The elephants that adorn the Hollywood and Highland Center are coming down as the new owners of the shopping center think they're in some way too linked to the racism of director D.W. Griffith who did the super racist film, Birth of A Nation in 1915. Though, the elephants didn't appear in that film and were in another film of Griffiths, Intolerance, the new owners decided to take them down. In Intolerance, the film depicts intolerance in 4 different stories and the point of the film is to actually teach tolerance. Sadly, none of the stories are about slavery in the US. And with getting rid of the elephants the new owners are putting a cool $100 million into a new makeover to get rid of the eye-catching Mesopotamian look.
Maybe it's to grab headlines, as it did here, because I don't remember anyone looking up and saying, "Look at those racist elephants!" Though the owners of Hollywood and Highland have stated they're doing it because of racism, no organization has come out about the elephants being seen as racist or even applauding them in getting rid of them.
It's really kind of just stupid and bad marketing to use fighting racism as part of their makeover. The owners should just be selling the fact that they're changing up the look of Hollywood and Highland which many just know as a over-priced tourist trap and not a local hang out.
We wonder if any black people at Hollywood and Highland Center are even involved with the elephants coming down or it's just a couple of white people doing this all.
It's much more fascinating to learn about the films of D.W. Griffith and their history in Hollywood and how the affected cinema then just saying, "We got rid of those elephants finally." There's so much more to unpack.
This is one of the dumbest things I've had to write about in some time when it comes to LA, just a makeover for a shopping area that wanted more press. If DJM and Gaw Capital Partners, who know own it, want to fight racism, they should give their money to organizations that fight it.
via Variety
via LA Times
