'Black or White' Film DVD Release Seeks to Spark Conversations Amid National Racial Tensions
In the wake of ongoing racial tensions taking place around the nation, the film "Black or White" may inspire people to see beyond the surface of skin color if they take the movie home.
Nearly five months after it was released in movie theaters, "Black or White" is now being released on BLU-RAY, DVD and Digital HD on May 5. The movie intertwines elements of faith, forgiveness, and race when two grandparents find themselves engaged in a legal battle for the custody of their bi-racial granddaughter, Eloise.
The caucasian grandfather, played by Oscar winner Kevin Costner, is suddenly left to care for Eloise on his own after the death of his daughter and his wife, while the African-American grandmother, played by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, believes she should be raising the child of her struggling son, Reggie.
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Mike Binder, the film's writer and director, believes that the film can help spark a conversation about the country's racial divide.
"In light of recent events, it's become clear that there very much exists a racial divide in this country. When I began writing the script for 'Black or White,' the attention around race issues in America was certainly prominent and very much a motivating factor in my desire to tell this story," Binder said in a director's statement shard with The Christian Post.
"But in the time since, it seems that we have moved into new territory around this topic and the thematic elements within 'Black or White' have become timelier than anyone could have predicted when the idea for this story was born. ... I wanted to do a piece about where we go forward in racial relations in this country, I wanted us to have a conversation."
Binder was inspired to write the movie after he and his wife began to help raise his bi-racial nephew that grew up equally with both sides of his family from different racial backgrounds and lived starkly different neighborhoods.
André Holland, the actor who plays Eloise's father, Reggie, believes this film has the ability to prompt strong feelings in people.
"People who see this film will have no choice but to feel something and to have strong opinions," Holland said in a statement. "This movie will definitely start conversations and bring up some potent feelings. I think that's what art is supposed to do — help us see each other in different ways."
"Black or White" is available wherever DVD's and digital movies are sold. For more information, click here.
