Django Revisited

     The day after Christmas, my family and I went to see Django: Unchained. I purposely avoided reading any of the reviews because I didn’t want anyone to taint my opinion.

     As we walked out of the theater, my brother asked, “So how did you like the movie, Alison?  Are you going to blog about it?”  I didn’t quite know what to think of the movie and neither did he.  We agreed that it was a good movie despite our reaction to it.

     It was a good film but I still don’t know what to think of it. Is it a ‘race movie’? an old western? a comedy? an action movie?  We know it’s not a true historical narrative. I still don’t have any answers but the movie has raised a lot of questions in me.

     Even though we currently have an African-American occupying the White House, America is still far away from solving its race problem.

     I know many disagree with me. “We are all Americans,” some say, “Why distinguish yourself as an African-American, Asian-American, Native American, etc?  Why segregate yourselves with culture specific organizations, schools and conferences?   

                

               "It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability 

               to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." 

                                                                                                            ~Audre Lorde

      What’s wrong with celebrating our culture, history, and heritage? Why are we asked to leave our past in the past? 

                 “If you want to destroy a people, destroy their story. If you want 

                  to empower a people, give them a story to share.”   

                                                                                                             ~ Jonathan Odell

                “And actually listen when they share; allow them the freedom     

                 to share.”

                                                                                                               ~ Alison S. Moore

      America has a long way to go in solving its race problem and I believe the first step is admitting that we still have one.  The election of President Obama has not been a reparation package. We can all hold hands, smile, and sing a chorus of Kumbaya followed by a verse of Lean on Me and top it all off with a shout of “Yes We Can,” but ringing in everyone’s head is probably a line from the Broadway musical, Avenue Q, “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.”