I never really think of Quentin Tarantino as a political director or a very political person. He’s always seemed like someone who is so focused on his own stories/films/personal stuff that he really doesn’t engage with whatever political realities are within the real, present world. I’m not saying that as an insult at all – I think there are probably a lot of people out there who don’t give hot-button political issues a lot of thought. But as it turns out, Tarantino does care. He is paying attention. Sort of. In the wake multiple civilians deaths at the hands of police officers, Tarantino took part in RiseUpOctober. He attended a rally in Manhattan over the weekend to draw attention to what he called “police terror.”
At a rally on Saturday in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, director Quentin Tarantino addressed a crowd of a few hundred people, decrying “police terror” and reading names of those killed by police officers across the country. Standing in front of a collage of enlarged photos depicting the faces of victims, Tarantino said, “This is not being dealt with in any way at all. That’s why we are out here. If it was being dealt with, then these murdering cops would be in jail or at least be facing charges.” The director also defended his sharp rhetoric, “I’m a human being with a conscience … When I see murders, I do not stand by … I have to call a murder a murder, and I have to call the murderers the murderers.”
As Fox News and the New York Post have turned on their outrage machines to emphasize, the rally occurred four days after a police officer was killed in East Harlem, to which Tarantino responded, “It’s like this: It’s unfortunate timing, but we’ve flown in all these families to go and tell their stories … That cop that was killed, that’s a tragedy, too.” The rally marked the final day of a three-day series of planned national rallies in a coordinated protest called RiseUpOctober, which began on Thursday. Tarantino also spoke an another rally that day in Times Square.
Unsurprisingly, the police have not taken too kindly to Tarantino’s words. On Sunday, the Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch called the director a “purveyor of degeneracy” and called for a boycott of his movies. “It’s no surprise that someone who makes a living glorifying crime and violence is a cop-hater, too,” Lynch said in a statement. “The police officers that Quentin Tarantino calls ‘murderers’ aren’t living in one of his depraved big screen fantasies – they’re risking and sometimes sacrificing their lives to protect communities from real crime and mayhem.” So, Lynch suggests, “New Yorkers need to send a message” by not seeing his movies.
Patrick Lynch is always making wildly hyperbolic statements defending police officers, so I don’t really think much of Lynch declaring Tarantino to be a “cop-hater” and telling cops to boycott Tarantino’s films. Lynch’s statements are sort of white noise at this point. As for Tarantino’s activism on this front… I’m concerned about police violence across the country as well, but I’m not quite sure Tarantino is the best spokesperson/activist/advocate for the cause. Especially considering Tarantino’s oeuvre has its own racial issues and violence issues.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Why are the police always so defensive? Why can they never just say, yeah, we do have a problem and we are dealing with it? Why do they ALWAYS have to react?
They come off so immature and stupid. Remember when they all turned their backs on the mayor? If I was the mayor I would have fired them. He does make a point about the content of Tarrantino’s movies though. They’re stupid, too.
Because they’re not dealing with it. Obviously!
How adorable that the police union finds time to vigorously defend its reputation against the slightest of insults but no time to try to rehabilitate and improve its failing degenerate police force.
This backlash has been a long time coming and rather than focus on the systematic reasons for it occurring they’re too busy pouting that everyone doesn’t treat them as imperfect infallible heroes anymore.
*Heads to UPS with a package for Side-eye.*
*Package arrives and Side-eye signs for it*
*Side-eye opens it and sees a microphone*
*Side-eye proceeds to drop said microphone*
(Thanks SNL)
There it is! That bloviator is always coming out crying like a titty baby if any public figure isn’t toeing the line with his Gang, but when they kill unarmed people/ abuse their power/ rape women mad casually while on duty and whatever else with not so much as an indictment, when no figures of how many shootings have they partaken on are provided, when the studies come out with provable stats of police and racism on the communities they patrol and civilian videos come out etc is radio silence
I don’t understand why Lynch, a man with power, who sets the precedent for police men/women, has a “with us or against us” attitude.. there is nothing to be gained with a leader having such a ridiculous perspective
Agreed. They never work hard to oust their bad apples. Bad apples that they KNOW are bad apples well before the public does. But do they say anything? Nope. They allow those guys to get away with literally MURDER. My sister used to say that the cops are the biggest ‘gang’ in America. I agree.
Both sides have issues, neither side is willing to admit it or give an inch. Understandable on the civilian side, since the black community has been systemically terrorized by those purportedly sworn to protect them. Less understandable on the police side, as wearing blinders and feigning ignorance on this issue serves no purpose but to maintain divisiveness.
Are you kidding me? In NYC, we have had 4 Policemen killed in the line of duty in less than a year. How on earth is stating that, “the police are risking and sacrificing their lives to protect communities” hyperbole or white noise?
Saying that there is no problem in the police force in NYC or in other places in America is white noise. Those policemen dying in the line of duty are of course terrible losses- like firefighters, for example. But if firefighters were proven to avoid fires in black neighbourhoods and only putting out fires in WASP-y neighbourhoods, yet kept trotting out casualties as though it were an excuse, no one would buy it.
+100
every loss is terrible, of course. however, it is their job, they took that job knowing there could be a time when their life was in mortal peril. It was a choice.
If you break the law, you deserve to be caught, arrested, and to go to trial to defend yourself or face sentencing. End of.
You do not deserve to be tossed into a holding vehicle so your body breaks, denied medical attention, and you die. Or a case of mistaken identity discovered AFTER you are on the ground in handcuffs. Or shot at and killed when you don’t even have a weapon. Or if you are running, which some people about to be arrested do, should not result in being shot in the back and then handcuffed. Or smoking in your own car, arrested for not putting it out, die in jail and then it’s covered up as suicide.
Just a few examples of when excessive force was used against civilians who never even had a chance to have a choice.
It’s not ok.
Comparing each is like comparing apples to oranges. A police officer puts on his uniform and thinks that he may not make it home after his shift, due to the nature of his JOB. A guy selling single cigarettes puts on his ‘uniform’ and thinks he’ll make it home alive.
It’s their job, Bkmom. Whatever the circumstances of police officers’ deaths. They know placing their lives on the line daily is part of their duty.
Good for him for calling a spade a spade.
Also I doubt that people who deny the problems in the police force flock to Tarantino’s movies anyway.
He may not be the best role model but he is out there trying so fuck it all and go QT!!!
I give him the benefit of the doubt here that he cares. Maybe he didn’t before, but now feels strongly about it.
Until this past year with all the BlackLivesMatter stories and info, I had no idea about the disturbing nature of racial profiling and deaths of minorities in the US. I grew up very sheltered and live in a non-diverse place, so had never personally seen anything like that. I heard stories about Rodney King, etc, but that didn’t feel like that was something I needed to push to change years later. Due to media covering it now, I at least kind of get it and I’m upset. The more the topic is talked about, the more famous people who get others marching out in the streets, the more awareness it brings.
We have the same issue with cops in Canada. It seems to be the big beefy ones that look like they’re on steroids, ‘roid rage I think they call it. I still remember when cops were called “peace officers” and they actually tried to calm a situation instead of rushing in screaming, kicking and shooting at people.
Watch this arrest in Norway, the difference between this and what our cops would have done to this man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1PNPcnffbk
Tarantino’s presence did get them a lot of attention for their cause.
Tarantino’s movies do often depict lots of racist and/or violent activities. But that doesn’t mean that it is a glorification of racism or violence. Tarantino uses the violence to demonstrate certain things. The “Kill Bill” movies were about revenge. And the action scenes were so over-the-top : does anybody really believe that it works like that? As was Django.
Depicting violence in movies is not a crime. Committing acts of violence is a crime (except self-defence).
And yes, I am all for age limits for certain movies.
Weird that you’ve never found Tarentino political, since his films are actually quite political in a masked read-between-the-lines kind of way or in a very obvious in-your-face way…
I don’t get why he gets so much hate. The origins of his creativity aside, he has a good intentioned moral compass
I don’t understand why Lynch, a man with power, who sets the precedent for police men/women, has a “with us or against us” attitude.. there is nothing to be gained with a leader having such a ridiculous perspective