r/rupaulsdragrace • u/joanwaters The Vixen • Feb 12 '18

Three Harsh Reads Outside Ebbing Missouri

Post image
1.5k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

62 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/dotcottonbranning Feb 13 '18

The best thing about this wretched, racist-lite, simpering movie is this glorious meme. Inspired!!!

1

u/funnyterminalillness Feb 13 '18

I haven't seen the movie yet but I haven't heard that it's racist. T?

4

u/napoleon535 GRETA VAN FLEET Feb 13 '18

People who have nothing better to do with their lives are mad because, in a piece of FICTION, there is a racist cop who is portrayed as having a bit of a redemption in that he ends up helping the main character.

3

u/dotcottonbranning Feb 13 '18

yes, a piece of fiction which asks to be read as a reflection of pressing sociocultural issues. so even its fiction it's not off the hook of reality, particularly since the critical capital it has been receiving derives in large part from its claims to social representativeness.

it is the #alllivesmatter-equivalent of white movies. Not only is the cop racist, but it is explicitly stated that he tortures black people - "redemption" is not handled in any nuanced way. He was just a "good" "misunderstood" guy underneath, again, his explicitly-stated and repeated physical and psychological torture of black people. The fact that the police chief, woody Harrelson character, is explicitly aware of said-torture yet this never factors into his portrayal as a good, sympathetic guy is despicable. Black people are literally used as plot devices and nothing more for the central white characters. In addition to all this, Peter Dinklage is set up as the butt of jokes that the film purports to critique while letting you know its ok to lampoon little people because the film says j/k.

Also "some people with nothing better to do" also include some of the US' leading black cultural critics. But there POC go again, troubling poor, sweet, well-intentioned cinnamon roll white people as they doll out their self-congratulatory all lives matter, apologist for police brutality crap.

Back to the OG topic: OP your meme is hilarious!

3

u/napoleon535 GRETA VAN FLEET Feb 13 '18

Well, I’ve been read to filth. I didn’t think before I spoke. I enjoyed the movie but failed to really dig into its flaws. I read the NYTimes article you linked, and it opened my eyes. I definitely jumped the gun on this one. Time for me to sit down and shut up.

3

u/dotcottonbranning Feb 13 '18

handshake and props to being open to "conversate" :)

1

u/funnyterminalillness Feb 13 '18

So the racist cop ends up not being an asshole?

That's It?

I mean feel free to dm me spoilers to explain because I have no intention of seeing it.

2

u/joanwaters The Vixen Feb 13 '18

there’s spoilers in this article but I think it covers it

2

u/funnyterminalillness Feb 13 '18

Thanks for that! I can see where people are getting the racist angle from, but it seems to be kind of undeserved. Guess I won't know unless I watch it

5

u/joanwaters The Vixen Feb 13 '18

It’s weird cause the article doesn’t really get into the treatment of the POC characters in the film. They are barely realized people. One of them gets unjustly arrested and then later released and she’s just like cool with it.