Why I Refused to See Focus, but then Saw it Anyway.

I consider myself a Will Smith fan. Not a huge fan, but I mean who isn’t. He’s built this brilliant career, he has this dynamic family structure, and he’s just as sexy at forty as he ever was at twenty.

Ever since Fresh Prince graced our television sets Will Smith has spoken to the opportunity in us. A young buck from Philly who went to live with his aunt and uncle in Bel Air and then blew up! He’s has success with movies such as Bad Boys and The Pursuit of Happiness. There was a time when Smith was giving us a blockbuster every summer and we loved him for it.

So after his close to fail After Earth starring his son Jaden, I was more than willing to purchase a ticket to his new flick Focus. That is until I saw the preview.

The preview lets us in on a con man and his love interest. And immediately I was like, “ah hell nah.”

Before I get into my “complaints” I just want to mention that I am all about interracial dating. It’s beautiful, it’s wonderful, I’m all for it. Hell, I’ve never actually dated a black guy that wasn’t after I hit puberty (shhh) but as a black woman I am well aware of the separate disenfranchisement and disadvantages that black women face, especially in Hollywood. I felt that the opportunity and hope that Smith gave us back in his fresh prince days was severely lacking in Focus.

With the recent leading roles in television by black women such as Kerry Washington in the cult phenomenon Scandal, Taraji P. Henson of Empire, the highest consecutively watched show on TV, Viola Davis on ABC’s hit show How to Get Away with Murder, and even Smith’s own wife Jada Pickett Smith’s triumphant role as Fish Mooney in Gotham. It only seemed natural that these empowered, independent, and defiant roles would fit easily into a movie about going against the grain.

Maybe I am a bit too hopeful; maybe the big screen isn’t ready. At the very least though I expected Smith to lend himself a little to the struggle. To allow this role to showcase a black woman’s talent and give the world the chance to see what we can do, and love us for it.

With the success of Beyond the Lights starring GuGu Mbatha-Raw I was positive that moviegoers were ready to see a story featuring black love. Honestly, Gugu could have easily played Jess in the film.

And you know what maybe all the black actresses in the film industry were busy…. yeah I’m not buying that either (neither are Cookie or Lucious).

At first I was pretty sure I wouldn’t pay money to see Focus but then I went and saw it anyway mainly because I wanted to be able to write this piece without so much bias. And I can honestly say, it wasn’t bad. I laughed; I said my “oohs” and “ahhs.”

But at the end of the day I will always feel as though there will be stigmas surrounding what black women can or cannot do; in reality and on stage. This fact is disheartening but I’m not giving up. Our shine is yet to come. In the meantime, I’ll watch us shine on the nightly broadcasts.