• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Black Culture Thread |OT2|

yo damn, that story is craaaaaaaazy. Seems like too many drama-filled Christmases this year.

My family's Christmas was a little muted since it's the first once after my grandpa passed away in the hurricane, so we didn't even have a tree up in the house. We just hung out and ate Christmas dinner and me and my brother watched the NBA all day with my dad. Honestly, that was the nicest thing - just sitting with the fam and doing normal stuff.

After that, I spent the evening arguing with my girlfriend and her family about not stopping by for Christmas (I chose to stay with my family this year).

The best part of Christmas was getting back to my apartment and watching Die Hard and I Come In Peace. That's what it's all about, man.
 
i was supposed to do this yesterday, but i was having too much fun wit the fam!



DAT FIRST PLATE

BJtuq.jpg




DAT SECOND PLATE

9Q05x.jpg




SNACKS
Those Yogurt Covered Raisins... SO GOOD!

xYVWI.jpg




CUSTOM MADE PUNCH - SPECIAL RECIPE
Tastes GREAT Virgin, GREATER WITH RUM

BBUL1.jpg



thought i had a pic of all of the pies, cakes and tarts... guess not :(
 

harSon

Banned
I think your going a bit to deep on this.

Not really.

It had every variation of the word "Nigger" and "Nigga" you can think of, slaves, Mammies, House Niggas, Uncle Toms, the Klan, whippings,
dogs
,
slave raping
, etc. and 99% of it was done irresponsibly and in jest with little in the way of social commentary. I'm not saying the movie is racist (it's not), and Tarantino is perfectly in his right to construct such a movie, but if there's one I don't trust society with, it's deconstructing race on their own terms, free of guidance, which is basically what this asks the audience to do.
 
I cant remember a single decent white person in that whole movie other than Waltz and their bounty hunter boss they were reporting to up in those mountains. the rest are inbred hillbillies and slave drivers and the black people, besides Sam Jackson's character, are overwhelmingly sympathetic. thats pretty rare for a big budget hollywood film. so I cant complain about Sam Jackson's coonish shit being played for laughs. I mean, alot of it was funny.
 
Not really.

It had every variation of the word "Nigger" and "Nigga" you can think of, slaves, Mammies, House Niggas, Uncle Toms, the Klan, whippings,
dogs
,
slave raping
, etc. and 99% of it was done irresponsibly and in jest with little in the way of social commentary. I'm not saying the movie is racist (it's not), and Tarantino is perfectly in his right to construct such a movie, but if there's one I don't trust society with, it's deconstructing race on their own terms, free of guidance, which is basically what this asks the audience to do.

I don't think it left anything up to the audience. Every slave owner/trader and so on were monsters and made to look foolish and ignorant. They were almost cartoon characters; Schultz, Django and his wife being a few of the exceptions


If one were to try and defend one of the white people in the movie not played by Waltz, they'd have to be batshit insane.
 
Not really.

It had every variation of the word "Nigger" and "Nigga" you can think of, slaves, Mammies, House Niggas, Uncle Toms, the Klan, whippings,
dogs
,
slave raping
, etc. and 99% of it was done irresponsibly and in jest with little in the way of social commentary. I'm not saying the movie is racist (it's not), and Tarantino is perfectly in his right to construct such a movie, but if there's one I don't trust society with, it's deconstructing race on their own terms, free of guidance, which is basically what this asks the audience to do.

If you are just looking at it at face value you can come away with that.
But look at Steven, he was the smartest person on the plantation. Meanwhile Calvin was an idiot, who liked to be addressed monsieur, but he doesn't speak french. Names one of his fighting slaves after a musketeer yet doesn't know the author is black. Had a whole rant about how the negro is inferior because of the location of 3 bumps on the skull, yet his ass would have been played if Steven hadn't figured it all out

The dumb fucks who see this and take it at face value are probably already racist and this film isn't going to shift anyone's views in one way or another.
 

harSon

Banned
If you are just looking at it at face value you can come away with that.
But look at Steven, he was the smartest person on the plantation. Meanwhile Calvin was an idiot, who liked to be addressed monsieur, but he doesn't speak french. Names one of his fighting slaves after a musketeer yet doesn't know the author is black. Had a whole rant about how the negro is inferior because of the location of 3 bumps on the skull, yet his ass would have been played if Steven hadn't figured it all out

The dumb fucks who see this and take it at face value are probably already racist and this film isn't going to shift anyone's views in one way or another.

Eh, the Calvin situation seemed to harp on his inability to believe any black but that "one Nigger in 10,000" could out smart him. That, and his blind belief that Whites are incapable of holding compassion for blacks. Also, that was a quote I had large issue with considering the movie basically suggests that every black face in that movie ain't shit except for Django, which is reinforced as such when his character restates the quote. He's not the common black, a growing constituency or event a tonal shift, he's an exception.

Considering this movie was taking two years prior to the Civil War, it was disappointing that there was little in the way of black resistance outside of Django. With the exception of the beginning of the film when the slaves kill the slave trader (which is the direction I thought the film was going to take), slaves were all obedient and incapable of going against the grain, even when given the spark by Django's actions.
 
Eh, the Calvin situation seemed to harp on his inability to believe any black but that "one Nigger in 10,000" could out smart him. That, and his blind belief that Whites are incapable of holding compassion for blacks. Also, that was a quote I had large issue with considering the movie basically suggests that every black face in that movie ain't shit except for Django, which is reinforced as such when his character restates the quote. He's not the common black, a growing constituency or event a tonal shift, he's an exception.

Considering this movie was taking two years prior to the Civil War, it was disappointing that there was little in the way of black resistance outside of Django. With the exception of the beginning of the film when the slaves kill the slave trader (which is the direction I thought the film was going to take), slaves were all obedient and incapable of going against the grain, even when given the spark by Django's actions.

You cant just throw out all the instances showing Calvin isn't as smart as he thinks to further your argument. And when you do you come to the conclusion you did. If you know he is not as bright as he thinks, you understand that when he goes off on his "scientific" speech its bullshit because he isn't that smart.
And Brunhilda and Dartanion are both shown trying to run away, isn't that going against the grain?
In the end this isn't a documentary, and Django is basically a god damn super hero by the end of the movie.
 

harSon

Banned
You cant just throw out all the instances showing Calvin isn't as smart as he thinks to further your argument. And when you do you come to the conclusion you did. If you know he is not as bright as he thinks, you understand that when he goes off on his "scientific" speech its bullshit because he isn't that smart.
And Brunhilda and Dartanion are both shown trying to run away, isn't that going against the grain?
In the end this isn't a documentary, and Django is basically a god damn super hero by the end of the movie.

That was just a scene showcasing the institution of Scientific Racism in the 19th Century, and a narrative precursor to the notion that Django is the "one Nigger in 10,000." And I don't think Calvin is ever narratively pushed as being smart, nor do I think it's insinuated that he's even all that educated. His Lawyer is the educated one, and the person that was pushed through college by Calvin's father and grandfather. Calvin even states that he grew up at Candyland, and has basically spent the entirety of his life there. He was brought up as a slave trader and a share cropper, not a man of intellectual prowess. And by resistance, I meant something a bit less passive than running away. Something more active and hands on, i.e. blatant disregard of authority to the face of master.
 
That was just a scene showcasing the institution of Scientific Racism in the 19th Century, and a narrative precursor to the notion that Django is the "one Nigger in 10,000." And I don't think Calvin is ever narratively pushed as being smart, nor do I think it's insinuated that he's even all that educated. His Lawyer is the educated one, and the person that was pushed through college by Calvin's father and grandfather. Calvin even states that he grew up at Candyland, and has basically spent the entirety of his life there. He was brought up as a slave trader and a share cropper, not a man of intellectual prowess. And by resistance, I meant something a bit less passive than running away. Something more active and hands on.

My whole reason for starting this was because you said that the lack of social commentary was giving credence to the actions of Calvin and company because the audience wouldn't be able to see why what was being said and done was so awful.

Im just saying it does show you why they are wrong but its not done in an overt way.

Point still stands that racial attitudes are not going to change because of a movie. Do you think all those kids who went on twitter and said they hated Koreans because of the new red dawn weren't already racist shits?
 

harSon

Banned
My whole reason for starting this was because you said that the lack of social commentary was giving credence to the actions of Calvin and company because the audience wouldn't be able to see why what was being said and done was so awful.

Im just saying it does show you why they are wrong but its not done in an overt way.

Point still stands that racial attitudes are not going to change because of a movie. Do you think all those kids who went on twitter and said they hated Koreans because of the new red dawn weren't already racist shits?

That's not what I said at all.
And while the movie doesn't take an active negative stance against many of its white characters, the fact that they ultimately die is most definitely a stance.

My initial statement was Django Unchained felt like the type of movie that would "set black people back x amount of time." Meaning that when movies like The Help and Django Unchained prove to be financially viable, there's a good chance that prominent slave and servant roles become a main stay within the industry, because if there's one thing Hollywood loves to do, it's piling on what's deemed to be a recipe for success.
 
That's not what I said at all.
And while the movie doesn't take an active negative stance against many of its white characters, the fact that they ultimately die is most definitely a stance.

My initial statement was Django Unchained felt like the type of movie that would "set black people back x amount of time." Meaning that when movies like The Help and Django Unchained prove to be financially viable, there's a good chance that prominent slave and servant roles become a main stay within the industry, because if there's one thing Hollywood loves to do, it's piling on what's deemed to be a recipe for success.

but if there's one I don't trust society with, it's deconstructing race on their own terms, free of guidance, which is basically what this asks the audience to do.

Your saying that the audience cant take this movie at anything other than face value.

So since IB was a success when are the Jewish WW2 action movie stampedes going to start?
 

harSon

Banned
Your saying that the audience cant take this movie at anything other than face value.

So since IB was a success when are the Jewish WW2 action movie stampedes going to start?

No, I'm saying I have an issue with movies that garner laughs at the expense of racial stereotypes, racist depictions and overall racial humor without the presence of irony and social commentary to counter balance it in some manner. When making a movie about a subject as combustible as slavery and/or racism, you inherit a basic level of responsibility you should adhere too IMO.
 
No, I'm saying I have an issue with movies that garner laughs at the expense of racial stereotypes, racist depictions and overall racial humor without the presence of irony and social commentary to counter balance it in some manner. When making a movie about a subject as combustible as slavery and/or racism, you inherit a basic level of responsibility you should adhere too IMO.

Was the word nigger used often, hell yeah.

But what racial stereotypes, or racist depictions were displayed that would not have been accurate for the period. Slaves were for the most part subservient and uneducated because of the institution of slavery. These were not fresh off the boat slaves, they had been indoctrinated into the system. And even then there were still examples of contempt
Like the slave who looks at Django with disgust until he learns he isn't the slave catcher he was impersonating

Characters like Steven did exist.

What did I miss that you saw?
 

harSon

Banned
Was the word nigger used often, hell yeah.

But what racial stereotypes, or racist depictions were displayed that would not have been accurate for the period. Slaves were for the most part subservient and uneducated because of the institution of slavery. These were not fresh off the boat slaves, they had been indoctrinated into the system. And even then their were examples of contempt
Like the slave who looks at Django with disgust until he learns he isn't the slave catcher he was impersonating

Characters like Steven did exist.

What did I miss that you saw?

Most "stereotypes" have some basis in reality, so I'm not exactly sure how that's a legitimate basis of retort. As for the stereotypes, it adhered to a lot of the ones created by Birth of a Nation and talked about in Donald Bogle's Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies and Bucks: An Interpretative History of Blacks in Films. The Tom (Samuel L. Jackson's character), the House Nigger, The Mammy (Heavy set woman at Candy Land) and The Tragic Mulatto (fair skinned black woman adhering to French culture), and it also adhered to Western standards of beauty considering the black characters that were sexualized/considered to be beautiful within the context of the story were the most "European" looking of the black female characters.
 
Most "stereotypes" have some basis in reality, so I'm not exactly sure how that's a legitimate basis of retort. As for the stereotypes, it adhered to a lot of the ones created by Birth of a Nation and talked about in Donald Bogle's Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies and Bucks: An Interpretative History of Blacks in Films. The Tom (Samuel L. Jackson's character), the House Nigger, The Mammy (Heavy set woman at Candy Land) and The Tragic Mulatto (fair skinned black woman adhering to French culture).

If that's what your getting up tight about then its really not that big a deal. White people come off looking much worse.
 

harSon

Banned
If that's what your getting up tight about then its really not that big a deal. White people come off looking much worse.

That's another issue I have with Hollywood films. White people can never completely be made the villain, even when dealing with the institutions of slavery or Jim Crow. There always has to be a progressive white (The Help, Amistad, Lincoln, etc.) who is overly enlightened and insistent on breaking down these hideous institutions, which effectively helps to counter balance the morally repugnant white characters. Even in a movie about white people enslaving and brutalizing black people, they also have to be responsible for freeing and enabling them to resist.
 
I saw it today it was fantastic, the man knows just the right tracks to use at its most powerful moments. That said I was surprised I was the only other black person in the showing.

Now I need to DL the "Catcher Freeman" episode of Boondocks from iTunes. Tarantino can't front that he's not a Boondocks fan.
 

Zeus Molecules

illegal immigrants are stealing our air
That's another issue I have with Hollywood films. White people can never completely be made the villain, even when dealing with the institutions of slavery or Jim Crow. There always has to be a progressive white (The Help, Amistad, Lincoln, etc.) who is overly enlightened and insistent on breaking down these hideous institutions, which effectively helps to counter balance the morally repugnant white characters. Even in a movie about white people enslaving and brutalizing black people, they also have to be responsible for freeing and enabling them to resist.

Watch Malcolm X there's a scene in it that basically talks about this issue. However not to spoil the movie by the end Malcolm realizes that a persons race doesn't mean they can't help end evil institutions.

On the flip I'm going to see Django on Friday to form my own opinion. So far people who've seen it seem generally OK with it. I was dubious at first based on the concept but so far the only people really complaining are mostly people who haven't seen it and conservatives.
 

Fantomex

Member
What's with the minority on minority crime though Gaf? I go into the bank, get in line. And then write a deposit slip while in line since line isn't moving. Indian or Mexican lady goes right ahead past me while the white folks understand I'm writing a slip and respect my spot. Man, sometimes white peeps are the common sense ones. /vent. I didn't even say anything, just let her do her thing.
 
My best friend hates the holidays because he has to endure whatever latest hoodrat his Aunt is dating. She already has some kids by them and even got jumped one day by an ex-girlfriend and her friends (and one of her hoodrat bfs was by her side AND DID NOTHING). Still hasn't learned. So he has to deal with whatever scum shit bf she decides to bring over for the holidays and watch his moms (who's the oldest so basically the parental figure) stress the fuck out about it. Because when she goes wrong for the aunt guess who she calls first.
 
Faze you been uh getting blown by idiots, racists or both?

I don't understand the question.

bwahahahahaha. wtf?
clearly i've been living wrong if its that simple.

Nah, it's not that simple at all, and it isn't for everyone.

I try to forget about the bad family memories. I used to watch my mom curse my grandmother out and my cousins friends call the cops on them for acting a fool after drinks during the holidays.

There's a point where you say nah bruh, nah
 
Top Bottom