The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger

March 4, 2014 11:37 AM

“Victory was at hand. The U. S. crewmen were just days and an official letter of regret to the Chinese government away from returning home. And you know that homecoming would have been filled with hoopla and pageantry. The Retro Guard would have to kneel before the superior intellect of the ascended black. Likewise, the Old-School Negroes and their liberal massas would be forced to acknowledge the evolutionary brother and sister. When the images of the homecoming were played and played and played from the morning empty-chat shows through the nightly news to Larry King and his first exclusive primetime interview (with call-ins!) of the crew, all of America would see freedom was won by a black man, a black woman. They would have seen all that. Except. Niggers fucked it up.” – John Ridley, Oscar-winning screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave, writing in Esquire, in 2006, about what he then considered the (pre-Obama) "high-water mark of black political power."
posted by eric1halfb (10 comments total)

Previously, re: 12 Years a Slave.
posted by eric1halfb at 11:41 AM on March 4, 2014

It was pointed out on twitter the other day that John Ridley also wrote Undercover Brother, one of the worst movies of all time that involves any type of person. So the next time someone tells you "Staying within a system never works, once you sell out you can't change anything!" you might want to point this guy's career out as a counterexample.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:50 AM on March 4, 2014

It was pointed out on twitter the other day that John Ridley also wrote Undercover Brother, one of the worst movies of all time that involves any type of person.

That movie is perhaps the only movie in which Denise Richards is adequately cast. Good stuff.
posted by Atreides at 11:52 AM on March 4, 2014

You can tell it's edgy because of the "N word"
posted by thelonius at 11:52 AM on March 4, 2014

Undercover Brother, one of the worst movies of all time that involves any type of person.

Pistols at dawn.
posted by potch at 11:53 AM on March 4, 2014 [7 favorites]

I read it, and it's like reading the last psychiatrist (or is that psychologist ?) blog .. I'm not sure what is really being said or what I am supposed to take away from it.
posted by k5.user at 11:53 AM on March 4, 2014

I thought this bit captured the main thrust of the piece, agree with it or no:

Dr. Condi and Colin personify what niggers have forgotten: All that matters is accomplishment. The very pinnacle of ascendancy is the ability to live and work without regard for the sentiments of others and with, as Sister Rand would tell us, a selfish virtue.

posted by Wretch729 at 11:54 AM on March 4, 2014

Oh man, I am getting out my popcorn for this. An...c'mon! You didn't like Sistah Girl and Conspiracy Brother?
posted by umberto at 11:56 AM on March 4, 2014

It saddens me that Undercover Brother seems to often get confused or conflated with Black Dynamite when I try to discuss one film or the other with friends (who aren't necessarily movie nerds). The former is abysmal in every possible way, but the latter is arguably one of the most impressive, fun, and amazing genre sendups of all time.
posted by trackofalljades at 11:58 AM on March 4, 2014

I really liked Undercover Brother, and am perfectly content with the likelihood that I may be in the minority on this opinion.
posted by stenseng at 11:58 AM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]