Red Tails and why it should be seen

I'm going to try to see Red Tails this week. If not, it'll be next weekend. I've been reading posts about why the black community needs to see this movie or why they shouldn't. I've read with titles like We should only watch because some white man is pushing the movie? or this has already been done so why watch it. First off, I'm going to say that this needs to be seen regardless of the cast, the director, or that has been done before on HBO  (not in the theaters) especially by the black community. When I saw the commercial for the movie, I instantly thought this looks good, I'm glad it's highlighting American history, more importantly our history and I need to see it. First thought was that the commercial doesn't target a black audience. It looks more like an action movie with black actors. Red Tails, the title itself sounds like Top Gun and Fly Boys. This is in fact American history. This did happen. It's not just black history. This isn't just a way to pump up the African American community because Black History Month is around the corner. This is a needed movie. I'm glad that George Lucas felt strong enough to make the movie and stood behind it. It's crazy that for George Lucas to not only be denied once but over and over again. Goes to show that (which we already knew) that the movie industries do not believe in our history and our stories. I read that one studio didn't even want to watch it. They just said no. We're not talking about me trying to make this film. Americans love George Lucas (my husband included). For the studios to not put trust in him and his vision is beyond me. Next, for the ones that say we shouldn't see this because it's been done before. I saw Tuskegee Airmen when it first came on. It was a HBO and I commend HBO for not being afraid to tell these type of stories (Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, The Jospehine Baker Story, Sometimes in April, Always Outnumbered, Something the Lord Made, etc.) Tuskegee Airmen starred Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., Malcolm Jamal Warner and Courtney B. Lance in 1995. Great movie with great cast and story line. Why can't we have a story line done again with another perspective? From 1911 to 2005, there have been 21 movies about the Alamo. I think of 8 movies off the top of my head about the Civil War. Plus this is being done on the big screen. At the time that Tuskegee Airmen came on HBO, not everybody had cable so not too many people knew about it. We're not talking about the Tuskegee experiment. I can only think of one movie that talked about that part of history. George Lucas knew what subject to push and not push. Had Red Tails been about that, I believe that it wouldn't have been made or pushed to be made. That's something that should be looked at more but that's another blog. My point, though, is that it doesn't matter that it's been done before. We have a new group of young black actors giving their all in this movie telling a story that a lot of people still don't know. Plus, it's amazing to see Cuba Gooding Jr. is in this movie. It's almost like he's passing the torch from his group of vetern actors to the rookies. Why isn't anyone talking about that? We're always talking about how there aren't any movies that show black Americans in a positive light or that we're cooning all the time. This movie is doing what we've been asking for. So people, everyone needs to see this movie. It's history, American & black history and we need to support it. If anything, you'll learn something.