Sports is a guilty pleasure..American Skin film review
********Warning spoiler alert*******
The conversations surrounding Nate Parkers American Skin will not be anything new. The motive for shooting unarmed black people, racial profiling, black on black crime, and more make up the bulk of the film. These are the debates that make headlines. However, a unique narrative was saved for the very end of the film. This narrative is unpopular and rarely discussed. My thoughts on why sports is a guilty pleasure. American Skin review.
Often associated with taboo topics such as sex or controversy, guilty pleasures used to make people feel bad and good simultaneously. Now as we see people don’t feel bad but perhaps that will begin to change after our American Skin review. A guilty pleasure is a social construct when in reality it’s a rationalization of a self-shaming mechanism.
Guilt is a form of emotional intelligence and how we impact the collective. Guilt can and should be a learning process that takes humility and taming of our ego.
Guilt as a signal informing us of a threat to our morality
Chance are if you’re reading this you’re somewhat informed of systematic racism and police brutality to say the least. This review of American skin will be discussing the last 3 minutes of the film and how it relates to society today.
After a standoff with the police department, Linc played by Nate Parker is killed despite walking out peacefully of the police station with the officers. But what’s even more shocking is the scene that followed..
Parker like most black men shot and killed by police was negatively depicted in the media the news. No surprise there right? But after the negative portrayal, the news immediately transitions to the sports segment. The sports anchor can barely contain his excitement for a new basketball recruit…To me, this was the most powerful message of American Skin. Here’s why
guilt·y pleas·ure noun
something, such as a movie, television program, or piece of music, that one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard.
Isn’t it interesting how guilty pleasures are associated with entertainment? Why is sports held in high regard in the first place? If systematic oppression is as bad as we say it is, why do we consume so much entertainment/sports?
Are we scared to really tackle these issues at the expense of dopamine hits?… I understand we have to laugh to keep from crying, but the same things that make us laugh make us cry. On the surface, many people will interpret the sports news segment as black athletes being more acceptable than others. The ability to entertain audiences makes whites forget about their skin color for a second to marvel at the physical ability.
After an hour and 25 minutes of intense emotional scenes, intellectual disagreements, life, and death situations, we conclude with a sports segment..And we’re all guilty. How many of us skipped a chance to advocate or let our voices be heard?
Find out why Idol worship, not basketball was Michael Jordan’s toughest competition. Here.
Just to entertain ourselves and convince ourselves we’re too tired. While protests are every now and then, people have to become more aware of where they’re putting their energy on a daily basis. How much energy and time goes into distracting ourselves.?
The narrative on guilty pleasures must change, be honest with yourself. You know what you really want in life and anything that isn’t aligned with it is going against your core values.
The spell of sports and entertainment has a hold on our culture. The spell must be broken and exposed for what it is. However, that would mean billions of dollars will be lost. Perhaps entertainment is the only thing distracting society from going insane during the pandemic. And that’s not a good thing, to be too dependent on anything outside of yourself.
In conclusion, clearly, the narrative and value associated with black athletes and entertainers must hold the same weight for the average citizen. But in a society of idol worship, instant gratification clout chasers is this even possible?.
For the athletes who have seen the film, what did the sports segment mean to you? Let us know in the comment section below..