetto-books-says/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Free enterprise is not a bad idea and has produced art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/free-enterprise-is-not-a-bad-idea-and-has-produced-art/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [When I say Afro-American aesthetic, I'm not just talking about the United States, I'm talking about the Americas. People in the Latin countries read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/when-i-say-afro-american-aesthetic-i-m-not-just-talking-about-the/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Tea Party members go to meetings on Medicare scooters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/tea-party-members-go-to-meetings-on-medicare-scooters/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Given all of the anti-Muslim propaganda that's being disseminated by The American Nazi media, you have to be careful. It can stress you out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/given-all-of-the-anti-muslim-propaganda-that-s-being-disseminated-by/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Multicultural is not a description of a category of American writing-it is a definition of all American writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/multicultural-is-not-a-description-of-a-category-of-american-writing/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Writing has made me a better man. It has put me in contact with those fleeting moments which prove the existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/writing-has-made-me-a-better-man-it-has-put-me-in-contact-with-those/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [In Crash, you've got a pathological cop who at the end justifies police brutality. He tells the naïve, young cop that you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/in-crash-you-ve-got-a-pathological-cop-who-at-the-end-justifies/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I get most my information about what's happening in the United States from reports and studies, which are often in conflict with what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-get-most-my-information-about-what-s-happening-in-the-united-states/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [ How does the \[New York\] Times treat White pathology? They reported an epidemic of heroin addiction in the Philadelphia suburbs. which included emergency admissions… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/how-does-the-new-york-times-treat-white-pathology-they-reported-an/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I asked Joe Weixlmann why he would print a death threat like that in light of the fact that there are all of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-asked-joe-weixlmann-why-he-would-print-a-death-threat-like-that-in/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I'm beginning to believe that Killer Illiteracy ought to rank near heart disease and cancer as one of the leading causes of deathamong Americans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-m-beginning-to-believe-that-killer-illiteracy-ought-to-rank-near/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Writing poetry is the hard manual labor of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/writing-poetry-is-the-hard-manual-labor-of-the-imagination/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Few white citizens are acquainted with blacks other than those projected by the media and the so--called educational system, whichis nothing more than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/few-white-citizens-are-acquainted-with-blacks-other-than-those/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) [Explore all 91 Ishmael Reed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) ## More Bernard shaw quotes > [Plato was only a Bernard Shaw who unfortunately made his jokes in Greek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/plato-was-only-a-bernard-shaw-who-unfortunately-made-his-jokes-in/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [As George Bernard Shaw observed: "All great truths begin as blasphemies." Yet I have to say, the idea that there is intelligent life elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/as-george-bernard-shaw-observed-all-great-truths-begin-as-blasphemies/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [My toils in the quotation field have led me to formulate two or three laws about the way people use and abuse quotations. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-rees/my-toils-in-the-quotation-field-have-led-me-to-formulate-two-or-three/) [Nigel Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-rees/) > [Erik Erikson has commented: Potentially creative men like (Bernard) Shaw build the personal fundament of their work during a self-decreed moratorium, during which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/erik-erikson-has-commented-potentially-creative-men-like-bernard-shaw/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Bernard Shaw remains the only model we have of what the citizen of a democracy should be: an informed participant in all things we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/bernard-shaw-remains-the-only-model-we-have-of-what-the-citizen-of-a/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [If a farmer calls me to a sick animal, he couldn't care less if I were George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herriot/if-a-farmer-calls-me-to-a-sick-animal-he-couldn-t-care-less-if-i-were/) [James Herriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herriot/) > [In two thousand years all our generals and politicians may be forgotten, but Einstein and Madame Curie and Bernard Shaw and Stravinsky will keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/in-two-thousand-years-all-our-generals-and-politicians-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [I must say Bernard Shaw is greatly improved by music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/i-must-say-bernard-shaw-is-greatly-improved-by-music/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Nobody can read Freud without realizing that he was the scientific equivalent of another nuisance, George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hutchins/nobody-can-read-freud-without-realizing-that-he-was-the-scientific/) [Robert M. Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hutchins/) > [The way Bernard Shaw believes in himself is very refreshing in these atheistic days when so many people believe in no God at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-zangwill/the-way-bernard-shaw-believes-in-himself-is-very-refreshing-in-these/) [Israel Zangwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-zangwill/) > [If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance. - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-can-t-get-rid-of-the-skeleton-in-your-closet-you-d-best-teach/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“It was George Bernard Shaw who famously said that you should not do to others as you would wish to be done to -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-buckingham/it-was-george-bernard-shaw-who-famously-said-that-you-should-not-do/) Will Buckingham > [We depend on the critics to give us a glimpse of what happened. Bernard Shaw championed Ibsen, who got the most terrible notices for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-rigg/we-depend-on-the-critics-to-give-us-a-glimpse-of-what-happened/) [Diana Rigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-rigg/) > [As yet, Bernard Shaw hasn't become prominent enough to have any enemies, but none of his friends like him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/as-yet-bernard-shaw-hasn-t-become-prominent-enough-to-have-any/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Rees's First Law of Quotations: When in doubt, ascribe all quotations to George Bernard Shaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-rees/rees-s-first-law-of-quotations-when-in-doubt-ascribe-all-quotations/) [Nigel Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-rees/) Browse all 79 Bernard shaw quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "During the last decades, films about the black experience have been produced, directed, and even scripted by white men. 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