I saw Roots in the seventies. The original one, I haven't seen the remake, I might, but I haven't seen it yet. But I saw Roots in the seventies and Roots in the seventies was groundbreaking and almost consciousness changing. It's not farfetched to imagine that many in and around my generation can identify Roots as having some hand in shaping their race awareness and politics. Roots was awesome is rass-hole.
I understand the importance of the remake, though I don't think that given the current landscape it can be as impactful as its predecessor.
It was silly of Snoop Dogg to call for a boycott of Roots in his rant, but his weariness at seeing "niggas getting dogged out" I understand.
I don't get why Snoop Dogg's rant about Roots was important enough to get upset about. This may be because I don't get celebrity culture. It has always baffled me as to why every nonsense uttered by a celebrity on any subject is given as much weight as it is. Snoop is a boss rapper and when he talks about rap and the rap game... I'll hang on every word... the other stuff not so much.
I understand why some of the people that called Snoop out, did so. He wanted fucking calling out, he's one of the ones who got out from under. Snoop really should focus less on what other people are doing, and more on what he could do.
I'm not sure how relevant his past, no matter how sordid, is.
Calling Snoop on his bullshit made sense, being dismissive of his perspective... not so much.
I think that, distasteful as his ideas may have been to some, Snoop Dogg does speak for a small subsection of black people when he expresses what, on the surface, seems to be frustration at Roots.
I think Snoop Dogg is frustrated at the feeling of being forced to wallow in the fact of his abuse (whether the feeling is based on reality or not).
The frustration of being forced (by life) to wallow in the fact of your own abuse is real I'm sure of this because Snoop is not the only person that I've heard voice these sentiments and though I don't agree with Snoop, I too often feel the weary desperation of having to see "niggas getting dogged out" (yet again... or still)
I am sick of the argument that tries to say that because slaves owners used the word "nigger" black people should not appropriate or refashion it. This is not to say I approve (or disapprove) of "nigga", but the argument is simplistic, reductive and completely lacking in an understanding of how language can evolve.
Saying "nigger" on radio and TV only became a fucking problem when black people started to take the stingers out of the word and make it their own.
"The N word" is far more offensive than "nigger". One at least owns what it is, the other is cowardly (either say it or don't)
It is a grotesque false equivalence to juxtapose the making of holocaust films with the making of slavery films. To do so ignores that the two groups (that the films represent) have very different relationships with the sociey they live in; on group is reminding the world of their historical suffering from a power position, the other is still largely underfoot. It ignores the reality of who owns the film making platforms (One set of narratives is almost gauranteed awards in that context the other...not so much). To dismiss the "topic fatigue" some black people feel, by pulling this bullshit juxtaposition out of your arse is to dismiss the very real psychological suffering of you brothers and sisters (I use those terms for the people claiming "wokeness").
It seems to me that if we are to truly heal we need to be far more honest and understanding with ourselves about where we are in the struggle. We need to be less willing to chastise and more willing to nurture, brutally honest about when and how we have failed ourselves, and far more robust and vocal in celebrating our triumphs.
Nala (The $2 Philosopher)
I understand the importance of the remake, though I don't think that given the current landscape it can be as impactful as its predecessor.
It was silly of Snoop Dogg to call for a boycott of Roots in his rant, but his weariness at seeing "niggas getting dogged out" I understand.
I don't get why Snoop Dogg's rant about Roots was important enough to get upset about. This may be because I don't get celebrity culture. It has always baffled me as to why every nonsense uttered by a celebrity on any subject is given as much weight as it is. Snoop is a boss rapper and when he talks about rap and the rap game... I'll hang on every word... the other stuff not so much.
I understand why some of the people that called Snoop out, did so. He wanted fucking calling out, he's one of the ones who got out from under. Snoop really should focus less on what other people are doing, and more on what he could do.
I'm not sure how relevant his past, no matter how sordid, is.
Calling Snoop on his bullshit made sense, being dismissive of his perspective... not so much.
I think that, distasteful as his ideas may have been to some, Snoop Dogg does speak for a small subsection of black people when he expresses what, on the surface, seems to be frustration at Roots.
I think Snoop Dogg is frustrated at the feeling of being forced to wallow in the fact of his abuse (whether the feeling is based on reality or not).
The frustration of being forced (by life) to wallow in the fact of your own abuse is real I'm sure of this because Snoop is not the only person that I've heard voice these sentiments and though I don't agree with Snoop, I too often feel the weary desperation of having to see "niggas getting dogged out" (yet again... or still)
I am sick of the argument that tries to say that because slaves owners used the word "nigger" black people should not appropriate or refashion it. This is not to say I approve (or disapprove) of "nigga", but the argument is simplistic, reductive and completely lacking in an understanding of how language can evolve.
Saying "nigger" on radio and TV only became a fucking problem when black people started to take the stingers out of the word and make it their own.
"The N word" is far more offensive than "nigger". One at least owns what it is, the other is cowardly (either say it or don't)
It is a grotesque false equivalence to juxtapose the making of holocaust films with the making of slavery films. To do so ignores that the two groups (that the films represent) have very different relationships with the sociey they live in; on group is reminding the world of their historical suffering from a power position, the other is still largely underfoot. It ignores the reality of who owns the film making platforms (One set of narratives is almost gauranteed awards in that context the other...not so much). To dismiss the "topic fatigue" some black people feel, by pulling this bullshit juxtaposition out of your arse is to dismiss the very real psychological suffering of you brothers and sisters (I use those terms for the people claiming "wokeness").
It seems to me that if we are to truly heal we need to be far more honest and understanding with ourselves about where we are in the struggle. We need to be less willing to chastise and more willing to nurture, brutally honest about when and how we have failed ourselves, and far more robust and vocal in celebrating our triumphs.
Nala (The $2 Philosopher)
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