Syl Jones: The year that Oscar blinked(white people bad)

Minneapolis Star Tribune ^ | 3/10/2006 | Syl Jones

[blueminnesota]

By contrast, "Crash" is a sloppy piece of workmanship, a kind of PowerPoint presentation about race that is absurd on its face. But "Crash" is also cleverly constructed to reassure white audiences that all people have racial and ethnic biases and that white America bears no special historical racial burden. This naively balanced view of race relations is the film's main conceit. However, there can be no bona fide balanced view of race relations in America, where generations of white privilege have embedded a special kind of race-based dominance into our culture and history.

[blueminnesota]

Here Syl Jones again complains that his own racial prejudices aren't reinforced strongly enough. I don't think "Crash" is any masterpiece but his take on it here is fricking ridiculous. I don't know why the ST gives him any space.

[MNJohnnie]

Syl Jones is as much a bigot as any member of the KKK. Any study of his writing shows you clear evidence of his racial bigoty. Another example of how divorced from reality the editors and publishers of the Star Trib are. Another do as I say, not as I do Leftist.

[dropzone]

I don't know why the ST gives him any space

Oh c'mon. You know why they do. Everything is race to Syl Jones and first into The Star Tribune's race agenda too perfectly for them to pass up.

[durasell]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/scrouch/

[livius]

I thought Crash was good, one of the few takes on race that I have seen that did not say "white people bad," so clearly it's got to go! There were a lot of coincidences in it, of course, but it was a piece of fiction and it was intended as a statement - on the complexities and confusions of race and other group relationships in this country.

Actually, Crash did end with a well-meaning white guy shooting a well-meaning black guy because he was scared of the black stereotype (although the well-meaning black guy actually had been hanging out with some less-well-meaning blacks who had indeed carjacked some people). Then the well-meaning white guy, who happens to be a cop, tries to cover it up, etc., but I guess that wasn't enough for this "reviewer." Unless white people=100% bad, it doesn't work for him.

[dropzone]

arrgh! corrrected post above:

Oh c'mon. You know why they do. Everything is race to Syl Jones and that fits into The Star Tribune's race agenda too perfectly for them to pass it up.

[durasell]

All the talk about race and so much time and effort and writing given over to Crash and the rap soundtrack winner. Nobody seemed to notice the passing of an American genius, Gordon Parks....except Stanley Crouch.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/scrouch/

[NaughtiusMaximus]

RED STAR OVER MINNESOTA PING!

[Williams]

"all people have racial and ethnic biases and that white America bears no special historical racial burden."

Sounds exactly right to me, you would have to be a real racist to believe otherwise.

[jdm]

I actually heard about Parks' death from Katie Couric on the Today Show. No joke!!! It was covered by the MSM.

[durasell]

My mistake then. I don't watch tv that much. However, I do read Crouch at every opportunity. He's probably the best columnist in NYC today, except when he goes on his jazz binges. Few things are worse than a "jazz addict" writing about jazz.

[IronJack]

generations of white privilege have embedded a special kind of race-based dominance into our culture and history.

Yeah, that "race-based dominance" couldn't arise from the fact that whites outnumber blacks 10 to 1, or that the founders of this country were all white.

[wizardoz]

Another of those "white culture=capitalism, capitalism=racism" types, no doubt.

[sportutegrl]

and one giant agenda driving the film toward its inevitable rear-ending.

Are you sure you didn't get this confused with Brokeback, Syl?

[sportutegrl]

and one giant agenda driving the film toward its inevitable rear-ending.

Are you sure you didn't get this confused with Brokeback, Syl?

[caspera]

good one!

[Savage Beast]

Syl Jones is right on target.

Somebody ought to send a copy of this to Watchacallum Clooney, who has somehow managed to conclude that the movie industry (of all things) is America's moral vanguard.