The Official "Ask A Brotha" Thread - Part 2

[chamber-music]

Hollywood has given Idris some strong roles like Nelson Mandela and the guy from Pacific Rim but he doesn't pull in much of an audience. Nothing like Denzel.

Who knows why someone like Taylor Kitsch was given so many opportunities but I doubt it was simply because he was white.

I didn't say he was equal to Denzel but as an example of one of the few black actors who are lead actors in major studio films. My point is that very few minority actors are given the same opportunities afforded to some of their less talented and less well known white fellow actors.

I would also say Elba was co-lead with Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi in Pacific Rim but that is just splitting hairs.

On Mandela movie a Long Walk To Freedom this where people get confused with black lead movies. Yes there are some movies with black leads but they are often not made by the big six Hollywood studios only distributed by them. A production company or some minor studio makes a movie and then one of the major studios my get the rights to distribute the movie but they aren't the ones developing it and fronting the cash to get if made most of the time.

 

[MrMaooz]

What is your stance on the cast of Exodus?

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

Yo ask a brotha:

In cases where evidence shows a black person was guilty, or a white person was not guilty involving an incident with a black person... Why are there some black people that would still support someone regardless of the actual events that took place?

Mind you, I'm not saying ALL black people. There was a portion for example that knew OJ was guilty but celebrated him getting away with it as payback to the justice system. This type of mentality confuses me, as this gets called justice by some but clearly it is not the type of justice relating to the actual crime that took place.

 

[terry78]

It's complicated. Yes, I know that is a copout excuse, but to a lot of us, any victory over the system is a victory regardless of how questionable it is. Right now unfortunately we got it where any black dude that gets dealt with by the cops, even if he did do something wrong, is being viewed as another Ferguson.

 

[craigdbfan]

Yo ask a brotha:

In cases where evidence shows a black person was guilty, or a white person was not guilty involving an incident with a black person... Why are there some black people that would still support someone regardless of the actual events that took place?

Mind you, I'm not saying ALL black people. There was a portion for example that knew OJ was guilty but celebrated him getting away with it as payback to the justice system. This type of mentality confuses me, as this gets called justice by some but clearly it is not the type of justice relating to the actual crime that took place.

Pent up anger and resentment for slavery. Plain and simple.

Slavery was one of the worst mistakes in modern history. Major lack of foresight from the Spanish, Portuguese, English and later on Americans.

I'm not black but just thought I'd pitch in my 2 cents on the matter.

 

[chamber-music]

I don't know specifically about the OJ stuff because I'm not American, was a kid at the time of the trial and didn't follow it.

I assume some African Americans are just happy to see a black person beat the system which has at times been biased against them.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Yo ask a brotha:

In cases where evidence shows a black person was guilty, or a white person was not guilty involving an incident with a black person... Why are there some black people that would still support someone regardless of the actual events that took place?

Mind you, I'm not saying ALL black people. There was a portion for example that knew OJ was guilty but celebrated him getting away with it as payback to the justice system. This type of mentality confuses me, as this gets called justice by some but clearly it is not the type of justice relating to the actual crime that took place.

It's because many blacks experience the justice system being biased in favor of the police and biased against people of color all the time.

For example, when white jurors watched the Rodney King tape and saw absolutely no wrong doing by the police. So when some blacks hear that a grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson they think similar trickery is at work.

It wasn't just about Michael Brown or Eric Garner. Those cases represented every other case where police have been abusive against people of color and gotten away with it. Then you add onto that a bothersome historical perspective and it's not hard to understand why blacks won't give white cops who shoot/choke unarmed black men to death the benefit of the doubt.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

What is your stance on the cast of Exodus?

I'm kind of used to Hollywood white washing Asian and Middle Eastern characters to make their films more marketable.

It only bothered me when Rupert Murdoch said it wasn't an issue because Egyptians are white.

Seemed like someone trying to claim every great, ancient civilization as their own to further elevate the white race above the rest.

It's funny because when a Middle Eastern people do something savage or destructive they're consider "sand" N-words.

 

[chamber-music]

I just think it must be so disheartening if your a middle eastern actor seeing a famous Egyptian role going to a white guy while the only roles your probably getting offered in major Hollywood films is as Islamic terrorists.

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

It's complicated. Yes, I know that is a copout excuse, but to a lot of us, any victory over the system is a victory regardless of how questionable it is. Right now unfortunately we got it where any black dude that gets dealt with by the cops, even if he did do something wrong, is being viewed as another Ferguson.

What confuses me is the "justice" isn't about what happened. If you know for fact, a man of any color killed 2 people of any color then justice would be him getting put away for it. It's hard for me to comprehend how anyone could be okay KNOWING a murderer got away. I get the idea that the justice system got payback for blacks that have been wronged, but in the end a murderer walks? I can't see applauding and celebrating such a situation.

 

[craigdbfan]

It's abhorrent but some think the wrongs of the past warrant this criminal behavior.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

What confuses me is the "justice" isn't about what happened. If you know for fact, a man of any color killed 2 people of any color then justice would be him getting put away for it. It's hard for me to comprehend how anyone could be okay KNOWING a murderer got away. I get the idea that the justice system got payback for blacks that have been wronged, but in the end a murderer walks? I can't see applauding and celebrating such a situation.

The OJ thing was stupid.

I have no clue why blacks celebrated him getting off.

When it comes to white cops getting away with assualting or killing blacks (Eric Garner, Rodney King) blacks tend to be skeptical of how fair the system is.

Some of that has to do with personal experiences with racism and some has to with recent and distant historical past.

 

[Manic]

The whole OJ thing is complicated for the AfAm community. We think he did it just like everyone else thinks he did it, but getting away with a major crime just for being famous was something we'd only seen white people do at that point. To see a famous black man get away with murder meant that we were one step closer to being viewed as equal to white people.

That's how F'd up racism is in this country. We're so used to seeing white people get away with horrendous deeds that we celebrated a black man being able to do the same.

 

[RockSP]

I'm kind of used to Hollywood white washing Asian and Middle Eastern characters to make their films more marketable.

It only bothered me when Rupert Murdoch said it wasn't an issue because Egyptians are white.

It was such a silly disingenuous comment. Even if modern day Egyptians are considered white by some that's got jack squat to do with ancient Egypt. It's like saying because America is majority white now it was always that way.

I remember a while back Will Smith was supposed to be making a movie about a Pharaoh. If not him somebody needs to make one to counter the "blacks were only slaves in Egypt" bullcrap.

 

[Warhammer]

If Exodus: Gods and Kings came out starring Idris Elba and Chiwetel Ejiofor, I sadly feel that there would be 10x more controversy. It'd be like if Jesus did not look like a white dude in a movie. Some people would lose their minds.

 

[MadVillainy]

If Exodus: Gods and Kings came out starring Idris Elba and Chiwetel Ejiofor, I sadly feel that there would be 10x more controversy. It'd be like if Jesus did not look like a white dude in a movie. Some people would lose their minds.

Oh yeah if Jesus ever wasnt white, there would be hell


On another topic, I dont know how do you guys feel about hip hop, but what are your thoughts about Azalea Banks and Q-Tip and them going at Iggy Azalea

Basically Banks is accusing of the music industry conspiring to "whitewash" rap like they did with other genres and that there is a cultural "smudging" going on
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/...y-azalea-of-cultural-smudging-blasts-t-i-tiny

Im not buying what she's selling

 

[chamber-music]

Iggy Azalea isn't exactly the first white rapper to get awards and be popular so I'm not exactly sure what everyone's specific beef with her is. I hear Iggy says some dumb stuff on social media but then so does Azealia Banks and a number of other rappers.

Also who gives a damn about the Grammy's really? I don't think anyone who seriously cares about music is that interested in who won a Grammy. There is a long list of genuine music legends who have never won a Grammy.

Either Azalea Banks is just really opinionated or she has some sort of mental health issue because she seems to have issues with a new person each week.

 

[Warhammer]

Azealia Banks really does seem to have some mental disorder. Honest to God.

And in a malicious way, I am glad that Iggy Azalea is in the spotlight while Azealia Banks isn't. Banks really makes it hard for me to like her.

 

[MadVillainy]

Iggy Azalea isn't exactly the first white rapper to get awards and be popular so I'm not exactly sure what everyone's specific beef with her is. I hear Iggy says some dumb stuff on social media but then so does Azealia Banks and a number of other rappers.

Also who gives a damn about the Grammy's really? I don't think anyone who seriously cares about music is that interested in who won a Grammy. There is a long list of genuine music legends who have never won a Grammy.

Either Azalea Banks is just really opinionated or she has some sort of mental health issue because she seems to have issues with a new person each week.

The problem people have with Iggy is that she puts on a "subtle black face" as some call it. Her blackcent or whatever offends a lot. I don't like it but that's not my main problem with her

 

[chamber-music]

Most non-African American rapper's have a blackcent though. I don't know if you guys have ever listen to foreign rap music but many rappers try to sound like the black rappers they grew up idolizing.

I don't think it is any different to all those white soul singers or rock stars who try to imitate the black artists they grew up being fans of.

 

[MadVillainy]

You know what's funny about that Grammy complaint? Other than Eminem and Macklemore no other white rapper has won a Grammy is like the last 10 years

 

[BLACKVULCAN]

I say bring up Dukes of Hazard.

Did people successfully petition to change the name and symbol of the General Lee (a direct reference to an offensive historical symbol).

If not, ****.

Any backlash based on the BP name will be out of ignorance since the political party's name isn't based on the Marvel version and vice versa.

But if they want go ahead and protest. It will just be free publicity.

Hahaha!hell yeah! those "Good ole boys" "never meaning no harm!" drove around in a car with a CONFEDERATE FLAG painted on it!!! and for 8 seasons!!
(i always like Knight rider" better)... of course now somebody would have a problem with "knight" thinking it's "night" instead and a bunch of black dudes terrorizing people at night! hehehet:
the name "black panther!" for Marvel's superhero of the aforementioned name is COOL!!! cause black panthers( the cat) and Black Panther ( superhero) is a COOL CAT!!!

 

[chamber-music]

Azealia Banks really does seem to have some mental disorder. Honest to God.

I'm not trying to play armchair psychiatrist but I think her upbringing might of messed her up mentally.

Her mother raised her and two older sisters in Harlem, after their father died of pancreatic cancer when she was two years old. Following her father's death, Banks says that her mother "became really abusive—physically and verbally. Like she would hit me and my sisters with baseball bats, bang our heads up against walls, and she would always tell me I was ugly. I remember once she threw out all the food in the fridge, just so we wouldn't have anything to eat." Due to escalating violence, Banks moved out of her mother's home at age 14 to live with her older sister

 

[terry78]

I think people's issue with chicks like Azalea is that they can be viewed as the best rapper/r&b singer when a lot of our own ilk aka black folk get overlooked. Some of that is due to some of them not being as talented, some of it is just due to the white chicks being more of a gimmick. Right now the game is about Lana Del Ray, Rita Ora, Charli XCX, and what not. I'm old as **** so I don't even know how i know them.

 

[Anubis]

I thought them chicks were pop singers. Not exactly R&B.