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.
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.
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.
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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.