Chance The Rapper has taken to Twitter to start a discussion about the portrayal of race in new Netflix movie Bright.

Directed by Suicide Squad‘s David Ayer and written by Chronicle‘s Max Landis, Bright is reportedly the most expensive Netflix movie yet. It takes place in a world whether mystical creatures live side by side with humans, and follows a human cop (Smith) who teams up with an orc on a mission to recover a deadly weapon.

On Twitter, Chance expressed reservations over a scene in which an orc is lynched, which he interpreted as a thinly-veiled and “shallow” metaphor for racism.


“I always feel a lil cheated when I see allegorical racism in movies cause that racism usually stems from human emotion or tolerance but not by law or systems the way it is in real life,” Chance explained. “The characters in #Bright live in a timeline where racism is gone… cause we hate ork now.”

Wondering how you guys are feeling about the lynched ork in #Brightmovie — Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017

I found the way they tried to illustrate americas racism through the mythical creatures to be a little shallow. #Brightmovie — Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017

I always feel a lil cheated when I see allegorical racism in movies cause that racism usually stems from human emotion or tolerance but not by law or systems the way it is in real life. The characters in #Bright live in a timeline where racism is gone… cause we hate ork now ? — Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017

I think the idea is that they’re a step below bottom of the spectrum blackness. Which is why Will’s character, the Mexican cop and the ork have that dialogue in the street. https://t.co/LaFMysw2WG — Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017

Asked by a fan if he thinks he could have misinterpreted the scene as a metaphor for racism, Chance replied: “I tried to look at it that way but a few minutes into the movie they make wills character say “Fairy Lives don’t Matter.”

I tried to look at it that way but a few minutes into the movie they make wills character say “Fairy Lives don’t Matter” https://t.co/j721N38cdR — Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 27, 2017


Bright launched on Netflix on December 13 and the reviews haven’t been too positive for the streaming giant. However, the film’s soundtrack does contain some unmissable new tunes.

Alongside Will Smith, the film stars Joel Kinnaman, Naomi Rapace and Lucy Fry. It reportedly cost Netflix $90m (£67.5m) to make.