Clerks II intelligently tackling racism?
JC
According to a review in CanMag, Clerks II deals expertly with race issues. There is a scene where the term “porch monkeys” is used. 
Not sure how that can be turned into a learning moment within a film of this genre, but I will keep the skeptic inside me at bay until I see for myself. 
Rosario stars in the flick and seems to think they did a good job of addressing it. Kevin Smith directs.
“[Smith] brings up really taboo subjects. He brings up sexuality. He brings up religion. He brings up racism. He brings up a lot of things most people would never touch in a movie let alone all of them at the same time. And it does it in a way that’s really smart. He’s not particularly choosing a side, one way or another. It’s just sort of showing the ignorance that’s out there, the perspectives that are out there. It allows you to have a choice.
To Dawson, it is important to put the concepts out there. “Between friends there are no untouchable subjects and you can go there. And I think people they are also going to be in that experience but I also think they are going to step back and go, ‘Whoa.’ And it’s better than never touching on those subjects at all and always being sweet and perfect all the time, pretending that everything will be perfect in the world. Because you know what? Racism does exist. Religious fanatics are out there. And people who are atheists, people who are really good people, all of the different sides of it. And there is definitely is something in there for everyone to get offended by. I also think there is something in there for everyone to be entertained by and moved by, because it is a smart film. He’s not just saying things just for the sake of being controversial. He is exposing how we talk to each other and the duplicity that is out there.”
Gandalf Mantooth wrote:
Hmm, she said “smart,” which in Hollywoof parlance means “in a way so as to offend everyone, giving us the opportunity to argue that we are equal opportunity.” Well, that’s usually what Smith does, and most mainstream film makers do. I’m just waiting for the one who is not named Spike Lee who actually takes a stand instead of presenting “all sides.” Though Smith usually just picks one black person to act as the Voice of Reason and comment on those crazy white folks (Mallrats, Dogma)
Posted 18 Jul 2006 at 11:48 am ¶
eric daniels wrote:
Who cares calling someone a porch monkey is the way to racial tolerence, I would rather bail on this society than have that conversation “on race”. Because it is just the lesser evil or a right v wrong issue, How about presenting a film about racial sterotypes without the confortational BS. That why I act macho on this site at times, because being reasonable on race and it’s complexities will never get you nowhere.
Posted 21 Jul 2006 at 6:03 pm ¶
Wayman wrote:
I’m really not sure if this racist scene was placed in the movie so much for “educational value”, but more for “shock value”. It was even said a lot of the scenes, like that one, were improvised. It just makes me wonder how a racist term like that flies out of a white actor’s mouth so freely, while “improvising”. I don’t think it’s so much on the “deep side” as on the “ignorant side”. But, either way, I had no real intention of seeing the movie anyway, so who cares? The only people seeing it will be the nerds who were obsessed with the first movie.
Posted 28 Jul 2006 at 11:40 am ¶