A View from the sun

A View from the sun
Showing posts with label Luke Cage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Luke Cage. Show all posts

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Jessica Jones and the Racism of Marvel or Luke Cage the Big Black Buck and a crack head




I’ve watched four total episodes of Jessica Jones and the jury is fully in. It’s a white series about a white chick and the black men are two dimensional racist cut ups of black people.
So let’s dive right in and make this quick. And start where white folks care. With white folks. Jessica Jones is an entertaining adult hero in the MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe. I get it, a hard edged liberated female fighter for the millennium. Hell’s kitchen bombast! Yay! -and yay for progressive lesbian rights and the positive images of the same. Yay! For woman’s right! The female lawyer character is lovable and an unabashed success, a tigress with a heart to match a fierce spirit making her a wonderful foil for the hard edged heroine.

That out of the way, lets jump right in.  Power Man, Luke Cage is the man. I grew up in love with Luke kinda because I grew up in Harlem and he was only one of a handful of Harlem heroes I could collect. The bright yellow shirt, the blue jeans, the yellow boots…..Sweet Christmas.
He was a hero! Not a big Black Buck fuckin’ married women and didn’t know from Jessica Jones. But in the first scene, he’s being tailed by JJ and seen wit’ a big booty sista in her under wear. Then we see buck pumping JJ. Now I’m watching him emotionally weaving through this story line trying to settle old scores involving his dead wife….just like a savage. You see Black men have no morality. Black men are big Bucks. 

Now maybe it works in a story line where a black man is a whole character, but there’s a real problem where there is little to no balance. When Black people are inserted into white story as the COLOR.
Again here’s the problem. And it’s a big one. The Black folk in Jessica are a string of racist 2D cliches.

Luke Cage. Bar owning (Alcohol contraband involvement? Ya’ll white folks hear about how we don’t like a bar or Liquor store on every corner in our communities much?) emotional hard case, big muscles, even bigger Johnson and for the ladies. Perhaps that would be wonderful if that were the way he started. But really it wasn’t. Why at this time, with all that occurs in my community would you bring this version of your Black hero forward? When there’s so much real story line for a people’s Black hero in today’s America. But you didn’t slouch on presenting the positive white lesbian and white women’s issues. Hmmm… And why would you put our Black hero in Hell’s kitchen…Let me tell you why…because you just want to use his blackness…its called exploitation…without being true to who ever you said he was. 

Yes I know he’s this generation’s Luke Cage. Yata, yata, fucking yata. I call bullshit. Every story line I’ve seen Marvel present on film- and I’ve seen every cinematic property based upon Marvel’s Universe ever made, movie or television- every last story line stuck closely to what we can call the original Marvel story lines. Yall know what I’m saying….The Hulk is a green, a super intelligent doctor. Tony Stark is a billionaire scientist….Thor is a Norse God or Alien with this hammer.
With few exceptions these heroes are who they were in the 60s 70s 80s. That is until we come to these Black ones. Falcon is playing tanto and tanto is a hard gig not to be racist but well it is what it is. Don’t get me wrong, love seeing Falcon out there with the Avengers, even kissin’ Cap’s ass. Would prefer to see him as the social worker Sam Wilson doin’ it solo in the south Bronx protecting his community, but it’s too much to ask White men trusted with a billion dollar franchise to have a Black man appear as a man who is not a racist stereotype. As an aside, in the cartoon Marvel’s Avengers I did notice the story line where he’s a boy genius and shield agent, but how many Black folks or people in general did see this? Why isn’t he a man genius on the silver screen where people will see it worldwide. That’s right Tanto the colored side kick who needs the greatest White man plays better, is more believable.

Enter Luke Cage and soon the Black Panther. Or I should say the so called deconstructed Black Panther because that’s the one rumored to be the version Marvel is putting forward. You know the one who is not a spiritual King of his people, incredibly intelligent and the richest man in the world…also the one who wasting his life in the  more than partly white ghetto of NYC. Hell’s kitchen.

But Daredevil is the man without fear who is intelligent lawyer by day…hero by night. And Wasp the rich heiress. And oh you even improved on her storyline…She’s a shrewd sharp intelligent business woman now. Hmmmmm…. But Luke Cage and the Black Panther. 2 dimensional stereotypical add-ons.

Well let’s assume Marvel’s head truly ain’t in its collective ass when it comes to Black people. Let’s see and look around the MCU right her in the MCU and we find…
Jessica’s friend and neighbor is a brother. There’s a start. Oh wait. He’s a drug addict, a lier and a thief….Hmmmmm. Not since well since I don’t know how many White flicks I’ve seen that use and exploit Black folk instead of making them real have I seen such whole sale bull…
But wait! Let’s look around Marvel’s a billion dollar organization throwing some very clean imagery about people out there. They can’t be this dense….

Jessica Jones just went to jail to see a pure bred White girl whom we’re supposed to feel sorry for because the super intelligent mind controller KillRaven made her kill her family in front of Jessica Jones. And she sitting in front of the inmate who did something to the Ms. Mary from the Midwest….Ah the Hispanic inmate is a manly butch lesbian breaking knees and runnin’ shit. Best stereotype so far? Yep. I’ll take  the some how very manly borderline retarded butch lesbian Hispanic for 5000 Alec Tribec.

Ok wait, now they’re looking for the son of a friend of Luke. Of course he has to go to Jessica to save him and show him how to be a detective, it wouldn’t be a racist stereotype if the Big Black Buck who was only good for eye candy muscles and mandingo hip slamming sex was smart enough to find the kid all by himself. You know, despite the fact that Luke Cage was a…wait for it…a private detective…investigator. Wow. Really. Ok. Let’s give Marvel one more chance. Luke and Jessica Jones meet at the kid's apartment. And surprise they deduce the kids a weed head. Ok, ok don’t jump yet. Let’s wait for it…. They’re looking some brother with an overdone fake Spanish accent answered the kid’s phone. Now its coming…what a set up. I’m laughing this b.s. is soooooo obivious. They follow the fakin’ Rican to the you know wherehouse and I say…chop shop, stolen goods or….yep give the man a cigar-it’s a grow house filled with weed.

How Marvel? How dare you?! For all of the above, I’m saying I see you and fuck you. Really. Just fuck you. We are men, women and children with lives. Who we are and appear to be, our images, they matter. I shouldn’t have to say it, but Black lives do matter, just like White lives whom you make appear to be super and together even when the white folks are the burnt out Jessica Jones whom you have save the lives of grown ass black men repeatedly. Yes fuck you and your stereotypes. I am an intelligent man who has does not have a record, is more than my penis and volunteers in my community. Oh and I write screenplay but I see now I would never write for you if you want that shit you puttin’ out about the Black and Latino people in your MCU. Because you would never have me write real stories about real Black heroes.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Luke Cage, Black Panther and Storm in Kamau Atem's Marvel Spec. Script Excerpt




 I'm a harlem born and bred scriptwriter and novelist. I'm sharing this with you because it would be a dream come true to actually pen a Luke Cage or Panther script...And because well its really good. Enjoy!









CUT TO: NYC HARLEM. NIGHT. The cloaked panther jet lands across from the offices of Luke Cage Private Investigator. CUT TO: INTERIOR. Cage wearing the GOLD  SHIRT AND BLUE PANTS notices sounds walks to window and witnesses Panther and Storm appear out of thin air in seriously handsome and stylish clothes.

CAGE
(Whistling)
            Sweeeeeeeet Christmas. That’s a woman.
(Sits down at his desk)
            They here for somebody else.
(Agitated and shuffling papers)
Now why you tell that lie?
(Getting up and walking to the window again-back to door)
 I don’t care what they say I’m not doing it.

ANGLE ON DOOR. Panther and Storm walk in.

PANTHER
Mr….

CAGE
(Agitated and without turning around)
You asking or telling?

PANTHER
            Do you greet everyone so enthusiastically?

CAGE
            You tell me…

STORM
            We are here for you…You are in business are you not?

CAGE
            Again. You asking or you telling?

PANTHER
            Perhaps he is not the man we seek…

CAGE
            And now we understand the question. Are you asking or telling?

PANTHER
(Turning)
            I believe we may go. This is beneath us.

STORM
(Stopping the Panther)
            Why does it matter…

CAGE
Where I’m from…You come to a man’s home. You ask questions and don’t talk like you telling somebody where to put they furniture.

STORM
            He’s a king. He really can’t help it.

CAGE
            Ain’t no kings round here.

CLOSE ON CAGE. His eyes narrow as he focuses on the street. He suddenly takes his very nice shirt off.

CAGE
(Opening  the window,  grabbing a heavy chain off the floor and throwing it over his shoulder)
            I knew I shouldn’t have worn a good shirt.

CAGE jumps out of the window and lands heavily as asphalt crumbles. He quickly walks into the street and punches an on coming car stopping it. Men jump out shooting at Cage.

CAGE
            Damit. Now yall know dat ISH stings!

ANGLE ON bullet flying to cage which ricochets and hits gas tank creating an explosion which flies Cage for some distance. ANGLE ON Storm and Panther watching from the window.

STORM
            Do you think we should…



PANTHER
            This is useful…

ANGLE ON CAGE RISING AS IF TO WALK THROUGH THE FLAMES. His pants are in tatters, boots half blown off. He walks to his chain and picks it up.
STORM

PANTHER
(v.o.)
            Every man needs help…

TIGHT ON CAGE GRIMACE.

CAGE
(Calmly)
Yall mothasuckers gon’ make me curse.

PANTHER
(v.o.)
Perhaps but it is when a man needs help most that he finds what kind of man is.

CAGE
            Now yall know I done tole you that Harlem is mine. You ain’t welcome here.

Cage throws the chain and drops two of them. The other two run more than they shoot.

CAGE
Oh, don’t MAKE me run. Worse than fat dunking donuts eating pigs when I gotta do t       hat…

PANTHER takes off his trench and takes off his hat revealing the Panther costume and drops out the window landing cat like on one of the cars. He quickly bounds the distance and makes short work of the two remaining men. He carries them back to Cage.

PANTHER
(As storm floats down to them)
            I believe you need help.

CAGE
I was just tryna put it together. I hate running. It might not look like much But I’m eleven times denser than the normal..

STORM
            What do you weigh?

CAGE
            Kinda difficult to weigh myself..but anywhere between 450 and 500…
(As Storm looks at his tattered close)
            Also kinda hard to keep clothes in this profession. Keepin’ these thugs of my streets.

STORM
            That profession would be…

CAGE
            Private eye…but I’m more…

PANTHER
            I see…

CAGE
Mighty neighborly of you to help me with my streets…but about your help…I don’t work for free.

PANTHER
            The world is in danger. The ancestors have sent me…This is not about a cost.









CAGE
Look here. I’m a private eye. I got bills. As for free and the world in danger? You see that big building downtown with the big  A on it? They do free cause they got a billionaire wit’ a B backing them. And bout your ancestors dey ain’t pullin’ no weight round here…

PANTHER
            Perhaps I was wrong, Ororo. Let us go…

STORM
No. If he’s supposed to join us…who is to say it wasn’t as a paid member…And there’s no fee you can’t pay as the richest man on earth…

PANTHER
            It is not the fee, but the principle. Let us go…again I say.

STORM
            How much do you need…

CAGE
            Well is it super power cats we ballin’ against…

PANTHER
            We would not need were they not so.

STORM
(As Cage whispers in Storm’s ear)
            He can pay it now let’s go

PANTHER
(Turning to go men still over his shoulder)
            How much am I paying…

CAGE
            Well are you the richest man in the world or not?

PANTHER
            What is at stake makes me so but I would still like to know.

STORM
            Don’t be cheap. Millions mean nothing…

PANTHER
            Millions?

STORM
(Looking Cage up and down)
            And we’ll even throw in a life time supply of indestructible outfits…

CAGE
            And boots?

PANTHER
            How much am I paying him…

CAGE
(As he and Ororo begin to float over him)
            You ain’t missin’ a couple mill King…

PANTHER
            A COUPLE MILLION?!



CAGE
(Laughing)
            You can put them down Bruh…
(Looking up at Storm who flies ahead of him)
            Can we do that bright Yellow shirt…I like yellow. And the chain…We do a fancy chain?

PANTHER
(Putting down the brothers)
            All of that I’m sure it is just these millions…exactly how many.

STORM
            Ten exactly….

PANTHER
(Punching one of the waking men)
            Ten…Are you not a hero?

CAGE
            I’m a working man. A private eye.
(to Storm)
            He doesn’t listen good does he? Must be part of the whole King thing….

STORM
            No he never has…some how I think that was pre natal…

CAGE
            Sweeeet Christams how do you put up with it?

PANTHER
(Jumping and bounding out in front of them toward the jet)
Putting up with…

STORM
(Laughing)

            Haven’t had to and thankfully so…Mister….

CAGE
            Cage. Lucas Cage…But folks round her call me…

CLOSE ON PANTHER as he opens the jet.

PANTHER
            Power Man. And, by the ancestors, thankfully so. We will need every ounce of it.

STORM
(As she floats through the cabin)
            Home now?

PANTHER
            The ancestors have one last stop for us…