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The Black Culture Thread |OT3| Lighten Up

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R

RedSwirl

Junior Member
That BGN blog site has been going over this a lot with recent posts:

http://blackgirlnerdy.blogspot.com/2013/05/afraid-of-strangers-try-this.html

http://blackgirlnerdy.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-lonely-girl-who-has-little-to-say.html

http://blackgirlnerdy.blogspot.com/2013/05/5-more-types-of-nerdy-girls-yet-again.html

Oldschoolgamer said:
I enjoy reading Mumei's thoughts on the subject matter. I just wish that her videos were made a bit better, so that her points could be taken a little bit more seriously.


The movie industry has this very same issue, but unlike the videogame industry, I've seen far more executives, directors, actors, etc... acknowledging that things are kind of fucked up when it comes to variety in stories, gender equality, and actual women directing projects. At the very least, things are becoming a ton more easier for women to take up the mantle on indie films. Canon Mark IIs and IIIs can shoot raw footage, and programs like davinci resolve come with BlackMagic Cinema cameras. It's damn near the greatest time for minorities and women to get into filmmaking.
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This is why I heard DC really wants to get the timing right on Wonder Woman and not fuck it up. I can't remember where, but I heard they basically want it to be the movie that opens the door for female leads in Hollywood Blockbusters.
 
T

TheKaeptain

Banned
Nakazato said:
So made it to LA about 1 am est. Got caught in a fucking sand storm. Wtf cali dont even. Also learn i need to become a better driver quickly LA's freeway system is no joke.
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Once you learn the freeway system it's easy as shit to get around. I've only lived in LA for less than a year and I get around fine.
 
D

DominoKid

Member
Mumei said:
I've thought about posting this for awhile and hesitated for whatever reason but... *shrugs*. I think some of you will find it interesting:



More at the link; it is rather too long to post and, hey, they deserve the hits.
Click to expand...

Consider this, if not a response, than an expansion of some of the points in this article. This is more all-encompassing than just about black women but since that's the angle they took I'll try to work from there.

- When it comes to media representation, I've always operated by the idea that "if this is our reality, why run from it?" These days I talk to my great-aunt a lot since I can't go to my grandma for advice anymore. She'll be 90 in October. She's seen it all. I asked her once that as a former maid, how did she feel when she saw movies about blacks in positions subservient to white people. Her response surprised me (and i'm paraphrasing): "We're not that far removed from that being our reality and we'd do well to not forget it. I know it's ugly and people don't want to see it, but that is where we come from. There's no need to be ashamed of it." I've always had a problem w/ the obsession some folks have with our representations, and this could be me projecting, but I've always felt the intentions were a little disingenuous. There is a very vocal sentiment out there that we should hide our unsightly figures and only promote our best and brightest. Not only do I think that's a bit of self-hatred at work, but I also think it's a bit naive to try and corral our image into a certain ideal. I won't deny that there are issues in our media representation, but I think those representations are just a reflection of the culture at large. Our narrative is beautiful, including the ugly, unsightly parts we want to forget. Michelle Obama is as much "us" as NeNe is.

- For better or worse, the black origin story is struggle, in both media and reality. This ties a bit into my previous point. My mom always complains "well why don't they make a movie about a black kid like you from a stable home going to college." Well look at me. The only real struggle I've ever faced is acceptance into a white world. I came from a two parent household, never really wanted for anything. I wouldn't want to watch a movie about that. This comes to the problem of the lack of representation of the black middle class in media. Granted I don't know how you can freak that story to get an interesting angle, but I don't work creatively in that arena so it's not something I think about.

- On the Erykah Badu thing, I've long thought that she's a hypocrite. Many of those neo-soul artists are and it proved to be a great disappointment to people like me who grew up idolizing them in a sense, but that's another story for another day. Here's the thing though, I don't think Erykah Badu herself is problematic, but what she represents. She is a PROUD baby momma, but because of her profession (and the men she has laid with) she can afford to be. Many women look to her as an example to excuse having a bunch of different kids w/ a bunch of different dudes, but her circumstances are not the same. What she represents is problematic to the culture on a large scale. I don't think it's a bad thing for us to still employ "respectability politics" on some level. We shouldn't shame people for their choices, but we shouldn't gloss over the problems that their choices create either.

  • As an extension, this also ties into my biggest problem about Tyler Perry movies. He moralizes too much. Take the ending Temptation movie for example. I won't spoil it for you if you actually want to see the movie (lol), but go take a gander of the Wiki plot summary....it's some bullshit right? Incredibly reckless writing. He just operates in absolutes too much for my liking. That is respectability politics taken to an irresponsible level.

Like that Brian White dude said “You can’t call it a stereotype if it’s the majority.” And looking at the media vs what's reflected in reality, I can't really disagree. The only thing I can say is that the black middle class needs a bigger spotlight. There's a lot of us and we're starving for something better than Tyler Perry movies.

edit: and on a different note: Black people are more diverse and inclusive than we give ourselves credit for (I won't even get into outside perspectives). At least I'd like to think so. That's why that Miguel thread is kind of throwing me a bit. Maybe I just had a good experience w/ all types growing up, but I look at the HS kids now (just 4 years removed) and it's even better than when I was in high school. Like Drake said, them hipster kids and them hood niggas aint too far off these days. The overlap is heavy.

Besides I'm more concerned w/ our continued obsession in our culture about what white people think of us (both in reality as well as media representations), myself included. Truthfully we shouldn't give a fuck.
 
G

GotEmRunnin

Member
Mumei's post is an interesting one above. I was just chatting with a co-worker about Tyler Perry's new show on O.W.N and asking was she going to watch it.


She said no because the role of the black woman in 2013 is to be the overly aggressive/confident and or vindictive jump-off i.e side piece. Scandal, Deception, and TP's new show.....The ended by saying Scandal is really good though.
 
C

-CRASH-

Banned
Parallax said:
If you aren't profiling, there shouldnt be an issue.
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I assumed he was referring to gang colors because he asked for safety.... but the brown threw me off. don't know any gangs that rep brown

and I wonder how many people think grove street is a real LA gang.
 
M

Mrs. Manky

Banned
Thanks for the article, Mumei.

The whole scenario is interesting. Just looking at this from the Oscars level...the winners, to be exact:

Best Actress: Halle Berry for Monster's Ball, 2001

Best Supporting Actress: Hattie McDaniel for Gone With The Wind, 1939; Whoopie Goldberg for Ghost, 1990; Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls, 2006; Mo'Nique for Precious, 2009; Octavia Spencer for The Help, 2011

So. A woman with a husband on death row, a slave, a conwoman*, a Motown singer berated for her weight, a "ratchet" momma, and a maid.

On the one hand, yes, these are our stories. But these seem to be the only stories that the establishment rewards us for playing, and from the looks of it, mainly in a supporting role. Even without the talk of role models, I would like for our black actresses to work in a /diversity/ of roles.


*Conwoman was the most 'out there' role on that winning list, though ironically it's one that Whoopi Goldberg seems to end up in a lot. She was the female Axel Foley for a while.
 
M

Mumei

Member
DominoKid said:
  • As an extension, this also ties into my biggest problem about Tyler Perry movies. He moralizes too much. Take the ending Temptation movie for example. I won't spoil it for you if you actually want to see the movie (lol), but go take a gander of the Wiki plot summary....it's some bullshit right? Incredibly reckless writing. He just operates in absolutes too much for my liking. That is respectability politics taken to an irresponsible level.
Click to expand...

I read the rest of the post with interest, but I don't really feel like it's something I can respond to since I don't have the necessary perspective. I appreciate the response, though. And I just saw this linked on Feministing, which relates to this (and GotEmRunning's post):

Tyler Perry Hates Black Women: 5 Thoughts on The Haves and Have Nots

There are spoilers at the link; the first entry is rather spoiler free, and sets the tone:

Welp.

I watched the premiere of Tyler Perry’s latest train wreck on OWN last night for two reasons. A.) Morbid curiosity and B.) I didn’t wanna hear negroes’ mouths about how I didn’t give it a chance and was therefore uninformed and unqualified to speak on his show (despite the 12 or so movies and 2 stage plays of his I’ve paid to go see and time I spent watching episodes of his existing tv shows that I can’t get back.) Anyway. Here are my thoughts.

1.) Tyler Perry is a cultural batterer: the cultural equivalent of an unrepentant wife-batterer. Why, you ask? Well, let’s see. In under 15 minutes of episode one there were three Black women: Hanna, a maid, who speaks like she just left the plantation; Veronica, a rich black lady bitch, who throws her coat and hat at the maid; and Candace, the maid’s daughter, a scheming, conniving prostitute who tells people the mom is dead, later can be seen raising her hand to her mom, has her own son who is God knows where, is allegedly in law school, but paying for it by questionable means, and ultimately by the closing scene of episode two can be seen raping the white patriarch/politician.

The fact that Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire, along with their remixes (Bad) Baby Mama, Golddigger, Freak and Hood Bitch showed up in under 15 mins is surely a new world record.

A few caveats: no knock to domestics who speak in Southern dialect — I am from the deep, rural South, love the cadences in our voices, and have a beloved, and dearly missed grandmama who cleaned white folks’ houses well into her sixties.

(But I know a fucking controlling image when I see one.)

No knock to sex workers, who I think should have rights, benefits, and legal protections. Black women sex workers in primetime is a whole different deal representationally, though, and we need to OWN that.

Black women deserve better.
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H

harSon

Banned
The government needs to step in and put a stop to one of the biggest blights in the black community... made up names. I met a black woman named Spectacular today. Who the fuck names their kid Spectacular?
 
D

DominoKid

Member
harSon said:
The government needs to step in and put a stop to one of the biggest blights in the black community... made up names. I met a black woman named Spectacular today. Who the fuck names their kid Spectacular?
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i knew a chick named Peculiar in middle school. i hurt the girl feelings when i laughed upon introduction. couldnt help it though.
 
O

Oldschoolgamer

The physical form of blasphemy
Both of those blog names are badass.

The fact that Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire, along with their remixes (Bad) Baby Mama, Golddigger, Freak and Hood Bitch showed up in under 15 mins is surely a new world record.
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No way. lol. I'm halfway curious now.

Oprah doesn’t seem to understand, that a rich, independent, college-educated chick like her, who shuns traditional marriage, is in Tyler Perry’s world the DEVIL, a veritable, conniving bitch, who hates babies, men, and old people, needs Jesus, plus a good slap from a sexy Black man, and will still probably catch AIDS and live in misery because she chose not to conform to the dictates of Christian respectability
Click to expand...

churchwomanpassingout.gif

I've never really cared well enough to even begin giving Tyler's work a serious breakdown. On a surface level, it does seem as though he might have a less than favorable attitude when it comes to the portrayal of black women in his movies: be it making them all damsels in distress or utterly evil. I think that some of the larger "truths" (and I use that super loosely) in his movies might be buried under heavy handedness and lack of any subtleties or nuance in the actual writing.

I can't comment on the show as a whole (or part really), seeing as though I haven't seen it. I could guess that the rape scene could be an allegory for his views on black women running to white men for financial stability, with a sprinkle of self hate. That's just my take from reading from a heated author. I'll educate myself later. I will say that all historical values aside, there is no reason why that scene shouldn't exist. Nobody is off limits from doing evil.

I also don't particularly feel that black people need to be portrayed anyway other than human. It does bug me to constantly see the same roles repeated ad nauseam, but I definitely don't feel they need to all vanish: parity would be nice. That's probably a different conversation though.

Side-note: Black Rock has one of the most annoying black men that I've ever seen in a horror / thriller. It's as if the writers were conflicted between making him stereotypically token or just token enough to seem halfway believable.

edit:
harSon said:
The government needs to step in and put a stop to one of the biggest blights in the black community... made up names. I met a black woman named Spectacular today. Who the fuck names their kid Spectacular?
Click to expand...

Lmao. No lies told.

harSon said:
One of my friends is named Unique Battles. Would have been a sick name if she played sports.
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Hahahaha Fighting game character names.
 
D

DominoKid

Member
Mumei said:
I read the rest of the post with interest, but I don't really feel like it's something I can respond to since I don't have the necessary perspective. I appreciate the response, though. And I just saw this linked on Feministing, which relates to this (and GotEmRunning's post):

Tyler Perry Hates Black Women: 5 Thoughts on The Haves and Have Nots

There are spoilers at the link; the first entry is rather spoiler free, and sets the tone:
Click to expand...

ah i ran across that article on another website (it's making the rounds on the black internet). i'm not a fan. there are so many ways i could pick that apart that it'd probably take me an hour to write that post.

but i'll keep it short and simple...if TP hates black women, then what does he feel about black men? because he writes the men in his work about 10x as worse as the women, an incredible feat btw. i can only assume it's because of the residual damage from the abuse (physical and sexual) he suffered growing up. the self-hate runs deeeeeeep w/ TP. but for the most part we arent sweating it because we aren't taking life cues from TP movies. i don't really come across many of these thinkpieces from the black male perspective.

overall though it's clear good, complex writing is just not a concern or an interest of his. because it clearly isnt a concern of his audience.
 
R

RedSwirl

Junior Member
That ain't her government name.

One of the biggest problems in my family (I've said this before) is nicknames. I have cousins, aunts, and uncles whose government names I am JUST NOW learning at the age of 26. Shit, I have relatives whose real names I didn't learn until I read their obituaries.
 
P

PartTimeWarrior

Banned
harSon said:
The government needs to step in and put a stop to one of the biggest blights in the black community... made up names. I met a black woman named Spectacular today. Who the fuck names their kid Spectacular?
Click to expand...

I've seen a good amount of Shaniquas and Latifas in my time but the name Precious still gets to me. Sounds like a name I would give to a pet before another human being
 
E

EscoBlades

Ubisoft Marketing
Nigerian names almost always carry a meaning, but sometimes seem odd to everyone else. Many of my friends were named after the day of the week they were born on, i have two friends called Sunday for instance.

Then there's also names like Patience, Joy, and our president's name is Goodluck Jonathan (for real)
 
C

-CRASH-

Banned
Nakazato said:
Green= MS 13
Brown= Gangsta disciples


and holy shit i got a tag
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ms 13 is green? tha fuck first time I'm learning this. is gangsta disciples an OG gang? never heard of them honestly.
my neighborhood is white fence territory but I'm pretty sure they don't have a color.
 
G

GotEmRunnin

Member
My family's real names are okay. It's the nicknames that are killer.

Slim
Boo Cat
Puddy Cat
Snake Doc
Foots
Brew
Thug
Blue (because he's so black he's blue)

And my personal fav. This one is not in my family but the son of a family friend. Stupid. Yes his nickname is Stupid.

And to make matters worse Stupid is a pretty good Ball player as ball players go in South Carolina. Imagine playing high school ball and people shouting Way to go Stupid!!! Good shot Stupid!!!!

I don't even know his real name but those in the neighborhood that respect the kid simply call him Stu.

I love South Carolina.
 
H

hypernima

Banned
EscoBlades said:
Nigerian names almost always carry a meaning, but sometimes seem odd to everyone else. Many of my friends were named after the day of the week they were born on, i have two friends called Sunday for instance.

Then there's also names like Patience, Joy, and our president's name is Goodluck Jonathan (for real)
Click to expand...

Comfort, Wonderful.
 
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