by Eleanor Coyne, undergraduate student at Bath Spa University
Introduction by Dr Rebecca Feasey, Bath Spa University
Eleanor struggled, like a number of her peers, to study online in terms of the lack of face-to-face interaction, discussion and debate, but unlike the majority of her contemporaries on the second year ‘Stardom and Celebrity’ module at Bath Spa University, she made the decision, somewhat reluctantly, to move back home and away from her peers. Therefore, while friends were also experiencing lockdown and online learning and teaching, Eleanor felt a step removed being not just locked down and out of campus but living away from newly forged friendships. That said, Eleanor found resolve in a newfound political interest and turned her attentions to the topic of celebrity activism as she watched it unfold in real time.
There is a wealth of contemporary work that asks us to consider the strengths and limitations of celebrity activism in creating meaningful change. After all, while such public advocacy can be used to give a voice to the oppressed and draw attention to local or global inequalities, it can also spark questions around authenticity, credibility and self-interest. On the back of such discussions, Eleanor Coyne penned this rigorous article, inspire as she was by witnessing the George Floyd protests and the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in her home town of Bristol. Spurred on to delve deeper into debates around race and protest, she examined seminal debates around celebrity politics and political activism in order to make sense of the role, responsibilities and repercussions of a celebrity activism in general, and public profile of John Boyega in particular here.
John Boyega and Celebrity Activism
John Boyega became a household name following his starring role as Finn in Disney’s reboot of the Star Wars franchise, The Force Awakens (2015). Since then, Boyega has been outspoken on issues within both the film industry, and wider society. With his platform and through the characters he plays, Boyega has brought attention to racial inequality and police brutality across the globe. I will analyse the influence that he has in his position, and the positive repercussions his activism has had on both the world of entertainment and his black community, since his breakout role in 2011’s Attack the Block, up to his most recent, award-winning performance in Small Axe: Red, White and Blue (2020).
The British science-fiction drama hybrid Attack the Block featured a nineteen year old John Boyega in the starring role of Moses. His character is a part of a gang in south-west London, close to where Boyega himself grew up in Peckham. The familiar setting allowed the actor to draw upon his own experience as a young black man growing up in the capital, having witnessed violence on the city streets. In the BBC 2 documentary, Black Hollywood: They’ve Gotta Have Us (2018) Boyega reveals that, while filming one dramatic scene, he thought about ‘various people [he had] lost growing up. [He] thought about Damilola Taylor’ - who Boyega personally knew and had been with shortly before Damilola was killed in November 2000 (Profile, 2019). He continues, ‘at the time [of the film’s release] there was a lot going on London streets’, alluding to turmoil that took place across the country during the summer of 2011, where ‘rioters came from areas where people felt less respected by the police’ (Kalleberg and Biggs, 2015), following the shooting of Mark Duggan by a Metropolitan police officer. Boyega talks about his own personal ‘intel’, and how his role in Attack the Block benefitted from his experience, as ‘[he’d] been there before’, already emphasising the close relationship between the actor and the characters he chooses to play. 3
In 2012, Boyega was cast in the BBC drama My Murder, depicting the real life killing of Shakilus Townsend. Boyega’s performance within the chilling narrative was commended by critics, citing that the actor hailing ‘from peckham...had a connection to a very tragic killing of Damilola Taylor and...he had a great deal of sensitivity for the level of violence being perpetrated by and to people like him and people his age’ (Profile). The ‘sensitivity’ that Boyega brings to the role of Townsend further showcases the significance of his own experience growing up in south London, so close to the violence committed against his black community. Both of these roles gained Boyega major attention from Hollywood, and also demonstrated the importance of telling narratives outside of the white, middle class norm.
With Star Wars: The Force Awakens propelling Boyega into stardom, the actor announced the following year that he was creating a production company, named UpperRoom Productions. Both him and fellow actor and agent Femi Oguns are credited as producers for the huge blockbuster Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), which Boyega also starred in. In the Black Hollywood documentary, Boyega explains how he had the ability to work behind the scenes of the film, engaging with cast and crew members - and having a say in the final product. He stresses that diversity behind the camera is just as significant as it is in front of it - that ‘it's about who’s behind the scenes, it’s about who’s pulling the strings’. And Boyega’s influence is not lost on film companies and streaming services - with Netflix signing a deal with UpperRoom Productions in the last year to develop ‘non-English language films from West and East Africa’ (Ritman, 2020). By giving a voice to filmmakers and countries otherwise overlooked by the film industry, Boyega demonstrates his passion for diversity, and is utilising his position as a star to create stories we otherwise would not see.
Despite starring in the reboot of the largest science fiction franchise in the world, Boyega has also taken on roles depicting real life people - in both Katheryn Bigelow’s Detroit (2017) and Steve McQueen’s Small Axe: Red, White and Blue (2020). Portraying Melvin Dismukes and Leroy Logan in each film, respectively, both grapple with the rampant racial prejudice and corrupt systems in America and the UK. A part of 4 McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series, Red, White and Blue follows Logan as he attempts to rectify institutional racism within the Met by joining the police force. The very opening scene sees police officers harassing a younger Logan, ‘an experience the actor has a direct connection with’ (The Guardian, 2020). Boyega revealed that he and his father had previously been stopped and searched by the police, reiterating his own experience with the institution. He continued to say that, ‘everybody knows...somebody who’s gone through the darkest scenarios with the police’, emphasising the extensive impact racial prejudice had upon both him and the community he grew up in. Though set in the 1980s, the prescient narrative of Small Axe reflects the treatment of black people at the hands of police, and echoed the significance of the Black Lives Matter protests that took place earlier in the year.
Prior to the release of Small Axe, Boyega himself appeared at a Black Lives Matter protest in London, garnering widespread coverage by the media. His impromptu speech has since been viewed online more than a million times - in which he declares that he didn’t ‘know if [he] would have a career after...but f*** that!’ (Huffington Post, 2020). He was ‘genuinely worried that his impassioned speech... may have damaging consequences to his career’ (The Guardian) but Boyega was largely met with praise by fans and the general public.
Concerns for Boyega’s career would come into question once more as, following the final installment of the Skywalker saga, Boyega spoke out against the treatment of his, and other ethnic minority characters, within the Star Wars franchise. Detailing his experience to GQ magazine, he tells Disney to ‘not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side.’ While his white co-stars were given ‘nuance’, he argues that he, and actors like Kelly Marie Tran and Oscar Isaac were given ‘f*** all’. His opinions reflect the observations of many film scholars, like Smith (2013), who acknowledged that the [unequal] power relations in Hollywood are to blame, depict[ing] African Americans in minor and stereotyped ways. Speaking up, and directly calling out the franchise and Disney themselves, is unheard of.
Labelled as outspoken, even ‘acknowledging that some people will say he’s ‘crazy’ or ‘making it up’’ (GQ, 2020) Boyega was fearless in revealing his negative experience with the franchise. In an episode of The Arts Hour (2020), Boyega explains that he had a ‘transparent, honest conversation’ with the head of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, demonstrating the influence his interview with GQ had. He, again, stresses the significance of ethnic minority actors expressing their opinions, and how it is up to the producers to give their non-white characters ‘heroic moments’; moments that Boyega’s character missed out on in favour of being sidelined.
However, despite threats that his activism and comments would cost him his career, earlier this year Boyega was awarded a Golden Globe for his role in Small Axe. During a ceremony that saw the triumphs of many black stars, like Chadwick Boseman and Daniel Kaluuya, Boyega accepted his award for supporting actor.
There is no doubt that John Boyega’s personal activism is deeply entwined with his acting career. Through his early roles, portraying young British men close to his own home, to playing the first ever black stormtrooper in the Star Wars franchise. Outside of his characters, the actor has continuously brought awareness to the injustices faced by black and ethnic minority groups, not just in the film industry, but also within wider society. Boyega told The Arts Hour that, for him, ‘activism has to show itself in your way of life, in the kind of collaborations you have and the opportunities you present to other people’. This sentiment reflects the goals of his production company to give a voice to filmmakers in Africa, his courage in speaking up against Disney for the treatment of him and other actors of ethnic minority backgrounds, and his dedication to depicting real life men, in both Detroit and Small Axe, to examine pervasive impact racial prejudice has had on his community. Through my research, it is clear that Boyega has been successful in illuminating the struggles faced by black people, utilising his distinguished position to encourage progression in Hollywood, and regular society. I hope that my work will reveal the work that Boyega does that often goes unacknowledged, and shows the positive impact celebrity activism can have outside of the industry.
Access Eleanor's BoB Curated Playlist here.
About the Author
Eleanor Coyne is a Joint Honours student in English Literature and Film Studies at Bath Spa University. Dedicated to the work and representation of women and ethnic minority groups in popular culture, she is determined to engage with a range of literature and media from across the globe.
Bibliography
The Arts Hour, Actor Gillian Anderson , (2020), BBC World Service Radio, 02/12/2020, 00:06 (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Attack the Block (2011) Directed by Joe Cornish, Available at: BoB (Accessed: 16 March 2021)
BBC News at Six, BBC 1 London, 18:00, 01/03/2021, Available at: BoB (Accessed 16 March 2021)
BBC News, BBC London, 01:25, 17/10/2020, Available at: BoB (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Black Hollywood: They’ve Gotta Have Us (2018) BBC 2 England, 21/6/2020, 00:30 Available at: BoB (Accessed:16 March 2021)
Detroit (2017) Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, Available at: BoB (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Famurewa, J. (2020) John Boyega: 'I’m the only cast member whose experience of Star Wars was based on their race' Available at: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/john-boyega-interview-2020 (Accessed 16 March 2021)
The Guardian (2020) ‘John Boyega worries BLM rally speech in June will harm career’ Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/nov/10/john-boyega-worries-blm-rally-speech-in- june-will-harm-career (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Huffington Post (2020) 'John Boyega, The Actor-Activist, Isn't Afraid To Use His Voice' Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/john-boyega-small-axe_n_5fc6ba77c5b68ca87f8 87f5f?ri18n=true (Accessed 16 Mar 2021)
Inside Culture with Mary Beard, BBC 2 England, 02:45 09/11/2020, Available at: BoB, (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Kalleberg, A. L. & Biggs, M. (2015) ‘The Causes and Consequences of the 2011 London Riots’ Social Forces
Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review, (2020) BBC Radio 5, 28/11/2020, 23:00 Available at: BoB (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) Directed by Steven S. DeKnight, Available at BoB (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Press Preview, (2020), Sky News 23:30 03/06/2020, Available at: BoB, (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Profile, (2019) BBC Radio 4, 17:40 22/12/2019, Available at: BoB (Accessed 24 Mar 2021)
Riteman, A. (2020) John Boyega Inks Netflix Deal for Slate of African Films Available at: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-inks-deal-john-boyegas-upperroom-pro ductions-1283371 (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Sky News at Nine, (2020), Sky News, 21:00, 03/06/2020, Available at: BoB (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Small Axe: Red, White and Blue (2020), Directed by Steve McQueen, Available at: BoB (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Smith, J. (2013) ‘Between Colorblind and Colorconscious: Contemporary Hollywood Films and Struggles Over Racial Representation’ Journal of Black Studies 44.8, pp 779-797
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) Directed by JJ Abrams, Available at: BoB (Accessed 16 March 2021)
Waters, R. (2015) ‘Black Power on the Telly: America, Television, and Race in 1960s and 1970s Britain’ Journal of British Studies 54.4, pp. 947-970
5 News Tonight, Channel 5, 18:30 03/09/2020, Available at: BoB (Accessed 16 March 2021)