Rod, Justin and Karen discuss Justin’s job drama, working with bad management, computer trouble, car trouble, power trouble, Snowfall, THEM and listener feedback.
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PG 284: Ripping The Illusion
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Hey Karen, Rod and J-Betty Wendell
I’ve been noticing Rod’s posts on the various social medias about black trauma as “entertainment” and noted his frustrations with the relatively recent phenomena of decrying these types of stories. I got to say, I feel you man. I don’t know when this became a thing but I have always learned that good stories make you feel things. The general thought was that if a story was executed well, plus it made you feel something, that was the holy grail. Maybe I read the room wrong, but I remember back in the 80s, there was disappointment when that soul brother Steven Speilberg received no wins for The Colour Purple, even with 11 noms. We were convinced that the Academy shut that movie out because it told this story about nuanced beautiful black women. We loved The Colour Purple. We love it to this day. The Colour Purple is wall to wall black trauma. I don’t know when this trend took hold that stories about black trauma are unseemly money grabs. I get that there have always been people that don’t want to watch certain stories because they may trigger something in them. I’m sure back in 94 there were some holocaust survivors that couldn’t bear to sit through Schindler’s List. What seems different is that certain voices are saying that if a story is too traumatic for them, it shouldn’t be told and it pisses me off.
The more cynical part of me wonders if there’s more to this shit. There was this critique of “Soul”, come to find out that the tweeters behind that shit hated Tina Fey. I wonder, if Shonda Rhimes was the force behind “Them” instead of Lena Waithe, maybe it wouldn’t be receiving this negative twitter reaction. I increasingly get the feeling that the twitter reception of a project depends on who’s behind it no matter the artistic merit. I also wonder if there is an element of jealousy behind these extremely loud voices. This era has seen an unprecedented number of negroes actually getting paid to tell these stories. It makes me wonder if some of these loud twitter voices maybe had scripts that sat in development purgatory before being passed on. In any event, because of all the criticism, I got curious and started watching “Them”, which I wasn’t going to do because I thought it was just a horror show. I’m two episodes in and loving it so far. I’m side eying Alison Pill from now on, just like Leonardo after Django. She’s doing a real good job…maybe too good.
Speaking of black trauma, I noticed Rod finished “Exterminate All the Brutes”. Has Karen and J-Miss Vera finished watching it yet? I loved it. Strangely enough, I even liked that conceit of using Josh Hartnett as an avatar for white supremacy’s brutality. Me and my wife started it late one Saturday afternoon, expecting to just watch one episode per day but ended up bingeing the whole thing that evening, ignoring the kids and everything. I love the central thesis that all the atrocity associated with colonization is inevitable and is considered acceptable because white supremacy has peddled the notion that whiteness is humanity “evolved” and evolution just naturally includes extermination of the “less evolved” species which is everybody nonwhite.
Sorry for the long email.
Amil
Hey Rod Karen and Justin
Hope you guys had a great week!
Just wanted to say to Justin, congrats on the employment move! Always do what is best for you and your family! Sounds like a better situation anyway, as far as commute and scheduling! Ya love to see it!
Fyahworks out
Hello Rod, Karen and Justin,
This is a long one.
Marvel done did it AGAIN! Falcon and the Winter Soldier was so good. I am so glad that Carl Lumbly was given the chance to shine, and a new generation is getting to see this talented actor. Marvel let Mackie step to the forefront and he did not disappoint. Having Sam become a fully fleshed out character was great to see. Also, who knew Bucky loved the Blacks, he was literally invited to the cookout.
Man, A Black Lady Sketch Show is back with a vengeance. When the hoteptress said, “Stevie Wonder ain’t blind, he was just sick of looking at white people,†and that Harriet Tubman’s last name breaks down to Tub Man because white people don’t wash their legs,†and then she added, “Why are there so many Zs in Versuz, they’re trying to put us to sleep.†I lost it. Then Laz Alonzo said that they were doing “Fat Joe cardio.†Too damned funny.
Did any of you watch the CNN four-part documentary The People v. The Klan. It tells the story of the 1981 lynching of Michael Donald. It was really good. I don’t know if it is available on CNN’s website or another platform like Hulu or Amazon, but it is definitely worth checking out if you get a chance.
Exterminate All the Brutes is another four-part document-drama. It aired on HBO looks at the brutality of Europeans throughout the world. It is a lot because it is recounting how we as a society became an ode to savagery. and greed. One of the first things it tells you as it shows Hollywood’s portrayal of non-whites is, “There are no alternative facts.†It deconstructs the myths that white people tell themselves to justify their actions.
Congratulations Justin the level up is real…Y’all keep doing great things
Greetings, Rod, Justin, and Karen. Let me share how I knew the race for Justin’s boss! We are dealing with a highly insecure black man in leadership at my work site. (I’m going to have to be a little vague about this, sorry.)
This dude wants all the glory without putting in the work. He is more interested in social media likes than building a sense of community in our building. We serve young clients. During the initial quarantine to this very day, this negro has been trying to create THE video that would go viral. We have been sitting there lacking PPE and so much more, but you got time to make videos?! What gets under his skin is the fact that others that are sincere get the shine, while he never does.
Anywho, he pulled the ultimate short dick move last year involving an employee that got called to active duty. The military attorneys said, “So, you wanna fuck around and find out? We got you.†When I tell you that the entire staff is enjoying the largest sized perfect box of buttery popcorn over this situation, I mean that!
He is threatened by anyone that has confidence in their ability to do their job, but especially other black men.
Justin, YOU DID THAT!!!
Your tweet illustrious current situation perfectly: https://twitter.com/rodimusprime/status/1385747957778104325?s=21