Translating a Universal Message : Cineplex Odeon’s decision not to premiere ‘Poetic Justice’ at City Walk brings back the specterof segregation.

I grew up in (nominally) integrated New England, but like many African-American children with Southern roots, I went South for part of every summer. I am not quite old enough to remember physical separation, one of the most enduring legacies of the segregated South’s love affair with Jim Crow, because the adults in my life protected me from this ugly reality. They’d insist, for instance, that I really didn’t want to sample one of the 28 flavors beaconing from the billboard of a national hotel chain, because “it’s not very good ice cream.” We drove downtown, so I was never confronted with the necessity of sitting in the back of the bus. And by the time I was old enough to visit a movie theater, the movies in the South had been desegregated. So the daily rejections of mainstream society were more subtle than physical.

But though I didn’t grow up under the regional system of American apartheid, I am steeped in its aftermath. I have heard first-person stories from older relatives and neighbors; those oral histories made us “youngsters” who were lucky enough to escape some facets of segregation keenly aware, nonetheless, of its toll on one’s spirit, one’s human dignity.

Which is why Universal City and the Cineplex Odeon complex will not be seeing any money from me any time soon. Cineplex’s decision to delay the opening of “Poetic Justice” an urban love story by director John Singleton, felt a bit too much like De Ole Souf that some people still wistfully wish to be carried back to. The 18-screen complex justified its ban of the movie by stating that “the theater is programmed with an upscale demographic to make sure that City Walk’s environment is kept safe with a family atmosphere.”

Those bland euphemisms translated into this: “Folks, we’ve built this cute little city out here in the ‘burbs so suburban clients and tourists who want the look of an urban environment with none of the things that make it stimulating, like (ick!) ethnic diversity, can come out here and enjoy a white-bread version of Los Angeles.” Funny thing, though: in decorating that cute little faux-metropolis, they forgot one apparently critical element of the decor--they forgot to put up the “Whites Only” signs. (Maybe Jesse Helms has some extras he can lend them.)

And apparently, Universal’s concern for its visitors’ safety and comfort stops where the potential for serious money-making begins: although “Poetic Justice” wasn’t allowed to open there, it is scheduled to be shown at the complex beginning this week. Is this inconsistency ringing a bell for anyone? Sounds a little like, “You can buy it, but you can’t try it on first.” Sounds a little like, “You can purchase a burger--to go only. No Negroes at this counter.” Sounds a little like, “If you don’t want to sit in the Coon Gallery to see this film, you can come back for the Wednesday show. That’s the night for Negroes.”

The theaters aren’t the only hypocrites. Although some studio executives have decried Universal’s decision as racist, it’s just as racist for the studios to continue to give us one-dimensional visions of people they know nothing about. It is just as racist to approve and aggressively market movies that only show the underside of black life and virtually ignore the existence of Asian-Americans and Latinos. Do we, too, not fall in love, come of age, have fantasies that are imbued with our distinct cultural flavors?

Let’s get real here. Young African-American men (because they’re the real target of the Cineplex edict) should see movies at the same time and in the same place as everyone else. And they should behave themselves when they’re there. Studios should stop this one-dimensional portrayal of ethnic America and we ethnic Americans should take a lesson from old civil-rights veterans and spend our money only where--and when--we’re treated like everyone else.