"The Man"When the President and Speaker of the House are killed in a building collapse, and the Vice-President declines the office due to age and ill-health, Senate President pro tempore Douglas Dilman (James Earl Jones) suddenly becomes the first brother in the Oval Office. The events from that day to the next election when he must decide if he will actually run challenge his skills as a politician and leader.
"24" (Seasons 2 and 3)President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) had his work cut out for him, working with Jack Bauer to save Los Angeles from the threat of terrorist thugs, dealing with traitors, knocking heads with his shady ex-wife Sherry Palmer (played brilliantly by Penny Johnson Jerald) and dodging attempts on his life.
"24" (Season 6)David Palmer's death paves the way for his younger brother Wayne (D.B. Woodside) to move into the Oval office. He helps free Jack Bauer from the Chinese government, fakes a nuclear bombing, is severly injured by an explosion at a press conference, and ends up in a coma by the season's end.
"The Fifth Element"250 years in the future, ex-soldier, cab driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) works to save the planet from extinction with the help of Ruby Rhod (a whacky role played by Chris Tucker). Dallas saves the world, but only because President Lindberg (Tommy 'Tiny' Lister) said so.
"Deep Impact"A comet is set to collide with planet Earth, and President Beck (Morgan Freeman) has devised a plan to save a million lucky people to keep the human race going.
"Head of State"Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock) gets his party’s nomination for presidency. But after speaking his mind about society’s ills (as well as hiring a Klan member to endorse his White opponent).
"2012"Coming in July 2009, Danny Glover will play preisdent Glover in a fight to counteract the apocalyptic events that were predicted by the ancient Mayan calendar.
Idiocracy” Terry Crews plays President Camacho. Imagine President Obama with that hair.
Hollywood, despite all its stereotypical crap, has often been ahead of the national curve and was ready for a Black president long before America was. On television and in movies, Black actors such as acclaimed as James Earl Jones to the other end of the spectrum as Tommy Lister have played commanders-in-chief. Sammy Davis Jr. was only 9 when he assumed the POTUS in 1933’s "Rufus Jones for President."
A Black man in the Oval Office has provided ample joke routines for comics such as Richard Pryor and Chris Rock. On one episode of "The Richard Pryor Show," he played a president hosting a press conference. During the sketch, he tells reporters that he'd seriously consider Black Panther Huey Newton for the job of FBI director -- and nearly decks one journalist who inadvertently insults his momma. And when he's asked about his fetish for white women, he jokes, "They don't call it the White House for nothing."
In the 2003 film "Head of State," Chris Rock's president, Mays Gilliam, is an even more exaggerated character. His language is filled with slang and he is partial to baggy jeans and Kangol caps and looks less like the leader of the free world than the latest star of Def Jam Records. His running mate, played by Bernie Mac, thinks NATO is a person. Gilliam is catapulted onto the public stage after the sitting president dies in a plane crash.
It is not the first time a Black man on screen has risen to power through calamity. In "The Man," James Earl Jones becomes the POTUS after the entire cabinet perishes in a series of freak accidents. It's not on DVD, but if you can find it on VHS it is well worth the search. In "Deep Impact," Morgan Freeman has to calm the nation as he contends with wayward comets threatening to destroy the planet. Morgan Freeman looks and sounds conventionally presidential in the way that only a Visa pitchman can. And in "The Fifth Element," set in 2263, Tommy “Tiny” Lister's President Lindberg has to battle asteroids and an enemy named The Great Evil. Lister—a 300-pounder best known for playing a larcenous thug in Friday—Lindberg is not a suitable role model. Too "angry." Too "hostile." Too much "bestial grunting." That said, his menacing glare somehow suggests he'd stand firm against lobbyists.
It's not until the hit series "24" that things start looking up for the Black president. Dennis Haysbert's character, David Palmer -- in the first season a senator running for the presidency -- is handsome, composed and ready to lead on Day One. We were in good hands with David Palmer who radiated dependability. His race is a non-issue as he struggles with modern-day threats such as terrorism, bomb scares and a social-climbing wife. Yes, he's eventually assassinated, but only after he leaves office. And Palmer's equally self-confident younger brother, Wayne, takes the reins shortly thereafter. Another “24” alumni Roger Cross, who played Agent Curtis Manning from 2005-2007, was the President in a Sci-fi Channel made for TV movie, “Polar Storm”, this past weekend which started me thinking about this post.
