I just finished watching a piece from The Take on the Angry Young Man trope and how society and film has distorted what was once noble into license for white male rage to run amuck. It inspired some thought. It coincided perfectly with something I’ve also recently noticed, which are white males actually searching for shit to be angry at. That’s another story.
They brought up the Joker movie and it’s Alt Right following and how it’s just a movie about White male rage. I reference the Joker character a lot because he is more than just a comic book character. There’s a belief system around The Joker. I always bring up the The Joker when I talk about our mass cultural idol worship. I referenced The Joker in my Beyonce piece. People believe in it and follow it —that’s what makes it real and as powerful as any deity. We as a collective institute our deities. Whether we’re talking The Joker or Jesus. We give power to what we want and we grant grace to what we want as well.
There are millions of dudes in America running around and screaming on some joker shit. Half of them ain’t really got shit to be mad at. Just screaming because they think it’s fucking cool. One of my biggest issues with this recent iteration of the Joker was when you take him out of the comic book realm and place him into the modern world and in front of an audience—there’s an underbelly that is reflective of some problematic things.
For me specifically, the way people responded to him bothered me. All this sympathy. Everytime I brought it up, folks kept telling me it’s more universal and transcends race. But.... society’s response to the pain and disenfranchisement of others (IRL) seldom transcends race though.
Someone who looks like me with that same experience in real life doesn’t get to spazz out like that and become a hero. Not even in a damn movie. Shit. Look how they did Killmonger. People still asking Spike Lee why Mookie threw the garbage can into the pizzeria— even though his friend was murdered! And those folks were dead ass wrong.
Stupid Black Girl is angry. Some of the passages in my book are flat out black out rants. I read them back like..... damn. But it comes from a deep place. There’s shit that I’ve experienced that I will never live down. The levels I have been TRIED out here in these America streets. Whew!
But I can’t actually go postal beyond those pages. It’s funny though because when I have yet to read a description or summary about my book that uses the word “anger” directly. I wouldnt mind it.
It always feels great being able to release but what if I wasn’t a writer? What if I was able to make it all eloquent and didactic? What if there wasn’t a greater message I searched to find behind it all so folks would give a fuck?
I’d be in a whole lot of shit. I’d be a lot less not okay.
Anger is a natural response to being suppressed. It’s a God given right dammit.
So you decide.
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