Denzel"Do you really think putting me behind bars is going to change anything? Them dope fiends are going to shoot it, they going to steal for it, they going to die for it. Putting me in or out aint going to change one thing"
Crowe
"Black businessman like you represents progress, the kind of progress that is going to see a lot of men lose a lot of money. With men like you out of the way, everything can return to normal"
I just watched American Gangster, Hollywood's interpretation of the amazing Frank Lucas story. Though typically formulaic ('Flawed good guy cop' chases 'Flawed good guy gangster') the film manages a moment of intellectual refreshment when it touches on the nature of the "drug wars" and the motives behind the disproportionate targeting of black dealers, while ignoring the immense interests of other beneficiaries of the vertically integrated drug industry (cops, lawyers, parole officers, prisons, social workers etc.), all of whom have an interest in perpetuating widespread drug addiction by criminalizing a medical problem.
Denzel is clearly the greatest actor in the world and blows Russell Crowe off the screen. Though this movie is not the black version of the Godfather like I had hoped, it is the closest thing black people are going to get until we start financing our own films.
I just watched American Gangster, Hollywood's interpretation of the amazing Frank Lucas story. Though typically formulaic ('Flawed good guy cop' chases 'Flawed good guy gangster') the film manages a moment of intellectual refreshment when it touches on the nature of the "drug wars" and the motives behind the disproportionate targeting of black dealers, while ignoring the immense interests of other beneficiaries of the vertically integrated drug industry (cops, lawyers, parole officers, prisons, social workers etc.), all of whom have an interest in perpetuating widespread drug addiction by criminalizing a medical problem.
Denzel is clearly the greatest actor in the world and blows Russell Crowe off the screen. Though this movie is not the black version of the Godfather like I had hoped, it is the closest thing black people are going to get until we start financing our own films.
10 comments:
Did you go to a 'screening' of the movie at a theater or catch that infamous high-quality 'bootleg' that is circling like the wind?
I watched the BET doc 'American Gangster' last night and it was the episode about Lucas. Very interesting.
I never go to movies, but I really want to experience this one with the exagerrated sensory inputs from a big ole movie theater. And I can't wait for the official soundtrack and the 'accompanying' soundtrack by Jay-Z (although I've already heard the whole album via leak).
Saw it on the "high-quality" studio copy floating around. However, I can't wait to see it on the big screen...it's a different experience and I wanna support my brah's. Great cast IMO. And Ruby Dee?! Classic and still quite beautiful.
As for the movie, LOVED IT.
The "War on Drugs" aka Black youth is reaching it's objective of systematic slavery of Black men. The 100-to-1 powder-to-crack sentencing ratio is an overt example of the objective.
The war on drugs is similar to the war on terror. When the smoke clears, the enemy (drugs/terrorist) is thriving.
Hey Mjb,
Nah man. No bootleg. I actually watched it up at Denzel's house. He has a high def copy.
You're not supporting anyone by seeing this movie except, perhaps, the director who probably gets bonuses based on box office receipts and very highly placed executives.
Well DV, I imagine you can get great sensory inputs at a home theater too which I'm sure Denzel has.
Can I get a copy of that HD copy? LOL
Yeah, it's pretty much the usual suspects that will make the majority of scrilla if this movie does well...which it should, but...I would hope Denzel is writing some fierce incentives, partnership clauses and creative 'rights' agreements in his contracts by now, but who knows.
Good stuff, DV.
Heroine is an evil drug that is no joke. It's a potent poison to humans. It's the only drug that your body is physically addicted to. All the other drugs are mental addictions. Your body craves heroine like it does oxygen. Once you use that, you're an addict for life. If a user tries to get off it, they'll be prescribed the drug Methadone until death. It's truly destructive.
Fighting a strong desire to light this movie up. Denzel is clearly the best actor in the world. White supremacy and inability to identify with a black character caused them to ruin what would have been a truly amazing movie by creating yet another white superman...
LOL. My man. I feel you Gibson. I knew I could count on you to tell the truth. (Many of us decided to "like" this movie before we even saw it).
You are right. Crowe's character was gratuitous. The whole movie should have been about Frank Lucas.
But fear of focusing on a black character and the need to create a white superman ... is not the product of "White Supremacy". It is the product of "White Inferiority".
That's something I am having a hard time getting Fisher and his crew to understand and accept.
(Ultimately they are as scared of Black Supremacy as are racist whites. Which is a twisted story in and of itself.)
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