Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

European imperialists absolutely hate looking at themselves in the mirror. This movie forces them to do so in a unique way, which causes all the meta-analytical comments herein and all the vituperative reviews. Granted Martin Luther King Jr.'s methods were not what my family and I prefer, as we'd never allow people to hurt/manipulate us without fighting back. But MLK encouraged people to let the white imperialists act like animals towards them, then force them to watch themselves act like violent savages towards peaceful people on TV news broadcasts later in the day. It worked for the intended purposes (Civil Rights Act), but that law is still largely ceremonial.The imperialists in "White Man's Burden" are perfectly aloof, disconnected and violent (police) just like the white Americans and government they are meant to portray. John Travolta and his family fill the media-reinforced stereotypical role of ignorant, poor people that must beg the imperialists for jobs, survive police savagery and live in a world where you are set up to fail and struggle just to survive. The most powerful scene IMO is when Don (Travolta's kid) is flipping through TV channels and he sees nothing but black people on every channel. The only white person who appeared while Don was channel surfacing was on a news station: a criminal wanted in connection with some type of crime. Don also preferred to buy a black toy action figure vs. a white one; the same self-hatred that is conditioned in real-life black people via media and public education.Its hard for white people to watch this movie objectively because they see their hero police as what they really are: gestapo thugs with badges that harass/assault people for no reason at all; and kill people simply because they like it. They are also forced to see the powerful conditioning imperial governments and societies force onto the oppressed class. Harry Belafonte was perfect for this role because he has lived a privileged existence for his entire life, but at the same time is a true activist who fights for the oppressed.This movie should be required viewing in all U.S. public junior highs. Hats off. Great film.

I think it's important to point out that, in the tease on the back of the DVD box, this movie is described as taking place in a "time" (not in a "world", or in a "society", or in an "alternate reality") where the traditional racial roles have been reversed. In other words, what some have described as "reverse racism", I think, qualifies more as a cautionary tale for the future. Look around you. How many aspects of this "alternate reality" have come/are coming to pass? Granted, other races/ethnicities have been left out (certainly, the decade-later "Crash" covered these issues in a more well-rounded way, without the extremes of "WMB"'s creative twist), but this movie seemed to be focused on a specific slice of the topic, which, although it's technically less realistic, gives it a more concentrated impact to those who can relate to what happens in the story (&/or its setting).

White Man's Burden is a movie that supports Karl Marx's theory that the clashes of the world have never been about racism, religions, nationalities or any form that they may take. It is the clash of classes. Money talks.This movie plays it the other way around. This time a black guy is turning the life of a white poor guy to a living hell. This time the white guy loses everything he has; his wife, kid, work and ultimately his life! Travolta and Harry Belafonte are just as good as you would expect them. It is again a low budget movie that is great but doesn't have the stupid visual effects that people usually care for more than watching a movie that talks to the mind and the heart.

Minor Spoilers On the plus side, it was believable. It had good acting. I especially liked Harry Belafonte getting irate at the inept white cashier for not helping him get robbed by John Travolta. That was a nice touch to add some twisted realism to the movie. I laughed at that one part. But the rest was just so depressing, and that story line (apart from the racial switch) has been done to death. Take Boys in the Hood and switch the white and black people around. There was no real point other than the fact that racism exists in our world and that it's a darned shame people get discriminated against. Really? Wow! Who knew? So if you want to be miserable and your favorite Blues radio station has been taken over by the Dance Mix Syndicate, go rent White Man's Burden. Otherwise, don't.