On Tue, Jan 1, 2013 at 12:48 PM, Jim Devine <[email protected]> wrote:

> raghu wrote:
> > First I should confess that I am a huge fan of Tarantino, but I don't
> like
> > Spielberg much at all (can't stand the sentimentality of his movies). It
> is
> > true that Tarantino has a fetish for the n-word which he does use
> > excessively and gratuitously, but that to me is a minor flaw.
>
> I just heard a stand-up routine by the comedian Louis C.K. He says he
> hates "the n-word." No, not the word "nigger," but the actual phrase
> "the n-word." His point is that the superficial folks on TV and
> elsewhere use the phase, avoiding the appearance of racism, but by
> using it, they put the _actual_ n-word into our minds, having a racist
> effect.
>
> Maybe he's right. In general, does the use of euphemism solve
> anything? Yes, if one wishes to be polite. I would never use a word to
> describe anyone if they don't like that word, unless that someone were
> really bad.
>



The n-word is part of the popular culture in all sorts of complicated ways.
I can see how some people may find Tarantino's overuse of the word
offensive. I personally don't find it offensive in his movies, just a weird
fetish that is sometimes very effective for shock value like in Pulp
Fiction, other times not so much. I personally don't think this is a big
indictment of Tarantino's work and it certainly has not prevented me from
enjoying his movies. Each to his/her own.
-raghu.
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