JANUARY - EPISODE I: WINTER 2024

 WISDOM OF THE SAGES
EPISODE I: WINTER 2024

Hello People of the World;

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, another year, another late post. It’s gotten so bad I was literally five months behind on these. The really sad this is… no one is reading these. Just me writing them to keep in some sort of practicing habit of writing on a deadline. And, failing miserably.

 

Nothing to add for the new year.

 

As always: Stay safe. Stay home.

 

 All right, let’s get going:

 

1:[ This virus really showed how equal we all really are: That we all enter another year without figuring this sh*t out. Come on!

 

2:[ MOVIE REVIEWS:

 

I haven’t been to the movie theater as yet. January is notorious for when the bad movies are released.

 

 

3:[ This Month’s Essay:

 

The Truth About Clubber Lang

Clubber Lang’s Story arc in Rocky III is generally ignored, overlooked, and yet, it is super complex. It is basically Apollo's origin story. He is basically angry for never getting a fair shot because of who he is and also calling out the system that keeps Rocky in the Championship. Most never pay attention to Clubber's rhetoric, "a fighter like me." Basically, that the sport will never back a poor, Black fighter. The sport is filled with poor, African-American men trying to fight their way out of their circumstance. But the sport chews them up like fodder for show.

 

But why is this racism not directed at Apollo? Who says it wasn't. Remember, when we first meet Apollo, he is ALREADY the champion. He already had gone through everything Clubber did and is accepted BECAUSE he wins and is entertaining. Plus, remember the Bicentennial entrance and showy theatrics of the first movie? There is a long-standing tradition that people of color, especially African-Americans, had to be performative for white audiences to be accepted, but not enough to be looked up to. Remember how his fans turned on him after the first fight with Rocky? Clubber is the next generation of African-American fighter, who refuses to perform for the cameras. Thus, making himself look angrier and more despondent.

 

This happens in real life, if you look at Muhammed Ali, he was an outrageous, performative fighter, but knew this kept him in the correct column of acceptance. The US didn't hesitate to turn its back on him when he refused service in Vietnam, converted to Islam, and worked to call out racism in the country. They revoked his titles and imprisoned him.

 

Then, after Clubber beats Rocky, how accepted he suddenly is by the sports media. But you might say, that the sport today is dominated by fighters of color. Yet, look at how we all talk about the deterioration of the sport of boxing, that it is no longer a viable sport. That was the whole point of “Rocky Balboa”. And, remember who had to make a comeback in that movie? We favor MMA now. Who dominates MMA?

 

Then, there added piece is Clubber's entrance in the second fight, when a man pops out and screams something at him. No one ever listens to what the man is yelling. We think it's just Clubber being rude and violent to a random stranger. But if you hear what the man is saying, you see why Clubber reacted to the way he does, "Clubber, go back to where you come from-"

 

He was shown to be such a villain that we forget that Rocky was still the champion because of the picked match-ups that kept him winning. We over look that. Because, he’s the hero. And if an audience did look into it, Hollywood does what it always does when they unintentionally give their villains good motives, they make Clubber responsible for a horrifying act - in this case, the death of Mickey. We absolutely will not forgive Clubber that, even if he is calling out the racism of the sport.

 

Because, Hollywood, much like the sport of boxing, will never let someone like Clubber hold up a mirror.

 

 

4:[ Observation: This is why you don't let non-Native media represent us. It makes us forget our own history. This isn't even five years ago.

 

PS: I know, the modifiers and qualifier will come out, juuuust like in Native country.... (hint: Mexico is a part of the Americas, sorry.)

 

 

5:[ We cannot go back to “Normal” all after this: thinking that fresh water is an infinite resource.

 

 

That is it for this month.

 

 

As always, I invite you to comment, correct, or contradict anything I write here. I am open to a critical debate. Thanks for taking the time to check out what I write here and I will see you in a month.

 

Until next time, remember “I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control everything really are.”

 

 

2024 Ernest M Whiteman III