i just watched the preview and wow. I have not seen it yet, but will.
It’s obviously awful to watch but I think important.
There is a lot of discussion about this movie and the series Them about why they are made and who exactly is the audience going on now that might interest you.
FYI there are descriptions of the extreme violence in these movies/shows in the linked articles so be forewarned
It’s obviously awful to watch but I think important.
There is a lot of discussion about this movie and the series Them about why they are made and who exactly is the audience going on now that might interest you.
FYI there are descriptions of the extreme violence in these movies/shows in the linked articles so be forewarned
It’s obviously awful to watch but I think important.
Why do you think it's important to watch? I'm not being snarky.
Maybe important isn’t the right word. It was uncomfortable and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for someone who lives with this as their own experience. But for someone like myself who is a white woman @@
with white children
if I didn’t want to I wouldn’t have to think about the reality of this man’s experience. Especially now when I’m essentially stuck in my house every day and don’t go anywhere or interact with people outside of my family. I can totally cherry pick which shows I want to watch, which news stories I want to read, etc.
But I do want to think about it. I want to keep myself uncomfortable. I want to continue to be horrified that this short exists.
I haven’t read the articles yet but I can imagine maybe some people think it’s too graphic, or unnecessary to make a film about it since these are real events happening in our country. And of course triggering!
So I will for sure read the articles this afternoon! And I appreciate the discussion.
It’s obviously awful to watch but I think important.
There is a lot of discussion about this movie and the series Them about why they are made and who exactly is the audience going on now that might interest you.
FYI there are descriptions of the extreme violence in these movies/shows in the linked articles so be forewarned
this is along the lines of something I saw over the weekend about "Them." It was suggested to instead watch "Concrete Cowboys" which is less triggering and still lifts the voices and stories of POC without the constant barrage of trauma that POC already face daily.
Why do you think it's important to watch? I'm not being snarky.
Maybe important isn’t the right word. It was uncomfortable and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for someone who lives with this as their own experience. But for someone like myself who is a white woman @@
with white children
if I didn’t want to I wouldn’t have to think about the reality of this man’s experience. Especially now when I’m essentially stuck in my house every day and don’t go anywhere or interact with people outside of my family. I can totally cherry pick which shows I want to watch, which news stories I want to read, etc.
But I do want to think about it. I want to keep myself uncomfortable. I want to continue to be horrified that this short exists.
I haven’t read the articles yet but I can imagine maybe some people think it’s too graphic, or unnecessary to make a film about it since these are real events happening in our country. And of course triggering!
So I will for sure read the articles this afternoon! And I appreciate the discussion.
Everyone can cherry pick what shows they want to watch and what news stories they want to read. Black people and POC are not forced A-Clockwork-Orange style to watch violence against Black people or read news that reports on violence against black people. I've heard this argument—it's a privilege to not watch the news or be politically involved, etc., mostly from this board it it's just logically untrue. We all have that choice. What BIPOC people don't have a choice in is the systematic way in which racism specifically targets us and how we are NOT the people to make the change; white people are.
What is the end to keeping yourself uncomfortable and being horrified that art like this exists? How are you using this to make a difference in your community? Because if it's just you witnessing trauma over and over, it's doing more harm than good. I support Black film makers and Black artists. I support Black storytelling. It's pretty obvious that Two Distant Strangers is NOT for Black and POC audiences. It's for white people, but I still can't see to what end. White people notoriously do nothing as a collective to dismantle racist systems. White people as a collective have not challenged the status quo when it comes to policing in our country. For white people, this movie and others like it (along with ALL the videos of violence against Black and brown people by the state) is trauma porn.
Why do you think it's important to watch? I'm not being snarky.
Maybe important isn’t the right word. It was uncomfortable and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for someone who lives with this as their own experience. But for someone like myself who is a white woman @@
with white children
if I didn’t want to I wouldn’t have to think about the reality of this man’s experience. Especially now when I’m essentially stuck in my house every day and don’t go anywhere or interact with people outside of my family. I can totally cherry pick which shows I want to watch, which news stories I want to read, etc.
But I do want to think about it. I want to keep myself uncomfortable. I want to continue to be horrified that this short exists.
I haven’t read the articles yet but I can imagine maybe some people think it’s too graphic, or unnecessary to make a film about it since these are real events happening in our country. And of course triggering!
So I will for sure read the articles this afternoon! And I appreciate the discussion.
Not picking on you, but this (as well as many other responses to other threads related to this subject lately) has sparked some thoughts.
Why do we need to have the ease of a Netflix show (or news article, or video) in our faces to “remember” that this trauma is continuing to happen daily?
I’m honestly not try to sound like a thick-headed or thoughtless idiot, which I can sometimes be. And I apologize in advance if that’s how I’m coming across.
However, if it’s important to “us” to keep these traumas in mind, why do we need the constant barrage & influx of trauma? Why not create a reading list to go through? Why not take the personal responsibility steps of creating our own plan to keep this from slipping our minds? There is plenty of content to review, and plenty of organizations to donate to or work with.
I understand it’s a complex and tricky issue. However, being a passive bystander will never solicit change. And I’m speaking to myself as well here, not trying to lecture or act better than anyone.
Maybe important isn’t the right word. It was uncomfortable and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for someone who lives with this as their own experience. But for someone like myself who is a white woman @@
with white children
if I didn’t want to I wouldn’t have to think about the reality of this man’s experience. Especially now when I’m essentially stuck in my house every day and don’t go anywhere or interact with people outside of my family. I can totally cherry pick which shows I want to watch, which news stories I want to read, etc.
But I do want to think about it. I want to keep myself uncomfortable. I want to continue to be horrified that this short exists.
I haven’t read the articles yet but I can imagine maybe some people think it’s too graphic, or unnecessary to make a film about it since these are real events happening in our country. And of course triggering!
So I will for sure read the articles this afternoon! And I appreciate the discussion.
Everyone can cherry pick what shows they want to watch and what news stories they want to read. Black people and POC are not forced A-Clockwork-Orange style to watch violence against Black people or read news that reports on violence against black people. I've heard this argument—it's a privilege to not watch the news or be politically involved, etc., mostly from this board it it's just logically untrue. We all have that choice. What BIPOC people don't have a choice in is the systematic way in which racism specifically targets us and how we are NOT the people to make the change; white people are.
What is the end to keeping yourself uncomfortable and being horrified that art like this exists? How are you using this to make a difference in your community? Because if it's just you witnessing trauma over and over, it's doing more harm than good. I support Black film makers and Black artists. I support Black storytelling. It's pretty obvious that Two Distant Strangers is NOT for Black and POC audiences. It's for white people, but I still can't see to what end. White people notoriously do nothing as a collective to dismantle racist systems. White people as a collective have not challenged the status quo when it comes to policing in our country. For white people, this movie and others like it (along with ALL the videos of violence against Black and brown people by the state) is trauma porn.
I don’t know what to do.
What I have done so far - Canvass for black politicians in my local government (so far there has never been a black Elected official at the local level)
Write letters until I’m blue in the face to my local police to get them to take down their thin blue line flag (hasn’t worked yet)
Stop whenever I see a black person pulled over in my town to be a witness/white voice should it be needed (obviously futile in so many cases I know but feels wrong to me to just go on by - I dont know if my presence is welcomed or not would love feedback on this)
@@@
Write letters and speak before the @@school board to ask them to examine the reasons why their suspension rates are not proportionately equal across races (they are beginning that this summer)
Support my local @@ school district’s “diversity in hiring” initiatives to hopefully decrease the number of white teachers these kids have
I am a supporting member of the BIPOC parents group in my town. This means I do not attend their private get togethers and am not in their private fb group, but am invited to and try to attend any public gatherings they have. This is their request for how the group is set up.
I’m sure there are other things that I’m not thinking of but honestly it all feels useless. I don’t know what to do to make a change.
I absolutely welcome any and all ideas for how I can make a greater impact.