MovieChat Forums > Walking Tall (1973) Discussion > The 'N' word

The 'N' word

posted 12 years ago by Flywiththeowl
14 replies | jump to latest

Even taking into account the setting & time frame, I was surprised when Buford referred to the 8 dead men as '8 dead niqqers' during the scene when he deputized Obra.

[–] jeremy3 12 years ago

I was disturbed by that to, but it was set in the early 60s, when segregation still reigned. And it is more true to the reality that poor whites and poor blacks were in different Worlds. Plus, the sheriff was trying to shock his black friend into being part of the police force. He was not a politically correct person, but a man of action.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] Flywiththeowl 11 years ago

That was possibly The Best dose of sarcasm I think I've ever read, Ghenghy. I needed a good laugh today too! :)

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] lupis_noctum 10 years ago

It's true! The only time they even argued with a black person was when they had to get firm with old Mrs. Washington to take the free groceries they dropped by every week.

At present nothing is possible except to extend the area of sanity little by little.

[–] Prismark10 10 years ago

At the time the film was made the N word was used rather liberally in film and tv.

Its that man again!!

[–] Flywiththeowl 10 years ago

Oh yes- I'm definitely aware of that. I was saying I was surprised the *character* used the word.

[–] DeepFriedJello 10 years ago

Not to mention the oft used term "boy" in this movie.

[–] MisterTed 10 years ago

nonsense. the "N" word was NEVER used on TV, liberally or otherwise. The list of words you couldn't use on TV was long, and "n" was definitely included.

[–] aasoloway 9 years ago

There was a distinction between referring to people as the N word - which WASN'T acceptable - and merely uttering as a reference. Now you can't even type it ...

Don't forget it was the title of book that was required reading (when I was in high school) and a well-known album by Richard Pryor. Just using the word in pre-PC America didn't make you a racist or a bigot. Calling someone that did.

There's a big, big difference.

[–] vestdennis 8 years ago

Fred Sanford and Aunt Esther used the word many times on Sanford and Son (in the early 70s).

[–] lmtopeka-1 8 years ago

The use of the N word was no big deal back in the day. Whites and blacks used it all the time and even though it was considered derogatory back then it wasn't taken so personally.

[–] Circle_of_the_Moon2101 8 years ago

Within my lifetime, that word is now used primarily WITHIN the black community. The first time I ever heard that word was from a black friend of mine when we were in grammar school. He uttered that word while playing a video game. Curiously, I asked him what it meant since that was my first time hearing it. His explanation: "Blacks without soul." I thought that word and his explanation of it was rather awkward, but at that time in my life I was still too young to give it any further thought.

The overwhelming majority of the time when I hear that word used, it's from one black individual to another.