Wake-Up Call to Cineplex--Business Can’t Go On as Usual

I was very disturbed when I discovered that the Cineplex Odeon was not going to open the Western film “Posse” back in May. I felt possibly it was a racist move, but I didn’t want to be too sensitive. I was mad as hell when I read in The Times that the same Cineplex Odeon had not opened the romance film “Poetic Justice” on July 23 because “Our film programmers in Los Angeles are ensuring that the theater is programmed with an upscale demographic to make sure that CityWalk’s environment is kept safe with a family atmosphere.”

But it was our new Mayor Richard Riordan’s comments of July 26 that just pushed me over the edge. “Let business do (its) thing. If that’s their judgment, that’s their judgment. I don’t think they should be condemned for that.” As I read his quote, I realized it was truly a sign of the times. Frightening pages of history came into full focus. I saw the turn-of-the-century, way-out-West saloon signs stating: NO DOGS. NO NIGGERS. NO INDIANS. NO MEXICANS.

Saloons were a major source of entertainment back then and keeping “them” out was the business of the day. I remember learning how common it was for businesses in the South, such as restaurants and movie theaters, to hang signs that stated clearly: WHITES ONLY. But that was just business-as-usual.

I remember learning how Nazi Germany demanded that Jews wear yellow Stars of David as a sign that they were Jewish and easy targets for ridicule and eventually death. A similar sign with a pink triangle was used on homosexuals. It was all just business-as-usual.

The Rodney G. King video was a sign. I guess we just didn’t understand what it meant when his blood burned our city and the flames singed us to the core.

Wake up, Cineplex Odeon! Wake up, Dick! Business cannot go on as usual! Don’t you remember the now-famous sign, NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE? But this time justice is poetic and even reached No. 1 at the box office without Cineplex Odeon.

Still I must say, shame on you, Cineplex Odeon. People of color make up a large portion of your business. Shame on you, Dick Riordan, you are now a mayor for all of L.A.’s people, not just the business people, and you should know better.