If the American public is so into morality in movies, why don’t they throw more of their disposable income at religious-themed entertainment? For every ‘Passion of the Christ,’ there’s a ‘Fireproof’ that comes and goes with no notice. – John Ridley
The hypocrisy and false piety of the deniers aside, the relationships of gays have no effect on heteros. Especially all the heteros who’ve done such a marvelous job of debasing marriage on their own all these many years. – John Ridley
Certainly as a kid, I grew up with Batman, Superman, whoever – they didn’t need to be black for me to relate to them. But when a character like Cyborg came along, I got excited, because he looked a little bit more like me; his experiences were a little bit more like mine. – John Ridley
People of color grow up steeped in ‘white’ culture. The reverse is not true. And, no, listening to hip-hop on the way to work does not count as immersion. – John Ridley
As a coping mechanism, or as a way to make a little hard count by shilling demons in the shadows, I try not to belittle the thought process of the conspiracy theorists. As a cocktail waitress in Vegas once schooled me: never get down on anybody else’s hustle. – John Ridley
Governmental intervention and personal responsibility are not mutually exclusive issues, but they do frame a ‘do it ourselves’ vs. ‘what are you doing for us’ debate. For the black community, that’s a debate that’s been raging at least as far back as the W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington philosophical grudge matches. – John Ridley
In the Everybody-Give-Me-A-Hug victim culture in which we live, the obese want a spot at the table along with those who face discrimination based on the way that God or Nature or our Intelligent Designer created us. – John Ridley
I still have my first ‘Black Lightning’ that I got way back in the day, and my first ‘Steel.’ And I proudly display those comics, by the way. I have a lot of comics, but those are among the ones that mean the most to me. – John Ridley
Not only does Hollywood make money – it seems to make better movies during recessions. I’m sure a lot of studio executives wish we could have one every year. – John Ridley
Every president to hold office has espoused some version of Americanism – the truths that we hold self-evident, even when those truths are not always in evidence. But for all their grand rhetoric and mostly good deeds, none was able to seal the deal on the trifecta of equality, plurality and socioeconomic ascendancy. Obama has. – John Ridley
From the moment we were first dumped in Jamestown and had our teeth checked before getting sold off and later considered three-fifths of a human being, an abundance of ‘likability’ hasn’t been something blacks have had to stockpile. Instead, it’s been a centuries-long battle for respectability. – John Ridley
Just mention the idea of warrantless wiretaps and expect to get hit up with a congressional investigation. But give somebody an avatar and a URL, and he can’t tweet, post or hyperlink enough personal information about himself to as many people as possible. – John Ridley
I understand politicos gotta make bank. But cloistering with the Hollywood elite is not how you prove you’re a man of the people. – John Ridley
Why do we cling to bigotry? Because bigotry, plainly, is convenient. It is a near-effortless way to both elevate one’s stature and make a pity grab in this culture of victims that we have become. – John Ridley
With comics, you don’t have to worry so much about budgetary constraints. In film and television, however fanciful you want to be, someone can come up to you and go, ‘Okay, this is going to cost X amount of dollars, and we only have so many days to film this.’ With graphic novels, you can have that alien invasion you’ve always wanted to see. – John Ridley
When it comes to fighting for freedom, those who are willing to fight should not be limited by our bigotry. Only rewarded with our gratitude. – John Ridley
The thing about working in Hollywood is that, at some point, you really get tired of hearing how godless you are, and how if you and the rest of the heathens in Tinsel town would put more God-centric shows on TV, people wouldn’t be abandoning prime time in favor of their Bible study classes. – John Ridley
As an individual, and I have to say as a person of color, the thing about being an ‘other’ in America is I really feel like you’re bilingual. I’m from a small town in Wisconsin, but even when I’m in New York and I’m working for MSNBC or CNN, you’re used to being the only black person in the room. – John Ridley
I’ve never been much of a European traveler. London once on a book tour, and Italy because that’s where Ferraris are from. That’s about it. – John Ridley
Let’s be very clear: Living ‘unforgiven’ is not the sole domain of blacks. It can be found in any successful person. – John Ridley
For the vast majority of those who are obese – those with a Body Mass Index over 30 – their size is their choice. They choose to take in more calories than they burn. They choose to take in high fat calories over low-fat ones. They choose to fad diet, if they choose to diet at all. – John Ridley
The great thing about working with NPR – and, really, there’s like a million of ’em – is all the cool stuff I get to do for the public. Meet the president. Hang out at the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas. Drink a $10,000 martini. – John Ridley
Reactionary conservatives are smiling through the racial apocalypse. To them, race baiting is a joke, as ‘humorist’ Rush Limbaugh will tell you when he’s calling Mexicans ‘stupid.’ Or it’s a matter of semantics when they claim that Sonia Sotomayor is a ‘racialist’ which, far as I can tell, is the smooth jazz version of being a racist. – John Ridley
I don’t think I’m alarmist. I’m more disappointed by the euphemisms in some instances than outright bigotry. Now, to me, you walk around with a Klan hat on or you’ve got a swastika on you arm, you just look like a dope, you know what I mean? – John Ridley
Quite simply, quite plainly, just by virtue of his being, Obama is America. The first true American to lead our nation. – John Ridley
For children, diversity needs to be real and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or enjoying south-of-the-border cuisine on Cinco de Mayo. It means talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them. – John Ridley
If art is singular expression, then by nature, the best art is controversial. But when art stirs debate for reasons besides its artistic integrity, that’s when things get bent. – John Ridley
With fear of stating the obvious: Freedom belongs to ‘We the People,’ not ‘They the Politicians.’ – John Ridley
When I go to business meetings, I’m still told way too often by some receptionist, ‘The mail room is downstairs,’ to believe that racial perceptions don’t still exist. But I figure there are always going to be knuckleheads no matter how many of their herd get stuck in the tar pits of progress. – John Ridley
If the Olympic Games ever served a true altruistic purpose, they have long since outlived it. Yeah, the pursuit of athletic excellence, sportsmanship and international goodwill is plenty noble. But the modern Olympics are at best a vehicle for agitprop; at worst, a scandal magnet. – John Ridley