By The Scrybe
As a content creator, it would be negligent of me to not consider the consequences of the projects I produce and consume. The first of effects I recall feeling after experiencing films of this genre or subject matter came after watching ‘Roots‘, allegedly plagiarized from a white man’s work. I think I was seven or eight. That sht pissed me off. My biggest issue and concern was that I felt powerless in my rage. So, it had to be suppressed.
Then they kept coming. I saw ‘Glory’ based on Africans (African-Americans didn’t exist yet because Jesse Jackson made that up way later…I digress) fighting to fight in the United States of America army. Then Denzel Washington wins an Academy Award for playing the hell out of his character who had to suppress his rage as he got whipped on his back to the point of tears streaming. I’m sensing a pattern here. ‘Twelve Years A Slave’, ‘The Help’, ‘The Butler’, ‘Fruitvale’, and the list goes on of films that provoke Black people to rage, often written and produced by white folk, and then condition Black folks to suppress the energy that is conjured up. I’m not here to suppress my feelings. If I feel it, you gon’ feel it.
Rarely, do you get a film like ‘Django’ when there is some sense of redemption, but Leonardo DiCaprio said ‘ni@@a’ so many times I kinda want to slap the hell outta him, acting or not. He was too comfortable with that word in these times for me. It just feels like there’s a game being played on the collective intelligence of society through these entertainment platforms. Is what it is, game on. All of us are not willing to be so submissive to the content and expected or desired reaction.
The fact of the matter is Ava DuVernay is brilliant in her work. The story of ‘When They See Us’ must be told and this project was absolutely necessary. I can see that without seeing the film. I can see that from the response of the family that have seen it. I look at them like I haven’t stopped feeling like that since ‘Roots’, or since Trayvon, or since Sandra Bland, or since Assata Shakur before I was born. Been getting offended since before the womb and still being conditioned to suppress, curb, withhold our sentiments. Time to put an end to the silence. They need to see how we see them after they see us. They may start seeing us differently.
Dealing with the information received from online response and the trailer, I think I get the gist of the story. The United States Criminal Injustice System destroyed the youth of the five young Black males falsely accused of raping a white woman, and convicted without a shred of evidence. The system works perfectly. This is the design. It is mind-boggling to me when folks suggest that the system is broken. This thing has evolved over time, although, I will say that as of late it has been compromised. Black parents all over the United States are sitting their children down to watch this mini-series and coach them on how to deal with the holice. That is why this is a critical work. We are now maturing, becoming more conscientious, serious and proactive about the imminent threat we as Black folks face on a daily basis in the States.
For those of us whom have been serious about this issue, a project like this only agitates. That could be beneficial in the sense of practicing discipline and patience. In this case, the energy would not be suppressed, but stored for the divine moment of release. Men and women of the warrior nature do not let go of matters so easily. A consequence of 400 years of slavery is having the warrior or spirit or god beat and raped out of you. This is why my people can suppress their natural reaction to offense and attack so instinctively. Black folks have been conditioned to tolerate abuse, wickedness, and evil directed at them for centuries.
It’s damn near a setup. I am not suggesting that it is a deliberate or intentional setup by Ava DuVernay. More like, the system has intentions to capitalize off undisciplined reaction to projects like this. Societal consciousness can feel the tensions rise in the streets when films like ‘When They See Us’ are released. This particular project has been featured on a variety of media platforms. The coverage has been going on for weeks. Cities and States have their race soldiers on high alert to quickly “discipline” or “condition” Black people to feel the rage, and keep it to yourself. They are trained to inflict fear on the Black community by way of bullying and armed oppression. They are gang violence hunting the most passionate and mightiest of the tribes that struggle with suppressing the energy stirred up from watching such a cinematic presentation. Better I don’t watch this joint yet. Gotta do my kemetic yoga first at least—and after.
The warrior class, however, is not about that life. This is a series of generations born to meet the evil with equal and greater force. The world knows that time has come. The artwork expressed in the motion picture industry, music industry, and theatrical industry are tightly interwoven with reality. The stories are real and the prophecies are manifesting. We live in a time when truth is stranger than fiction, the world is a stage, and everyone is an actor. If it’s time to do something about our condition, then it’s time to break character.
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