Written by white men.... False advertisement - The Get Down (2016) Discussion

[–] MiketheMechanic 8 years ago

Afro-latinos are indeed considered to be African-Americans and I for one don't think the synopsis was misleading at all.

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[–] Tothevalleywego 8 years ago

I didn't know Afro-latinos shared the same history, forced language and culture as African Americans. We may share the same roots but that's it dear.

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[–] activista 8 years ago

Here's another review of the show"

http://variety.com/2016/tv/reviews/tv-review-the-get-down-netflix-baz-luhrmann-shameik-moore-justice-smith-12018291

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[–] MiketheMechanic 8 years ago

Um, yes they do! You may want to read up on that.

Sounds like you're only interested in watching shows that feature only African-Americans, any other ethnicity be damned.

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[–] Tothevalleywego 8 years ago

And how are Afro-latinos the same as African Americans? Especially since only 24 percent of Latins consider themselves Afro-latino. And maybe I do want to watch shows only about African Americans. You shouldn't have a problem about my choice of television. Damn.

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[–] activista 8 years ago

@tothevalleywego

There is an African-American writer on the TGD staff---a writer/producer named Aaron Rahsaan Thomas--he wrote the third episode. The supervising producer is writer/film producer/author Nelson George, who was one of the first journalists to document the rise of hip=hop from its very beginning. Here's an interview with him about how he made sure the writing staff and the cast stayed true to the depiction of the '70s era in terms of slang,fashion,and other things:

http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.39969/title.nelson-george-on-the-get-down-early-days-of-hip-hop-journalism

In a nutshell, it wasn't just white people who put the show together---Luhrmann has to get a lot of major imput from actual hip-hop pioneers like Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, and Kurtis Blow (all of whom have a supervising producer's credit for the show. In other words, he couldn't have made this show as real and authentic as it is without some major African-American imput.

And Black and Latino folks in New York at the time this show is set in shared a long history of discrimination,racism, and being trapped in the same ghettos as together. Some of the first breakdancing crews featured both black and Latino teens inventing it together (check out the documentary THE FRESHEST KIDS for that.) And,yes there are Latinos that don't have a problem admitting to their African heritage---there's a thread on this board about that whole black/ Latino issue right here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4592410/board/thread/242522336

I'm also a black woman who likes the show so far (been looking forward to it for quite some time now) because I grew up on hip-hop myself, and I think it's about time the history of hip-hop got its own show, since it's been around long enough (close to 40 years now) and since practically every other genre has gotten its own historical overview, now it's hip-hop's turn. And the show has a mostly black cast with Latino characters---that shouldn't even be a problem at all if you know the New York history behind that.

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[–] MiketheMechanic 8 years ago

You shouldn't have a problem about my choice of television. Damn.

Oh, I've no problem with your choice of tv shows. What I do have a problem with are your false claims about how you thought this show was going to be an African-American casted show, where nowhere was it stated that it was supposed to be.

I don't get why anyone would have a problem with watching a tv show that has a diverse cast, especially because the street cultures and origins of hip-hop and other underground music was created by blacks and latinos!

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[–] Tothevalleywego 8 years ago

It's not my fault Netflix misrepresented the previews.

I wanted to watch a show about African Americans.

How am I too know about the environment of 1970 New York neighborhoods when I was born in the 80's?

Besides the little I know about the beginning of Hip Hop does not involve Hispanic people.

I also did not know this show was about the origin of rap.

The synopsis I read ilon Netflix stated: "story of young musicians as they go thru life in the 1970's" I'm paraphrasing...

I read that, saw the picture of Afros dancing and instantly thought about funk music and disco. In the synopsis it did not mention location or the fact that it was about the beginning of rap.

Like I said.... false advertising.

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[–] MiketheMechanic 8 years ago

How is that false advertising? You saw what you wanted to see!!

I'm not the biggest fan of Netflix but in no way did they misrepresent the show and what it's about!!

You should start reading previews before jumping to conclusions.

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[–] thorspowerhammer 8 years ago

I haven't looked up the credits of the directors and writers to see who's black and who's white, judging from the names of the directors it sounds mostly like Jewish guys. And the reason I say it doesn't matter (of course it CAN matter) is because as long as the writers/directors have someone familiar with that field as a reference, they can include all of the accuracies that are needed. Aside from that, there are only so many story arcs that humans can go through and an experienced writer can bridge the gap's between cultures and age groups, and Netflix knows what they are doing and how to choose those writers. I myself am a writer and director and have written or cowritten several full length and short scripts, almost all about characters that I really don't have much in common with, but I do the research and I talk to people who would know more than me.

To the person who responded to my comment about Breaking Bad and said it wasn't about crystal meth, but about a man's journey : then you could say that The Getdown is it about hip-hop music, but about a group of kids discovering who they are in this world. It's why a white male in his 30s who listens to heavy-metal such as myself can enjoy the show just as much as my 40-year-old friend who is black and listens to hip-hop.

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[–] thorspowerhammer 8 years ago

I haven't looked up the credits of the directors and writers to see who's black and who's white, judging from the names of the directors it sounds mostly like Jewish guys. And the reason I say it doesn't matter (of course it CAN matter) is because as long as the writers/directors have someone familiar with that field as a reference, they can include all of the accuracies that are needed. Aside from that, there are only so many story arcs that humans can go through and an experienced writer can bridge the gap's between cultures and age groups, and Netflix knows what they are doing and how to choose those writers. I myself am a writer and director and have written or cowritten several full length and short scripts, almost all about characters that I really don't have much in common with, but I do the research and I talk to people who would know more than me.

To the person who responded to my comment about Breaking Bad and said it wasn't about crystal meth, but about a man's journey : then you could say that The Getdown is it about hip-hop music, but about a group of kids discovering who they are in this world. It's why a white male in his 30s who listens to heavy-metal such as myself can enjoy the show just as much as my 40-year-old friend who is black and listens to hip-hop.

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[–] coleburnz07 8 years ago

To the person who responded to my comment about Breaking Bad and said it wasn't about crystal meth, but about a man's journey : then you could say that The Getdown is it about hip-hop music, but about a group of kids discovering who they are in this world. It's why a white male in his 30s who listens to heavy-metal such as myself can enjoy the show just as much as my 40-year-old friend who is black and listens to hip-hop.

I said it and I agree with this 100%

It's why I'm not knocking this show. I think it captures what it set out to do without trying to be a full blown history lesson. It is a drama/musical set in the days where disco was at it's peak and hip hop was in it's first stages.

I have a feeling the second half of this show is going to focus on the death of disco and on the rise of hip hop music entering into the 80's crack era and how all of that effects the main characters.

"Money's flowing, everything is fine; Got myself an Uzi and my brother a nine"

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[–] Oolon_Colluphid 8 years ago

Obviously, the OP is bigoted "...makes one assumed it was about African Americans...", "...including the Latin influence from the advert would cause me to be less interested...". To complain about a show which is placed in New York city in the 70's in the Bronx, the ghetto should have any other person other than black? That's ridiculous. Also, there was no false advertising about the show. I saw the preview and immediately understood that it was about the origins of hip-hop, so comprehension must not be very strong with the OP and or she sees only what she wants to see.

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[–] tmontyb 8 years ago

You should start reading previews before jumping to conclusions.

LOL! OP = ignorant.

"when they go low, we go high" - Michelle Obama

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[–] activista 8 years ago

@tothevalleywego

Actually, Netflix didn't misrepresent anything about the show---you just didn't do your research on it beyond the synopsis--even before its debut, it was promoted as being about the origins of hip-hop from the get-go. Everything I read about it and on this board said exactly what it was about, at least 6 months ago when Netflix first started advertising it with trailers here on IMDB. There was no false advertising there---you didn't do your homework on the show, that's all.

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[–] activista 8 years ago

@MiketheMechanic

Sounds like you're only interested in watching shows that feature only African-Americans, any other ethnicity be damned.

That is not what she was saying. FYI, the majority (99%) of shows on TV and movies are about white people, with few exceptions. So, of course when a show comes on that's aimed at Africans-Americans (and there's only a handful of those to begin with) damn right we're gonna watch it, because it's nice to see a show about people that look like us for a change. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. And when you look at the fact that black people are used to watching a lot of show and movies about people that don't look like us virtually all the time, that's certainly not asking a hell of a lot. As a white viewer, you can see people who look like you all the time in movies and TV shows---we don't. That's the big difference right there.

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[–] MiketheMechanic 8 years ago

Sounds like you're only interested in watching shows that feature only African-Americans, any other ethnicity be damned.

That is not what she was saying.

I beg to differ. You may want to read her op again:

A little disappointed about how they presented it on Netflix. Reading the little synopsis and seeing some of the pictures that flash by it makes one assumed it was about African Americans and music during that decade. That's why I added the show to My List.

I wonder if was purposely done so that I, an African American female, would want to watch the show? Maybe they thought including the Latin influence from the advert would cause me to be less interested in the series.



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[–] activista 8 years ago

@MiketheMechanic

Obviously the show was going to be about mostly African-Americans because it's the story of the beginning of hip-hop (and because that's who created it) that goes without saying. The OP obviously didn't know anything about the history of black and Latino folks in New York,and how their lives/cultures were intertwined in a lot of ways,since they lived practically next door to each other, that's all---which is why she was confused about the Latino presence in the show. That's why I suggest people do their research on the real history behind historical shows like this so they'll know what to expect.

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[–] thorspowerhammer 8 years ago

I honestly don't think it matters if the filmmakers are black, good writers and directors can cross all borders. Does Vince Gilligan have to be a meth head to create Breaking Bad? Never mind that, you are complaining that the show is ran by white people, but where are the black people that are starting shows about black people? Oh yes that is Tyler perry.

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[–] coleburnz07 8 years ago

I honestly don't think it matters if the filmmakers are black, good writers and directors can cross all borders. Does Vince Gilligan have to be a meth head to create Breaking Bad? Never mind that, you are complaining that the show is ran by white people, but where are the black people that are starting shows about black people? Oh yes that is Tyler perry.

It does matter. You can be a great writer but if you are unfamiliar with certain outside cultures how can you accurately write about the. Alot of times we get stereotypical one dimensional lazy written characters for that very reason. Breaking Bad wasn't even about meth it was about one man' morals and how his choices effect his family.

Donald Glover's new show Atlanta is a perfect example of a show with black writers accurately depicting the black community in ATL down to the little details most non black writers would have never picked up on. It's the same thing when Scorcese makes a film like goodfellas and gives you an inside look into not just mob culture but italian-american NY culture.

Shows like The Wire, Sopranos, etc work because they have writers who actually lived and experienced the topics those shows covered.

"Money's flowing, everything is fine; Got myself an Uzi and my brother a nine"

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[–] activista 8 years ago

@thorspowerhammer

but where are the black people that are starting shows about black people? Oh yes that is Tyler perry.

Ever heard of Shonda Rimes,who has created,written,and produced some of the most popular TV shows this decade----SCANDAL, GREY'S ANATOMY, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, and the now-gone PRIVATE PRACTICE? Or Lee Daniels (the director of PRECIOUS and THE BUTLER) who produced EMPIRE, another recent huge TV hit? And Mara Brock Akil, who created/produced both long-running hit shows GIRLFRIENDS and THE GAME? Then there's Kenya Barris, who created and writes the hit show BLACK-ISH. There's former NIGHTLY SHOW host Larry Wilmore, who helped co-create THE BERNIE MAC SHOW, another popular hit back in the early '00s. THE GET DOWN does have at least one African-American writer/producer on staff---Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, who wrote the third episode of the show, as far as I know---here's his resume:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Rahsaan_Thomas

There's also author/journalist Nelson George, who is the supervising producer for the staff.

And,yes, it does matter who write the shows, mainly because TV was pretty much dominated by a mostly white perspective until about the late '60s (and still is, to some extent) and those of us non-white TV viewers (like myself) like watching programs that show people who look like us,too. We watch practically everything else on TV,anyway. Also, the few shows like BLACK-ISH that are written from a black perspective (like THE BERNIE MAC SHOW was, for example) deal realistically with issues and things that black people specifically have to deal with in our daily lives---it's a refreshingly distinct and different p.o.v. from the usual white perspective. Also, shows or movies written from the p.o.v. of folks of color tend to be more accurate and more realistic about how they portray said people of color,too. Basically, a show or a movie about a specific non-white culture written and made by people from that culture is a little more interesting to see because you're getting an insider's view of said culture (like the new Australian sci-fi dystopian drama CLEVERMAN,which is written, and produced by Aboriginal (black Australian) folks, with a mostly Aboriginal cast. Just my two cents on that subject,though.

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[–] chingochango 8 years ago

Could you be any more ignorant? You have no knowledge of Caribbean culture, do you?

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[–] Tothevalleywego 8 years ago

No I do not know Caribbean history. But I do know the Africans placed on the islands were allowed to keep parts of their culture while those in the American colonies were not. I also know the islands are predominantly African. While in America it is not. Same boat, different journeys. Stop assuming.

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[–] hottheadliberty 8 years ago

I hope this doesn't sound disrespectful, but, why does it matter? As long as I'm entertained and/or educated, I don't care about the skin color of the characters in the show/movie. So why does it have to be such a big deal? Why does everyone have to get so defensive/offended by it?

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[–] Tothevalleywego 8 years ago

Can I not want to watch a show with people that look like me? I watch countless cinema with Europeans, Asians, etc. I don't think it should be surprising that an African American female wants to watch a show about African Americans.

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[–] Oolon_Colluphid 8 years ago

You can watch whatever you want, black white red or green, but don't blame the show because you have the inability to understand a simple advert.

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[–] Tothevalleywego 8 years ago

Nah, the advert I saw were misleading. It is not about a misunderstanding.

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[–] activista 8 years ago

It wasn't misleading---just admit you didn't know anything about the black/Latino connection in New York, and leave it at that. And it's "was" misleading, not "were" misleading.

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[–] Tothevalleywego 8 years ago

Dude are you being serious. I didn't know New York neighborhoods were so historically important. i must have missed that subject matter in school. Of course I didn't know anything about the African American and Latino connection in a state I've never been to. I didn't even know this show was suppose to be about the beginning of hip hop. Hence me saying it was misleading. The synopsis I read on Netflix had the words "young inspiring musicians", "late 70's" and something about "life". It did not mention hip hop. And who cares about my grammar dude. This isn't my resume and I'm not seeking employment from you.

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[–] activista 8 years ago

@Tothevalleywego

I didn't even know this show was suppose to be about the beginning of hip hop. Hence me saying it was misleading.

Oh boy. The point is, had you bothered to actually look up more things about the show when it was first starting to be advertised earlier this year, you would have know all you needed to know about it. Two sentences of a description on Netflix alone is not going to tell you what a whole series is about. And there were plenty of articles you could have looked up that went into more depth about the show and what it was about. It's nobody's problem but yours that you didn't bother to do the research on the show, which would have taken you all of 60 seconds to begin with. And nowadays, you don't actually have to go to a place to learn about its history. You misled yourself by not bothering to find out anything else about the show, so that's all on you. And as long as your grammar is grammatically incorrect, yeah, people are gonna comment on it. So just correct it than.

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[–] bigpoppa206 8 years ago

To understand the decade that created this music, the early seeds and input came from the black, hispanic, white and gay communities. To only target African Americans would be a not be accurate.

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[–] pbalmeida95 8 years ago

I'm sorry, you say there's a difference between afro-latinos and african-americans, may I ask what is the difference?

I don't know if that have been mentioned, forgive me if it has, but the actress playing Mylene (Herizen Guardiola) is half cuban and half jamaican.

Justice Smith (Zeke) has a african american father, he is biracial like the character, his mother is canadian.

So, maybe the difference isn't as big as you make it out to be?

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[–] TheAdvocator 8 years ago

A little disappointed about how they presented it on Netflix. Reading the little synopsis and seeing some of the pictures that flash by it makes one assumed it was about African Americans and music during that decade. That's why I added the show to My List.

You assuming things is not false advertising on Netflix's part.

A good review of "Inside Out": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXC_205E3Og

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[–] AtoZ2014 8 years ago

Lots of jobs for black, Puerto Rican, Latino, and so on actors.

The Kiplings are Puerto Ricans. Zeke is black. Shao is black. I mean what's the problem? I think everyone knows that there are lots of Puerto Ricans in New York.

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[–] AtoZ2014 8 years ago

Correction, Zeke's aunt said he's half black, half puerto rican.

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