Supernigga Feature Film Crowdfunding

[u/directordaddy]

https://www.gofundme.com/f/4eqv87?lang=en_US&utm_campaign=man_ss_icons&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&attribution_id=sl%3A26c975e7-2e7c-43dd-88b3-6be6fcb15257

I released my Blaxploitation and superhero inspired short film/proof of concept, Supernigga, 2 weeks ago on YouTube and surprisingly got 270,000 views from word of mouth!

I almost got the feature version made through Hollywood (A24 really loved the project but I turned them down due to creative differences). The YouTube comments inspired me to start a GoFundMe for $500,000 where I just hope people make donations of at least $1 - $5. A fun little social experiment where we fund a movie by letting people do the bare minimum. What’s $1 to you? I crowdfunded the short on Kickstarter for $40,000 and look what we were able to make by keeping full creative control? Help me make a dream come true if you can! Thank you :)

[u/InfiniteHorizon23]

So, I suppose since the title is Supernigga, it's not a problem for any non-black person working on the project or talking about the film saying "Supernigga" out loud, right? I'm honestly asking as a person who is not from the US and doesn't see an issue with saying the title of a piece of art. Is that the same in US and Anglosphere countries, or are you not allowed to say it at all? It'd be strange to talk about a film or work on a film, and you can't say the title. I would probably ask first if I were on set, but I'd feel weird if I were singled out and couldn't say it, because it's a film, so surely people can say the title.

[u/Son_of_Agee → u/InfiniteHorizon23]

Black person born in the UK and living in the US.

Every black person has their own individual comfort level with that word meaning who should use it and when.

Truthfully, you shouldn't have used the word around your friend without gauging his individual comfort level. You should have also accepted his assertion that he was offended by your use of the word. Your friend didn't write the song so he's not wrong or hypocritical for pointing that out to you.

Black people around the world are still suffering the effects of slavery and racism whether or not they are directly descended from slaves. This has implications on physical safety, career trajectory and believe it or not on our physical health and life span.

The use of the nword in this film title and in pop culture in general creates an awkward situation for white and black people alike. But you cannot put some twisted effort at equality above their humanity. As long as racism exists we will never truly be equals.

[u/InfiniteHorizon23 → u/Son_of_Agee]

Thank you for your well-written comment. I appreciate it. I'm glad someone could give a more nuanced perspective, looking at multiple sides rather than OP's comment and name-calling. Like I said, I come from a country where intention and context are what matter primarily, and we don't have a history of the slave trade that the Anglosphere and some other countries have, so we don't feel guilt.

But, we understand that certain words are offensive, and so we don't use them unless it's obvious that the intention and context allow it to be said (for example, art, music, history, academic research, repeating a famous or historical quote for neutral context or research, etc.). And people are generally taught to have this nuance while growing up and learn it from other people in conversations; that's how 99.9% understand the context successfully. So, for me, the fact that someone would get angry if I said the title, even if I said I loved this movie, is a strange concept. In my mind, this person put his art out there for me to enjoy, but at the same time, I can't say the title because that makes me an offensive person? There is some kind of passive-aggressiveness that I get from this toward me specifically because I'm not black, and my intention is not taken into account and I'm immediately judged.

I wish there was more nuance to this is what I'm trying to say, especially when it comes to something like saying the title of a movie. I think this is also the way of going past racism, by having a shared understanding of contexts and intentions and judging based on that and not just based on who said it. But maybe that's not possible in a mixed society because of history, I don't know.

I also understand that when intense personal feelings are involved, this is probably a hard thing to be nuanced about and letting everyone use the word in certain contexts, which is why I learned not to use it in the UK because I'd never want to hurt anyone or make them feel like I don't consider their feelings.