1:14 pm - 02/19/2013
Django, in chains
Editor's note: Jesse Williams is an actor/producer who plays Dr. Jackson Avery on the TV series "Grey's Anatomy." He is a Temple University graduate and former public high school teacher. Williams founded the production company, farWord Inc. and is an executive producer of "Question Bridge: Black Males." Follow him on Twitter and Tumblr. Note: This article contains offensive language.
Films such as "Django Unchained" carry with them an uncommonly high concentration of influence and opportunity. Due to the scarcity of diverse and inspiring representations on screen, Quentin Tarantino's latest movie casts a longer shadow than many are willing to acknowledge.
In a recent interview with UK Channel 4, Tarantino stated his goals and interpretation of the Oscar-nominated film's impact: "I've always wanted to explore slavery ... to give black American males a hero ... and revenge. ... I am responsible for people talking about slavery in America in a way they have not in 30 years."
He went on, "Violence on slaves hasn't been dealt with to the extent that I've dealt with it."
My personal biracial experience growing up on both sides of segregated hoods, suburbs and backcountry taught me a lot about the coded language and arithmetic of racism. I was often invisible when topics of race arose, the racial adoptee that you spoke honestly in front of.
I grew up hearing the candid dirt from both sides, and I studied it. The conversation was almost always influenced by something people read or saw on a screen. Media portrayals greatly affect, if not entirely construct, how we interpret "otherness." People see what they are shown, and little else.
It's why my dad forced me to study and value history from an absurdly young age -- to build a foundation solid enough to withstand cultural omissions from the curriculum and distortions from the media. It's what led me to become a teacher of American and African history out of college. There is a glaring difference in outlook between those who have mined the rich, empowering truth about how we've come to be, and those who just accept that there's only one or two people of African descent deemed worthy of entire history books.
If, like Tarantino, you show up with a megaphone and claim to be creating a real solution to a specific problem, I only ask that you not instead, construct something unnecessarily fake and then act like you've done us a favor.
[...]
GO READ THE REST @ THE SOURCE
READ JESSE'S COMPANION PIECE HERE
Films such as "Django Unchained" carry with them an uncommonly high concentration of influence and opportunity. Due to the scarcity of diverse and inspiring representations on screen, Quentin Tarantino's latest movie casts a longer shadow than many are willing to acknowledge.
In a recent interview with UK Channel 4, Tarantino stated his goals and interpretation of the Oscar-nominated film's impact: "I've always wanted to explore slavery ... to give black American males a hero ... and revenge. ... I am responsible for people talking about slavery in America in a way they have not in 30 years."
He went on, "Violence on slaves hasn't been dealt with to the extent that I've dealt with it."
My personal biracial experience growing up on both sides of segregated hoods, suburbs and backcountry taught me a lot about the coded language and arithmetic of racism. I was often invisible when topics of race arose, the racial adoptee that you spoke honestly in front of.
I grew up hearing the candid dirt from both sides, and I studied it. The conversation was almost always influenced by something people read or saw on a screen. Media portrayals greatly affect, if not entirely construct, how we interpret "otherness." People see what they are shown, and little else.
It's why my dad forced me to study and value history from an absurdly young age -- to build a foundation solid enough to withstand cultural omissions from the curriculum and distortions from the media. It's what led me to become a teacher of American and African history out of college. There is a glaring difference in outlook between those who have mined the rich, empowering truth about how we've come to be, and those who just accept that there's only one or two people of African descent deemed worthy of entire history books.
If, like Tarantino, you show up with a megaphone and claim to be creating a real solution to a specific problem, I only ask that you not instead, construct something unnecessarily fake and then act like you've done us a favor.
[...]
GO READ THE REST @ THE SOURCE
READ JESSE'S COMPANION PIECE HERE
Yeah, I always wished the Brazilian culture and the latino culture didn't push away from each other so. Especially because we are so culturally similar, in food, in family, in the kinds of conflicts we come across. The only barrier is language. But I think the thing is with second generation American latinos, it's a different culture there where they're trying to find themselves as Americans, and as latinos, and as both, and a kind of insulation is formed. I don't know, I've tried wrapping my head around it but I can't. It's so regional, too. South Florida, everyone gets along. In NYC, every latino subculture was segregated. I hear in California it's similar to NYC.
I don't blame you about the straight Brazilian men though. The thing is, when it's a straight Brazilian guy with a sense of humor and a good amount of self confidence? They're some of the funnest people. But the problem is Brazil has such a culture of pure machismo that exudes a kind of aggressiveness that makes certain guys just unpleasant to be around, especially the ones who compensate for low self confidence with ego. The boisterousness, the insensitivity are all lauded as being ~MANLY~ which makes them so grating. Like, with those guys there is no sense of respect whatsoever, and by god you just want to punch them in the nose with a newspaper. Like you said, straight American men are just generally more chill. And while it does have its crazies, generally America has progressed socially enough that a straight guy of average intelligence is going to have something to talk about. I was surprised during the Don't Ask Don't Tell debacle how many of my boyfriend's navy buddies were in support of just letting people be open in service as a way to combat harassment. Meanwhile, when the whole thing went down and I went to Brazil, my dad was asking about "America's gay army."
And yeah, I'm in Savannah, Georgia of all places! I'm from Rio originally though. Was going to go there for March but no go :( If you ever have a chance you should visit! The crime sucks and the favellas break your heart, but it's got such an active community and all the museums and theatres are so great. I really miss the arts there! In Savannah we have, uh, a Gun show, and a ballet set to LMFAO. If they could only combine the two...