What do Obama, Poitier, and Will Smith all have in common?

This one really doesn’t go beyond the obvious. In fact, The New York Times writers are barely asking you to look beyond the color of their skin. Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott attempt to relate Obama’s rise to power to the progression of roles black men have played in American movies since our newly elected president was born. The way they linked Obama to the various actors and roles failed, since they really only link Obama’s birth year (1961) to an actor or work, and often as an aside or afterthought.

After trying to hurdle the mental block of comparing a very real and simultaneously horrifying and glorious situation (for both very different reasons) to movies like “Independence Day,” and “Barbershop,” I realized the authors did have a point- but I believe it was presented in a weak and unrelated way.

In the opening of the article, Dargis and Scott attempt to present a serious and realistic argument, and yet they choose to use words like “virtual,” and “imagine,” and connect Obama’s election to the presidencies in various popular films and shows such as “Head of State,” and “24.” There is nothing virtual, imagined, or “Hollywood” about Obama’s presidency.

While the writers raised some deep and important questions, the writing was not strong enough to show a connection, or even direct impact, of the discussed movies and shows on Obama’s election. Dargis and Scott used the literary technique of series ad nauseam, and used wonderfully descriptive and contrasting words to their benefit. One of my particular favorites is the phrase, “briar patch of race,” which describes comedian Richard Pryor’s comedic bravery.

But just because Obama is black and in a position of great power doesn't mean he can be compared to the black figures in movies and TV shows.