Juxtaposition, Part 1

I finally got a chance to watch the movie Django Unchained, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Samuel Jackson, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Just to name a few.
First, let me say that I thought that I would be offended by the number of times the word Nigger was used in the film.

The Weinstein Company
& Columbia Pictures

BUT I WAS NOT!

I read all of the reports about the number of times the word Nigger would be said, and how some Black directors and actors felt some type of way about it.

My question is, why try to change history to make ourselves feel better? This is how our people were addressed at the time. Deal with it, our ancestors had too. We need to preserve the past for our young ones, so they know how far we have come, and how far we still have to go.

The juxtaposition for me, and I am sure it is the same for others, is the immediate kinship I have with the black hero or heroine, even if they go on a murderous rampage like Django. With my higher thinking skills, I know that murder is a crime, and I could never take another person’s life, but deep down I wanted him to avenge all of the ill-treatment he and his wife received. But on a subconscious level, I wanted that revenge for the entire black population mistreated by White people, past, present and future.

Django’s revenge felt like sweet justice for me. Why does his passion and determination to kill his oppressors resonate with me? Is it just because I am Black? I cheered and applauded when everyone who had done Django wrong, was murdered. I rooted for the people he killed that had done nothing personal to him. He murdered "innocents".  Sweet Justice.

Countless other movies have stirred me in the same way. To name a few, Roots, The Color Purple, Shaka Zulu, Amistad, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Something the Lord Made, etc. etc. The list could go on forever, but it still comes down to the simple truth that I always relate too and wish for the success of the Black protagonist, even if they are the evil, wicket, corrupt, debauched, cruel, or shameless.

I realize and respect those who find the truth about our history too hard to watch. However, I have always felt it was my duty to watch with eyes wide open, how we, as a people, were treated. They were regarded as sub-human, animalistic even. And to deny that reality is to deny yourself; because, by the grace of God it could have been you.

Because my ancestors taken from their homeland and forced to forget their life prior to becoming slaves, means that our history starts with slavery. Like it or not, it is the truth. What a way to start, you were owned by someone to do with you as he/she saw fit, as if you were a piece of furniture or cattle.

What should we do now? What do you think?  Part 2 is coming tomorrow.


Please add a comment and let me know!