“[Focusing only on Black trauma] perpetuates a narrative — that’s the only way that the world sees us, as being abused and victimized,” Domingo said. “I love what Nia DaCosta has done in ‘Candyman,’ which is that you never see any of the trauma onscreen. You never see a Black body being brutalized.”
When The Times reporter noted that only white characters in the film are shown being brutalized, Domingo responded, “I think it was very conscious.”
Related Read the Screenplay for ‘Nope’ and Go Deeper into Jordan Peele’s Alien Mystery ‘Nope’: Creating the Sight, Sound, and Spectacle of a Terror in the Sky Related Oscars 2023: Best Documentary Feature Predictions Oscars 2023: Best Makeup and Hairstyling Predictions
Domingo is currently in theaters with “Zola,” which he said is similarly deliberate in how it depicts its Black characters. “The character you think would be the ratchet character is actually the white girl who is appropriating Black culture — a certain window of Black culture, of street ghetto culture,” the actor said. “And the Black girl is more suburban and just like, ‘I’m just trying to go and strip and you’re doing all this and you’re doing the most, sis.’ I think it’s really saying something about who we are.”
Domingo’s road to “Candyman” started the day after Jordan Peele won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with “Get Out.” The two had a general meeting. “I thought — clearly he’s going to cancel this appointment ‘cause, I don’t know, he’s been out all night, doing what people do after the Oscars,” Domingo said. “It was a 10am meeting. Jordan came down, we talked for 45 minutes and became fast friends. He wrote the character for me.”
After several release days because of the pandemic, “Candyman” is set to open in theaters August 27 from Universal Pictures.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
