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December 2, 2008 11:53:53 AM CST

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Denzel's Bad Boy Roles Are All Good

Posted Dec 23, 07 5:29 PM CST in Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Denzel Washington has been playing bad boys lately, and it's a good thing for black America, Mark Anthony Neal argues in the Washington Post. Washington's turns as a drug lord and corrupt cop in recent flicks have sparked slams that he's catering to white America by playing crooks, but Neal believes that Washington and black Americans are hungry for such complex portraits.

Washington long played the "race man"—a term for an exemplary black who strives for betterment—but recently said he wanted more. "It's not about the black experience," he said. "It's what I feel like doing." With Oprah and Obama reaching out to wider audiences, Neal writes, it's time for black actors to take on nuanced roles—and "give the race man the eulogy he deserves after more than a century of service."

Source Washington Post

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In this file image released by The Weinstein Company, actor Denzel Washington is shown in a scene from "The Great Debaters". (AP Photo/The Weinstein Company, David Lee, FILE)   (Associated Press)
Producers Denzel Washington and Oprah Winfrey pose for photos at the premiere of the film "The Great Debaters" in Los Angeles Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)   (Associated Press)
Universal Studios provided this photo of Denzel Washington, left, and Russell Crowe in a scene from "American Gangster." Washington and Crowe's bloody crime saga "American Gangster" took in $46.3 million...   (Associated Press)
Actor/producer Denzel Washington arrives to the premiere of the film "The Great Debaters" in Los Angeles in this, Dec. 11, 2007, file photo. Washington is donating $1 million to Wiley College to re-establish...   (Associated Press)
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