Harold Perrineau Jr. Isn't Too Happy With Lost
"Listen, if I’m being really candid, there are all these questions about how they respond to black people on the show. "Sayid gets to meet Nadia again, and Desmond and Penny hook up again, but a little black boy and his father hooking up, that wasn’t interesting? Instead, Walt just winds up being another fatherless child. It plays into a really big, weird stereotype and, being a black person myself, that wasn’t so interesting."
-- Harold Perrineau Jr. on how LOST treated his character
"We pride ourselves on having a very racially diverse cast. "It’s painful when any actor’s story line ends on the show. Harold is a fantastic actor whose presence added enormously to Lost."
--The show’s executive producer Carlton Cuse responding
Photo by Bauer Griffin
I hate people who constantly bring race into the equation. It does more for the cause of racism than it does for the cause of equality.
Jin's child is now fatherless as well. Lets say that it's because the show hates Korean people. The blond girl died? They hate blond white people. Jack has a substance abuse problem? They're stereotyping upper class whites as prescription drug and alcohol abusers.
2585 points
kudos to you! perfectly said
I think you've missed the point entirely. He's upset at the perpetuation of an existing negative stereotype surrounding black men as fathers. He is not saying that they are racist or hate black people, he's saying that he wishes that the producers/writers were more aware and avoided using that stereotype with his character.
READ, COMPREHEND, THINK AND THEN RESPOND. The other posters under me got what he was trying to say. He is not using the race card. I hate when people like you think other people are using race card...ignorant.
hey passerby @ 9:08...you sooo stuuuuupid.
300 points
I agree with you a billion percent :)
Don't quote me on this, but the original cast calls didn't have race mentioned for several of the characters, including Harold's.
Also, I think Harold's kind of a douche bag for all of the comments he's made the past year or so. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Especially if it's J.J. Abrams.
Excellent points, passerby @ 9:08!
This is the exact response I posted on another site concerning this topic:
"I think that the "weird stereotype" that Perrineau was getting at is the one concerning dead beat fathers and black children. The stereotype is that black men don't stick around to care for their children, something that may or may not be reflected in the numbers of single black women raising children on their own (don't know that stats for that). In the show not only was Michael not around for Walt when he was young, when he does try to do the right thing and be a father to Walt his character does shady things on the island, becomes a "bad" guy, isn't really involved in Walt's life after they return (not for lack of trying), and then gets killed off leaving Walt completely fatherless.
I can definitely see where Perrineau is coming from in his statements, and I do wish that his character didn't reflect some of the negative racial stereotypes that are sometimes used, whether intentionally or not, to depict black men."
Your post is excellent, thank you. You sound very intelligent in your comprehension of what he is trying to convey.
I've watched the show since the 1st season, and I think that Michael's story is the most heartbreaking of all.
BTW, Mr. Perrineau is not insinuating that the show is racist. You people are idiots. Please learn how to read & comprehend what you read.
thank you 10:33am. I know Harold rather personally and his intentions are FAR from stating he thinks people on the show are racist. I can spend time explaining my thoughts.. but as we can all read, we're all going in circles. We are all entitled to our opinions but may I add, I think its funny that for those who bring up the "race" card most likely have no idea it is to live as a person of color in this society.
I don't expect those to understand it if they were are not a person of color, so don't think you can relate to it to have a "race" card. It shows how much more ignorant you really are.. just a heads up. You DO look stupid.
I thought the Walt and Michael storyline was good. I hope Walt is still on the show because Lost left some mysteries about him. Specifically Walt had some kind of power in the first couple of seasons. They never elaborated what it was or why The Others wanted him.
I did not see Lost once last year so maybe someone who's been watching can answer a question. How many fatherless children are there now on the island?
While I can see Mr. Perrineau's point and sympathize with his disappointment, if Walt becoming a fatherless child is part of a greater plotline on the show, what were they to do? Keep him around just so that this "weird stereotype" isn't perpetuated? BTW, is this really just a "weird stereotype" or is it actually a reality faced by way too many african-american children in our country?
I don't want anyone caling me racist cause I'm not. As a single mother raising a son by myself(he is now 17) his black father left me to raise him alone. Not for another woman, but because he didn't want to bother raising a child. I should've made a better choice in choosing him, but I was 17 when I met him and the rest well you know. I know lots of young black men whose father have not been around. There are some black men who do stick around and help raise their kids; but the percentage of black men who skip on their resposibility are far greater. I know because I've lived it and know plenty of black and latino women who have children with black men.
300 points
@ passerby 2:42pm
Really? Well don't call me racist, but I went to a predominately white private college where all the white girls had 'daddy issues' giving blow jobs to the frat boys and their moms were living vicariously through them, pimping and training them on how to get a rich white man. Does that mean that every white girl in this country has daddy issues and pimp mom? No, I don't think so. Don't turn your small, local story into the everyday norm. Thanks.
"There are some black men who do stick around and help raise their kids; but the percentage of black men who skip on their resposibility are far greater."
Really, where are those stats?
Pregnant at 17, huh? Bitter party of one, your table is ready.
listen bitch I never said I was pregnant at 17, I met him at 17..I had my son when I was 21...I never said all black men skimp out. You must be black to get so angry so quickly. I'm around it all the time, I see it all the time. I'm not trying to turn my story into anything. Then tell me where the hell are the fathers of all the black men that I've meet and spoken to? They are not around, so that says something about them. SHUT THE F*CK UP.
I see where you're coming from but I agree with the other poster that you cannot generalize. (Also both of you need to learn how to engage in debate without resorting to name calling.) My experience is that 99% of the black men I know DO have their fathers in their lives. But I still cannot generalize that to everyone, it's just based on my social circle and experience. These are stereotypes and they're harmful which is exactly what Harold P. was alluding to.
BTW angry black woman whiskey.tango or whatever your name is..I'm far from bitter. I'm a very successful woman; I was in college when I had my son and graduated with honors, go get your welfare check bitch.
300 points
And these black women that you talked about in your first comment to support your theory and the black men that you 'talk to', do they know how quick you are use the phrases 'angry black woman' and 'go collect a welfare check'? Wow, for someone so successful and well educated, you really know how to make educated statements. Yeah, you're not racist. However, I will say that you are a tad on the angry side.
1190 points
I reallly would have liked to see them reunite! That was a great storyline, and I loved his characher. The show is so crazy, they could def. bring him back!
Passerby (not verified) said:
I hate people who constantly bring race into the equation. It does more for the cause of racism than it does for the cause of equality. Jin's child is now fatherless as well. Lets say that it's because the show hates Korean people. The blond girl died? They hate blond white people. Jack has a substance abuse problem? They're stereotyping upper class whites as prescription drug and alcohol abusers.reply Jun 5, 2008 @ 09:08 am
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HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED GOING BACK TO SCHOOL? BECAUSE AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED MAYBE YOU NEED TO REPHRASE WHAT YOU WROTE, GO BACK AND READ THE POST AGAIN, COMEBACK AND TRY AGAIN!!!
Didn´t he apologize for that comment. I think he said something like: "I should think before I make a comment"
I didn't read anything about him saying the story was racist. Stop jumping to conclusions. He was just expressing his opinion which he has a right to do.
amen to that!
just reading these comments remind me how stupid we all can really be. (and how much easier it is to criticize and to offend one another than support the bigger picture of the lack of support we have for others.) so sad.
Poster at 9:08, well said. I see it all the time. Maybe poster at 2:42 needs to get out in the real world!
Jesus, whiskey.tango.... having a bad day much? I think you need to make that reservation for you. Her "small, local story" isn't quite as small and local as you think. I see it daily working at an inner city hospital in Baltimore, a city made up of almost 60% African-American residents.
It pisses me off whenever someone uses every, always or never in an argument - just means you're too lazy to come up with a real argument. She didn't use "every", you did.
I think Harold was "insinuating" that the show was a little racist. The "ever consider going back to school" poster needs to go back and read the post again. Read between the lines and comeback and try again!
300 points
@ Nicole T : I agree with you, name calling diminshed my argument, which was to rebuke her generalization. I will take care to be aware of this in the future.
@Passerby 5:45pm: I will re-state that I was railing against the generalization tactic used by Passerby 2:42pm. She wants the readers of this post to believe that Black men walk out on their children and don't care about them. And yes, I was the one to use the word 'every' (blame it on a knee-jerk reaction), but to claim "that the percentage of black men who skip on responsibility is far greater" and then to support that claim by saying 'I know because I've lived it and know plenty of black and latino women who have children with black men' is just as irresponsible. It makes me wonder what she is teaching her son or for that matter, the other people with whom she interacts. Also, what do mean to imply when you state "Baltimore is made up of almost 60% Black" in the same sentence with "I see it daily"?
I realize that my intial post should have been worded (a little bit) differently in order to get my point across effectively, therefore I will apologize to poster passerby 2:42pm for my insulting and insensitive comments.
Having said that, the generalizing needs to stop. Our Black men should not constantly see, hear and/or read through whatever media source that Black men only make negative contributions to our society. Because that is not true.
The storyline would have gone that way if white actors had played those parts. He just happens to be black.
Grow up, Harold.
ha! i bet your white....
7:54 poster...couldn't have said it better myself!
Passerby @ 9:08 comes back to say:
I can see how one can interpret the statement as Harold pointing out how certain plot choices have inadvertently accumulated into a stereotype of a negligent black parent. However, the tone of his statement seems to indicate he was trying to accuse the show of something more deliberate. He seems to fault the show for not considering the reunion of a black child with his father and turning one of its characters into a negative stereotype.
Whatever his original intent, I still believe that he strained to see the racial aspect in the plot. Rather than considering the plot of Michael and Walt merely as father and son, he chose to deliberately force the racial aspect. I was merely pointing out that if we tried hard enough, we can find negative stereotypes everywhere. And to live in this manner--to see a racial divide behind every action--promotes racism. I know it is difficult to explain but especially considering that every child on the show is fatherless, I would consider Harold's interpretation of the plot to be something similar to a person always having to say "that black man" or "that Asian man" instead of simply seeing people as individuals that things--sometimes stereotypical things--happen to.
I agree with above poster 100%. Thank you and very well said. You have a way with words.
Technically his character was supposed to be killed off in the 1st Season, if I remember reading that correctly, but they liked him so much that they kept him longer. To be honest, after the first few episodes I couldn't stand him and wanted him to get killed off...I am only on Season 2 but glad to know he does get killed off. I don't think he is a good actor at all, and wish he would not have gotten the part, but whatever.
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