▶ The living proof – Mary J. Blige
Words might help when communicating, but music is on a whole new level.
I’ll go straight to the point: this movie made me feel ashamed for being white. As it should, actually; I’m not complaining, but now, as I’m typing these words down on a Microsoft Word page, I realise I’m so so incredibly lucky to have a fair skin and to be a millenial. Sure, there are still a lot of things we can totally work on as a matter of human and basic rights, but now, to make things even more understandable about what’s my point of view, let me quote Louis CK’s show Chewed up part about being white:
“I love being white, I really do […] Let me be clear about that: I’m not saying that white people are better; I’m saying that being white is clearly better, who could even argue? […] Here’s how great it is to be white: I can get in a time machine and go to any time and it would be fucking awesome when I get there! That is exclusively a white privilege. Black people can’t fuck with time machines. A black kind of time, she’s like: “Hey, before 1980, no, thank you, I don’t wanna go […]”
Now, besides the humour, which by the way I find hilarious, I don’t think better words about this topic have ever be spoken by a white guy. Here’s the good thing about us white people who want to eradicate bias: we are willing to recognise how loathsome, deplorable and unapologetic behaviour our ancestors showed off and we want to change how things are going to be like from now on.
The actual reason I’m publishing these lines is because The Help made me feel so empty, valueless and furious inside, I knew I needed to do something, even in my own little way. I sincerely apologise for what we, as a race, have done. This won’t change the hundreds of years of suffering and violence of any kind, of course. But I do hope this will be the first of many steps my peers and I will take towards the path of equality.
It may sound arrogant, but I find myself in Skeeter: she wants to be a journalist and a writer, she’ll follow her morals (although she’s surrounded by ignorant and close-minded people) and because of this, she stands out from the mass. She’ll speak the truth about what’s like to be black in the 60’s. She’s outstanding, she’s cheeky and impertinent and I truly admire her.
Anyway I’d be a hypocrite if I said she’s the one I respect the most: Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer play two of the most iconic and badass characters I’ve seen on TV in a while, even though they’re absolutely different women, and that’s possibly why they’re so close: they complete each other.
During the vision of the film, I’ve cried an unhealthy amount of times. Blame it on my hormones or on the fact that I’m an easy-movie-crier, but it touched my deepest and better hidden soul strings. And I hope this sweet but powerful stroke began a majestic tune I’m going to spend my life on playing. Fighting for equality, fighting for us as a whole world population, fighting in order to stop injustices. Remember what the past used to be like and, based on that, make the world a better welcoming place. That’s what I’m going to do.
@layalke🐍
thegapbehindthenet 