Such a long time ago, in the theater... a predominantly white one. The story, about a "tribe" of Bushmen who believe a fallen Coca Cola bottle to be a gift from the gods, showcases slapstick humor. The white people around me in the theater laughed loud & hard at the ridiculous accidents of Xi a black African male. I never heard white folks laugh like that, before or since. Xi is funny, sure, but for some reason, I can't help but feel that the white people are laughing at him, or more specifically, at his protruding, African backside. I feel it is very funny to them in a -- dare I say it -- Racist way. The white people laugh & howl at Xi's antics. Being black, I am embarrassed at this and the black person who brought me here. Xiand his African rear end are so funny - so damn funny. And for some reason, later on, I feel as though the laughing people were... compensating for something??
Can't find a movie or TV show? Login to create it.
Want to rate or add this item to a list?
Not a member?
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 20, 2022 at 2:46 AM
I actually did get all of that, AC.
Fair enough, AC. But sometimes, like with old "MODEM MAN" on the other thread whom I now have on ignore, it's best to infer the intent of what they are saying. People do lie through their teeth.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 20, 2022 at 12:05 PM
^ This.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 20, 2022 at 8:26 PM
I sure don’t see it that way… IMO the film certainly is condescending with the goofball actions of the Africans - or just Xi - and I seem to recall this narrator’s voiceover commenting on them as if they were Natgeo animals too
The condescension often comes in the judgement - often arbitrary - of other folks’ so-called primitivism.
Your judgment on what’s racist is pretty unreliable to say the least, AC.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on January 21, 2022 at 3:56 AM
I believe I haven't seen Song of the South, so I cannot comment on it as well as I would like to....
Reply by rooprect
on January 22, 2022 at 10:23 AM
I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid, but I do remember finding it funny in a patronising way. All us kids thought it was hilarious to make fun of the mouth clicky sounds the tribesmen made. The distinct feeling I got was that Xi was little more than a confused wild animal in the big city. In other words, I gained no appreciation for Xi's culture; he was just a macguffin that could've just as easily been played by a talking horse.
Contrast this sharply against--let's take another racially charged movie--Blazing Saddles. In Blazing Saddles, Sheriff Bart was shown to be much smarter than the moronic racist townsfolk, and Gene Wilder backed him up as the voice of reason/morality/cool. So even though the film drops the N bomb a bunch of times and plays on the worst racist gags, when I saw Blazing Saddles (around the same age as when I saw TGMBC) I got a much different feeling. I didn't pity or feel condescension toward Bart, I admired him. I thought he was awesome.
I don't think anyone comes out of TGMBC admiring Xi and thinking he's awesome. Xi is basically soulless object who represents a culture, like a spear or an arrowhead, without giving him credit for being a human we should respect.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on February 2, 2022 at 10:08 AM
Huh? I don't get it. What does Croc have in common with the African guy, in terms of story? To touch on what someone else here said, Dundee is a pretty cool guy; Xi is mostly an object of hahas. I don't think of him as cool at all.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on February 2, 2022 at 1:32 PM
Right, because Crocodile Dundee is a fish out of water story (I love those), and The Gods Must Be Crazy is a comedy featuring the McGuffin of the Coke bottle dropped into the African country.