Nah'Sun

@ Pioneer My not wanting to see Django on the strength of the plot summary is no different from people not wanting to buy a book based on the synopsis

My general overview on the book side of things 1992 - Terry McMillian's novel Waiting to Exhale takes off nationally and kicks off the "chick-lit" boom in Black publishing 1993-1999 - Chick Lit, also known as "sista girl" novels, spawns renowned authors such as Eric Jerome Dickey, Omar Tyree, Mary B Morrison, Bebe Moore Campbell, and Mary Monroe as they put a stamp on contemporary Black fiction writing with their work 1999 - Sister Souljah's The Coldest Winter Ever shifts the attention away from Chick-Lit to the resurrection of Street Lit that was irrelevant for the past 30 years 1999 - The successful release of The Coldest Winter Ever is followed by Teri Woods' True to the Game which launches the birth of Black independently owned publishing houses While Sister Souljah is the revolution, Teri Woods is the evolution 1999-2003 - The Golden Age of Urban Fiction/Street Lit where authors such as Teri Woods, Vicky Stringer, Shannon Holmes, K'wan, Al-Saadiq Banks, and Carl Weber spearheaded a movement that would turn out lucrative 2003-present – Urban Fiction saturates the Black publishing industry and sparks an ongoing debate about whether the genre is helping or hurting the legacy of Black literature

@Pioneer I'm entitled to a preference You not wanting to watch Red Hot Summer without seeing the movie is the same as my reasoning for not wanting to watch Django without seeing it People have questioned and harshly critiqued Django as well...that movie is not universally loved...get over it The horse is dead *cues in the funeral horns*

I'll get back to this topic when I have a chance to sit down and dissect the posts after mine... ...but this one from Troy is on point

@Pioneer I did not say the movie was either good or bad Django might be a classic movie I just don’t wanna see a movie about slavery at this point…my opinion doesn’t marginalize the movie…I made an assessment, not a critique You made an assessment about not wanting to watch Red Hook Summer without seeing it So what’s the difference??? LOL You’re a funny guy @Troy I didn’t read the second article, but the first article is the main reason why I’m not in a hurry to see Django I’m looking at the bigger picture through the vibrations that the movie gives off regardless of my not watching the film And I'm also glad that the first article had backed up my claim that Tarantino stereotypes his Black characters

@Pioneer I wouldn't necessarily say that NY has the best hustlers, but they are known for their no holds barred grind Especially when they go out of town...I'll touch on that in my reply to Troy Your post is on point @Troy Side A I've seen the NuyoRican Poets Cafe PACKED to capacity during a snow storm Not to mention people lining up to go clubbin when the weather is 15 degrees I stand by the philosophy that people will go through rain, sleet, hail and snow to get what they want...using weather as a cause of a failed business is a lame excuse...I don't buy that at all Heck, weather doesn't stop football stadiums from packing in the winter Side B I didn't say the East generally hustle harder...I meant authors SPECIFICALLY by using the rise of urban lit as a case study when you wanna create an industry Other regions should learn from how NY authors had to grind during a time when no believed in them...point blank Just like how Southern rappers had to grind hard to create their own industry since recording labels turned their backs and fronted on them I've been to foreign countries, and trust me, I know how they grind...but that's apples and oranges to this particular topic Side C Speaking of the South... NY drug dealers in the 80s and 90s made more money hustling down south than in their own city...even when their hometown had more traffic to push their product Pioneer already pointed that out in his last response I'm just running a parallel that anybody can work an area if they're saavy enough to do it Southern rap artists sold thousands of albums in small markets like Raleigh before major labels took notice...I actually think it's a benefit to sell books in untapped markets because 1) People have nothing to do 2) It's not saturated 3) You can inflate the prices because locals are none the wiser You can grind any and everywhere if you have what people wanna buy The drug game, the book game, and the rap game are no different Just difference in product

I think a lot of Black authors in the Midwest, South and West Coast need a tenacious hustler mentality like authors in the Northeast possess You gotta create the industry in an untapped market Unfortunately, not a lot of people have that strong hustling “ride or die” mentality Teri Woods broke down doors with True to the Game when she hustled her books on 125th street in Harlem before the over saturation of urban fiction By the way, weather has nothing to do with anything...if people want something, they're gonna fight everyone short of God to get it

@ Pioneer See... Now you're acting like Cynique by misconstruing my words...LOL My thoughts about Django doesn't have anything to do with Tarantino...I'm a fan of his work...Pulp Fiction and Natural Born Killers are among my favorite movies I'm just not in the mood to watch Django Just like how I'm not in the mood to watch all of Spike Lee films I'm not a groupie And once again... ...I NEVER criticized Django's content Re-read my posts in the first page of this thread I read the plot summary and wasn't moved by it...period point blank White filmmakers have a habit of improperly depicting cultures...just like how they had a white man play a Mexican in the film The Mexican instead of casting a Latin character, and also stereotyping the buck-tooth, slanted eyed "China man" in past movies... Or having David Carradine star in Kung Fu instead of Bruce Lee because of Lee's ethnicity That's why white filmmakers telling Black history is such a sensitive issue especially when the history has been distorted over the years You're a year late with the Nah'Shun joke...cut it out

@Pioneer Side A Black filmmakers should hold white filmmakers accountable of how they depict history that's outside of their culture Just like how I took responsibility when I wrote about Arabs and the Islamic religion Stereotypes are sometimes true, at the same time, it's unfair that you criticize Spike Lee when Tarantino is guilty of stereotyping Blacks in his movies as well I got off the Django subject in this thread when you criticized Spike Lee while conveniently overlooking Tarantino's flaws Side B Why are you so gung ho about me watching Django? No film, with the exception of Argo, has grasped my attention to go to the movies to spend money Django is not something I wanna watch...I'm not in the mood to watch a new movie about slavery...just like how Red Hook Summer isn't your cup of henny I'm getting this feeling like it's almost a sin for Black people to not see Django LOL I'll rather buy Hidden Colors 2 instead Side C I rarely watch movies for entertaining purposes unless they're oldies but goodies And Spike Lee, along with other cast members, had explained the meaning and symbolism behind certain scenes in Do the Right Thing when TNT broadcasted the movie and others he'd done back in '95 (TNT ran a Spike Lee marathon with him and the cast speaking before commercial breaks) That's why I'm able to break down the movie precisely along with my own interpretation Side D I agree with everything you pointed out in E, and you're being tic-for-tac in point C in regards to Clockers

*yawns*

@ Pioneer Side A You act like Tarantino has never stereotyped Black characters in his movies Samuel L Jackson rockin’ a jheri curl wig for his character in Pulp Fiction??? Ving Rhames’s character, Marsellus, is emasculated by the way of a white police officer raping him??? Tarantino saying "dead nigger storage" more than once when that comment is awkward in the movie??? C’mon now…really??? LOL It seems like you praise Tarantino without pointing out his shortcomings the same way you’re doing to Spike Lee Side B The purpose of the Italian pizza shop and Korean owned store is to illustrate how Blacks don’t own anything in the communities they live in, which was further magnified in a conversation between the three older men sitting across the street from the pizza shop and the store And you if notice… Mookie’s sister, Jade, told Buggin’ Out that he should do something positive with his energy instead of flipping out over a mundane issue such as putting Black photos on the pizza shop’s wall The Black teenagers, The Mayor, the three older men, along with Mookie and Jade refused to join Buggin Out’s protest against Sal’s Pizza until 1) Sal called Radio Raheem a nigger 2) The police killed Radio Raheem by choking him to death instead of just arresting him Those events sparked the riot Not everybody was totally against Sal even after the fight inside the pizza shop...The Mayor tried to stop people from potentially harming Sal and his sons before the riot popped off Mookie screamed “hate” before throwing the trash can at the pizza store’s window to symbolize Sal’s “hate” when he called Radio Raheem a “nigger” that also goes back to when Radio Raheem broke down the “love” and “hate” brass knuckles to Mookie in the middle of the film Pino’s racism was not justified considering that Mookie had pointed out the hypocrisy of Pino calling Black people “nigger” when his favorite entertainers and athletes are Black There’s more I can say about the causes and effects, and the symbolisms in Do The Right Thing…overall, I think your perspective about the movie is totally off base even though I respect your opinions about the film Side C About Clockers… I see you’re forgetting that one police officer said that the city should blow up the projects, and John Turturro’s character responded that they shouldn’t when the people living there are going to kill off each other anyway Law enforcement shouldn’t say that about the people they suppose to serve and protect There’s more I can point out…I don’t have time to do so Side D I know I haven’t seen Django yet…I already stated I have no interest in seeing the movie, and I also stated that I’m not able to make an honest critique because of my not seeing the film The plot of the movie doesn’t interest me…simple as that A superhero slave??? Really??? LOL I’ll pass Side E All I’m going to say about your last points on America’s treatment and philosophy of Blacks is that covert racism is just as dangerous as overt racism They traded in white sheets for business suits The pen is mightier than the sword Cold Wars are no different from violent ones The more things change, the more they stay the same Slavery still exists…just in other forms and fashions…one form is that slavery had went from physical to mental, which is why you see a lot of Negroes wildin’ out nowadays

@Cynique Side A I see you don't pay attention to detail. I did not "dig" up this post from last year. This post was automatically booted up on the forum because of LookAgainPress's recent response. Nice try, though. Side B I don't think either of us know of Moseley's or Patterson's bank account. So that point is moot. Secondly, all I'm saying is that Patterson didn't invent the wheel, neither is he doing something that Black writers, or anyone else for that matter, are incapable of doing Not to mention that he has the machine behind him to further push his work Side C Not all sex sells. If that was the case, every erotic author would be living in mansions right now or at least quit their day jobs to write full-time

@ Cynique Side A White James Patterson is one of the world's best-selling authors, and as such has done what no black writer has been able to pull off with any degree of success. - Cynique Don't you read or remember what you typed!? You act like Patterson invented the wheel and is doing something that Black writers are unable to do, which is a false Zane is just as renown, saavy, and successful as Patterson Is it hard for Black authors to cross over? Yes Can it be done? A double yes Side B Who wouldn't want crossover success...what I'm saying is that the Black authors I'm familiar with aren't sweating whether or not white America accept their work Side C A lot of authors are "wishing" for a success like Patterson, doesn't matter if they're Black, white, green, purple, etc The starving artist syndrome is color blind

@ Cynique I see you’re forgetting that Walter Moseley had written detective stories in the Easy Rawlins series, as well as Donald Goines in his Kenyatta series Moseley’s books are also studied in colleges and universities across the country A Devil in a Blue Dress was also flipped into a film So once again, you’re giving Patterson waaaaaaaay too much credit And to be honest with you, I don’t think a lot of Black authors care about crossing over…heck, you have white authors struggling to sell in their own demographics…so it’s not just a Black/white issue In the immortal words of JT from The Five Heartbeats…”Crossing over ain't nothin’ but a double cross!” @ Troy According to Shannon Holmes, co-founder of Triple Crown, Vicky had tricked him during a court procedure in order to steal the company away from him Whether true or false, that situation makes an interesting scenario to learn from I wonder if Triple Crown really jerked their authors or if the authors had unreasonable expectations of what to expect from being published. - Troy I wonder as well A lot of newbie authors are too wet-behind-the-ears with grandiose ideas about the book game until they find out it’s not all peachy and cream The book game, especially nowadays, is not as easy of a come up as most people like to think

@ Cynique You're giving James Patterson too much credit JP has more dollars poured into his projects, and it’s hard for Black books to cross over to mainstream America without that infamous “co-sign” He has the advantage because he’s white The media promoted the hell outta The 50 Shades of Grey trilogy when Zane wrote books of that ilk for years Gimme a break It’s easy for whites to crossover to us, but it’s hard for us to crossover to whites in the book industry @ Troy Triple Crown Publishing was once considered the Motown of Black literature until they founder developed a bad reputation for jerking her authors

@ Pioneer Side A It’s pretty much a catch-22 I think it’s a lot easier for white writers, directors, and producers to get away with movies like Django because Black folks in general don’t expect much from them except to be entertained It’s like how people at the Apollo wouldn’t boo the white singer who shows a little bit of “soul” in their voice when they’re really average, whereas they’ll rip apart someone who looks like them when they come half assed on stage Side B As far as Spike Lee… I disagree with your assessment about his portrayal of the “crazy” Blacks in contrast to “innocent” whites in his movies The movies Do the Right Thing with the racist pizza owners and Mo Better Blues with the shiesty club owners rip apart that opinion About his community depiction… In a nutshell, Crooklyn was a movie about the strength of a Black woman holding down a family, and Clockers was about the vicious cycle of violence that’s passed down from generations starting from Rodney (the O.G.) to Strike (the heir to Rodney’s drug operations) and to Tyrone (the kid who looked up to Strike) If you notice in the movie, you’ll see when Tyrone shot the Arrol the junkie, he was wearing the EXACT same clothes as Strike, the drug dealer he looked up to; symbolizing how he wanted to be like Strike Those are a few examples from Spike’s movies where he dropped hidden jewels I don’t think I can discredit his work from She Gotta Have It to Bamboozled However, I think Spike’s a far superior director than a writer…Do the Right Thing is my favorite movie…I just purchased She Hate Me online, which I was told was a good movie I have no interest in seeing Red Hook Summer, just like how I don’t care too much about seeing Django Side C I think it’s unfair to say that Spike paints a negative picture about the Black community when Tarantino subconsciously does the same thing in his movies; Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown That goes back to my comments about Blacks letting white folks slide when it comes to certain expressions of art It’s not in the filmmakers’ job to come up with solutions unless they WANT to…they’re not political activists Side D What “Black” secrets are you referring to? White folks know more about Black folks more than we do… LOL They hide certain historical information about us from us, and study us every second of the hour…hell, how do you think they were able to destroy Black progressive groups with the use of COINTELPRO in the 60s and 70s in the first place? LOL That’s why they’ll have Tyler Perry and Oprah co-sign a movie like Precious for street cred because they know Negroes pay more attention to brands and the “who’s who” when it comes to marketing Look at how Negroes are standing in long ass lines and killing each other over re-issued Jordans that came out in the 90s Tarantino and Jaime Foxx hold weight in the Black community...I'm not surprised at the Django's success Side E America today is just as racist as it was in the past…ain’t nothing changed but the weather Don’t believe the hype just because we have a person of melanin in the White House

@ Troy That's the problem Negroes always wanna be entertained instead of enlightened...LOL When you're entertained too much, you lose the point behind the laughter It's funny that you mentioned Toussaint L'ouverture considering Danny Glover had funded a movie about the Haitian Revolution slated for this year's release We'll see if that movie ever see the light of day Spike Lee had to use the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's philosophy of "do for self" by taking donations from Black celebrities in order to fund the Malcolm X movie since Warner Bros refused to shell out cash for the film Also... I think Black folks should stop waiting for big wigs like Tyler Perry and Bob Johnson to finance Black history The messiah-complex is killing us slowly

My only issue is that it seems like Hollywood are only allowing Caucasians to direct or tell our stories with a large marketing and promotional budget (Amistad, The Help, The Color Purple, etc.) even when they are labeled as historical fiction And when someone Black does produce a historical fiction like Beloved, the movie either flops or is forgotten about with the exception of Roots and Queen It seems like we’re only subjected to make 'hood movies, comedies, and romantic dramas…LOL That’s why I love documentaries like Hidden Colors 1 and 2 that shows our history without being subjected to oppressive environments like chattel slavery

@Cynique Slavery still exists...just under different names in various forms and fashions @Pioneer The word "Django" is from a Romani language meaning "I awake" However... Based on the theme of the movie and the conditions that Blacks across the world are in today, I "scienced out" the word "Django" "The Jangle" (which means a harsh sound that's out of tune, or the act of doing something non-productive, sometimes for the sake of annoying or amusing another person) sounds smiliar to "Django" I haven't seen the movie...so it's unfair to precisely judge the content...I just made a relation between the mental state of "negroes" today and The Jangle/Django

@ Troy I read the plot summary... ...I'll pass On another note... Hollywood knows that Negroes would accept any movie that has reputable names in the film regardless of how detrimental the images are ("The Blind Side", "Precious", etc) It's almost as if we love watching movies that shows us in inferior positions because they're "safe" movies that don't upset the "status quo" It's 2012 and they're still showing us a slaves...LOL They wouldn't dare make a fictional movie about whites owning other whites as slaves or indentured servants (the word "slave" or "slav" is indigenous to Europe) Or even Blacks owning whites as slaves By the way... Django means "one who is out of tune or one in a chaotic state of being well" Hmmmmmmm... That describes a lot of us in the community

@ Troy I'm not watching DJango on the strength that I'm tired of the theme that Blacks are subordinate or inferior to whites And then people wonder why Black folks are STILL suffering from low self esteem issues...LOL DJango isn't my cup of Henny because of that I'll rather see Roots if that's the case

It's funny how this movie received many nominations and accolaides before it came out Seems like Hollywood loves seeing Black people in submissive and subordinate positions They wouldn't dare produce a movie about Denmark Vessey or Nat Turner when it comes to slavery If you wanna know about Black history and triumph, check out the new documentary Hidden Colors instead

@ Troy Side A I already said Thick is a subjective term. And health is relative on a person to person basis. The clinical definition of health changes ever so often Side B I only pointed out overweight women in East Africa to show you that it’s not uncommon as you think it is when you drew a comparison between Africa and American cities Side C I never said obesity is genetic…I don't believe that one bit...however, bone structure and shape are genetic As far as older people becoming “fatter,” that’s due to the slowing down of the metabolism and people not working out without being mindful of what they eat You eat to live, not live to eat

@ Cynique Side A I think you pretty much hit everything on the nail with this post I also wanna add that another reason why African athletes, specifically those from East Africa, are great runners is because they’re used to running in high altitude Running in US marathon races is a walk in the park to some of them Side B I never saw Black women as those with larger breasts…white women are stereotyped as having that asset I mostly see large butts on Black women It’s a joke that says, “She got a Black girl’s ass with white girl’s titties” Side C If you wanna keep it funky, all races come from Black people The first Asians like the Dravidians and the “Untouchables” of India as well as the early Native Americans were documented as Negroid But that’s for another discussion

@ Troy Side A Google "Buffie the Body" and "Deelishis" from the Flavor of Love to see the definition of THICK Side B Speaking for myself, I write about how a woman can be thick AND healthy at the same time That is possible I advocate that you can have size, curves, and still live a healthy lifestyle…I don’t patronize plus size women…I pretty much tell them to be cautious and not use their false sense of pride as their downfall My books about Thickness advocate eating right and exercising As far as unhealthy… It all depends on how a person is shaped and engineered that determines what is unhealthy A lot of football players are considered obese, but they can outrun and outlast someone that’s considering “healthy” I’m considered 20 pounds overweight, but I’m healthier than I’ve ever been Side C East Africa holds fat women in high standards If you go to certain parts of West Africa and South Africa, you’ll see a good amount of women with wide hips, large butts and big busts Where do you think American Blacks got it from in the first place? LOL It's genetics