American Gods Delivers a Powerful Black Lives Matter Message

[ismnotwasm]

American Gods is one of my favorite novels. I don't watch much TV--this adaptation is so far simply incredible.

It begins on a slave ship, in the cramped, fire-lit hull where stolen men sit chained by the hundreds. One man, face beaded with sweat and desperation, cries out to African spider god Anansi, the trickster: “These strange men have tied my hands,” he quivers. “…Help me from this place and I will sing to you all my life.”

The god appears, anachronistically dapper in a fresh-pressed purple suit and fedora. He laughs. Anansi, or Mr. Nancy as he’s called in America—one of the old-world mythological gods competing for worship in the fantastical universe of Starz’s American Gods—agrees to help. But first, he tells a story.

“Once upon a time, a man got fucked,” he begins. “Now how is that for a story? ‘Cause that the story of black people in America.”

He grins impishly at the men’s blank expressions, then remembers: “Shit!” he says. “You all don’t know you black yet. You think you just people. Let me be the first to tell you that you are all black. The moment these Dutch motherfuckers set foot here and decided that they white and you all get to be black—and that’s the nice name they call you? Let me paint a picture of what’s waiting for you on the shore…”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/08/american-gods-delivers-a-powerful-black-lives-matter-message

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. I have this on my machine to watch...

Given almost half of this country wants to own black people again, might be timely.

[The Polack MSgt]

2. K&R nt

[ismnotwasm]

3. What's powerful to me about this adaptation

Is in the book, the main character Shadow, is racially ambiguous--you just know he's not white, and you guess part black because of a comments minor characters and a reference to the sickle cell disease his mother had. The God Anansi--Gaiman wrote another humorous book starring him and his son--is unapologetically black, but milder in temperament than this early scene depicts. This scene captures a more thorough look at a trickster God.

There are other characters who are considered black in the book. Gaiman, when he writes, makes his phrasing a little different from your usual white author POV, identifying characters as white, as though white is NOT the default.

I've read the book maybe ten times--I do that with books I love. Generally, I hate TV adaptations. This one had me going from mildly impressed in the first episode to going "holy shit, holy shit" Throughout this second one.

[JustAnotherGen]

7. We watched one episode

Maybe the third? And were confused. We will try to watch on Demand. Generally we love Starz originals. We will try again since my husband is disappointed there's no Jamie and Claire until September!

[sweetloukillbot]

4. That monologue was incredible.

It set a pretty high bar for the episode, which managed to maintain. I love the way all the big name actors are just chewing the scenery, while the guy playing Shadow is so understated. It works perfectly.

[RandySF]

5. Just started watching without having read the book.

And yes, it feels very American (if that makes any sense.

[RandySF]

6. About Anasi

Anansi (/əˈnɑːnsi/ ə-NAHN-see) is an African folktale character. He often takes the shape of a spider and is considered to be the spirit of all knowledge of stories. He is also one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore.

He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy. In the New World he is known as Nancy, Aunt Nancy and Sis' Nancy.[1] He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man.

The Anansi tales originated from the Akan people of present-day Ghana. The word Ananse is Akan and means "spider". They later spread to West Indies, Suriname, Sierra Leone (where they were introduced by Jamaican Maroons) and the Netherlands Antilles. On Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire, he is known as Kompa Nanzi, and his wife as Shi Maria.

Anansi is depicted in many different ways. Sometimes he looks like an ordinary spider, sometimes he is a spider wearing clothes or with a human face and sometimes he looks much more like a human with spider elements, such as eight legs.


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