'Lyndon Johnson’s aides are mad that MLK is the hero of Selma"

"But when you read these pieces closely, it seems that the big problem they have with the film is that it doesn't cast 

LBJ as the hero of the Voting Rights Act. But the fact that Selma doesn't do this is part of what makes it important. Hollywood too often gives us films about race in America where the real heroes are conveniently white. Selma doesn't...

The idea that a film should be ruled out for having the temerity to focus on black people's agency in securing their own liberation is completely absurd. We've had too few such films in American history and everyone could stand to watch some more."

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/29/7458623/selma-backlash?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=voxdotcom&utm_content=monday

To be fair, the title of this article is a little exaggeratory.

But it often feels as though movies about race are mostly about making the white Americans seeing the film feel as though they are part of a heroic narrative saving black people from racism. Like, I won't feel like seeing The Blind Side or that recent Lincoln movie until I see a few movies about how black people helped themselves escape the casual oppression of everyday white people (see: Dear White People) - just the same way those action movies in which a helpless female relative of the male star has been kidnapped, make me crave movies with realistic female characters with real agency.