Black Culture Discussion Thread

[HankHill]

Meh - perhaps introducing a new generation to the tried and true propaganda, narratives, and tropes that we were exposed to back then.

Lord forbid there be a movie about black families sticking together and working together with other black families in a healthy way based on traditional morals, values, and principles with strong male characters in leading roles...that reflects our actual history in this country, but I digress.

What propaganda, narratives, and tropes did this movie introduce? What generation just got exposure to them in 2023? What generation only saw this movie and no other content that had the aforementioned propaganda anywhere else?

 

[Maximus Meridius]

Maximus Meridius how many songs you listened to this past week about murder, killing, and dope dealing??

I’ll wait.

Y’all dudes be so hypocritical that it’s funny.

But we draw the line at Color Purple

Go through the music thread I'm the main person talking about music today lacking substance. I can be listening to Marvin, Prince, Hov, Pac, Teddy all in the same day.

 

[Present]

What propaganda, narratives, and tropes did this movie introduce? What generation just got exposure to them in 2023? What generation only saw this movie and no other content that had the aforementioned propaganda anywhere else?

Again - not to date myself but this movie has always been controversial...

TLDW:



Long version:

 

[Mark Antony]

Never seen Color Purple not read the book, but the sudden vitriol for something that's been revered for decades is odd.

 

[HankHill]

Again - not to date myself but this movie has always been controversial...

TLDW:



Long version:

I'll take a look at the long version later, but from the little of the tiktok, Farrakhan is upset that there were abusive and violent men depicted and the women who suffered under that were able to find happiness away from those men?

 

[tr1ll]

When you answer your own question…

 

[HankHill]

When you answer your own question…

Its strange. I was thinking there was going to be some wild covert propaganda.

 

[Present]

I'll take a look at the long version later, but from the little of the tiktok, Farrakhan is upset that there were abusive and violent men depicted and the women who suffered under that were able to find happiness away from those men?

Fast forward to today...the narrative continues.

From "Birth of a Nation" and minstrel shows to Blaxploitation and "Gangster Rap" to "The Color Purple" and Tyler Perry...

Representation matters.

 

[HankHill]

Fast forward to today...the narrative continues.

From "Birth of a Nation" and minstrel shows to Blaxploitation and "Gangster Rap" to "The Color Purple" and Tyler Perry...

Representation matters.

I agree that representation matters. But that didn't address my questions. What new propaganda did this movie (or even the original) introduce? From what you're saying its been around well before it. And to that, why is this particular movie becoming the poster child for it?

King Richard also flopped at the box office and Will got the grammy for it. Was there not enough good representation for folks to go see it?

 

[Present]

I agree that representation matters. But that didn't address my questions. What new propaganda did this movie (or even the original) introduce? From what you're saying its been around well before it. And to that, why is this particular movie becoming the poster child for it?

King Richard also flopped at the box office and Will got the grammy for it. Was there not enough good representation for folks to go see it?

Ah - the question registered as rhetorical to me for some reason.

The simplest answer is that my claim wasn't that "new propaganda" was introduced.

 

[finessence]

Again - not to date myself but this movie has always been controversial...

TLDW:



Long version:

Farrakhan is my guy. However, he was born in Jamaica. His mom is from St. Kitts and father Jamaican. He didn’t particular endure the suffrage of Black Americans.

The physical and sexual abuse in Color Purple was a reality…. So his criticism says what? The movie was an accurate portrayal of those time.

Just because he’s Farrakhan doesn’t make his world gospel. Muslims are some of the biggest womanizers too

 

[finessence]

Fast forward to today...the narrative continues.

From "Birth of a Nation" and minstrel shows to Blaxploitation and "Gangster Rap" to "The Color Purple" and Tyler Perry...

Representation matters.

What narrative? It’s not a narrative. A lot of men are weak, emotional and unstable. That’s not a narrative. These dudes need to stop wanting people to feel sorry for them and man up.

Why should anyone stay with an insecure, verbal abuser and sexual abuser? The same dudes who hit women, but be scared to fight other men. In the movie, Celie was forced to give up her two kids. That’s why they returned to her at the end. She literally was stripped of motherhood.
Whether they move on with a male or female, why should anyone put up with abuse? Farrakhan was being obtuse as hell

 

[finessence]

Ah - the question registered as rhetorical to me for some reason.

The simplest answer is that my claim wasn't that "new propaganda" was introduced.

Modern day men are emotional, effeminate and unstable… women not wanting to deal with them is a problem that those men have created. Newsflash, no one is entitled to the opposite sex. You have to make yourself appealing. It isn’t some God given right for women to want you, just because. Even in nature, males have to battle other males to find a mate. Why should we care about these jaded, coddled men? That’s not propaganda or an agenda. It’s their PERSONAL problem that they need to try and fix.

A lot of men are jaded because they feel as though women should want them just because they’re a man. It doesn’t work like that. You have to set yourself apart, you aren’t owed women. This is the very reason that a lot of these men are broken and miserable

 

[Present]

Farrakhan is my guy. However, he was born in Jamaica. His mom is from St. Kitts and father Jamaican. He didn’t particular endure the suffrage of Black Americans.

The physical and sexual abuse in Color Purple was a reality…. So his criticism says what? The movie was an accurate portrayal of those time.

Just because he’s Farrakhan doesn’t make his world gospel. Muslims are some of the biggest womanizers too

Eh...

 

[Quincy McCall]

There isn’t a film that centers black women that doesn’t get accused of being a plot to replace black men. Men everywhere are in a delicate state of not knowing their identity— more prominent now, but a narrative that has always been true

 

[Present]

There isn’t a film that centers black women that doesn’t get accused of being a plot to replace black men. Men everywhere are in a delicate state of not knowing their identity— more prominent now, but a narrative that has always been true

Eh...

 

[Present]

It seems as though this conversation is devolving into a false dichotomy.

Two things can simultaneously be true without contradicting each other.

There can be a consorted effort by the rich and powerful to divide and conquer via propaganda (gender, race, etc).

There can be domestic violence and sexual assault.

Both these things can exist w/o weaponizing one to achieve the other.

Reminds me of how Reagan weaponized the "Welfare Queen" narrative.

 

[tr1ll]

Tbh I don’t think its a plan targeted at specific groups. There was a spike in child births after the lockdown, so this probably ol fashioned population control. You know the super rich love to complain about the amount of people in the country’ for some reason. Never mind the fact they live in Manhattan.

 

[Quincy McCall]

Eh...

Edit: I misunderstood your response. I think we've spent enough time on this, don't think there's a substantive reason to continue

 

[Maximus Meridius]

Farrakhan is my guy. However, he was born in Jamaica. His mom is from St. Kitts and father Jamaican. He didn’t particular endure the suffrage of Black Americans.

The physical and sexual abuse in Color Purple was a reality…. So his criticism says what? The movie was an accurate portrayal of those time.

Just because he’s Farrakhan doesn’t make his world gospel. Muslims are some of the biggest womanizers too

What % of the black community does the color purple represent?

 

[finessence]

What % of the black community does the color purple represent?

Past? Probably 40-50%. Sharecroppers, an abusive, arranged marriage, child molestation and teen pregnancy, babies forcefully given up for adoption. Degrading women because of their looks and verbal abuse by calling them ugly and saying they won’t amount to much.

Nowadays it’s probably less than 30-40%. You still have men who are physically and verbally abusive. Men (and some women) are still out here molesting kids. Some are still out here calling women ugly and telling them that they won’t amount to anything. Also, being a lesbian/LGBQT is more acceptable nowadays as well.

And a large number of men still want submissive women who they can be domineering over. That’s basically what Mister’s character was.

He tried to kill any self confidence that Celie had, so she wouldn’t leave him. That’s where Suge Avery’s character came into play. Suge empowered Celie to be confident and stand up for herself. She was also a liberated black female who knew her worth. She’s one of the main reasons that Celie found her “voice”. Sophia and Suge were confident women who stood up for themselves. Celie admired that, after a while, she finally had the courage to be like them and stand up for herself.

That’s the gist of the whole story. Finding your voice and confidence after being battered for decades and pacified by a person (Mister) who she never wanted to be with in the first place. It was an arranged marriage

 

[tomdiginson]

Farrakhan is my guy. However, he was born in Jamaica. His mom is from St. Kitts and father Jamaican. He didn’t particular endure the suffrage of Black Americans.

The physical and sexual abuse in Color Purple was a reality…. So his criticism says what? The movie was an accurate portrayal of those time.

Just because he’s Farrakhan doesn’t make his world gospel. Muslims are some of the biggest womanizers too

What are you talking about? The Caribbean is in the Americas. The same slavery that was here was there. Even when slavery was abolished in Jamaica, they still had black people under oppression, hence the Morant bay rebellion. Even to this day, America is actively stifling the country financially, politically etc.

 

[finessence]

Lol what are you talking about. The Caribbean is in the Americas. The same slavery that was here was there. Even when slavery was abolished, they still had black people under oppression, hence the morant bay rebellion.

I never said it wasn’t. Me as a black American though, I’d never speak on the Caribbean because I don’t know the full scope of what slavery was like over there. I only know about the chattel slavery in the US. I don’t know about the classicism of slavery or relationships in the island, so I’d never speak on what I don’t know in terms of their experiences.

All did was commented on dude who posted the Farrakhan video from 1986 and said I don’t care about his opinion about the color purple. Farrakhan’s opinion of the subject matter won’t change my like for the story and it’s depiction of the times.

I also know Farrakhan was heavily involved with the movement since the 50s and 60s so, he was in America by that time and did indeed experience more than I’d ever know during the civil rights era.

But his comments about the color purple made absolutely no sense. And again, I’ve always been a supporter. Let’s not forget he was a failed calypso singer as well. He definitely was living a secular life before joining Elijah Muhammad and the nation.

His opinion about the color purple is null and void to me

 

[Maximus Meridius]

What are you talking about? The Caribbean is in the Americas. The same slavery that was here was there. Even when slavery was abolished in Jamaica, they still had black people under oppression, hence the Morant bay rebellion. Even to this day, America is actively stifling the country financially, politically etc.

On top of that Farrakhan wasn't born in Jamaica.

His parents are from St Lucia I think but he was born in NY somewhere and he spent his life from NY to Boston to Chicago.

 

[tokes99]

Modern day men are emotional, effeminate and unstable… women not wanting to deal with them is a problem that those men have created. Newsflash, no one is entitled to the opposite sex. You have to make yourself appealing. It isn’t some God given right for women to want you, just because. Even in nature, males have to battle other males to find a mate. Why should we care about these jaded, coddled men? That’s not propaganda or an agenda. It’s their PERSONAL problem that they need to try and fix.

A lot of men are jaded because they feel as though women should want them just because they’re a man. It doesn’t work like that. You have to set yourself apart, you aren’t owed women. This is the very reason that a lot of these men are broken and miserable

not to stray too far off topic but that is a rather one-sided hot take of the state of masculinity today, even if one accepts your assertion/assessment i think the other part is that many women also have entitlement issues, have unrealistic expectations & play their own part in creating these type of men; both genders have a lot going on that contributes to the current state of things

Past? Probably 40-50%. Sharecroppers, an abusive, arranged marriage, child molestation and teen pregnancy, babies forcefully given up for adoption. Degrading women because of their looks and verbal abuse by calling them ugly and saying they won’t amount to much.

Nowadays it’s probably less than 30-40%. You still have men who are physically and verbally abusive. Men (and some women) are still out here molesting kids. Some are still out here calling women ugly and telling them that they won’t amount to anything. Also, being a lesbian/LGBQT is more acceptable nowadays as well.

And a large number of men still want submissive women who they can be domineering over. That’s basically what Mister’s character was.

He tried to kill any self confidence that Celie had, so she wouldn’t leave him. That’s where Suge Avery’s character came into play. Suge empowered Celie to be confident and stand up for herself. She was also a liberated black female who knew her worth. She’s one of the main reasons that Celie found her “voice”. Sophia and Suge were confident women who stood up for themselves. Celie admired that, after a while, she finally had the courage to be like them and stand up for herself.

That’s the gist of the whole story. Finding your voice and confidence after being battered for decades and pacified by a person (Mister) who she never wanted to be with in the first place. It was an arranged marriage

you believe that ‘the color purple’ reps fully half of black folk of the time??? and up to 40% today??? that’s wild…some would say that perspective claiming that abuse is the norm is one that was propogated/spread from that film, perhaps that has been developed in retrospect because i don’t remember that really being the discourse whenever i 1st saw it but it has definitely become a pervasive talking point today…