Hey guys! It has been a while since my last post. I hope you didn’t miss me too much ☺
I have been laying low and taking in our new realities in these here United States. My passion for social issues and my penchant for speaking my mind made it difficult and sometimes unbearable. It sometimes show growth when you are able to suppress some of the rants and gather perspective before speaking on certain issues, but not today. I told myself recently that going forward I will speak up on issues that are important to me. My voice may inspire others to do the same, but more importantly speaking up on social issues may eventually transform dialogue into action.
So let us talk about the movie Get Out being placed in the comedy category at the Golden Globes. For many, this may seem like a trivial issue. To some this is a big deal. Get out was able to place all of our thoughts, experiences and reservations about race and injustices towards blacks on one platter. This is not the first movie to do this, but given the current climate, this one is important. If you’ve seen the movie you would have gotten the references to the social struggles of the black man. Get out is about stereotypes, marginalization and the elephant in the room that people are afraid to talk about…Racism. Black men have always been categorized as angry and possess a super strength that no other race possesses. So there is always an expectation that the black man will act out or he must be great at a sport of some sort. There were many references throughout the movie that examined these issues. The double consciousness that black people are faced with every day challenges our sanity. The constant need for validation of our culture and who we are as a people is jarring. The double consciousness which refers to blacks living a double life so to speak. On one hand we battle with the need to be accepted by white culture so we soften our blackness and on the other we have to hold on to who we are to remain solid in our communities. The fact that W.E.B Dubois can still be referenced in this context in 2017 is a representation of where we still are with race.
“We don’t want our truth trivialized. The label of comedy is often a trivial thing. The real question is, what are you laughing at?” -Jordan Peele
What the hell is funny about racial injustice? What the hell is funny about marginalizing a people to the point that there is a constant need to justify our existence? What is funny about enslaving the identity of the black man in white perception? What the hell is funny about shucking and jiving for white acceptance? I understand the business of awards that affects the decision of studios when placing movies in different categories. I get it. The goal is to win awards. But we have to examine the decision to place a movie such as Get Out in the wrong category as it trivializes the messages that are strewn throughout. For black people, this is another instance where we are not taken seriously. I hate to break it to the powers that be, but this generation is catching on to the deliberate actions that aim to suppress the telling of our story. To some this is just a movie. To others, this is another instance where our work is laughed off and categorized as funny business. Racism is no laughing matter and we are paying attention to the people who find it funny.
As always, thank you for reading and feel free to share your thoughts.
xoxo
Sam