I don’t know why I waited so long to see 12 years a slave.
written by the main character solomon northup in 1853 and directed by steve mcqueen, this is an important movie to watch. and there are so many reasons why. but I’m not going to tell you here because i’d much rather you watch it first. then, let’s talk.
it’s funny, not funny, how I watched this movie last night and then woke up to such a disgusting photo on my instagram feed. you may know what I’m talking about and you may not. so let me bring you quickly up to speed. this morning miroslava duma, a staple on the international style scene and founder of digital media outlet buro 24/7 among other things, posted a photo on her instagram of a woman sitting on a “chair”, if you could call it that. it wasn’t really a chair by any means, but a black woman in a very compromising position. it was so distasteful and ugly at its core it instantly sparked a feeling of “this is not right”.
I am not alone in thinking this. she got major backlash from her followers and due to the large number of reports as inappropriate it was taken down. I am not sure if it is still on her website. I don’t even want you to see it. it’s so unnecessary to this dialogue. and not a positive visual to see. that fact of the matter is, there was a team, a group of people that thought of this idea, this concept, and approved it, worked towards producing it, photographed it, accepted it, applauded it, and then published it. so for all those that want to hate on miroslava, don’t forget she is not the only one with this thought unfortunately. further to that - hate is not the way to educate. this was an ignorant, inappropriate, derogatory, racist, piece of “art”. provocations are fine in art. I’m all for it actually. but to what end? this is not good for humanity. that at the end of the day should be what is most important. always. let’s move forward, let’s move higher. why take steps back? no matter what colour or creed you are. I’m sad that people still think in this way. I’m thankful that there are people who don’t. and I’m hopeful that the ones who don’t are bigger in number than the ones who do.
one of the many things I liked about the movie is that there are so many parallels to be drawn from those days of slavery. it’s not just history. these ideas are prevalent today and we need that to stop. like now. come on people. are we not better than this?
many people have written nasty comments to and about miroslava, but my approach is different. she is ignorant. and to combat ignorance is education and love. awareness. a change needs to happen and it’s just a matter of mobilizing in an effective way. positive conversation, discussion and the exchange of words and ideas is a way to start.
what do you think?
oh yeah. and all this on mlk day. shameful.
….
“do everything with love”
“love. that’s how you break the cycle.”
