When she spoke again it was of her mother. She was a thin small woman, not possessing her height at all, who raised eleven of them without any male support. That was a constant of in the former slave societies of the “new” world, not only this little island in the Caribbean—the transient male, the stable family head, generations of women, men with many families. A legacy of slavery, a twisted version of the polygamy practiced in parts of Africa. A bastardized hybrid of the two.”
— Oh Gad!: A Novel by Joanne C Hillhouse (via caribbeancivilisation)
In the original Trek, Khan, with his brown skin, was an Übermensch, intellectually and physically perfect, possessed of such charisma and drive that despite his efforts to gain control of the Enterprise, Captain Kirk (and many of the other officers) felt admiration for him.
And that’s why the role has been taken away from actors of colour and given to a white man. Racebending.com has always pointed out that villains are generally played by people with darker skin, and that’s true … unless the villain is one with intelligence, depth, complexity. One who garners sympathy from the audience, or if not sympathy, then — as from Kirk — grudging admiration. What this new Trek movie tells us, what JJ Abrams is telling us, is that no brown-skinned man can accomplish all that. That only by having Khan played by a white actor can the audience engage with and feel for him, believe that he’s smart and capable and a match for our Enterprise crew.”
—
Marissa Sammy on Star Trek: Into Whiteness.
perfect commentary which parallels what Rawles was saying earlier about the possibility of Moriarty being a person of color:
- “…The actual issue is that black people aren’t often allowed to play full and complete characters, and an antagonist who isn’t unintelligent, thuggish cannon fodder is just as much of a rarity for black men as the stubbly hero who saves the world or wtfever. “
- “…The stereotype in no way intersects with brilliant geniuses who choose to step outside of the boundaries of society in order to exercise their intellect while having no concern for lesser beings.
Or to break it down further: the problematic stereotype regarding black people is that of being, in essence, subhuman. Characters of the Moriarty (and Holmes) archetype are rooted in being superhuman.”
You see? It’s more complicated than “people of color get typecast as villains.”
Black people get typecast as an extremely specific type of villain - they’re thugs, brutish and animalistic. South Asian actors are similarly typecast as scary oppressive (usually coded Muslim) terrorists.
But when your villain is of the superhuman archetype? When they’re brooding antiheroes, when they’re nuanced, when they’re multi-faceted?
They’re white.
(And check out this post on the glorification of white criminality in shows like Dexter, Breaking Bad, Weeds, Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, etc.)
(via alexandraerin)
Nineteen-year-old Tarikuwa Lemma is a survivor, of an international adoption scandal. When she was 13, she was effectively sold from her native Ethiopia to an American family. The corrupt “adoption agency” convinced her father, who was a widow, that Tarikuwa and her younger sisters were headed to the U.S. as part of an educational exchange program, and that they would return home every summer and on holiday breaks. Little did he know, his daughters had been placed with adoptive couples in the U.S., never to return. Tarikuwa’s name was changed against her will, and she was forbidden by her American “family” from speaking her native language. The issue of transnational adoption, its evangelical Christian component, and the exploitation of communities that sometimes results, is the subject of the book, The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking and the New Gospel of Adoption by Kathryn Joyce, who appeared, along with Tarikuwa, on last Sunday’s “Melissa Harris Perry” show on MSNBC. Below is Tarikuwa’s satirical look at the “rescue” of children from her home country, to “better lives” in America.
Stop ‘Rescuing’ African Children Through Corrupt Adoptions
Tarikuwa Lemma appearing on Melissa Harris Perry Show April 28, 2013.
From The Grio — Nineteen-year…
(via nerdpoet)
fencing training in the french sword team with Yannick Borel and Ulrich Robeiri
entarinement d’escrime de l’équipe de France d’épée avac Yannick Borel et Ulrich Robeiri
European women fencing cup in Napoli and the training in Levallois
italian footage by / images italiennes par Fabrice Marinoni
Coupe d’Europe d’épée des clubs à Naples et entrainement à Levallois
[ID: video from an epee competition.]
Footage from the RFF challenge! Lots of fencing here - some of a Soren Thompson bout around 3.30, and of course tons from the French team (Grumier’s my favorite). There’s quite a bit of the Thompson - Grumier bout too, and the Lucenay - Jae Song.
(Also in the finals people keep falling off the platform - I always wondered if that happened.)
le film de la journée !
the feature of the day with US team in it !
made this for commencement on thursday in solidarity with assata & also cause fuck you, grad school.
(via roropcoldchain)
setfabulazerstomaximumcaptain:
Skeleton of teenage girl confirms cannibalism at Jamestown colony
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/skeleton-of-teenage-girl-confirms-cannibalism-at-jamestown-colony/2013/05/01/5af5b474-b1dc-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html#
‘MERICAS FOUNDING FATHERS Y’ALL
wut
Happy White History Month!
awww and they called all the indigenous people cannibals instead?
que bellos!
Let LESLIE Tell It [1: Bowdown Bitches/Lil’ Wayne’s Almost Death] (by Issa Rae)
The Looney Tunes Show Merrie Melodies Giant Robot Love [HD + Correct Lyrics] (by Moon Angel)
(via theuppitynegras)
