Sapphires' cover is not racist, just smart As "issue" films go, The Sapphires is at the softer end of the spectrum: a feel-good story about four Aboriginal women who triumph against sexism and racism to forge a sparkling career as soul singers in the most unlikely of theatres, the Vietnam War. However, the film now finds itself on the frontline, its American DVD cover accused of perpetuating the very sexism and racism it so gently rails against. What began as a social media campaign last week has stepped up a notch, with campaigners trying to enlist black activists in the US in support of their campaign to get the American distributor Anchor Bay to change its approach. The offending cover has Irish actor Chris O'Dowd front and centre, in full colour, while the four indigenous actors who play The Sapphires - Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell - are blue-toned bit players in the background. Anyone who did not know would struggle to identify them as "people of colour," let alone Aborigines. It makes O'Dowd look like the lead singer and the four women his backing vocalists (he, in fact, plays an Irish drifter who becomes their manager). It is misleading but does it amount to sexism and racism, as a multitude of bloggers and the more than 7000 people who have signed a petition on change.org seemingly believe? Well, yes and no. There is little doubt the disappointment expressed in social media (including O'Dowd on Twitter) is genuine, and the hurt felt by real-life Sapphires Naomi Mayers, Beverly Briggs, Lois Peeler and Laurel Robinson is understandable. And yet, to me, the campaign is counter-productive. Let us assume for a moment that The Sapphires has some power to change people's minds about racism and sexism. If so, it has its best chance to do so by getting in front of as many people as possible. Presumably it is white people's minds that most need to be opened on matters of racism towards "people of colour." But in the US, putting four black women who are not Diana Ross, Beyonce or Rihanna on the cover of a DVD is tantamount to saying "this ain't for you, whitey." Selling an Australian film, here or abroad, is never easy and while it was a bona fide hit at home, taking $14.5 million at the box office, The Sapphires took only $2.5 million in US cinemas, despite having the considerable muscle and nous of Harvey Weinstein behind it. The US cover carries the words "based on the incredible true story," a line with a fair chance of getting someone to read the blurb on the back - but first they have to pick it up. This is where O'Dowd comes in. The star of British television sitcom The IT Crowd is on the rise in the US thanks to his breakout role in Bridesmaids, but Brad Pitt he is not. Entertainment website IMBd ranks O'Dowd at 730 (Robert Downey jnr is 70th). Still, he is unquestionably the best shot Anchor Bay has of finding an audience for The Sapphires. Robinson said of her experiences in the band that "as soon as the word 'Aboriginal' came up, no one was interested." That the US distributor believes this is still the case may show how much work is still to be done on race relations in that country - or perhaps it simply tells us that as far as the US is concerned, you could substitute the word "Australian" for "Aboriginal" and it would ring equally true. Either way, the best way to do something about it is to get people to watch The Sapphires. To that end, making O'Dowd the centrepiece of your pitch is neither sexist nor racist. It is just smart. Karl Quinn is Fairfax Media's national film editor.