Repping the NOLA, @DJDiagnosis serves yall with The Trap, a sonic pot of EDM/Trap/DUB STEP audio gumbo! Enjoy!

Look at me getting profiled for being #ROBatGraveShift and stuff!!!

The Life & Times of #ROBatGraveShift: “Hell hath…”

Y’all betta know daaaaat! #GritsAndBiscuits

This is great, and I want.

The Life and Times of #ROBatGraveShift: “Freddy Ain’t Got Shit On Me: Part 2” ft. @unvbklyn & @justcallmekiku

The Life and Times of #ROBatGraveShift: “Freddy Ain’t Got Shit On Me” ft. @justcallmekiku

The Life & Times of #ROBatGraveShift: “Clean-Up On Aisle 3”

Lights n sh*t (at Brooklyn Bird Restaurant)

Happy New Years folks!  So I’ve seen “Django Unchained” four times, and counting.  I really enjoyed the film, and I personally think it’s Tarantino’s best thus far and by far.  I normally turn a deaf ear to the hoopla about the use of violence and the n-word in his films, because I personally feel like if it was any other filmmaker no one would bat an eye. 

I was in college when the Kill Bill films came out, and I remember one night when Tarantino was making his rounds on the late night circuit to promote the films and friend of mine muttered “I hate this guy, he’s such a racist.”  I asked her why, and her reasoning made no sense at all.  I didn’t take her to task for two reasons, the first obviously being that I wasn’t going to let such a heavy topic mess up the game I’d been laying down all night. Second, I really couldn’t articulate my disdain for her response in a way that wouldn’t offend her, and again… I was trying to get laid!

Flash forward to today… Breezing through my Facebook stream I saw the following video post from someone who’s opinion I respect and generally agree with, accompanied with the following caption:

 I know a lot of “post-racial” Rodney King types granted Quentin Tarrantino a “Nigger Pass” for Django because “that’s how they spoke then.” So let’s take a gander at his body of work…

It wasn’t until I heard Tarantino speak on the film and once I viewed it that I could properly articulate my feelings towards the claims of him being racist (which it bullshit), as well as his use of the N-word in films. Here’s the video which is VERY biased followed by my response to it.  Both are lengthy!

My LENGTHY response:

I get why people feel the way they do, but I always felt that 1) if it was any other director, that this wouldn’t be up for discussion.

2) In the video, for every point that was made, there were those eye-roll worthy points as well. The two that stuck out to me was the whole “Rise of The Planet of The Apes” thing… give me a break. As well as the Kill Bill sequence. Her character was not “a racist white woman”. She was a white woman who was pregnant and left for dead at the hands of the black woman she killed, who was a one-time friend of hers.

and 3) though at times Tarantino has what can become a VERY ANNOYING obsession with black people, this doesn’t make him a racist. The 70’s grind-house, blaxploitation, and camp films that he tries to shape his movies around unfortunately had the N-word thrown around from the mouths of EVERYONE (black, white, yellow, green, and blue) like nobodies business. On top of that, no one ever seems to notice that in the majority (not all) of these scenes of dialogue the scenes are really exposing the ignorance of the white people speaking these parts, which is VERY intentional on Tarantino’s part. This point is ever-so evident in “Django Unchained.”

There are 3 types of people who use the word in the film, the ignorant white people, the slaves, and Christopher Waltz character. Every time it’s spat by one of the “ignorant white people” it shows their buffoonery. It’s used for the sake of comedy, because at the end of the day that’s the purpose of buffoonery. It’s use by the slaves in the film, along with other motifs and happenings shows the “brain conditioning” (the technical term escapes me right now) that black people went through during the times of slavery and the effects. Outside of the film, we can see this today. How many times a day do you hear black people call other black people “niggers”? Term of endearment or whatever, how many times?

The third is whenever Christopher Waltz character uses it. **This might be considered a spoiler to those who want to see the film, so apologies in advance, but it’s more of my personal breakdown of what motivates the character** His character is a German who isn’t really familiar with the world of slavery, and sees it as barbaric. He only uses it as an act to infiltrate the seedy underworld of the slavery, in particular mandingo wrestling. It’s obvious, and covered time and time again that he is uncomfortable with both the nature of this world and the use of the word. Any and every time he utters it, outside of his act, he’s obviously uncomfortable.

I say this all to say that as a good artist you’re encouraged to push limits, go in to the scary territory, and make people talk. Any good artist, especially filmmakers, are always encouraged to use motifs that “guide the audiences emotions,” and I think in Django the use of the N-word did that with flying colors. It’s not used to make the viewer happy, it’s intentionally used to keep that uncomfortable tension in the air. Tarantino is a master at crafting tense moments, and keeping you on the edge of your seat. I cringed just about every time it was used. Other times I laughed, and other times I just shook my head. I felt uncomfortable when that person of another race “laughed a little to hard” at this or that “nigga”, but that’s what the movie going experience is about. That’s what being a consumer of GOOD art is about; experiencing the work as intended by its creator.

…end rant. lol

At the end of the day I loved the film, and Tarantino is still one of my top 20 directors of all time.  I can really appreciate that the film has sparked so much dialog about issues that still plague our country today.

So what’s your take on things folks?  Have you seen the film?  What did you think? 

Three pieces going up just as soon as I get through this final week of the semester. #BatCave #ManCave #Art #Quotes #HomeOffice #InteriorDesign #CreativeSpace

Really digging this Earl Sweatshirt video for his track “Chum”…

Really feeling this joint.  I always say that post-KING T.I. was eh.. but I’m really digging this joint.

One of the dopest album covers I’ve seen in a looooooong while. Sucks they wouldn’t let him go with the “Kill The King” title. I still don’t think he’s been rapping the same since the “King” album. #ATL

Not a huge fan of his stuff, but I’m warm as shit in these sub-zero conditions. #Style #MichaeKors (Taken with Instagram)