MovieChat Forums > Tom Hardy Discussion > The Taboo of a Nation

The Taboo of a Nation

posted 8 years ago by Dante88
3 replies | jump to latest

FX is taking a huge gamble releasing Taboo in the new year.

The Birth of a Nation now has added controversy on top of a tragic story. Brutal slavery was the backbone of an economy that the East India Company made huge profits from. A story about the East India Company getting undermined is long overdue. Just like the Black Rebellion of 1831 has long been suppressed. The aftermath turned The Confederacy militant as they came to realize that the days of business as usual were numbered. I'm not enthused about watching The Birth of a Nation, I consider it duty. But I've been reassured that the film does not reach it's wretched conclusion. Nat Turner went out like William Wallace.

The Birth of a Nation received a ten minute standing ovation at TIFF.

Will people be so disgusted with Birth of a Nation that they'll be turned off by Taboo?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWs5TTn19qk

[–] harveybanger 8 years ago

Not if no one sees Birth of a Nation, which I believe is the goal of many people. I don't really like censorship but you know in Hollywood it is just called no distribution deal or limited release or straight to DVD. Though there are many directors who have probably done worse than Mr. Parker and his friend who never have to account for their sins at all and are feted as artistes. Why do some people get a pass and others don't. Do we separate art from the artist? Should we?

Taboo sounds like it is coming at the story at a different angle, it is fiction, and this is about a man getting revenge for what these colonial masters did. I mean if people are going to get so PC about fictional stories that is unfortunate. That a lose lose IMO. You can't nor should not hide unpleasant history by today's sensibilities under the carpet.

Unfortunately corporate greed is alive and well. How is the East India Company any better than many Fortune 500 companies now anyway.

Slavery has been the backbone of many economies of many countries over the centuries including civilizations that were considered great, the Roman Empire and Egypt for example. The UK feudal system was just slavery with a nicer name. Slavery has also been condoned in religious documents. Slavery still exists in parts of this world. So it takes a lot of enlightenment to get to today's values and the struggle continues.

I just want to see a TV show that entertains me for the most part and any education about that era is a bonus.

[–] Dante88 8 years ago

The Birth of a Nation opens in Toronto on October 7, I'll make time to see it in the theaters. The "people who live by hate" have been hard at work discrediting the film. It only has a 49% rating which, of course, I'm not buying.

On a side note, I've been lobbying for Wes Williams to be made An Officer of The Order of Canada. He is the pioneer who diversified Canadian popular culture, he's due.

That's his wife in the clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCCBioKHhwQ

[–] harveybanger 8 years ago

Yes before there was Drake there was Maestro Fresh Wes!!!!!

Look forward to your review of the film. It was getting Oscar buzz galore so really the bad news backdrop doesn't change the film at all per se, just one's perception of the people involved in the film.