Film Junk Bonus Podcast: District 9
As promised, here is the bonus podcast that continues our discussion about District 9 from the Film Junk Podcast Episode #231. It’s about 40 minutes in length. Warning: This podcast definitely contains spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the movie yet, you might want to hold off.
We are thinking about doing these spoiler discussions every week as a supplement to our reviews (for movies that warrant them, at least). Let us know if you like or dislike the idea of more in-depth, spoiler-filled conversations, and whether or not you think they should be kept separate from the regular podcast.
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Comments (58)
i’m totally behind this idea; just keep it separate from the regular podcast.
Posted by modesilver on August 18th, 2009AS far as the District 9 praise, I agree with everyone that it is a wonderful film and a great example for Hollywood. I think when the dust settles we can look at some of the areas in the film that were not quite up to par with the rest. (This is where Jay and I don’t see eye to eye as I can love a film and still use it as way to talk about little things that could be even better. I feel you can learn even more about film by deconstructing the really good ones.)
Anyway, I was disappointed with the choice to use all native Africans in the gangs. The director could claim to know more about the true Nigerian gangs and the fact in reality they might not trust people outside their own race, but he choose to break so many other science and plot rules I don’t know why it was necessary to keep this one. The whole movie as an allegory falls apart really quickly and Blomkamp has done press to cover himself. He has to, because the way it stands now, on the surface, violent cat food eating aliens are a stand-in for the native Africans of his homeland.
I’ve learned a lot about science fiction IN FILM reading Blomkamp’s views and some of the discussions about this film. I think like any piece of art everything is about levels, happy accidents, and depth. District 9 works because like a really engaging abstract painting it is the sum of the parts and not one or two brush strokes. Reed might have so much trouble with this because it is part of the human experience that can’t be quantified or measured. George Lucas has the famous quote, “films are binary, positive or negative, they either work or they don’t”. In saying that, Mr. Lucas was acknowledging no one really knows what a movie will do when the public gets a hold of it.
Some of the items in this film, such as, more AMAZING MATTER (like Star Trek) that well morph a human in to another species while running a HUGE FUCKING SHIP is a little hard to swallow. Really, it takes that little to run the ship BUT YOU GUYS STILL RAN OUT! NOT ONE RESERVE TANK! Like most, in a dark theatre, with a good spirited crowd, I didn’t care. Unlike Reed, I’ve held on to my childlike wonder when it comes to movie watching and allowed myself to dwell on these things after the fact. It doesn’t make me ignorant as Reed puts it but above average because I can control and partition my brain and allow for both an emotional and intellectual response to something.
I feel with a lot of science fiction and introducing big ideas in science fiction films it is a question of depth. I feel too many young filmmakers will read Blomkamps views of “big ideas in science fiction films” and take it the wrong way and as evidence of you don’t need big ideas. It is apparent Blomkamp is well read in scientific ideas and it is that depth of knowledge that allows him to make interesting stuff. In screenwriting you talk about “back story” and as a writer really knowing the character you are writing dialogue for so that character’s true voice is heard. The same thing can be said for sci-fi, you don’t have to introduce big ideas or explain every new technology, but those big ideas and new technology have to be grounded in the filmmaker’s understanding of those areas to come across as original and fresh. On the flip side you can watch a Michael Bay film and feel he doesn’t care at all about any science or big ideas under the surface of his films, and this is why he fails. It should be mentioned that in mysteries and creature features we praise filmmakers that leave more to the imagination of the audience, why this need to know everything in a sci-fi movie?
The middle of the film had some real pacing problems and started to drag. This might have been a “happy accident” as it made the end much more of a rush due to the boredom that I was starting to feel. I agree with some of the criticism that the 1.2 aliens seemed to be forgotten in the end and the film does a poor job of explaining what the lead alien was doing at the end. He claimed to be motivated to get back to the ship to stop his “people” from being used as medical experiments. Then he and his son go to the ship and it becomes this “I will be back in 3 years”?! I also didn’t buy the way all of the aliens didn’t react to their mother ship starting to move after 20 years. It had already been established that they were a very reactionary race so their lackluster response was surprising. The human response was also lacking in scale as it was clearly stated that Wikus was the “most valued human on the planet” – the procedural and tactical way they pursued him was not very well done. Now, I know the reasons for all this is budget, but if we are going to heap a ton of praise on this film for all it achieve with a small budget we can’t ignore the character and story holes that budget created.
Aside from the whole what to do with the aliens issue I didn’t mind the ending and a chance for a sequel.
All in all, a great film and it probably saved the entire summer for me.
Posted by rus in chicago on August 18th, 2009Wow you guys really have lots to say about this one. I’m just looking forward to this guy getting some more direction (literally and figuratively) because I’m certain he has a few more tales to tell and hopefully I’ll like those even more.
Posted by Ian on August 18th, 2009I am holding off listening to this one for a couple of days till I see it. Thanks for the warning and yes please continue this!!!!!!
Posted by Big Hungry on August 18th, 2009I think this is a fantastic idea! Thanks guys!
Posted by Chris M on August 18th, 2009if you put them out every week I’d listen to them, but really they only need to exist when there’s a major film out there to discuss thats worth the time.
I think I’d rather have more Cantankerous episodes
Posted by Goon on August 18th, 2009For me at least, the iTunes feed isn’t working.
Posted by Mason on August 18th, 2009The feed link isn’t working from Itunes for me also.
Posted by Maopheus on August 18th, 2009Alright I just pinged it manually… should be working now.
Posted by Sean on August 18th, 2009I think this is a good idea for an extra podcast but keep Reed out of them. I like him but I was really interested in hearing your thoughts on this movie but it felt like you guys kept being derailed by him and didn’t really get much extra said.
Posted by Niklas on August 18th, 2009district 9
Posted by kris on August 18th, 2009Yeah the iTunes feed still isn’t working for me.
Posted by Sam on August 18th, 2009Clicking on the manual download link works fine for me, in Firefox it pops up a new window and starts playing in Quicktime.
Posted by Maopheus on August 18th, 2009“Anyway, I was disappointed with the choice to use all native Africans in the gangs. The director could claim to know more about the true Nigerian gangs and the fact in reality they might not trust people outside their own race, but he choose to break so many other science and plot rules I don’t know why it was necessary to keep this one.”
Gangs, regardless of the race tend to stick with their own. Have you ever seen a rainbow gang of criminals walking around?
Posted by Swarez on August 18th, 2009This has always been a big pet peeve of mine, the multicultural thugs of 70’s and 80’s cinema. That shit doesn’t happen, ever. Gangs aren’t the criminal version of the UN. It’s like demanding that depiction of the mafia should be peppered with a few black guys and a couple of asians so it isn’t as offensive to Italians.
I think it has more to do with you feeling some PC guilt when you root for the white guy kicking the ass of the native thugs.
rus in chicago, thx for sharing your views in a cogent manner.
I can appreciate letting a film experience wash over me, but I’ll only do so if the film has certain qualities that I admit bias me to certain types of films. For example, self-sacrifice nearly always melts my heart, especially when a non-human species does it. I have difficulty understanding how people can overlook the inanity of a movie like District 9 or Star Trek, yet cut down a movie like Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Regarding this spoiler podcast, after I realized that Jay didn’t want to talk about plot mechanics or perhaps I should say the science in the movie, I allowed the rest of the guys to talk. If you think I discombobulated them so much that it resulted in the discussion cut short, then I apologize.
I think Jay brought up some character motivation talk, but I’m less inclined to have views on that or at least without considerable forethought.
I was disappointed by this opportunity to talk more about District 9. I admit that I’m not a quick thinker, so I can’t interact well in a discussion.
I was raised in a household where “kids should be seen and not heard.” And now as an adult, I live in a society that makes me feel that I still live under the same dictum, although I don’t think people even want to see me. Ha ha.
Posted by Reed Farrington on August 18th, 2009Swarez – why were there not factions of the WHITE and BLACK MNU trying to get weapons on the side? Why did none of the Racist Skinheads of South Africa choose not to participate in the lucrative trade of high tech. weaponry? Everything in a film is by design and this director opened himself to criticism by choosing native Africans as the only gang when it is so easy to show something different. I can guarantee Mr. Blomkamp doesn’t want his film to be batted around as racist yet he does himself no favors in his protrail. Don’t put some B.S. label of P.C. guilt on me when I’m bringing up valid points and suggestions how the film could be more focused on points the director WANTS to make.
Posted by rus in chicago on August 18th, 2009It’s a lot harder to do a thorough discussion of a movie without giving away story details. For movies I really wanted to see, I waited until I watched them before I listened to the review anyway. So I love this idea (for movies that require it; I can live without an in-depth exploration of 12 rounds).
Also, the iTunes feed won’t work for me as well.
Posted by Glendon on August 18th, 2009Sorry, I finally realized what the problem was. I had the wrong URL in the RSS feed. iTunes should work now. I hope.
Posted by Sean on August 18th, 2009Racist skinheads of South Africa? Lets not confuse Hollywood stereotypes with a more complicated social issue.
Posted by Bratwurst on August 18th, 2009Rus, it seems to me that this idea of the film being racist because of the Nigerians is flawed in that it puts too much weight on the gang being the bad guys. For me, I thought the MNU corporation, run by rich white men, were the true villains of the film.
Posted by Jay C. on August 18th, 2009I’m listening to the spoiler podcasts and the prawns sound like they are stuck on earth like the alien in “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”
In The Man Who Fell to Earth we know why the Alien came to earth, and we don’t know in District 9 why they are here. But, in both cases the Aliens are stuck here on earth, while the Governments try and figure out how to acquire their technology.
In both movies the aliens become addicted to an substance. Cat food for the prawns and Liquor for the alien in The Man who Fell to Earth. In both cases the aliens end up given away not only their stuff, but they also give up their lives. They are alive, but not “living.” They are trapped in a world that is not their own.
Posted by Robert on August 18th, 2009Hey Sean, it’s working now.
Posted by Glendon on August 18th, 2009Yes please! Have more spoiler discussion podcasts.
Posted by RJ on August 18th, 2009I’m sorry guys. I love your stuff and I love the site but I seriously can’t take much more of Jay and Reed bickering. It’s not even funny anymore it just puts me in a bad mood. lol. Honestly, I just stop listening at that point because there is way too much drama.
I’m really interested in everyones individual opinion (even Reed.) and what I like about your podcast is the combination of personalities and the unique take on things. As a long time follower of the site, and the show, just wanted to let you guys know your doing great work…but Jay and Reed need to chill out a little bit. lol.
Posted by James Dead on August 18th, 2009“Swarez – why were there not factions of the WHITE and BLACK MNU trying to get weapons on the side? Why did none of the Racist Skinheads of South Africa choose not to participate in the lucrative trade of high tech. weaponry? ”
Because it’s not relevant to the story. The simple fact that there are far more black people in Africa makes it pretty obvious that there would be more black gangs. Would you be more comfortable with a white gang? Why?
Posted by Swarez on August 18th, 2009That the gang is all black is not racist, it’s accurate.
And it is PC bull crap to even bring it up.
Swarez – I like the way you are selective in what you copy from my response. real mature. My whole point was by not including the skinheads, or what have you, Blomkamp opens himself to racist charges and that is not what he wants, and not in line with the points he is trying to make, and takes the focus of the audience form what he is trying to say. you keep trying to pin some trait on me for no reason when all I’m doing is bring up points of discussion. you also conveniently ignore the fact the native African gangs are paired with what some critics (not me) could label is associating the native Africans of South African slums (were the film takes place) with the violent cat food eating aliens. that is a double whammy that Blomkamp could have avoided if he showed more gangs taking advantage of the aliens. it literally could have been a cut-away shot in the beginning of the film simply showing a white sector of private South Africa taking advantage of the aliens, literally, a two second shot. If you think South Africa doesn’t have multiple layers of white groups that take advantage of native Africans (therefore aliens for this movie) but operate outside of traditional gangs and government you are very naive.
Posted by rus in chicago on August 18th, 2009Sorry rus, but I have to side with Swarez on this one. This idea of adding a two second cutaway of a white gang taking advantage of the aliens simply to avoid accusations of racism is ridiculous.
Again, I believe the main villains of the film are the MNU, all of which are white or multi-national. Even Wikus can be considered racist in his own way. I’m not sure how the inclusion of a Nigerian gang equals racism. Seems to me it’s simply a product of the environment, being that the film takes place in South Africa. (Yes, I had WW2 films on the brain during the podcast.)
Posted by Jay C. on August 18th, 2009Nigerian gangs also rose to power throughout Africa in the 1980’s. And one of their biggest footholds was in the slums of South Africa where they took full advantage of the under privileged masses. District 9 is an allegory, and the prawns clearly represent the native Africans that were oppressed by both the Afrikaans and the Nigerians.
Swarez is right that District 9 is being very accurate in the gangs portrayal.
Posted by Matt Gamble on August 18th, 2009The real question is, what’s more racist… District 9 or Transformers 2?
Posted by Sean on August 18th, 2009I really don’t want to keep talking about racism in the film, because as I’ve said repeatedly I don’t hold this view I only felt Blomkamp is opening himself up to that issue. We can wait and see what the press is. To many films do this, they make whites and blacks both villains in the film yet the whites are always part of the adopted government system and the blacks are always part of a total criminal element. That in itself reinforces a continual stereotype in film and just was disappointed to see it yet again.
I would love for this board to switch to more discussion of the sci-fi, big idea issues myself and the glorious Reed introduced.
For example, I know Jay C. belittled Reed for talking about the ship not being in a geo-centric orbit, but I felt that was a lost opportunity. First, Blomkamp choose to associate his film with another sci-fi action film, Independence Day with this hovering craft. That was a bold choice. No one, even the great Jay Cheel, commented on the real reason Blomkamp did this – it created an incredible grounding element as you always knew were you were in the geography of the “film space” and it provided a relative easy way to take undecorated real locations and make then film ready with the simplest of CG effects – a ship floating in the background in the sky.
Boom, suck on that film knowledge booooooooooooys!
Posted by rus in chicago on August 18th, 2009“For example, I know Jay C. belittled Reed for talking about the ship not being in a geo-centric orbit, but I felt that was a lost opportunity. First, Blomkamp choose to associate his film with another sci-fi action film, Independence Day with this hovering craft.”
You mean V, right?
As for the lost opportunity regarding the floating ship…I simply didn’t think dedicating time to a spoiler specific discussion should be taken up by talking about things that weren’t spoilers at all. Maybe we should release another exclusive mp3 dealing specifically with the idea of the floating ship.
Posted by Jay C. on August 18th, 2009To many films do this, they make whites and blacks both villains in the film yet the whites are always part of the adopted government system and the blacks are always part of a total criminal element.
Except Blomkamp is using District 9 as a direct allegory to the actual racism, and hierarchy, that is present in South Africa. He’s not doing it because he’s simply following standard Hollywood conventions, but because that’s how it actually was/is. It would be incredibly ignorant of a critic to claim that racism is a negative of District 9 when it is implicit to the theme, and story arc, of the film.
Posted by Matt Gamble on August 18th, 2009damn you really are a pill…alright, my bad I didn’t get the memo on what is and isn’t allowed in the two seperate D9 podcasts and now boards…gets some tea…chill out
Posted by rus in chicago on August 18th, 2009And just to clarify, I apologize to Reed or anyone who was interested in his thoughts on the floating ship. If he wants to discuss it further, we will have to get together and record an off site podcast of our own with an open minded approach and ‘geek out’ on all of the stuff that didn’t fit into a broader discussion of the film. That is, if he ever kept his phone on to get in touch with him.
Posted by Jay C. on August 18th, 2009James Dead, thx for your comment. Rest assured that I will never argue with Jay again. (At least, in public.)
Posted by Reed Farrington on August 18th, 2009What exactly are you getting so pissy about rus? I’m not accusing you of sharing this opinion, nor did I think you did, but their have been people on this site and a couple others I’ve seen that do have this opinion and IMO it lacks any merit or virility.
That is, if he ever kept his phone on to get in touch with him.
I think Film Junk should develop a Reed Signal.
Posted by Matt Gamble on August 18th, 2009Actually it’s called the Shat Signal and what you have to do is put an ad in the local paper for some sort of discounted Star Trek merchandise, which will bring Reed to the scene of the crime within 24 hours.
Posted by Sean on August 18th, 2009I should have sent you guys more T-shirts. That would keep him coming back for more.
Posted by Matt Gamble on August 18th, 2009“What exactly are you getting so pissy about rus?”
aaaah, I was talking to Jay C.
Posted by rus in chicago on August 18th, 2009Huh?
Posted by Jay C. on August 18th, 2009Oh, by all means carry on then.
Posted by Matt Gamble on August 18th, 2009Rus, I agree…the portrayal of the Nigerians was blatantly racist. It wasn’t the fact that they were money hungry, exploitative thugs…that’s what gangsters do. I’ll just re-say what I posted on the actual review page…
Its the fact that the Nigerians were shown as near neanderthal, superstitious/voodoo cannibals is the result of a century of white colonial projection upon Subsaharan African cultures. Its very similar to Resident Evil 5 in that way. It was offensive and sad to see in a movie that used an Apartheid-esque system as a backdrop to make a statement.
Posted by Justice on August 18th, 2009I like the idea of a separate spoiler podcast. I can’t wait to hear one. Instead of an interesting look at the plot, this one seemed to be Sean, Jay and Greg attempting to explain the minutia of the film to the man-child Reed. Boring and annoying.
Posted by Patrick H. on August 18th, 2009Justice-I think the gangs were a stand in for several gangs in the region that are “superstitious/voodoo cannibals”. In 2003, the Mbuti pygmies petitioned the U.N. to look into human rights violations because they were being eaten during a civil war in the Congo. It’s insane, but not that farfetched.
Posted by Patrick H. on August 18th, 2009I don’t want to say that Blomkamp is an expert on South Africa, but being that that’s where he’s from I’m sure he’s aware of the problems there. The way he presents the gangs seems pretty accurate to me from what I’ve seen and read of the area. After the late 60s when the colonialists left the continent to it’s own devices, many Africans turned to exploiting the land and people for profit and restarted age old tribal rivalries. An interesting doc on this is Africa Addio by the 2 Italians responsible for the Mondo Cane films. While they are unarguably biased against native Africans they do show the opportunism that took hold by the natives there. They opened up Wildlife preserves to hunters, executed thousands of Muslims and generally raped the land. This still happens today by gangs AND government officials. MANY being black.
So I believe that Blomkamp’s representation of black gangs is accurate. Anyone who has a problem with it needs to understand that he’s not trying to expose ALL of the wrongs done in Africa, but a select slum and a select gang. Jay’s right in that the use of the MNU as the main villains is far more the focal point in the end anyway. Whites are just as evil in the film and are represented in a far worse light. While I’m sure there are many white profiteers in Africa I think it would have been confusing to have more than the main gang and the MNU as the villains.
In regards to Jay and Reed’s bickering I DID find that it bogged the discussion out. I defended Reed after the initial podcast but I kinda feel I should rescind that defense as he came off far too negative for the sake of negativity. Also, being that Reed’s tastes run into Paul Anderson territory his arguments feel moot. To call a film out for all the little scientific aspects that bothered him only to say that AVP was good ruins any point he may have had. The complaints of motion sickness are also invalid in that most of Paul Anderson’s flicks use fast cuts and shaky cam to far worse effect in the action sequences. D9 is obviously not trying to be hard sci-fi, so why try to hold it to that? As soon as all the interesting allegorical questions popped up Reed went completely mum. Aren’t those questions what make sci-fi stories interesting? isn’t using a fantastical setting to make a point about our society the point of great sci-fi? It’s disappointing that Reed isn’t more active in discussing theme and story as much as science. I think his insights could be interesting as he’s obviously a smart guy who just lets his stubbornness get in the way.
Oh well, I guess that particular line of thinking is Reed’s way and we can’t expect him to change. It’s just too bad that he’s not more willing to talk about ALL aspects of film and not just the science.
I just wonder what scientific aspects of AVP were enough to intrigue him? I guess we’ll never know…
Posted by Fatbologna on August 18th, 2009” Its very similar to Resident Evil 5 in that way”
Jesus Jumped Up On A Hockey Stick Christ, did you have to bring RE5 into this?
Posted by Dave on August 18th, 2009what movies were you referring to when you mentioned me Reed?
Posted by Goon on August 18th, 2009I won’t call the film racist as I don’t expect gang members in Africa to be Chinese or Swedish, but it was weird hearing the gang members labeled as “the Nigerians.”
Posted by Glendon on August 18th, 2009You know, maybe some of you need to ask some Nigerians if they thought District 9 was racist. Check your Spam folders; I’m sure you can find some e-mail addresses for some of their Princes.
Posted by Dave on August 19th, 2009I think you guys should only do the spoiler discussions if there is dissension about the movie you’re talking about. Otherwise just do the regular episode.
But I will take all the Film Junk you give me, just so we’re clear.
Posted by Nate on August 19th, 2009Oh, Goon, if I remember correctly, I blurted out your name in panic. I tend to be a fink. Actually, I can’t remember what I used your name in reference to, so it couldn’t have been too important. I’m sorry I disparaged your name. I know you’ve been kind to me in your comments. Feel free to call me an idiot in retaliation.
P.S. I actually typed out a longer response for you, Goon, but I realized it could be misconstrued, so I deleted it. Writing this postscript will probably make you more curious. Don’t worry about it. People already know I’m an idiot, and anything I say is not worth a second thought. I should probably stop typing.
And Fatbologna, even now I can’t think of anything new to say about the allegorical aspects, theme or story of District 9. Besides the racism issue of which I have little knowledge when it pertains to South Africa, I don’t know what else there is to talk about without getting into minutiae. Maybe we could have discussed how different District 9 would have been without the documentary aspects? I didn’t realize I came across so negative about District 9.
Patrick H., I apologize for being boring and annoying. I think “boring and annoying” pretty well sums up my personality.
Posted by Reed Farrington on August 19th, 2009“I won’t call the film racist as I don’t expect gang members in Africa to be Chinese or Swedish, but it was weird hearing the gang members labeled as “the Nigerians.”
Nigeria is home to some of the biggest criminal and scam organizations in the world and they don’t only revolve around email scams.
“Its the fact that the Nigerians were shown as near neanderthal, superstitious/voodoo cannibals is the result of a century of white colonial projection upon Subsaharan African cultures. Its very similar to Resident Evil 5 in that way.”
Clearly you don’t know about what goes on in Africa or for that matter Haiti, which is only a couple of hours from the US by air. Witch doctoring and superstition is rampant in some areas. Voodoo is very much alive in Haiti for example. Take a look at the film Ghosts of Cité Soley where gang members use Voodoo for protection.
It’s not the filmmakers responsibility to sugarcoat reality for the viewer so his view, which is largely constructed by Hollywood rather than actual research. In fact I’m more offended when a film portrays a “rainbow gang” of sorts where every race is visible.
People who call this film racist don’t know what they are talking about.
Posted by Swarez on August 19th, 2009Reed – I don’t think you are boring or annoying to listen to, I just think that sean, jay and greg focused too much time on trying to figure out why you didnt like the movie instead of getting into a deeper discussion.
Racism – I don’t get why people are so sensitive when it comes to race in movies. Im white and my wife is black so maybe we are just too removed from the issue to get it but neither one of us thought this movie was racist to anyone besides aliens!
There were a white gang exploiting the aliens in the movie and it was called MNU! This feels like the King Kong is racist argument all over, its just hyper sensitivity and should be ignored.
Posted by Niklas on August 19th, 2009Just got around to listening to this…and it’s hilarious!!
Around the 10 minute mark when Jay is trying to steer the conversation to something other than the ship hovering and then Reed brings up Geosynchronous orbit!
Classic!
Posted by ProjectGenesis on August 19th, 2009Does voodoo exist in some areas, absolutely, but to say that because the gangsters were black and from Nigeria they would devolve into writhing and dancing cannibals is ridiculous. It may not have been two black guys with bones through their noses stirring an explorer in a big pot, but it was damn close. I’m Native American, and when I see all native cultures reduced to raindancing, head dress wearing savages, its rather disappointing.
And yes, I brought up RE5 because the game had similar faults in its depiction of African cultures.
And this would be less relevant if the goddamn movie wasn’t about racism! It shoots itself in the foot.
Posted by Justice on August 20th, 2009Oh, and all this racism talk distracts from all of the huge plot holes and glaring common sense mistakes in the movie, which are discussions better served on this site. The hyperbole of comparing this to Saving Private Ryan and Blade Runner is ridiculous.
(sorry to double post, but there is no edit button)
Posted by Justice on August 20th, 2009I can see making direct comparisons to the early levels of RE5 too. The level of those comparisons would be pretty shallow and inconsequential in the end, but I feel they do exist.
And this racism issue is idiotic. In general films have 2 hours to tell a complete story. In general, most films play on stereotypes. They have to. There’s just not enough time to NOT play off of the audiences preconceived notions if you can. Great films exploit this in interesting and unexpected ways, but a film is not automatically GUILTY of racism if it uses generalities to quickly set up characters.
See: White Chicks
And besides, a bunch of mostly white guys screaming racism on websites written and read by mostly white guys is not only sad, but stupid. It’s a movie directed by a guy who came from there, not by the grand master of the KKK. Get over it.
Listening to the bonus cast now…
Posted by James on August 20th, 2009Reed was not at top form, but his James Hong Tribute idea was pure magic. The man of the secretive cameo, and perhaps the last living relic of historic cinema.
Posted by Juan Costrada on August 21st, 2009Leave a Reply