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The Black Culture Thread

L

Londa

Banned
bafflewaffle said:
never said it was a great place to live, but I was cool with people there

lot of people around here who had a easy life I cant relate to
Click to expand...

again, no one was bashing people that are forced to live in the ghetto
 
The Faceless Master

The Faceless Master

Member
heliosRAzi said:
Everyone in the hood wants to get out. It is a simple fact.
Click to expand...
this is definitely not true.

there are lots of people that don't want to leave the 'hood.

sometimes for financial reasons, sometimes because of familiarity.
 
P

Parallax

best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
MWS Natural said:
I feel the same way about the hood as white people feel about white trash. The only difference is that the average white person doesn't get thrown in with the trash while stereotyping still throws educated black people in with the ghetto.
Click to expand...

what everyone says about the hood is true. but there are a few good people in those situations, but like most smart people, they tend to keep to themselves.
 
A

Azure J

Member
Random set of thoughts:

- I have not been able to get the instrumental version of Surviving The Times out of my head at all today. THIS is the kind of shit I looooove listening to. Just kinda wondering though, based on the sample ("What Would I Do If I Could Feel" by Nipsy Russell), what would be some good recommendations for similar mellow and warm sounding artists and music?

- On being raised in the hood: totally agreed with the shared sentiments here. Thing is, while there are numerous things I missed out on experiencing due to it and my parent’s over protectiveness (which in hindsight I’m actually really happy for), there are some things that you gain from experiencing a life there that you seriously can’t trade for anything. I’ll keep this short and just say that while If I had a choice, I would pick anyplace before I picked the hood or the ghetto, I’m actually glad for the good things I picked up on either through watching others or experiencing it firsthand in my neighborhood.

- Is it the OBL is dead thread that’s claiming so many posters on GAF or is there someplace else I should b e looking/avoiding? It seems like every other thread I open is riddled with banned members everywhere, some of which are cool peoples. :(

- I want to hear your opinion on something related to the concept I've been working on for the past 2 or so years (the idea however is pretty damn old though, I'd say about 6 or so years old now). This idea of mine is pretty much my baby. It’s a multifaceted animation & video game concept starring a highly mixed group of kids or more specifically avatars of the childlike qualities everyone has and can relate to at any age. In terms of appeal, I kinda want them to be something akin to a new age Looney Tunes with the characters themselves having a Peanuts gang charming and timeless hook to themselves but I’m finding myself in a very interesting position with the major three (or at least the ones I designed first and have the most on). As it stands now, all of them fall on the “decisively black” side of things and I feel as though it’d be interesting to hear some opinions on the idea. What I’d like to do really is to make a new “every person” set of characters (in the vein of things like Mario, Mickey Mouse and the like) that are charming and don’t come of feeling forced, but at the same time, I don’t want to fall into the trap of making characters that are black (or any race - either through hinting or design) for the sake of being black or could be freely interchanged with someone of another race/complexion without issue.

TL;DR – What do you think are the elements that make a character timeless & easily identifiable and what kind of elements from that batch should be a focus if the aim I have in mind is to simply make charming icons with a good splash of ethnicity to themselves?
 
M

MWS Natural

Member
Lionheart1337 said:
People that watch hip hop on TV do not want to live in the hood.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. They want to seem hood or "hard" but I don't they actually want to sleep there when they go home at night.
 
U

Urban Scholar

Member
I was at the gym and I was talking to an older guy that I know. We were sharing some stuff he was asking me what I was doing with life. I let him know my life road map for the next 4-5 years with school and etc. He nodded and told me its cool that young brothers like me are doing something out there. Respect, felt good hearing that from one of my elders. Just wanted to share : )
 
L

Londa

Banned
I can't wait for the summer, I'm going to use it to do some new art. I want to also get a website going. I hope I am productive this summer.
 
A

Azure J

Member
Londa said:
I can't wait for the summer, I'm going to use it to do some new art. I want to also get a website going. I hope I am productive this summer.
Click to expand...

This plus working out and hopefully finding a good job are all that I want to do this summer. I especially want to get back in shape and learn to draw/continue practicing. It's been so long since I've so much as even sketched and my Wacom is feeling neglected. :lol
 
U

Urban Scholar

Member
Londa said:
I can't wait for the summer, I'm going to use it to do some new art. I want to also get a website going. I hope I am productive this summer.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. Going to take summer classes, improve the gpa, and work on learning to play the guitar. Oh and see what comes of my short story in my head.
 
P

perfectnight

Banned
AzureJericho said:
This plus working out and hopefully finding a good job are all that I want to do this summer. I especially want to get back in shape and learn to draw/continue practicing. It's been so long since I've so much as even sketched and my Wacom is feeling neglected. :lol
Click to expand...

Londa said:
I can't wait for the summer, I'm going to use it to do some new art. I want to also get a website going. I hope I am productive this summer.
Click to expand...

Yo godspeed to all you artists. My cousin has been drawing since he was a little kid and he showed me just how much dedication it takes to be an artist. :)
 
R

ReiGun

Member
Glad to see I'm not the only artist looking to get back into the swing of things this summer. This last semester has me so drained I can't wait to just sit and chill out with some lemonade and my sketchpad.
 
D

Derwind

Member
Well I'm a pretty amatuer artist myself but I can draw good portraits, I fuck up on the noses all the time though. I hate that part of the face soooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!
 
M

Mononofu

Member
I think this article echoes the sentiment of a lot of us in this thread

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/hollywood-won%E2%80%99t-learn-it%E2%80%99s-white-summer-again-27050

Hollywood Won't Learn: It's a White Summer Again

The lessons of “Fast Five” are apparently lost on a Hollywood that's about to embark on its biggest season, the summer.

The Universal sequel exploded onto theater screens last weekend, raking in $86.2 million with an ethnically diverse cast that attracted an equally diverse audience.

Latinos represented almost as many moviegoers as whites (33% versus 35%), while African-Americans also turned out in force, according to studio figures.

The multi-racial cast starred Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, featured a Rio de Janeiro backdrop and was directed by Justin Lin, who scored the biggest-ever domestic debut for an Asian director.

“‘Fast Five’ is a great example of Hollywood getting it right,” Craig Detweiler, professor of film history at Pepperdine University, told TheWrap. “Its multi-racial cast matches the multi-racial audience. The Rock and Vin Diesel reflect the browning of America, that there is more blurring across races and cultures than ever before. The box office take reflects that.”

But after that auspicious start, the summer derails quicker than one of Diesel's sports cars. A quick scan of the major films hitting theaters over the next few months shows that Hollywood is about to flood the marketplace -- again! -- with four-quadrant fare almost exclusively by and starring the ever-shrinking white plurality.

Don’t look for anybody ethnic to save the world or make it safe for democracy in “The Green Lantern” or “Cowboys and Aliens.” For that matter, “X-Men: First Class” may preach inclusion, but its cast isn’t exactly a rainbow coalition.

“There’s a huge consumer market that’s very diverse that wants to see itself on TV and film, but I’m not sure why the studios aren’t looking at this market,” Rebecca Yee, national director/senior equal employment opportunities counsel, SAG Affirmative Action and Diversity. “Film has been slow ... You watch TV it’s much more diverse now, too.”

Once again, the major films hitting theaters over the next few months lean heavily on Anglo-action stars with only a sprinkle of Latinos and African-American actors thrown into the mix.

With the possible exception of “The Help,” an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling Civil Rights era novel, no major release this summer centers on actors of color.

Lacking a Will Smith or Denzel Washington vehicle, actors of color have been consigned to supporting roles. Penelope Cruz (who is European Latina) will play lusty foil to Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Carribbean: On Stranger Tides;” Aziz Ansari will crack wise in “30 Minutes or Less”; and Idris Elba will go toe to toe with Chris Hemsworth in “Thor.”

But by and large, it’s looking like it'll be another monochromatic tentpole season.

"The question of whether there is a vast underrepresentation of African-Americans in film is always timely, because the answer unfortunately is Yes," L. Scott Caldwell, an African-American actress on programs such as "Lost," told TheWrap.

"While one only need look over our collective shoulder to see that we have come a long way, it is not nearly far enough."

Veering away from the tried and white has led to big box office in the past.

Tyler Perry’s “Madea” films have made more than $500 million domestically, the massive global successes of “Hancock” and “Men in Black” have made Will Smith perhaps the biggest box-office star in the world, and Smith’s son Jaden and Jackie Chan propelled “The Karate Kid” to a $359 million worldwide gross last year.

“If we relied on the studios, we’d get one film a quarter. Black folks like to go to movies more than that. We’ve got dollars to spend,” Ava DuVernay, founder of the independent distributor the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, told TheWrap.

The whiteout is not due to a lack of commerical muscle, industry insiders tell TheWrap, but is rather a reflection of the lack of diversity in studios’ boardrooms and executive suites.

“Part of the reason there are so few Latino actors and content about Latinos is that there is a lack of Latinos among the executive ranks.They don’t understand the audience and they don’t nurture the audience,” Moctesuma Esparza, co-chairman of Maya Entertainment, an independent studio geared at Latinos, told TheWrap. “It’s bad business, because when you look at the population under 30, the largest demographic is Latinos. We are the new mainstream."

The dearth of films starring different ethnic actors is doubly puzzling considering that Hollywood has become fixated on the global marketplace.

One prominent Disney exectuive, for instance, told TheWrap that the studio is trying to broaden the appeal of films such as “Prom” and “Pirates 4,” casting Asians or Latinas in prominent roles. But any improvement in terms of onscreen depictions of different ethnicities has largely taken place in the supporting realm not in the above the titles credits.

That’s an improvement from last summer, when films such as “The Last Airbender” and “Prince of Persia” were taken to task for assigning roles written as Asian or Middle Eastern and tailoring them to white actors. Whitewashing on that level is largely absent this summer. Indeed the only example of racial recasting involves Elba, who is taking the role of a Norse god portrayed in the Marvel comics as white.

Not that Elba’s casting wasn’t without controversy, with “Thor” fans loudly protesting the move.
“It's so ridiculous," Elba said during an event Rutgers U. last winter. "We have a man [Thor] who has a flying hammer and wears horns on his head. And yet me being an actor of African descent playing a Norse god is unbelievable? I mean, Cleopatra was played by Elizabeth Taylor, and Gandhi was played by Ben Kingsley."

Elba’s casting aside, that kind of absurdity is not yet reflected in Hollywood's casting department.
Click to expand...

Honesty I never correlated racial diversity to box office success of movies like The Fast and the Furious but I'm sure that's a big part of the wide appeal. My younger self would probably say "I don't pay attention to race when I go to the theater". A statement which isn't entirely accurate because we all notice color, even if it's just on a subconscious level. I've always been geek, I have no problem viewing Foreign films, Sci-Fi, animation, etc but quite a few black people I know especially the older folks, have little interest in Hollywood movies that seem to predominantly represent white America. They want to see a reflection of their culture or their way of life and nothings wrong with that.
 
B

bafflewaffle

Member
The Faceless Master said:
this is definitely not true.

there are lots of people that don't want to leave the 'hood.

sometimes for financial reasons, sometimes because of familiarity.
Click to expand...
Im seeing a level of bitterness beyond normal circumstance. Im just bein humble and accepting of whatever God has given me.
 
C

captmcblack

Member
The hood sucks.

...but if you are from it, it sticks with you. I will always be more comfortable, more at home, walking around East Flatbush, Brooklyn than Greenwich, Connecticut. I am used to bodegas and quarter water, used to the guy selling bootlegs in the barbershop, used to 5%ers preaching and selling fragrances on the corner, used to seeing people that look like me and sound like me doing things like me.

It's a creature comfort in a way, I guess.

You never should aspire to stay in the hood, but if I wasn't able to go back home every now and again and see my people there, eat my kind of food there, just chill there...it would be weird for me.

As for race and film (or games and other media for that matter), we know they don't care about diversifying their stuff. It's lame, most definitely. Like we've asked before, why couldn't the Hangover be done with black people in EXACTLY the same situations with exactly the same dialogue? Why couldn't you have Juno with Hispanic people people? Why couldn't a cartoon like say...Generator Rex or something be done with a black kid? That's the stuff they have to do. I'd imagine if it even occurred to them to try to do those sort of things with minorities, they probably focus tested it and turned people off or something. :(
 
P

Parallax

best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
captmcblack said:
As for race and film (or games and other media for that matter), we know they don't care about diversifying their stuff. It's lame, most definitely. Like we've asked before, why couldn't the Hangover be done with black people in EXACTLY the same situations with exactly the same dialogue? Why couldn't you have Juno with Hispanic people people? Why couldn't a cartoon like say...Generator Rex or something be done with a black kid? That's the stuff they have to do. I'd imagine if it even occurred to them to try to do those sort of things with minorities, they probably focus tested it and turned people off or something. :(
Click to expand...

to be fair, generator rex has a latino lead. so thats something.

DominoKid said:
You exfoliating B? STOP THAT!

so how yall feel about the Pretty Boy phenomenon he talking about in this video.

if I could grow a beard like that I damn sure wouldn't shave.
Click to expand...

i would grow a beard like that too. he had me, then he lost me, then he started hating on gucci and had me again. i agree with some of the things he says, but at the same time, there are a lot of chicks into dudes like that. so as long as they are into em, they'll exist
 
D

Derwind

Member
DominoKid said:
You exfoliating B? STOP THAT!

so how yall feel about the Pretty Boy phenomenon he talking about in this video.

if I could grow a beard like that I damn sure wouldn't shave.
Click to expand...

I agree with a good number of things he said but I had a hard time listening to that BS lecture mode he was in without rolling my eye's. Ranting about how things are supposed to be and how gayed up everything's gotten. >_>
 
L

Lebron

Member
Well, some of us like to have swag looking nails. Thank you very much.



Also, Lebron is winning the Championship. Swag
 
L

lightless_shado

Banned
So I'm watching Black in Latin America with my mother. Watching the first episode about Haiti and the Dominican republic. Can't believe some of the shit I'm hearing. We talked about this earlier in the thread but I still can't wrap my head around how so many people in the Dominican republic are just CONVINCED that they have no black ancestry and aren't black even if they look clearly black.
 
P

perfectnight

Banned
lightless_shado said:
So I'm watching Black in Latin America with my mother. Watching the first episode about Haiti and the Dominican republic. Can't believe some of the shit I'm hearing. We talked about this earlier in the thread but I still can't wrap my head around how so many people in the Dominican republic are just CONVINCED that they have no black ancestry and aren't black even if they look clearly black.
Click to expand...

Oh wow this is great. Thanks so much for linking to this. I'll be watching all of it. Also, yeah I was one of the ones elaborating on the Dominican side of things earlier in the thread. This kind of denial/self-hate happens all too often, unfortunately.

e- ugh. I got so fucking mad when they started talking about Columbus statue in park colon, Santo domingo. I went there many times as a kid as I lived not far from it. It wasn't until I was in my teens (by means of my own once I moved to the US because no school in the DR ever taught me about it) that I learned that Columbus was in fact a genocidal, narcissistic and greedy psychopath. I've hated all of Columbus monuments in my country ever since.

At the same time I got really nostalgic watching this video because they showed a lot of places that I went to with my family as a kid. El conde, parque nacional, etc.
 
C

captmcblack

Member
lightless_shado said:
So I'm watching Black in Latin America with my mother. Watching the first episode about Haiti and the Dominican republic. Can't believe some of the shit I'm hearing. We talked about this earlier in the thread but I still can't wrap my head around how so many people in the Dominican republic are just CONVINCED that they have no black ancestry and aren't black even if they look clearly black.
Click to expand...


This stuff is why DR women hate my Haitian ass...which sucks, because when I'm in the BX and up in E. Harlem or Washington Heights, I snap my neck checking some of their ladies out but get shut down quick when I try to talk to them. :(

This stuff is also why Zoe Saldana will never date me. :( :(
 
G

GhettoGamer

Member
Sooo i just heard they are remaking juice, witb soulja boy as bishop and waka flocka as raheem. Yeah this is Belly 2 bad, but these young hoodrats will eat it up though
 
D

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
GhettoGamer said:
Sooo i just heard they are remaking juice, witb soulja boy as bishop and waka flocka as raheem. Yeah this is Belly 2 bad, but these young hoodrats will eat it up though
Click to expand...


Who is going to play the role of Redhead Kingpin?
 
B

Bad_Boy

time to take my meds
GhettoGamer said:
Sooo i just heard they are remaking juice, witb soulja boy as bishop and waka flocka as raheem. Yeah this is Belly 2 bad, but these young hoodrats will eat it up though
Click to expand...
dont even play.


dont even play.
 
P

Parallax

best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
captmcblack said:
This stuff is why DR women hate my Haitian ass...which sucks, because when I'm in the BX and up in E. Harlem or Washington Heights, I snap my neck checking some of their ladies out but get shut down quick when I try to talk to them. :(

This stuff is also why Zoe Saldana will never date me. :( :(
Click to expand...

she identifies with her black roots more, but even still, she likes the white meat.. so yeah, you dont stand a chance

GhettoGamer said:
Sooo i just heard they are remaking juice, witb soulja boy as bishop and waka flocka as raheem. Yeah this is Belly 2 bad, but these young hoodrats will eat it up though
Click to expand...

man, you almost got me. where did you come up with such an idea?
 
U

Urban Scholar

Member
captmcblack said:
This stuff is also why Zoe Saldana will never date me. :( :(
Click to expand...

Ok...while we are on the verge of crushing one of my many dreams...what? On a serious note, I think it's silly like most race issues. Still not going to stop this Haitian from trying to hit on DR girls.
 
M

Mattlikewhoa

Member
GhettoGamer said:
Sooo i just heard they are remaking juice, witb soulja boy as bishop and waka flocka as raheem. Yeah this is Belly 2 bad, but these young hoodrats will eat it up though
Click to expand...


Yeah and Ice T said it best in a radio interview after first hearing about it...

"stop it"

Oh and he released a "juice" mixtape...Also notice the high top fade he's sporting right now...
 
D

DrFunk

not licensed in your state
Urban Scholar said:
Ok...while we are on the verge of crushing one of my many dreams...what? On a serious note, I think it's silly like most race issues. Still not going to stop this Haitian from trying to hit on DR girls.
Click to expand...

Shit is ice cold....preferences, I guess. :/
 
L

Lionheart1337

Member
captmcblack said:
The hood sucks.

...but if you are from it, it sticks with you. I will always be more comfortable, more at home, walking around East Flatbush, Brooklyn than Greenwich, Connecticut. I am used to bodegas and quarter water, used to the guy selling bootlegs in the barbershop, used to 5%ers preaching and selling fragrances on the corner, used to seeing people that look like me and sound like me doing things like me.

It's a creature comfort in a way, I guess.

You never should aspire to stay in the hood, but if I wasn't able to go back home every now and again and see my people there, eat my kind of food there, just chill there...it would be weird for me.

As for race and film (or games and other media for that matter), we know they don't care about diversifying their stuff. It's lame, most definitely. Like we've asked before, why couldn't the Hangover be done with black people in EXACTLY the same situations with exactly the same dialogue? Why couldn't you have Juno with Hispanic people people? Why couldn't a cartoon like say...Generator Rex or something be done with a black kid? That's the stuff they have to do. I'd imagine if it even occurred to them to try to do those sort of things with minorities, they probably focus tested it and turned people off or something. :(
Click to expand...


This post speaks to me.

On another note, it's a shame how latinos and blacks don't get along. It's almost like self-loathing. I was hanging out with these spanish kids in brooklyn, and it's appalling how they can just derogatorily throw the n word around likes it's nothing. I can quote this kid I knew saying "The world would be a better place if all black people were gone". Like wtf? Even said jokingly it's fucked up. Not to say I haven't seen it in the reverse. Some blacks in my family swear that latinos are the only ones that steal, and do dirty things. Crab mentality? We're pretty much in the same boat aren't we?
 
M

MWS Natural

Member
heliosRAzi said:
STOP IT B
Click to expand...
AS A GROWN ASS MAN MY SKIN NEEDS TO BE FUCKED UP! FUCK ALL THEM DAILY SHOWERS AND SHIT! YOU NEED TO SMELL LIKE A FUNKY ASS GROWN MAN!

The Faceless Master said:
!?
Click to expand...
I gave up trying to comprehend half of the what he was saying. Either he is posting from a smart phone or English is not his first language.
 
C

charsace

Member
heliosRAzi said:
Everyone in the hood wants to get out. It is a simple fact.
Click to expand...
Truth. I fucking hate the hood and most of the people in it are fucking bitter assholes that don't want to see anyone have a good life and leave it.
 
S

soundscream

Member
DominoKid said:
You exfoliating B? STOP THAT!

so how yall feel about the Pretty Boy phenomenon he talking about in this video.

if I could grow a beard like that I damn sure wouldn't shave.
Click to expand...
2n99mv6jpg.gif


I recently shaved my beard cause a girl said i would look better without it :(
 
D

Dreams-Visions

Member
Lionheart1337 said:
This post speaks to me.

On another note, it's a shame how latinos and blacks don't get along. It's almost like self-loathing. I was hanging out with these spanish kids in brooklyn, and it's appalling how they can just derogatorily throw the n word around likes it's nothing. I can quote this kid I knew saying "The world would be a better place if all black people were gone". Like wtf? Even said jokingly it's fucked up. Not to say I haven't seen it in the reverse. Some blacks in my family swear that latinos are the only ones that steal, and do dirty things. Crab mentality? We're pretty much in the same boat aren't we?
Click to expand...
smh
 
C

captmcblack

Member
I shaved my beard/mustache to go on an interview.

...and also because I just wanted to remember what I looked like without the facial hair.

I look like I'm 16...ugh. It's so weird to see some knucklehead-ass kids looking tougher than me without my beard. :\
 
L

Lionheart1337

Member
I`m 20 and my entire facial hair consists of a few barely visible strands below my chin.

Feels bad man. I look 12.

I`m alpha as fuck though so I don't care. I just hate the assumptions that come with appearance.
 
U

Urban Scholar

Member
Lionheart1337 said:
I`m 20 and my entire facial hair consists of a few barely visible strands below my chin.

Feels bad man. I look 12.

I`m alpha as fuck though so I don't care. I just hate the assumptions that come with appearance.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I also can relate to the facial hair thing.
 
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