Monday, January 11, 2016

Tarantino's Use of 'That Ghetto' in Acceptance Speech and the American Thought Process

Quentin Tarantino on stage at the Golden Globes Picture: Getty Images)
Last night at the Golden Globes, Quentin Tarantino compared the existing talent pool of movie music composers to a slum, implying Ennio Morricone was far above 'that Ghetto.' He was saying Morricone is on another level. Maybe it was in poor taste, or people just reacted too quickly on the defensive because they didn't understand what he meant (it didn't help that he was completely hammered). 
Why are people flipping out about the use of the word Ghetto? It's a word. Globally, it doesn't carry some racially specific negative connotation. Sure, in the past, the word 'Ghetto' has been used to describe the area where impoverished Jews, Irish, Black Americans, etc resided. Tarantino wasn't using the word in the wrong way, so I'm not sure why people are losing their minds over it. He was attacking a group though - that group being the existing talent pool of movie music composers, kinda. I just think it's strange that people flip out about his use of the word ghetto, but haven't been that vocal about the 60+ drops of the N word in his most recent flick "The Hateful Eight" or that actors like Samuel L. Jackson said it was okay for Quentin to use the word? I mean, if you're gonna be upset, I'm just saying there's some better stuff at the bottom of the box so many don't want to unpackage.

A Hungarian gendarme checks a woman entering the Munkács ghetto
Sometimes it seems like people are so scared to be perceived as racist, that they don't give necessary lip service to things that on the surface seem controversial. At first, I was kinda taken back with what Tarantino said 'that ghetto,' but then I thought about it and it made sense. I said, "Okay, so Tarantino thinks Ennio Morricone is of a quality much higher than other composers. (I'm not saying Tarantino is not a racist. I don't know the guy. He might be. Perhaps there was subtext and he really hates the Irish.) However, what the media has done, is show pictures of Black actors reacting to Tarantino's use of the word Ghetto. They've exploited the reaction to create a buzz. (While I don't feel much higher than them given I'm writing about the same thing, I'd like to think I'm bringing a different perspective to the table.)

For those that don't know, I'm a huge pro wrestling fan. A similar thing just happened there at a live event, when WWE Superstar Chris Jericho called The Usos (a tag team of Samoan decent) his "back-of-the-bus boys." Many fans voiced concerns and outrage on social media, and referred to Jericho as a racist due to his comments. Why? Did the minds of fans immediately snap to the bus segregation? If the context is to draw comradery, doesn't that sound like a strange way for Jericho to draw comradery? What could he have possibly meant!?

As it turns out, traveling WWE Superstars are colloquially broken down into two types - the back of the bus boys and the up-front boys. "The back of the bus boys refers to those who sit in the back and stay awake all night to play cards, while the up-front boys are those who sit in the front and go to sleep." Several WWE superstars have gone on to defend.




I was in this workshop about gender-based violence, and I remember the presenter asked us to write down influences of gender-based violence, misogyny, rape culture, etc. It was kinda this ambiguous question as it were. What do you write for something like that? How specific do you want people to be? The movie Straight Outta Compton (the feature about gangster rap group NWA) had just come out, and there was some controversy about the group perpetuating those exact things and how it was mowed over lightly in the film. Their lyrics like many other artists represented (albeit maybe unintentionally) mysoginistic views perpetuating gender-based violence and influencing rape culture. So I wrote Eazy-E, and just like everyone else, posted it on the whiteboard - as we were directed. Turns out some people in the room felt like that was an attack on Black Americans, the Hip Hop community, etc. So as a hip hop head myself, I laughed - like, I literally laughed at someone when they asked me about it a month later. Without thinking of the context, how would you know what I was saying? I could've easily said Eminem and maybe less would've reacted the same, but Straight Outta Compton was more relevant at the time. Also, as a non-black audience member, it was interpreted as some other shit - mostly by white people scared to unpackage it for what it was. Some people are so scared to talk about things that they put it away in this jar and never examine it. Eazy-E influenced gender-based violence, rape culture, and misogyny - as did Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. This is not saying they are not legends or discrediting the work they did in rap music. And as they've said on many occasions, they were representing the world they know. Still, influencers.

Robert DeNiro and Cathy Moriarty in Raging Bull

Where's the critical thought? On the surface, all examples seem controversial. We tell people to think more about what they say, without emphasizing the equally important process of what's said, how it's said, and in what context. Is that kinda lazy? Are we really in the age of PC Principal? (You PC, bro?) -- I should've said Robert Deniro from Raging Bull.)

Not all things are what you think they are, mean what you think they do. Comedians are talking about how shitty it is sometimes to work a college crowd because of how PC you need to be. Can you imagine trying to perform comedy in a world (or even accept a damn award), where not only do you have to think critically about what you say, but you're really thinking about how others could percieve what you say out of context or in a different interpretation? Oh, the online peanut gallery - that ghetto.

 AJA
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2 comments:

  1. Shingi MavimaJanuary 13, 2016 at 2:43 AM

    I think two things that have our senses heightened to instances of racism and prejudice have our senses heightened in this situation.
    1) Tarantino is not necessarily viewed as the squeakiest clean person when it comes to racial sensitivities. Regardless of how one feels about him, he is controversial (in many of the ways you brought up too.)
    2) It is just a hot time for matters of race.

    I definitely think it was a horrible word choice in light of the dynamic. He should have done better than that

    It also lends itself, however, to people's affinity at making Award shows a bigger story than the self-congratulatory snooze-fest they tend to be. Every awards show, there is something like this. Such a story has the staying power of 48-72 hours. I mean, they had Mel 'I hope you get raped by a pack of niggers' Gibson back presenting awards this year! Ricky Gervais hosted the show again, and I think he had offended some folks last time he did it!

    Poor word choice indeed, but in times like this, word choice also matters. (Now Chris Jericho on the other hand- screw it- that just looks like a good time- especially since 'Back of the Bus Bros' is the 'official' term for that culture. #Wannabeabackofthebusbro)

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  2. UnknownJanuary 14, 2016 at 5:11 AM

    Is using the word 'ghetto' really a matter of race though? He was comparing the composers in a collective plane of existence to the physical space and features of a typical ghetto - rundown buildings, dirty streets, etc. So how can 'ghetto' be a matter of race in this context?

    The comparison was NOT to the populations of those areas. It was NOT a comparison of places where talent is found or lacking. Based on his cues and context, he was comparing Morricone's Talent as a physical space to the area of a ghetto.

    Based on that, I think 'ghetto' was probably the most accurate word choice to describe what he was trying to say.

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