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Got out to see "Get Out"


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I've been hearing so much about the surprise box office hit, "Get Out"  written and directed by comedian Jordan Peele, that I actually bestirred myself  to go see it. I give it a thumps up!  It was quite well done, good acting, great comic relief; a satirical romp with a sly take-away.  It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but  I was amused by its off-beat plot.

 

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I've seen the film and I like it.

It was a little "predictable" but over all I think it was well directed and the actors did a great job.

I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet but I'll say....

I think it has pretty "deep" undertones about race relations in the United States.
Most of the messages were not open, but they WERE a step above subliminal in a way that most Black people of average intelligence can relate to and grasp.

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One of the Bloggers who recently added their Blog to AALBC.com had a very humorous take on this film:

Get Out Movie Review from a black dude's perspective...

Below is a quite from the review:

"...These MOFOs been dating for four months. They ain't married. Since when did parents let they kids sleep in the same room, in the same bed in their house after four months of dating? Bruh you better sleep in the car. He shoulda already been uncomfortable when they allowed that shxt to go down. But again, the brotha is still there!"

Now I immediately noticed myself and just chalked it up to things white families "white people do," and did not give it another thought.  But it raised and interesting thought about culture and humor.  The comedian Aries Spears clearly articulated the differences between a culturally Black comedian (like himself) and a culturally white one like Jordan Peel, the man behind Get Out!

 

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The movie made a parody of white liberalism which is just a sophisticated form of racism. To me, it was also a cautionary tale whose message  was: what happened to the brotha would never have come about had he not let his affinity for a "Becky", influence his preference in women. 

Jordan Peel will probably face a lot of criticism from black comics, miffed that his movie became a box office block buster.  It's interesting to also keep in mind that Jordan is bi-racial.  

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See this is why I do not like the term bi-racial.  Saying Jordan is bi-racial, in isolation, means nothing.  Jordan being bi-racial does not explain or justify behavior.  

Now if Jordan was raised by white people, lived in a white neighborhood, went to school with white people, and married a white woman.  It goes with our saying that Jordan is culturally white. Again this would have nothing to do with his race.

Basically was Aries is saying is that Jordan does not pass the sniff test of being culturally Black.  Of course what it means to be culturally Black is subjective as well, but it is a lot more meaningful than the term bi-racial. Jordan looks as Black as I do,  But I'd guess Jordan did not grow up in the racially and economically segregated projects and attend racially segregated schools like I did.  I would probably pass muster with Aries for so-called Blackness, but there other Black people who grew up middle class and had a completely different but no less valid Black experience.

Because Black people don't own anything in Hollywood, the movies we see often fail to relate an authentic Black experience--at least one that resonates with me. 

Even with the film Get Out!, which I enjoyed, as a Black man there are still many things I had to overlook from a cultural perspective.  This is easy because I have to do it with virtually every movie I watch.  For example, dating the white woman or staying in the house more than 5 minutes are just a couple of things I had to let slide because it does not speak to my experience, but again I'm accustomed to this.  

You could have replaced the Brother with actor of any race and it would not have changed the film one iota.  It was a white film that happened to have a Black actor.

 

 

 

 

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@TroyWell, what you think doesn't matter when it comes to how Jordan views himself. This film might be a personal statement.  He might have mixed loyalties  as well as an appreciation for being an embodiment of diversity, and these factors may have inspired the film..  His movie script was not perfect, but it was provocative and - profitable.  

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True, what I think of Jordan can not possibly matter to him in how he perceives himself.

However, if Jordan has any interest in appealing to the great masses of Black people on a more than superficial manner, then my opinion does matter.  But again, I'm sure this was not a goal of the film. Appealing to Black people on a profound level has never been a goal of Hollywood.

Indeed, as you probably know Key and Peele appeal more to white folks more than they do to Black folks. for these very reasons.  This is of course the primary reason for they terrific success.

Of course, profit, as you implied is the measure of success and this makes it necessary for films to appeal to white folks. Appealing to Black folks is nice but certainly not necessary or a driving factor.  

 

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Troy, I'm suprised you gave any credibility to Aries' critique of Jordan Peele.

In another thread you accused me of internalizing negative stereotypes of Black men, but here Aries basically makes Black men.....or "real niggaz" as he puts it....out to be shiftless, intellectually deprived, social outcasts with animal like instincts.

1. First of all lets deal with Aries and the way he looks and carries himself during the interview.
What's up with the dark rings around his eyes looking like he's a crack head or bum?
They have make up artists and Aries has been in Hollywood long enough to know how to properly present himself infront of the camera.
And why can't he sit still and talk intelligently instead flopping all around and slouching lazily all over the place like someone who belongs in special education?

2. He makes a distinction between White people, Black people who can get along with them, and "real niggaz" who live somewhere in the ghetto.
So Black people who know how to get along in society aren't "real" Black folks, but if you live in the 'hood and are socially marginalized from the greater society....that makes you more "Black"????

The man is sick!

3.He talks about how "real niggaz" can smell a fake or phoney as soon as they come around.
Although I understand what he's saying and we can often pick up on Black people who aren't used to being around other Black people and have a White vibe about them......the way he puts it is totally fucked up.
To stick his nose out and sniff like a damn animal and claim that's what "real niggaz" can do to sniff out the real is basically degrading Black people as savages or animals who rely on primitive instincts like sniffing and smelling to indentify who belongs and who does not.
I'm sure he doesn't mean it that way but that's how it will come across to most people OUTSIDE of our community.

4. Finally, I hope people know that the "Vlad" of Vlad TV that Aries is being interviewed by is a White guy!

So here's a negro getting infront of a White man dissing another Black man and freely using the word "nigga" with seemingly no thought about it.
He's talking just as casual to this White man as if he's talking to another Black man with no sense of watching what he's saying or how he's saying it.  Some of the garbage he's saying he obviously KNOWS better than to say and he tries to catch himself a few times from dissing....but goes ahead and does it anyway with no sense of control over his words.

It goes right back to my complaint about how reckless so many of our people are around White people to the point that they no longer have any common sense.

And as cool as Vlad may be, he has a history of fostering "beefs" among Black people on his shows.
I've seen several instances where beefs have been started with dumb negroes just getting up and letting Vlad entice them or instigate them into saying something negative about another Black person and then an on-going beef is started.






BTW.....
I'm suprised at how Aries is dissing his former partner from Mad TV.
Infact, he doesn't even mention them being together on that show during the entire interview.

I looks to me like a little jealousy thing going on with Aries.

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Since I posted this Vlad video I watched several more.  I noticed he stays off camera, but he constantly names drops.  I'm not surprised that he is white. Vlad, clearly brokers in Black controversy in the music business and is profiting a great deal.  I'm surprised he can get so many interviews and have Brother talk about controversial issues on camera...then again he is white.

Addressing your issues as you have enumerated them;

  1. I'm not gonna dis Aries because of his relative attractiveness. His personal affect is the 'hood negro.  I don't think it is schtick it is who he is.  As discussed this is what differentiates him from Key and Peele.
  2. You obviously misunderstood Aries.  In fact Aires used himself as an example of a real nigga who can navigate the white world.
  3. Pioneer it is obvious Aries was using a metaphor--come on man!
  4. I did not know that.  I did not see a single video where he had white people talking about white dysfunction.  He raised so much trash about Black folks I was completely unaware of.  I agree and  I'm not going to watch any more of his videos.

I don't think Aries is "jealous." but he does recognize that he is a white man's world and the Key and Peel's will always be more successful than and Aires Spears.  Think Barack Obama versus Jessie Jackson.   

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Jordan Peele and Keegan Michael Key had a weekly comedy show on Cable TV which I watched regularly. They did not in anyway shy away from "ghetto" humor and many of their skits dealt with "niggaz", characters they were very adept at portraying.  To me, their biting humor was comparable to Dave Chappell's. They spoofed white people and made caricatures of black ones. I don't think they catered to white audiences.  White audiences responded to them because their humor was quirky,    Both races were entertained by their Obama and his ghetto interpreter bit. 

"Keanu", the movie Peele and Key made together didn't make a big splash maybe because  its humor wasn't edgy.

Keegan Michael Key, who is also "bi-racial", was a cast mate of Aries Spears on Mad TV.  Rumor had it that Spears left the show because he was not particularly happy with the ensemble comedy format so he went solo.  But because Spears was just a run-of-the-mill black comic his career never really blew up big.  Peele's huge success has to pour salt in his wounds.

The fact that "Get Out" evokes so many different reactions from people is a tribute to its "genius".  It's like the  Rorschach inkblot test.   Influenced by their subconscious, everyone views it in a different way.

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Guest MrsMommy

I liked the movie.  And I disagree with Aries.  All black people are not going to hang out with people in the hood and be "down."  There are some black people I would not like to hang out with.  1). Hood people who are ignorant and have no hope. 2). Boogie black people who are not real with themselves and think they are above all other black people.

I came from a rough city.  There are those who referred to themselves as "niggas" and stayed where they were.  And there are those who fought their way out through education and work, who would have nothing in common with the people who chose to stay "down" and to stay "niggas."
 

Aries makes it as though all black people naturally gravitate to a rough crowd, and those in the rough crowd are the more authentic black people.  I beg to differ.  

 

 

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I agree with Cynique's and MrsM's assesment of Aries Spears.

I think Aries' view of how Black people or "real Black people" or "real niggaz" act is not onlystereotypical but even degrading and dangerous.

And what makes what he's saying so dangerous is that a lot of easily influenced Black youth who may NOT be from the hood or may be but come from a family where they are taught to carry themselves in a respectable manner may listen to what he's saying and CHANGE their behavior to acting more vulgar and "street" in order to be more of what they think is authentic or real.

I'm from a Black neighborhood, but I'm from a WORKING CLASS Black neighborhood and didn't know a lot about slum life like a lot of my cousins did growing up.  Most of the children we grew up with had fathers in the home like us and most of their parents worked.
The police were mostly Black too like Officer Hopkins "Hoppy" from Sanford and Son....it was normal.

I didn't know about welfare or ducking and dodging crackheads when I was kid (crack wasn't really out to big yet anyway) nor did I understand the fear so many Black people on television had of the police.
.....and visiting my relatives who DID stay in the ghetto and brief glimpses of REAL ghetto life didn't impress me or make me miss any of it either.
I couldn't WAIT for us to leave and get back home!

But what DID have an influence on me was gangsta rap!
Listening to Ice Cube and other rappers rapping about ghetto and hood life DID impress me and make me want to exprience what it was like because they glamorized it and glorified it beyond reality.
So I know how influencial the media and especially other Black people in the media can be on Black youth and how it can warp your perception of reality and make you want something you really don't want.

I still remember the first time I drunk a 40oz....lol.
Eazy E and Ice Cube liked it....so it MUST have tasted good!

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Well I was drinking 40s long before Ice Cube glamorized the behavior. I do agree with you about the very negative impact of gangta rap music had on Black youth.  Anyone one with eyes could see this.  This the reasons I loss respect for many of these cats, because they swore up and down there was no impact and they were just telling their stories.  They were lying and in it for the money. 

Back to Aires; I'm not sure why you'd put Aries in the same category as a gangsta rapper and call him "dangeous." That is a tremendous and unsupportable leap.  Pioneer you and MrsMommy apparently associate being from the 'hood as all negative.  

Everyone is the 'hood is not creating the slum conditions their, doing crack, on welfare, or from single family households.  Aires did not say anything about that. You are saying this and THAT is the danger Bruh.  You are applying your own stereotypes onto the 'hood, associating them unfairly to Aires and vilifying hm for it.  It does not sound like you heard a word he said?  

Del and I came from the hood, but neither of us present 'hood.  Del and I both graduated a top business school. You can be in the 'hood and not be ghetto.

The point Aires is essentially making @Pioneer1 is that Key and Peele are not as culturally Black as you or I and this informs their comedy.  Do you agree with this assessment?

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I have a problem with not having a broad perspective when it comes to the hood.  Saying that everybody who comes from the hood is not crude and ignorant is fine.  Similarly everybody who doesn't come from the hood doesn't have to surrender their credentials just because they weren't born and raised in the hood.  If you know hood people, it rubs off on you and you are able to embrace that unique black flexibility that allows you to shift between cultures. 

Ms Mommy, don't resent Troy's responses to your comments.  This is an open discussion board and  opposing points of view are what make it interesting!

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The point Aires is essentially making @Pioneer1 is that Key and Peele are not as culturally Black as you or I and this informs their comedy. Do you agree with this assessment?


I agree with THAT particular point he made.
But I just don't agree with HOW he made it.
To me, he could have used different analogies and different wording.

What's wrong with simply saying that Jordan's work doesn't reflect on how most Black people in America think and behave?
Why does he have to go into the "real nigga" talk or take it to "da hood" with his illustrations?

I know there are a lot of decent people in the hood.
Portraying all people from the ghetto as negative would be like calling all police officers racist....it's a foolish and sweeping stereotype.

My problem isn't so much with the 'hood as it's with Aries being stereotypical by associating all Black people with ghetto life and ghetto culture.

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  • 1 month later...

It's like being dumb was cooler than being smart. Yet you had cats that were street and smart. Then you had cats that were street but too slow.  

 

Where would you place the following people on the street and smart scale. Cause when you say street, it implies street smart. Malcolm X, Louis Armstrong, Angela Davis, Maya Angelou, Eldridge Cleaver, Miles Davis. Power Man. Black Falcon Another aspect is you could be loved by the street but not be street. Although I am not certain where i would put Iceberg Slim. There's the character and the author . He was  a hustler in a few senses of the word. There's a cool documentary about him. Oddly enough a few members of NWA weren't really street, but came off as street. Whereas Q-Tip was a street philosopher.  He called himself the abstract and his name is clever. 

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On April 1, 2017 at 6:56 AM, Troy said:

Oh brother... So if I disagree with you, I'm a know-it-all.  

Do you really believe that about me?

 

I can't believe you just let somebody insult you like that on your own damn forum LOLs.  BTW Back in the day I used to chase straight shots of vodka with Old English 800!  If I tried that now I'd probably lapse into a coma.  Miss y'all!!!

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In my opinion,
I don't think she said what she said out of bitterness or even as an attempt to humiliate Troy; I think it was more of reactionary type of "back talk" out of a perceived injustice.

The average man gets told the same thing from time to time by his own wife....lol.

"You just think you know SO DAMN MUCH don't you?"

 

 


To be honest, if Troy or any moderator were to ban someone or use their powers to control or intimidate posters who may OCCASIONALLY (I'm not talking about on-going trolling) hurl petty accusations or minor insults at them.....I would have less respect for them.

When I think of the sites I'm on or have been on, the actual ADMINISTRATORS or owners of the site were without exception always ABOVE pettiness.
Like the leader of a major organization or corporation, they didn't have time to tussle with fools on the street who wanted to stand on the sidewalk arguing with them.

However what I have noticed was that sometimes the part time or lesser moderators that the Admin would choose to HELP moderate were often reactionary and abused their powers.

I remember one dude on a hiphop site.........
The Admin made him a moderator and he WENT CRAZY.
He already loved to argue with people on the site, but we all thought he was cool and a fair fighter until he started just eliminating people's post or going back and erasing what he said earlier just to keep from LOSING ARGUMENTS!!!!

I was much younger then but it gave me a good sense of what happens when some people get a little TASTE of power.....how easy they will abuse it without any sense of guilt or shame.

 

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