Michael K. Williams, Omar from The Wire, Found Dead

[Blackrogue]

Was watching bet dmx tribute and was shocked to find him in here. Only for him to go out the same way. He must have resonated with the role even deeper than we thought.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Headline is true though. The title of this thread says Omar from The Wire

Think about how good the character (writing and acting) for a gay street dude to become an iconic character? They really made him a well rounded character and MKW killed it. Not like these check box gay black characters these days.

Not only is it true it’s the exact opposite of LGBTQ representation today. Omar was gay, as was Kima in the show. Both characters had same sex relationships, showed affection to a partner etc. And while I’m sure that was too much for some homophobes…overall those relationships were pretty normal. A political statement wasn’t being made - they were simply gay characters existing in a world.

VS today when seemingly the only representation for gay people is loud, over the top, parody level shyt. Those people exist and should be represented but MOST gay people are pretty normal. They go about their lives and jobs and just happen to be gay. You rarely see that in film or tv though.

 

[EBK String]

Pac is really the Forrest Gump of black America

 

[richaveli83]

Pac is really the Forrest Gump of black America

I thought it was TK Kirkland.

 

[King]

Tupac was a classically trained actor.

This doesn’t seem that crazy to me

 

[FaTaL]

 

[CouldntBeMeTho]

I actually like that movie bullet. Kinda has a gritty realism that captures the dusty nyc era

 

[Buckeye Fever]

I actually like that movie bullet. Kinda has a gritty realism that captures the dusty nyc era

That gritty NYC shyt is

None of that pretty shyt

 

[Cape Town JHB]

Is every lick in LA given to a Cac or Mexican?... I've noticed almost everything, including Hip Hop they always have a non black person talking "black"

 

[FaTaL]

I remember watching him on the road, they had him butt azz naked getting robbed with no thumbs

 

[King]

Is every lick in LA given to a Cac or Mexican?... I've noticed almost everything, including Hip Hop they always have a non black person talking "black"

Yes

A lot of these nikkas is c00ns and fatherless due to mass incarceration. Some may have been lucky enough to get letters from their dads in jail or be raised by bum ass nikkas who are also c00ns.

You gotta realize the black population out here is incredibly small. It’s like 80-98% Mexican in some areas. A lot of these dudes deal with internalized self hate and live for approval from Mexicans who are racist as fukk. There’s not really a strong sense of black pride out here. They invite everyone else in, show MAD respect to the elote man. But will look your black ass up and down like you’re a threat or you don’t belong and wanna test you. Even if it’s a dirty look.

Nikkas always want to include other people for approval. Hispanics, Asians, Polys, whatever. It ain’t common for black people to greet each other out here, you could walk past a breh and not say shyt cause someone might take that the wrong way. Others don’t even acknowledge you as another black person. Self hate and low self esteem by virtue of the environment.

These Hispanics out here might show you fake love to your face when they feel like, you may even have a “cool” Mexican friend, but behind closed doors it’s “pinche mayate guey”

And when they got numbers for they’re no different than the Klan

 

[mson]

 

[I Really Mean It]

Not only is it true it’s the exact opposite of LGBTQ representation today. Omar was gay, as was Kima in the show. Both characters had same sex relationships, showed affection to a partner etc. And while I’m sure that was too much for some homophobes…overall those relationships were pretty normal. A political statement wasn’t being made - they were simply gay characters existing in a world.

VS today when seemingly the only representation for gay people is loud, over the top, parody level shyt. Those people exist and should be represented but MOST gay people are pretty normal. They go about their lives and jobs and just happen to be gay. You rarely see that in film or tv though.

You rarely see it if the character is black.

 

[Piff Perkins]

You rarely see it if the character is black.

The weird thing to me is that the very first gay black man I ever remember seeing on TV was on MTV's Real World. Tall, athletic black dude on the show who was gay, no lisp, regular black dude. It blew my mind at the time. And there were a few more gay black roles or characters I saw like that back then. Then I saw The Wire.

Fast forward to Moonlight, where you had two gay black men...one of whom was thugged out. They were fully fleshed out characters whose sexuality wasn't their defining characteristic. I truly think Get Out and Moonlight are two of the most influential movies in recent memory but we've seen untalented, hack writers (who are black) use the aesthetic of those films to create this ugly, asinine black trauma porn shyt where you know you're gonna see two things:

1. Black people dying or being tortured in disgusting ways
2. Flamboyantly gay shyt

I'm all for gay inclusion but it's reaching parody levels, to the point it seems like the film is secondary to shoehorning as much black death or gay black shyt as possible.

 

[Starburst]

For those thinking it can’t happen to weed…