poetryandwit

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Oh Amygdala, oh Amygdala..have mercy on the poor bastered

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I crack up every single time this panel is posted anywhere XD It is just. 'THEM.'

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The King in Yellow

"Have you seen the Yellow Sign?"

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Hastur

The King in Yellow "Lord of the Interstellar Space"

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Dreams in the Witch House~ Harry O. Morris

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“Get Out” Is More Real than You Think - the History of "Seasoning” Slaves

Spoiler Alert, tw: rape, torture

I just watched Get Out last night and it was incredible to say the least. And definitely one of my favorite films that I’ve seen recently. 

What I found most interesting, though, was that aspects of the film were so much more fact than fiction. And many parts had a sadly very real basis in black history.

There is historical precedent which shows that aspects of what happened to the black people in the film has also occurred in real life.

The film is a comedic psychological thriller in which black people are kidnapped, brainwashed into losing themselves and their blackness, and made into body puppets for white masters. As you watch as a black person, you can just sit there in shock and awe at just how evil it all is. 

But the film is not just a work of fiction. There is also historical precedent showing that many aspects of what happened to the black people in the film has also occurred in real life. And as I watched the movie, I immediately thought of slavery and specifically the “Seasoning” that slaves were put through to prepare them to be “proper” slaves on plantations.

The History of “Seasoning” Slaves

A slave’s journey did not end with the Middle Passage. “Seasoning” was then used to psychologically destroy them and make them submissive, “pliant” slaves

If you survived the slave forts known as “factories” on the African coast where hundreds of thousands died or the horrors of rape, beatings, starvation, sickness, humiliation, murder and more on the Middle Passage which killed millions more, you then were trafficked- bruised, sick, beaten and psychologically traumatized for sale to white plantation owners in the “New World.” But your journey of abuse and trauma was just beginning.

For slaves shipped to the Caribbean or South America (Over 90% of all slaves), you were then put through a process known as “Seasoning” which was intended to psychologically destroy you through torture and back-breaking physical labor in order to prepare you to be a “good” submissive, pliant slave.  

(One example of an instrument of torture used on African slaves. Image credit: Atlanta Black Star)

“Seasoning” involved torturing and breaking the person completely so that they would submit totally to your will and no longer resist or fight back. This is comparable to the practice of “breaking horses” so they will follow your commands and orders without question (x). 

The “Seasoning” period typically lasted 3 years and also occurred in large torture and forced labor camps, the most notorious ones being in Jamaica. And some reports document ~25% of new slaves dying during the 3 year “seasoning” period (x).

You were tortured, brutalized, progressively stripped of your African name and identity and anything that did not serve your purpose as a beast of burden for your white master. You were tortured for years to make you into (what they saw as) an “empty vessel” that they could pour themselves into and mold as they pleased.

Sound familiar?

Get Out embodied quite literally for me this very real history of “seasoning” slaves in action. Psychological torture and physical brutalization when you do not comply, and striving to completely break you as a black person and turn you into a submissive, pliant vessel for the wishes and orders of your white master. 

The film (intentionally or not) hit the nail on the head in depicting what a modern version of “seasoning” could look like, much like what many of our ancestors endured before. 

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A little project I'm working on with @retroradfilms so far we've raised about 35% in just 12 hours! The link is in my bio #retrorad #film #movie #indie #filmmaker #shortfilm #awesome #wow #cool #sweet #amazing

#indie #movie #awesome #filmmaker #amazing #wow #retrorad #sweet #shortfilm #film #cool

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Slap Shot (1977)

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A piece of history I didn't know about

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Radio Days, 1987

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I have no idea if all of these claims can be legitimately proven. But it's still unsettling. Really I suppose this goes to show that you never actually know anyone. Another question I have is can I still enjoy the art that these people have created or would that be my implied approval of these people and by extension their actions.

Hollywood actors and celebrities charged with or accused of domestic violence:

Johnny Depp (domestically abused Amber Heard), also started dating Winona Ryder when she was 17 and he was 26

Bill Murray

Charlie Sheen

Alec Baldwin

Michael Fassbender

Christian Slater

Emma Roberts (domestically abused Evan Peters)

Sean Bean

Nicolas Cage

Josh Brolin (domestically abused Diane Lane)

Slash

Matthew Fox

Sean Penn (domestically abused and tortured Madonna)

Mickey Rourke

Terrence Howard 

Ozzy Osbourne (domestically abused and attempted to murder Sharon Osbourne)

Axl Rose

Eminem

Sean Connery

John Lennon 

Ike Turner

Emile Hirsch

Mel Gibson

Chris Brown (domestically abused and attempted to murder Rihanna)

Billy Dee Williams

Rape and sexual assault:

Jared Leto is a serial pedophilc, sadistic rapist 

Bryan Singer (directed the X-Men movies) is a rapist

Woody Allen (directed Midnight in Paris, Annie Hall, Blue Jasmine) is a rapist and pedophile who married his adopted daughter

Roman Polanski (directed The Pianist, Rosemary’s Baby, Ghost Writer) is a pedophilic rapist

David O Russell (directed Joy, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle) is an incestuous molester (molested his trans niece)

Bill Cosby is a serial rapist

Mike Tyson is a rapist and domestic abuser

Dr Luke raped Kesha

Tupac Shakur was a rapist who also slapped a woman who asked for an autograph

Lena Dunham molested her younger sister and still jokes about it

CeeLo Green is a rapist who jokes about date rape

Adrien Brody sexually assaulted Halle Berry

Tyga dated underage Kylie Jenner and bragged about statutory raping her 

James Franco pursued a 17 year old girl (and was repeatedly told she was only 17 and continued anyway) 

Apologists:

Woody Allen supporters: Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively, Emma Stone, Diane Keaton, Stephen King, Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Judd Apatow, Barbara Walters, Larry David, Colin Firth, Bill Maher, Adrien Brody, Steve Carell, Miley Cyrus, Louis C.K., Richard Ayoade

Roman Polanski supporters: Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Monica Bellucci, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Alfonso Cuaron, David Lynch, Whoopi Goldberg, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Guillermo Del Toro [x]

Bill Cosby supporters: Whoopi Goldberg, Damon Wayans, Waka Floca, Phylicia Rashad, CeeLo Green, Raven Symone [x]

Taylor Swift knows what Lena Dunham did and sympathized with her

Kanye West called Tyga “smart” for “getting in early” aka statutory raping a teenager

Please add more with sources if you know of any.

rape tw, domestic abuse tw, domestic violence tw, csa tw, child sex abuse tw, pedophilia tw, incest tw

edit: additions

Gary Oldman is a domestic abuser 

R Kelly is a domestic abuser 

Mark Salling is a pedophile

David Bowie raped a 13 year old and then Jimmy Page kidnapped, raped, and abused that same girl for over a year 

Paul Bettany is a Johnny Depp supporter/apologist 

a similar list to this compiled on twitter 

Christian Bale is a domestic abuser 

Kate Winslet is a Polanski supporter 

Drake is a human trafficking apologist 

Sherilyn Fenn is a Depp apologist 

Amy Schumer is a rapist [here’s the transcript of her describing it like it was a feminist, confidence-building thing]

a blog dedicated to compiling famous rapists and pedophiles (also archives nonconsensual acts portrayed in movies, tv shows, books, music etc; a good resource for survivors)

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People argued a lot about “separating the art from the artist” when Woody Allen’s molestation of his daughter became impossible to ignore. However, here’s the thing: almost all of Woody Allen’s work is about a thinly guised version of him. A lot of it is about some old weird creep having a sexual relationship with a younger, beautiful woman under a clear imbalance of power. How the hell am I supposed to separate the art from the artist? I have no desire to see Woody Allen make a movie about a professor entering a relationship with his student. I have no desire to hear R. Kelly sing about sex. It’s disgusting. It’s them describing their loathesome crimes through art.

The Art is Not The Artist: On Holding Abusers Accountable & Enjoying Problematic Media | store brand soda (via brutereason)

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Susan Sarandon shutting it down. “I have nothing good to say about Woody Allen.”

Woody Allen is a sexual predator who at best seduced his 17-year old step-daughter and at worst molested his child.  

What he did is wrong and working with him means you condone his behavior and would rather side with an accused predator than the victim of a sex crime.

Disgusting. 

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Manhattan (1979)

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OK, I didn’t put much effort into our #halloween decorations this year. #halloween #snl

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