tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post5480193807651375761..comments2024-03-22T20:34:13.792-05:00Comments on Indomitable | The online home of Chauncey DeVega: Drowning Black Slaves for the Insurance Money: The Whitewashed History of the Zong Massacre and the New Movie 'Belle'Lady Zora, Chauncey DeVega, and Gordon Gartrellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09138154899923808806noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-90184875616483000812014-05-25T02:29:33.048-05:002014-05-25T02:29:33.048-05:00Not a false scene? Except for the facts?Not a false scene? Except for the facts?chauncey devegahttp://wearerespectablenegroes.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-80807877346002417762014-05-25T01:53:07.805-05:002014-05-25T01:53:07.805-05:00Belle was an excellent motion picture. Based on a ...Belle was an excellent motion picture. Based on a true story it wonderfully filmed and the main characters were all played by fine actors, Not a false word or scene in the film.CALIFORNIAMARTYnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-42274183844236586512014-05-13T22:10:16.385-05:002014-05-13T22:10:16.385-05:00I think it is a single episode of one person being...I think it is a single episode of one person being treated beyond what others have. It does nothing to exonerate that common practice was completely opposite to this experience. It would be interesting to see, and I haven't seen the movie so I don't know, how Belle reacted when she saw those of her kind being ill-treated. Maybe there is a scene in there where it did not sit well with her but, again, a single instance among what must have been many, many examples.SabrinaBeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-22763598883351620562014-05-12T14:35:06.151-05:002014-05-12T14:35:06.151-05:00I think it is possible. I'm agnostic on good ...I think it is possible. I'm agnostic on good days, but I attend a very progressive church in San Francisco and enjoy the experience. But, change does not come cheap and it does not come without work and commitment. The event last Sunday for Mothers' Day was about it taking a village to take care of the children in the community. I do not disrespect religion because I do see that can it can do powerful things sociologically, collectively. But it can also be used collectively to not do something, to justify gross injustices. What got me thinking in this mode was the story of the resurrection--not as a fact but as a metaphor. Forgiveness requires a sacrifice. Now, as a separate matter I think the Christian story has it backwards--God sacrifices his son so that we forgive him, not the other way around. Nevertheless, forgiveness is not found or derived from incantations.James Estrada-Scaminaci IIInoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-51681548914502284912014-05-12T13:15:23.314-05:002014-05-12T13:15:23.314-05:00There is a great amount of insincerity w. how the ...There is a great amount of insincerity w. how the language or religion and faith as offered by the group in power can be a cheap hustle. But, what of that language used by the out group and sincere social activists and visionaries to create real change? <br /><br /><br />Possible? Extreme outlier?chauncey devegahttp://wearerespectablenegroes.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-51887117473710941872014-05-12T13:00:18.000-05:002014-05-12T13:00:18.000-05:00CDV makes the excellent point at the end of his ar...CDV makes the excellent point at the end of his article: "Real justice involves pain and material sacrifice. Hugs and nice words and cinematic melodrama do none of that necessary work." But, white Americans (myself included) get off very cheaply. Christianity writ large, but especially the Christian Right version with its biblical literalism and biblical inerrance--is all about cheap grace. Mumble a few words, take Jesus, and all is forgiven. For the Catholics (I was one), say a few prayers, rub the beads, and all is forgiven. For the political and economic elites, say a few words, sorry I offended you, or sorry you felt offended, and you get a free pass. Sure, the Congress apologized for slavery; and? I'm sure the Congress has apologized for genocide against Native Americans; so? Conservatives rant and rave about reparations, but they've offered reparations on the cheap--the Jack Kemp model of enterprise zones with no taxes for ten years--which only lined the pockets of companies already wealthy. It would not actually cost anything except lost taxes. It did nothing to stop redlining; it did nothing to make up for excluding black workers from Social Security in the 1930s; it did nothing to make up for excluding black Americans from FHA loans that created white middle wealth; sixty years after Brown v Board of Education we have done nothing to make school opportunities equal, let alone more integrated. Corporations can kill miners and they get off with, sorry. Wall Street banks can destroy communities, homes, retirements, college educations, and dreams--as well as wiping out generations of wealth in black communities and they get off with, sorry, but can we have our humongous bonuses now? In America, talk and grace are cheap. I'm glad you call out the cheapness and hollowness.James Estrada-Scaminaci IIInoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-3323037744209012012014-05-11T12:59:04.310-05:002014-05-11T12:59:04.310-05:00Here's an article about Britain's Queen Ch...Here's an article about Britain's Queen Charlotte, who was part German and part Afro-Portuguese:<br /><br />http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/famous/royalfamily.htmlCourtney Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-81801764617082602202014-05-11T12:47:50.748-05:002014-05-11T12:47:50.748-05:00Here's an interesting article about Belle and ...Here's an interesting article about Belle and Blacks in Britain back in the day:<br /><br />http://etiquipedia.blogspot.com/2014/05/dido-belle-and-rigid-rules-of-etiquette.htmlCourtney Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-4714246818885427592014-05-11T11:57:11.712-05:002014-05-11T11:57:11.712-05:00@ SabrinaBee:
What do you think of this?
http://...@ SabrinaBee:<br /><br />What do you think of this?<br /><br />http://www.beyondblackwhite.com/belle-opens-strong-tells-true-story-beloved-mixed-race-aristocrat/Courtney Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-46015295376756600192014-05-11T10:34:14.069-05:002014-05-11T10:34:14.069-05:00Yes Belle is essentially happy talk but at some le...Yes Belle is essentially happy talk but at some level its gotta be a Hollywood exercise in public relations, censoring, and damage control for the Establishment.joe manningnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-7852342178422851982014-05-10T20:58:15.015-05:002014-05-10T20:58:15.015-05:00Great piece CD, especially, this :
"as oppo...Great piece CD, especially, this :<br /><br /><br />"as opposed to one point of view that is often wrong, distorted, and based on a series of interdependent of lies."<br /><br /><br />That is the crux of this whole "great society" the inability to admitting that "hey, we got some things wrong and they need to be corrected" Not, simply stopped and band-aided, glossed over and prettied up, but, writ into law to ensure that these things NEVER happen again. Was the original Constitution rewritten when slavery ended? No. The consequence is people are currently trying to remove amendments, piecemeal. And one day, they may even succeed. Not to mention all of the Crow laws that remain on the books in various states. Who or what is there to stop them in the future and who would even try?<br /><br /><br />I'm glad you wrote on the whitewashing of film, as well. It's not just in black history, either. Whenever there is a period piece extolling the contribution of this forbearer or that one, I often wonder, what are the black people doing at this point in the film? Imagine Jane Austen strolling through the garden and in the background, Jeeves is whipping someone because they didn't get the manure mixture correct. Or she happens upon Mr. Darby selling off the baby he had with the Negress, into slavery, in one frame, and he and Jane making google eyes at each other, on a carriage ride, in the next. How would those much more authentic, for that time, scenes look on the big screen? Hey, maybe there is some videographer out there that can superimpose reality into the romantic era.SabrinaBeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-18425048500105559182014-05-10T20:42:16.565-05:002014-05-10T20:42:16.565-05:00CDV I'm way off subject here but I just want t...CDV I'm way off subject here but I just want to tell you I sent an email of a couple of images from ATLAH today. Some members were handing out lol worthy flyers. Thought you'd find them interesting.KissedByTheSunnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-33016996548294840962014-05-10T19:48:39.592-05:002014-05-10T19:48:39.592-05:00I have to clarify -- my first response I think was...I have to clarify -- my first response I think was based on a misreading of your post. I thought you were comparing two films set at the same time, the time of the Zong, and criticizing that Belle didn't mention it enough -- not that Belle actually mentioned it a great deal, but poorly.<br /> <br />In further news, eight hours of sleep is God's greatest gift to humanity. Oh my god.<br /><br /><br />I still do get what the director was trying to do and why she was trying to do it, the lacuna in the racial conversation taking place particularly in the UK that she was trying to fill, but yeah, that ought to have been handled better. I'll give it a shot and see what I think. (I have heard absolutely <i>nothing</i> about "The Retrieval" until your post here, though.)galleymacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-68525573073882758802014-05-10T16:26:40.820-05:002014-05-10T16:26:40.820-05:00Here is a three-part Harriet Tubman "movie&qu...Here is a three-part Harriet Tubman "movie":<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnZagD_jBH4<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OpUkvKsoq0<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cEcqU1HVlACourtney Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-63643318425512990582014-05-10T15:43:47.980-05:002014-05-10T15:43:47.980-05:00Damage control. I don't think the process is t...Damage control. I don't think the process is that intention, nor does it need to be. Tell a "nice" story to make "people" feel good and spend their money.chauncey devegahttp://wearerespectablenegroes.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-20096771657541677482014-05-10T09:11:32.324-05:002014-05-10T09:11:32.324-05:00My comments always come out about five times longe...My comments always come out about five times longer than I think they're going to. :Pgalleymacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-85155623746957694372014-05-10T02:58:47.992-05:002014-05-10T02:58:47.992-05:00I hear you. But don't forget, and as you certa...I hear you. But don't forget, and as you certainly know, the Brits are in some ways just as much if not more so bloody and guilty in the TransAtlantic Slave Trade as are white Americans. <br /><br /><br />Do we need to tell lies in order for little black girls to feel like princesses? And where do those lies get us?chauncey devegahttp://wearerespectablenegroes.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-35191276109179348982014-05-10T00:05:03.028-05:002014-05-10T00:05:03.028-05:00I maintain that's not the film's nor the f...I maintain that's not the film's nor the filmmaker's fault, though. The film was not made for America, and the director does have a duty to address her own social context. On the other hand, in this particular instance (JUST this particular instance :D ), I'm less concerned with white America, which will always <i>be</i> white America, and instead am pretty ecstatic for all the little black girls who will see something of themselves in Dido Belle. God knows they will never get another Disney Princess.galleymacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-86593314130444133942014-05-09T21:09:45.618-05:002014-05-09T21:09:45.618-05:00Medievalpoc tumblr is a great site. I think it wil...Medievalpoc tumblr is a great site. I think it will be an interesting movie. How it will be received and processed--viewer reception theory--within this social and political moment.chauncey devegahttp://wearerespectablenegroes.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-19268915808587814082014-05-09T21:06:57.444-05:002014-05-09T21:06:57.444-05:00I am all for showing how diverse Europe was/is. Bu...I am all for showing how diverse Europe was/is. But I am not for willful misrepresentations of history and fact. Perhaps, you have more faith in the masses than I do, but you can't talk rocket science with a wino as the saying goes...and on these issues we are still in 1st grade as a country and trying to offer up a postdoc quality education usually goes wrong. <br /><br />Part of the power of the white racial frame and white supremacy is that movies like Belle will be antidotes and deflections to talking about the historical fact that black women were, very much subjected to, as you smartly wrote:<br /><br />"For the time period, her life did indeed include some fairly fairy-tale-esque triumphs, and I see the offer of an alternative narrative for a black woman -- an alternative to tears, whippings, sexual coercion, domestic abuse, Reagan's whole Cycle of Welfare lie, and all the other things the American psyche in particular no longer views as something that happened to us but as inherent to our existence -- as an excellent thing. It is not inherent to our existence, it was and is artificially inflicted, and people should be reminded of that from time to time."<br /><br /><br /><br />It will be interesting to see how Belle is processed by "post racial" America.chauncey devegahttp://wearerespectablenegroes.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-4271142507579867442014-05-09T20:25:38.243-05:002014-05-09T20:25:38.243-05:00The Retrieval looks captivatingly brutal. How whi...The Retrieval looks captivatingly brutal. How white folks perform such mental hallucinogenics to render invisible the role white people played in slave trade is baffling. Ignorance is potent in neo-Confederate America. <br /><br />"Europeans were just sailing by and Africans just gave them slaves." seriously, people say this as if it is completely true (this is a verbatim quote). You tell them the truth, it doesn't matter.<br /><br />Where I first read about the Zong Massacre:<br /><br />"if the slaves died on land or on board the Zong, he would receive no money for them. However, if they drowned, an insurance claim could be made for each at a value of £30 per person. On 29th November the crew discussed the plan and by the end of the day, over 50 women and children had been chained and thrown into the sea to drown. A few days later more slaves were murdered in the same manner, with 142 cast into the ocean by the time the ship reached Jamaica.<br /><br />"The owners of the ship made a claim for lost cargo against their insurance and, when it was refused, took the underwriters to court. The case hinged on the matter of whether the slaves were killed to save the rest from dehydration or whether they were murdered simply for the insurance money.<br /><br />"The jury found in favour of the Zong's owners and the insurers were ordered to pay up.<br /><br />"Outraged that the trial should be over money and not murder, abolitionist Granville Sharp attempted to have the crew prosecuted for the massacre. His efforts were rebuffed by the Lord Chief Justice, William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield..."<br /><br />http://www.madamegilflurt.com/2013/11/on-this-day-zong-massacre.htmlMyshkin the Idiotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-26019308975987610042014-05-09T18:28:35.874-05:002014-05-09T18:28:35.874-05:00Interview with the director:
http://medievalpoc.tu...Interview with the director:<br />http://medievalpoc.tumblr.com/post/78135927506/poc-creators-belle-director-amma-assantegalleymacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-74740581243395211992014-05-09T18:21:04.024-05:002014-05-09T18:21:04.024-05:00Simply addressing the film "Belle" -- I ...Simply addressing the film "Belle" -- I have to say I'm glad to see it. It's not a Hollywood movie for one -- England's worst abuses did not occur within England (no, that's not a compliment either, but it does speak to the fact that the African American experience cannot stand in for the experience of the entire African Diaspora) and it does buck the trend of only showing black women on screen as objects of passive suffering and either recipients of abuse or dispensers of sass and homilys. What we know about Dido Belle is not very much, but she appears in commissioned portraits of the family alongside her legitimate white cousin, there are records of her being married in a church (a big deal at the time for an illegitimate child, never mind a half black-one), records of her children -- all legitimate, no forced courtesanship or high-class mistress role for her -- being christened, also in church (same thing) and records of her receiving the same amount of inheritance money from her white relatives as would have been normal for a white illegitimate child. Also, no attempts at erasing or denying these records, when such erasure happened with some regularity in nearby Spain. For the time period, her life did indeed include some fairly fairy-tale-esque triumphs, and I see the offer of an alternative narrative for a black woman, an alternative to tears, whippings, sexual coercion, domestic abuse and all the other things the American psyche in particular no longer views as something that happened to us but as inherent to our existence. It is not inherent to our existence, it was and is artificially inflicted, and people should be reminded of that from time to time.galleymacnoreply@blogger.com