I wanted to write about the idea of 'the end of the innocence' as a black person, using a scene in Spike Lee's Crooklyn.
This is a concept I've heard of before, inc. in a song by Don Henley, I think. I'll be brief.
As a child growing up in post-race riots Detroit, rest assured, all I knew was: I am black.
In time, other black people made me see that I was different or, to some, of a certain complexion, as a former cohort pointed out.
I saw this experience reflected as a sort of screen memory in Crooklyn, in the scene wherein a little black girl tells a little Puerto Rican girl that she's "just a Puerto Rican," IIRC, putting her down.
Yes, my experience was - at least to some - within the race, but the message was similar.
Get it? They showed me that I was different. I learned it from other black folks.
That was "the end of the innocence" for me, in terms of being a black person.
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Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 1, 2022 at 6:03 PM
Whom are you referring to here
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 1, 2022 at 8:02 PM
Community Guidelines on TMDB
Trolling, abuse, flaming and/or harassment are uncalled for and will not be tolerated. Have discussions based on well-formulated arguments.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 1, 2022 at 8:17 PM
Ha. Suppose that I am one of those who is into what you're referring to as "identity politics?"
Not to worry, mech: I realize that I haven't always been a good boy on the boards as of late. I just wanted to remind you of the above.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 2, 2022 at 3:34 AM
It seems that every sixth or seventh post you make here finds you referring contemptuously to human beings who just happen to have been born a certain skin shade lighter than yours as "pasty" or "pasty colored." And then you have the nerve to try to invite those who are reading to post on the message boards? I don't think it works that way, Sam I am... I think people want to be seen, maybe even judged with eyes unclouded by hate!
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 2, 2022 at 3:42 AM
You misunderstand me. What you're talking about up above never applied to me. Indeed, my black identity is something you cannot take away from me. But this has never been the most prominent detail of my identity, more important than what I do.
So sorry that my wording in my OP confused you.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 2, 2022 at 12:50 PM
No, I don't think so. I'd like to remind you of the TMDB guideline I posted up above.
and
You can quote me on what I'm about to say... in the event that you're directing some of your cuteness at the group I suspect you are... you should never, ever belittle the skin color of African Americans -- as it is in part for that very factor that we, as a collective, have war waged upon us in this country.....
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 2, 2022 at 5:30 PM
I don't need links. Whenever I start wondering why conditions in certain places in the U.S. are SO adverse, I reflect upon the words of Frances Cress Welsing in her book, The Isis Papers, on what she thought racism is. May she rest in peace. She was a sort of melanin worshipper, which I am not in favor of. However, she seemed to give a f about her people, and she had her own interesting way of looking at the issues. Take a look at the book sometime....
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 5, 2022 at 3:35 AM
Uh, nope. They don't seem like my cup of tea, honestly...
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 5, 2022 at 11:40 AM
AGAIN, I won't do your homework for you. I provided you with a reference; you ridiculed its author. Look at all of the black folks who were killed by police in B.S. incidents in the past 5 years or so...
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 5, 2022 at 11:55 AM
I remember her name. Unfortunately, there are so many black people done in by the police that after awhile, the details become repetitive and vague for me.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 5, 2022 at 5:10 PM
You mean you don’t agree with the Cress Theory of Color Confrontation and Racism? I found it interesting during my days of higher learning. An acquaintance said it is “non-falsifiable,” however.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 5, 2022 at 6:27 PM
OK.
BTW, if you vomit up the words “concrete” & “tangible” in a reply to me one more time, I’m putting you on ignore.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 5, 2022 at 7:05 PM
The Cress Theory is, for me, an interesting idea that seems to hold weight for some folks. A roommate of mine once told me that Welsing's lab or place of work was destroyed by some people once; maybe this is proof of the Theory's significance for some. Of course, at the end of the day, it is just a theory. I definitely do not agree with everything Welsing states in her book... I don't agree with everything anyone says, to date.
To kind of circle back around to the opening idea of this thread, I just wanted to write about discovering the Cress Theory during the nineties, when there was a real boom in Afrocentric teaching in the U.S. I remember hearing about the horror of an Afrocentric black teacher telling the light-complexioned black students in his class that they should be prepared to defend their "heritage" to him and the rest of the class....
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 5, 2022 at 8:22 PM
That did it.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 6, 2022 at 9:50 PM
I didn't say that it did.
Look, you're hateful and combative. You only pick on me on this board, no one gets my back about it, and it's exhausting. This doesn't even have that much to do with cinema. If you don't stop antagonizing me, I will put your ass back on ignore. Is that clear?