The funny thing about Aang and Goku is they never would be half the warriors they were without their friends and found family. Community is what saved their worlds not just them.
To add to this point; The Genki Dama, Gokus greatest technique , is literally weaponized community while the Avatar State is evoking figures of history that built the world the current wielder is fighting for.
They're cartoon characters, who cares lol. As another commenter said, this "Black Messiah" belief is a variation of Great Man Theory; which should be debated with real examples, not cartoons. The issue with the "Black Messiah" isn't that he doesn't exist/won't come, but that he won't be a "messiah". He will likely be a selfish, Type-A personality with an array of Dark Triad traits. A highly competent, capable & driven person who is out for himself but makes a dent in the political framework of the world while doing so. His impact on the Black community will likely be collateral/incidental more than intentional; think of how Napoleon didn't necessarily "franchise" for more meritorious social mobility in French society, but his rise to power (as a lowborn, foreign Corsican) brought about such a general state of affairs regardless. The savior is all too often expected, when it's The Conqueror which nature favors the most. For every Jesus there's multiple Alexanders, Caesars, Napoleons etc. Nothing changes things like pure, brute force; this "Black Messiah" will be someone who seizes the levers of power for himself rapidly, with ingenuity & haste. And perhaps most of all, with a great ruthlessness.
Here's another example: Anakin Skywalker. Anakin was revered as the chosen one destined to bring balance to the Force, and that's all he was to the Jedi Council. The chosen one. The one who will bring them ultimate victory against the Sith. They had no regard for his humanity, his emotional needs as a man (which explains why he had to keep his relationship with Padme a secret), and some of them even expressed their distrust towards him. They dehumanized him ever since the beginning, and he got fed up with that nonsense, which is why Palpatine was successful in making him turn against them in the first place.
Basically the whole Black Messiah is just an offshoot of the "Great Man Theory". The idea that someone will come and bring us to glory. I feel that image has done so much damage to a lot of societies because it has people waiting for something that will never come and create egomaniacs and narcissists.
Actually, it's a completely accurate theory but the problem is in how the Black community interprets it. The problem is in the "Messiah" half; the Black community believes this Great Man will be some sort of well-intentioned empath with his eye out for "equality & justice". A high-level babysitter or something of the sort. I guess that's why the guy in this video ties it to cartoon heroes for some reason lol. In all likelihood, this man will be someone in the mold of Sonni Ali, Caesar or Napoleon; someone ambitious, ruthless & single-mindedly driven to accumulate power & subvert the structure of state they currently exist within. Someone who is highly selfish, but highly capable & bold of action. I could see some wealthy, previously low-radar Black man popping up on the scene as a majority shareholder & decision-anchor of many top Fortune 500 companies, single-handedly guiding the hand of American industry; or a Black military vet starting up a PMC & going the Erik Prince route of amassing swaths of armed, trained manpower. Even just a run-of-the-mill Black politician choosing to make full use of Super-PACs and implement reform in terms of local policy; all it takes is one capable, willing man with his hand on the levers of power. This man may not even have the best interest of the Black community at heart, but he'll likely make use of populism; and his rise to power will change the socio-political framework drastically in his wake. Greatness is not goodness, and vice versa.
@@Nykandros Nope it'll be someone who's humble and knows the responsibily and sacrifice he must make after all every Messiah has always died at the end of their revolution and the thing about it is the Messiah never claims to be THE Messiah , its just a guy who's humble and cheerful he knows what has to be done he knows he must sacrifice what others would never do
I think the fear of a messiah figure made it easier for us to see them as our only option out of struggle It helped create the myth, kinda like how the destruction of the air temple deified Aang to keep with the metaphor
Today I was thinking about artists I idolize too much, and remembered I like that you’re just a person. I don’t come to this channel hoping for some grains of truth from my well of knowledge lol. I come here for analysis or political strategy and praxis from a fellow nerd that wants to make a difference. I don’t come back here for a homily, I come back here because it’s like coming back to my roots. Reminding myself why I decided to grow in the first place.
Two thoughts: 1) I learned to not ideoloize revolutionary figures, however much a I may still look up to an individual, after reading part of Fred Hampton's speech "it's a class struggle, godamnit!" In the speech Hampton calls Stokely Charmicale a "mini-fascist." I was shocked because I had admired both of these men for a few years. They both stood on their beliefs and practices. This opened my eyes to understanding that all people that I admire are still just people. People with disagreements and beef. I now make sure not to mythologize people, for everyone's sake. 2) I think part of the fear is that the government actually wants to believe in a Messiah. This is ideological so don't take it exact, but the idea of a Messiah sounds preferable to the alternative, a mass movement of various people all dedicated to an immortal cause vs. a man that can be killed.
@@encouraginglyauthentic43 They definitely didn't mean "magical stuff happening". People need to start working together to even have a chance at beating the odds. Because with enough chances on a long enough timescale 1% eventually becomes 100%.
I think something like this is especially true in Africa, seeing the reactions to the West African Junta leaders has made me think of this. Everyone is sitting and hoping for the one magical president that will come and save the country by himself. A guy comes into power and says something bad about Europe, says some Pan-Africanist things and suddenly he's the messiah who will save Africa by himself. It builds a cult of personality around that person that acts like a shield. One that makes people never question what economic ideas does that person have, or even if they actually know how to run a country. Nobody cares about it until it's already been years and the country has made no development, people have died because the government's head is simply a soldier who had no real plans or economic knowledge and his cult of personality has boosted his ego to a level to where just questioning him can get you thrown in jail or executed. Then another coup happens and the cycle repeats.
I’m white, so can only speak from that experience, but this reminds me of something I’ve seen in white dominated political spaces. It’s well documented that the pop culture obsession with “heroes”, when aimed at white society, is concerned with lionisation of the police. However, I think there’s another effect that you touched on with the white saviour complex, and that’s the infantilisation of minorities and their political concerns when they clash with the dominant white systems. Whenever something like abolishing the police or prisons is bought up to a lot of white moderates, it’s not just the predictable “what do we do with the r*pists?” comments that follow, but something of a “we know best” attitude. It’s often couched in very performative (and probably sincere, not that it makes it less toxic) language, but you’ll hear stuff like “but the police are needed in black majority areas because of the high crime rates! They need the police to protect them!”. It reads, to me at least, as if what’s actually being said is “these communities don’t understand their actual needs, we (white outsiders) do, and so we need to enforce what’s good for them by bolstering the police/prisons”. I also hear similar when other marginalised groups advocate for their concerns, such as how so many cis people have spoken about the Cass Review when trans folk call it out for the violence it is: “they just don’t understand the Cass Review! It’s designed to help trans youth!”. The overall effect being whatever mental gymnastics are needed to avoid actually listening to the group in question. Also not surprising this is the same rhetoric that’s justified all manner of “civilising” measures through imperialist history, coming home to roost!
Thanks for pointing this out. Also white feminism that tries to push their issues as the "default" of ALL feminism. Khadija Mbowe has made a good video tackling this.
The only reason Goku hated Frieza initially is because he knew his friends were at risk from him and his squad though. I don't even think he gave a fuck about the fact that his race of people died from his hand or that Namekians were dying until Vegeta was down and out telling Goku about why he should have pride in where he came from and why the Super Saiyan was important, and for the Nemekians: during King Kai's conversation about Frieza.
Both Goku and Vegeta straight up said they didn’t care about the other saiyans. That said, Goku recognized that Frieza was evil and couldn’t be allowed to continue; Goku knew that if Frieza continued to exist, earth would be threatened.
@@timhenley3602vegeta obviously had pride in his people he spouts almost every chance. Goku is just someone who follows his heart rather than pride which is why he didn’t care. The fours star is goku’s dragon ball representing heart chakra
Oh my God, you're still making videos!!!! Why didn't this ever show up on my homepage???? I love everything you make and I'm so glad you're still doing your thing. Keep keeping it real, my man. This video was excellent by the way. ❤
I really like the points you touched on especially with Kamina and Gurren Lagann, the only thing I don't agree with is chalking up Kamina's entire character to an immature caricature of "toxic" masculinity he is much more complex than that, what I would say is that Kamina represents many of the old school/traditional ideas of masculinity which unfortunately does come with some toxic traits but Kamina himself as a character for the most part is not really what I would call toxic based on his actions, If anything I kind of feel like Kamina was sort of the beginning of what masculinity is now which is that you can be strong but also loving, supportive and understand your feelings and let go of silly things like chauvinistic nonsense. (ie. him accepting Yoko as a fighter very quickly despite his initial comment about women) From the very first episode alone when the underground shakes begin and Simone begs Kamina to go somewhere more safe Kamina almost immediately snaps out of his stubborn mindset of "Don't run" and realizes that Simone is scared because his parents died and Kamina comforts him within seconds, that is not something that a toxic male would do. Most toxic masculinity is about not feeling your emotions, lacking empathy and just mindless brute strength. I found Kamina to be a very supportive and loving person to the people around him, another good example is during the episode where Team Gurren is captured by one of the generals and simone is digging his way out with a tiny core drill, Yoko reflects on a conversation that she had with Kamina where he opens up about his insecurities which is rare even now for some men to do.
Kamina is complicated for me. It sounds like I'm oversimplifying him, and to be fair, I did for the purposes of the point I was making. Make no mistake, I love Kamina and I don't think he's entirely just this toxic character, not nearly as much as his dad was anyway. But his uncomfortable comments to Yoko, a lot of speeches being about what it means to be a man and just the whole beach episode as a whole make it hard to not make this assessment. Perspective is everything too. It feels like with every generation - Kamina's dad, Kamina, Simon and eventually even Gimmy, they grew less toxic in their ideas and mainly maintained the positives, which I liked! But, I can't sit here and act like Kamina didn't have clearly toxic traits. Even in his dying act, he reasons Simon should be slugged when he's afraid which Simon even carries with him into adulthood. Again need to stress, I love Kamina and there's so many great things to say about the character, but his chauvinism and self-destructive ideas of masculinity, to me, are part of what make him an interesting character. Both in his actions, his influence and eventual deification.
@@TheStorytellerAJ Yeah fair enough, I was definitely hoping it was a oversimplification for the sake of keep the video on topic but I do agree, I think that's part of why I like Gurren Lagann so much. It's such a great vehicle for young men to learn good lessons about what is means to be a "Man" leave the bad things from previous gens behind and keep what worked/is healthy. Appreciate the response to, keep up the good work!
Always a pleasure heairng where you minds at Storytellar. From experience, I think a big idea of a hero complex is the desire to shape the world to what you feel is best. Heroes don't just save people they save the day and almost have the final say of what their world looks like afterwards. I know for me when I dreamt and at times still dream of revolutionary aspirations centred on me as the figure head, I struggle to make peace with the fact peace will likely not look like how I imagine it. Though there's a peace when the weight of the world is no longer on you. For me that peace is that my personal failings and limits as a person aren't the end of the good I want to do for those I love. If things step out of m control and I am no longer fully responsible for saving everyone and everything, I can allow myself to be saved the burden of being a hero all the time.
Wasn't expecting this. Cool. Was thinking a lot about this in the context of Black men specifically in watching. I think a big part of it too is that a lot of Black men come in the way that hypermasculinity has been imposed onto us as a way to justify dehumanizing us. It coincides with a lot of the hyperindividualist beliefs of a great man rising above others, and that pursuit of that hypermasculinity is something a lot of us struggle to escape from or move outside from. It's how you get so much dissonance when it comes time to discuss issues affecting Black women, children or Black queer and disabled people. Even several archetypes like thugs, pimps, rappers, etc often lean into or outright are extensions and modernized interpretations of the same concepts that have been used in years prior to impose those beliefs onto Black men. One of the hallmark characteristics of a thug is his desensitization, his emotional paralysis. In other words, a thug does not feel, except when his territory (i.e., family, physical space, or physical person) is threatened. Thugs see themselves as being committed, not necessarily to the community in terms of enhancing its infrastructure, but to “keeping it real” by remembering the people, the dilapidated housing projects, and the “hard knocks” lifestyle and exemplifying this remembrance via their clothing, hair styles, walk, talk, improvisational discourse, dances, and virtually every conceivable dimension of their lives. - Scripting the Black Masculine Body: Identity, Discourse, And Racial Politics in Popular Media The thug is the contemporary version of the brute and represents a clear symbol of black criminality that excuses the expansion of the prison-industrial complex and disproportionate confinement and murder of black people. Distancing oneself from the stigmatized thug is understandable, but it also illustrates how the thug can function as an image against which to define middle-class black propriety and respectability. On one hand, this is part of a larger quest to challenge notions of black pathology and push against racialized and classed hierarchies of masculinity. On the other hand, it is also an embrace of white middle- and upper-class notions of respectability. As popularized in gangsta rap in the late twentieth century, which itself repackages white historical constructions of violent black masculinity, the thug also operates as a reclaimed symbol of resistance to these politics of respectability. - Men in Place Trans Masculinity, Race, and Sexuality in America It's a pursuit of power, but rather than wanting to end oppressive systems around them, the desire to acquire or mold that power to better serve us and not actually challenging it. Desire/ability politics is the methodology through which the sovereignty of those deemed (conventionally) Attractive/Beautiful is determined. Put another way, the politics of Desire labels that which determines who gains and holds both social and structural power through the affairs of sensuality, often predicated on anti-Blackness, anti-fatness, (trans)misogynoir, cissexism, queer antagonism, and all other structural violence. It is intended to name the social, political, and economic capital one obtains / is given access to through their ability to be Desire. By this I mean that Desire is about much more than being desired; it is about one’s ability to always already be positioned as the very embodiment of the thing(s) that make(s) one Desire/able. - Harrison, Da’Shaun L. Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness. Doing so still acts within the respectability politics narrative. I no longer do so now, but I remember how many people insisted Black people need a new "leader" to guide the BLM movement back a few years ago and how many thought it'd be beneficial to have someone disown things like riots and vandalism. What they failed to grasp was the ways they still center liberation as having a leader or face to appease the white masses. That helps nobody. It's dehumanizing. Even in years prior with several social justice movements, they were never done alone, and the mass media benefits from revisionist history that imagines a great or enlightened individual, one who conveniently fits the structural narrative of the white masses. Using your Avatar example, Aang isn't just a dehumanized leader, but the framing of AtLA still imagines what the "right" way of revolution is within the confines of its liberal writers. Aang doesn't want to erase his culture, but the show imagines incarceration and imprisonment as a humane and pacifistic solution to Aang's dilemma. It contrasts Aang and to a degree Katara as virtuous relative to other revolutionary characters within the same story. Other media like the 1960s Julia, A Different World, Black Panther, TMNT Mutant Mayhem, and more in how they imagine revolutionary behavior as assimilation or an enlightened, great man. Over in the UK you can see a lot of those ideas about criminality and individuality in things like Bullet Boy, but it's a prison that's designed to trap and dehumanize us under the guise of being seen as liberation. The way it intersects with the pursuit of hypermasculinity is especially important to consider as Black men.
Another tops vid man, brought to mind my thoughts while reading Soledad Brother, a lot of the topic runs parallel with the struggles of George Jackson.
We should note that one of the things that made the civil rights era so impactful was the fact that we had multiple “leaders” who led/inspired millions of people. All of whom fought for the same cause. Also thank you for pointing out the lack of agency we have in our society along with our resistance to working together.
Then why did things fall apart! After Dr. King's death, there was a marked decline in civil rights activity. There was also a marked decline in coverage of the little civil rights activity that remained.
@@andreabrown4541 I honestly could write an entire essay and go on and on but in a nutshell there were multiple attacks on the cohesiveness of our community. As well as an effort to instill negative values in our culture that would encourage infighting fear of growth. Leaders assassinated in the 60s Leaders incarcerated in 70s-90s Structure of welfare program Relocation of business that created massive job loss Mass incarceration It’s hard to fight when you can barely support yourself and they figured that out about us.
@@DaBraveboy are you arguing that this didn't happen before the 1960s? If so, Daisy and L.C. Bates are holding on line 1. As much as we venerate the ancestors (which didn't include the entire black community), I would think there would be more of us who would have been inspired to do more. That's all I'm saying.
@@andreabrown4541 no of course not I only pointed out what happened since the 60s because of the civil rights era peaking at that time. Many of our people don’t even know the history of our fight for in this country they’re only taught the usual about Rosa Parks and Dr. King. Many don’t even know how to pickup where our ancestors left off properly, much less care because it seems daunting to them. Everyone doesn’t have the heart for it like you and I unfortunately.
Cult of personality is always the problem, people use it as a rally point before devolving into tribalism. What are "we" doing is the biggest truth 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾. Its all about the group effort!
Love this video and how it connects integral aspects of collective black thought and the byproducts of oppression to some of my favorite pieces of fiction. Great job TheStoryteller! Only gripe I have is the oversimplification of Kamina as a character but I understand why you did it. May I provide a third context in relation to his character and how he represents masculinity. Kamina as a character at his very core is a child who had to teach himself how to be a man after he father left/died. With big dreams and aspirations his personality and views were contagious and impacted so many of those around him. I could tie this into the Black Community as a whole as well with Absent Fathers/One Parent Households and how so many little black boys maneuver through life without the integral father figure. Very interesting parallels there that i wont go deeper into but those toxic traits he exhibited are at its very core the learned behaviors of a boy taking anything from his surroundings and piecing together how to become a man himself. Aside from this thought provking analysis, the Bath House episode is 1000% just Japanese Anime Humor and that shouldnt be indicative of his character but again I understand how that plays a part. Again, amazing video man keep up the great work!
Very great video! I had also delve into video essays into why black male rappers portray themselves at one point as messiahs which seems to be due to this myth of the black messiah. I also like how you brought up pastors only being male, that only men have access to this connection with God. My main issue with this ideology is how female pastors are treated, with some(sadly incl. my mother) going as far as saying that these female pastors were misled by the devil/demons and/or they misheard God. Yet male pastors that have committed atrocities(such as Eddie Long) are still revered as pastors.
always love your vids, they really speak to stuff i dont always know how to express. ive definitely felt this before, especially in learning more about the ideological origins of the bpp and black anarchism in general. ive felt the desire for a messiah, or a savior, or just someone who could speak the truth and unite people, because it seemed to me then and still does now that its impossible to achieve the unity needed to improve our lives without a "hero" to guide us. but i couldnt reconcile this desire with what i know the government and the people in power do to us when we do rise up. every time topics like this come up i think of all the brave young black protesters who were murdered after the ferguson protests in 2014. it feels like no one remembers them, but i remember the boy who was in that picture with the flag that was spread everywhere, and i remember that hes dead. its so hard to know what we can or should do when just trying to assert that we are people is so inherently dangerous. i can only hope that one day itll make sense. thank you for the work you do, its very much appreciated
I think the solution is going to be more collectively involved for sure. A lot of our idolization of people and over reliance on them is partially as a result of conditioning.
I think that there can be a need for a savior figure in terms of someone to get the ball rolling and organize what the movement is about into a codified system that then everyone hopefully can adopt. Power to the prople is great until you realize 1000 people have 1000 different ideas of how to run the revolution. It becomes like a body trying to move in several directions at once. Ive been a part of 3 movements here in the states and I can tell you, everytime there wasnt someone or group to come out and say "this is what we're about and what we justufy and dont justify", the movement died out. Still, youre right about if you have a singular leader or group, you get all that drama. But its the cost of taking on that role. Thats the cost that life places on them. Its true for all animals and its true for us.
Do you think The Black Messiah Complex is something the Overall Community could come to an understanding of and tackle it? It feels like a new figurehead is upheld to be our "savior" every which way from the way the Mass Public opinion is when somethings deemed "not like us" there isnt much effort for understanding given beyond that.
I think we'd have to, as a society, confront the ways in which idolisation has become a normalised part of our lives and how we perceive success. And almost very much come to terms with the collective responsibility we have in certain situations. A lot of it is just replications of how society already functions with an added racial dynamic to the mix. A lot of how we even observe history feeds into it. We speak more on people more than we speak on their ideas. It's the same feeling I get when someone tells me "Malcolm X denounced his beliefs at the end of his life." At least to me, it's not inherently about him. It's why it's so easy to break down movements and ideas, by criticizing and bringing down those who subscribe to or innovate ideas. We need to move beyond the celebrities and speakers, and build more on ideas. Stuff like this is also why I'm big on the idea that art takes life on its own. Assign too much of something's value to an individual, and it dies with them.
Like another commenter said; this is just a variation of the "Great Man Theory". It's a completely accurate theory but the problem is in how the Black community interprets it. The problem is in the "Messiah" half; the Black community believes this Great Man will be some sort of well-intentioned empath with his eye out for "equality & justice". A high-level babysitter or something of the sort. I guess that's why the guy in this video ties it to cartoon heroes for some reason lol. In all likelihood, this man will be someone in the mold of Sonni Ali, Caesar or Napoleon; someone ambitious, ruthless & single-mindedly driven to accumulate power & subvert the structure of state they currently exist within. Someone who is highly selfish, but highly capable & bold of action. I could see some wealthy, previously low-radar Black man popping up on the scene as a majority shareholder & decision-anchor of many top Fortune 500 companies, single-handedly guiding the hand of American industry; or a Black military vet starting up a PMC & going the Erik Prince route of amassing swaths of armed, trained manpower. Even just a run-of-the-mill Black politician choosing to make full use of Super-PACs and implement reform in terms of local policy; all it takes is one capable, willing man with his hand on the levers of power. This man may not even have the best interest of the Black community at heart, but he'll likely make use of populism; and his rise to power will change the socio-political framework drastically in his wake. He will come in the mold of a Conqueror/Usurper, not a Savior; and he will have come with claws & fangs, not flowers.
@@kf9926 Precisely. He's the exact sort of archetype we should be expecting, not some sort of Gandhi/MLK figure. Ibrahim is making waves, excited to see how he handles the obstacles ahead of him.
The beauty in doing Gods will is making sure no righteous soul will ever have to suffer again, and seeing the beauty and harmony your kingdom is in. For anyone using the word narcissistic, understand narcissism on a spectrum from deep narcissism, functioning narcissism and healthy narcissism. Take away all the labels and then you realize it’s just about people’s intentions. It’s really only Good and bad people.
I feel like this is precisely the reason why so many culturally significant black artists end up either spiraling or giving up on the culture entirely. Tupac, Kanye, Kendrick most recently, etc.
One of three reasons yeah. I'm working on a video about it, but to boil down to the core reasons, it's: 1. The Hero Complex 2. Difficulty Managing Relationships 3. Grappling with Adulthood
I definitely support a lot of the narratives in this video. I remember watching ‘This Is Us’ where the character Jack Pearson is posed as this (mostly) perfect father and being incredibly dissatisfied as the only thing we saw of him was self sacrifice. I didn’t know his interests, cares, quirks, his peace outside of fulfilling a self sacrificial role for his family. He was great because he was the island his family could lean on. But to me, it just looked like the mad scramble of a man stretched way too far. This can’t be our vision for what a man or woman should be as a leader in our communities. We all need to embody leadership in our own right and take collective responsibility.
Great video as always! My question is do you think a modern revolution could be faceless? Considering that history tells us that almost every major revolution of the last 2 centuries or so has had one, if not multiple iconic figures, what would it take in your mind for a true revolution of the people?
Sir you could not be more right , what makes everything in this meat grinder of a sistem is us , not the capital , not the State , and if we all colectively want to and persever for it , we can take everything down and rebuild it in the way we want.
Leaders and collective action are needed; America's individualism turns any leader into a single great and erases the collection actions that was needed for any change to happen
Sometimes it seems like a lot of people to struggle to comprehend the idea of multiple people being responsible for making something good or bad. Like when you said 2 people leaving might not have been responsible for Boonsdock S4 being bad, the comments sections were really confused
People simplify things into binaries because it's easy to understand. It's easy to rely on a singular guy or set of "leaders" to help us. It's harder to make sense of the nuances of this world collectively.
I'm curious how this idea of the black messiah works in the context of liberation movements that already ended or succeeded, I think of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and Kenneth kaunda in my country and question how much the idea of a head of the movement was something placed in post for the purpose of consolidating political power
(Sarcasm) yup, yup, the supposed "Black Messiah ubermensch" will be 6"3, a wall of muscle from head to toe, and will lead us all to prosperity Being likened to Doomguy almost.
Now that I've seen the whole video I can agree a man alone can't be a Messiah or a savior\hero or whatever your looking for. But I believe the Bible which says God is the ultimate savior, but In this world the people glorify men who have so many faults. Just look at all these Pastors, or celebrities in scandals and yet for some reason we treat them like a Hero. It takes a sort of truly organized movement to change something not one Man's limited power and reach.
When you go back to the beginning, I believe this goes back to the Jesus Complex. Jesus of the savior, because Jesus died for our sin. It. goes back to that. And of course, you should never, ever follow a man or a woman anywhere. There are a few things we have to understand. The. line of succession is also important and you don't follow any human being. You follow the plans and the rules and codes. That keeps movement alive. and succession is important because when one leader goes out, a number one must come in.
I’d argue the hero complex phenomena is a cry for help because of the white supremacy eurocentric euro-centered society that has been created. The self inflicted inferiority complex european people placed on themselves to 1. Create race so in turn creating black and white… has created villains of people and in turn victims of the rest looking for hope. But “hope” is a word and the system was made by people and upheld by an ideology. So the hero to many is the only way out and they forget how powerful they are. If someone can be so warped in their thinking they can create a system like this. By that alone there are people who can look to themselves with others to topple it.
I think the central statement of this video loses sight of the reason heroes and leaders exist and the value they provide that lead them to be necessary in political movements. People are predisposed to apathy and maintaining status quo for the sake of familiarity. The revolution only happens if someone can motivate and inspire ppl to take action to change what already is. Otherwise, there's no revolution to kill in the first place If not for kamina, humans would have stayed underground forever. If not for aang, the other nations would have surrendered to the fire nation
I DON'T HAVE A HERO COMPLEX, "I HAVE A SENDING ZOMBIES COMPLEX"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE HUEY CHARACTER IS DIRECTLY BASED OFF OF MY LIKENESS IN REAL LIFE, "NO 🧢"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I be having to remind people my ways is not your ways you don’t have to follow my ways of life I have to say …I’m not the Christ a few people compared me to Christ and even some called me the black messiah (one man literally called me God ) but I have to tell them I’m just a normal man but they deny and say no your not normal your more then that but as Kendrick say … I Am Not Your Savior
Men are to be leaders women work to support that leadership. It works similar to the Father and Mother dynamic. Makes for a harmonious relationship. That’s not misogynistic that’s naturalistic.
I like to think I'm pretty understanding all things considered. But, a movie called BLACK PANTHER did not need a former CIA AGENT to be a hero in the movie. It's completely ass backwards and 110% a white savior trope, as well as copaganda we're going there.
This video is libertarian conservative and tone deaf. The FBI will target activists and organizers as the next emerging black messiah not over the fault of their own but over the fear of black people and racism., leading to attempts of assassinations and isolation. Some people are stereotyped as the up coming black messiah against their will and it's not their fault. Some people are not necessarily being saviors some people just are not comfortable with the present times of today and are struggling and fighting hard is how they cope. It should be good to want to see us win. Some people don't want to be a Messiah but don't want to be a libererian goody too shoes, bourgeoisie.
@@TheStorytellerAJI understand the elitism of the civil rights erra was homophobic and sexist and that was wrong. However the black Messiah myth still exists by the FBI and I wish we can find a way to defend popular activists and rising activists. Cause the police started harassing me and I wish I had more people on my side but people were way too scared to intervene and step Infront of the police when this happened and I'm just saying collectively maybe we need to do better or create some kind of protection of police out of anarchy?
You just need to be a goody too shoes at the start.Do some good deeds to the community.Have a scapegoat to all your bad deeds.Then people will naturally have a positive bias towards you .Their is much more too it but I’m not writing a whole book in the UA-cam comments.
I know this video is aimed predominantly at the Black community but your message is relevant for any community and something I wholeheartedly agree with.
@@Zendzhii Just because a video has a target audience, it doesn't mean people outside that target audience cannot watch. If the creator only exclusively wanted a black audience, they wouldn't have posted it on youtube - A site mainly used by non-black people.
Exactly. You have to fight patriarchy with patriarchy. Yet the white patriarchy tries to convince people that what black people need is less patriarchy. AND PEOPLE FALL FOR IT!
I know there's one of Paul's letters that get weaponized a lot after the fact. While Christianity was still a new thing they kept having problems with each offshoot following their own beliefs and branding off into counter-productive cults that would give the others a bad name; Paul's letters were a unifying influence on each of these, city by city, issue by issue; hence most of the New Testament being place names. The thing with the woman pastors was addressing a specific context, where _those_ women were going way off topic and hijacked the local church into their own clique; he wasn't saying "NO woman should be pastors EVER", he was more saying "at the end of the day you're still someone's mother and someone's wife; if your ego can't handle the responsibility of pastorship, let it go and focus on your family" Old fashioned but not intended as a hard and fast rule to be followed by everyone; it was a specific context Of course, pastors now cherry pick these and many other examples and extrapolate whatever the fuck extremist topic they want to make it into
Yes, I agree with @samwallaceart288, sometimes we forget that the Bible is an ancient piece of meditative literature, so we should be reading it along its historical and cultural context. I would recommend the Bible Project UA-cam video called "New Testament Letters: Historical Context" to better understand the New Testament letters.
@@samwallaceart288that's not true. The reason why they forbade Women as spiritual leaders then.. and NOW is simply because of sexism because of the fact that God was a WOMAN, for centuries...before Moses and the Israelites raped, murdered, destroyed and enslaved all Goddess centered religions and the communities, rituals and practices centered around the Goddess.
The funny thing about Aang and Goku is they never would be half the warriors they were without their friends and found family. Community is what saved their worlds not just them.
To add to this point; The Genki Dama, Gokus greatest technique , is literally weaponized community while the Avatar State is evoking figures of history that built the world the current wielder is fighting for.
Well said
They're cartoon characters, who cares lol.
As another commenter said, this "Black Messiah" belief is a variation of Great Man Theory; which should be debated with real examples, not cartoons. The issue with the "Black Messiah" isn't that he doesn't exist/won't come, but that he won't be a "messiah". He will likely be a selfish, Type-A personality with an array of Dark Triad traits. A highly competent, capable & driven person who is out for himself but makes a dent in the political framework of the world while doing so. His impact on the Black community will likely be collateral/incidental more than intentional; think of how Napoleon didn't necessarily "franchise" for more meritorious social mobility in French society, but his rise to power (as a lowborn, foreign Corsican) brought about such a general state of affairs regardless.
The savior is all too often expected, when it's The Conqueror which nature favors the most. For every Jesus there's multiple Alexanders, Caesars, Napoleons etc. Nothing changes things like pure, brute force; this "Black Messiah" will be someone who seizes the levers of power for himself rapidly, with ingenuity & haste. And perhaps most of all, with a great ruthlessness.
@@Nykandros yeah we know. ST brought it up in the video to make a point and I'm making another based off it. Agree with everything you said after.
The black community does need a savior. Community with our enemies does not help us. We need a pure black america.
Here's another example: Anakin Skywalker.
Anakin was revered as the chosen one destined to bring balance to the Force, and that's all he was to the Jedi Council. The chosen one. The one who will bring them ultimate victory against the Sith. They had no regard for his humanity, his emotional needs as a man (which explains why he had to keep his relationship with Padme a secret), and some of them even expressed their distrust towards him. They dehumanized him ever since the beginning, and he got fed up with that nonsense, which is why Palpatine was successful in making him turn against them in the first place.
Basically the whole Black Messiah is just an offshoot of the "Great Man Theory". The idea that someone will come and bring us to glory. I feel that image has done so much damage to a lot of societies because it has people waiting for something that will never come and create egomaniacs and narcissists.
Actually, it's a completely accurate theory but the problem is in how the Black community interprets it. The problem is in the "Messiah" half; the Black community believes this Great Man will be some sort of well-intentioned empath with his eye out for "equality & justice". A high-level babysitter or something of the sort. I guess that's why the guy in this video ties it to cartoon heroes for some reason lol.
In all likelihood, this man will be someone in the mold of Sonni Ali, Caesar or Napoleon; someone ambitious, ruthless & single-mindedly driven to accumulate power & subvert the structure of state they currently exist within. Someone who is highly selfish, but highly capable & bold of action. I could see some wealthy, previously low-radar Black man popping up on the scene as a majority shareholder & decision-anchor of many top Fortune 500 companies, single-handedly guiding the hand of American industry; or a Black military vet starting up a PMC & going the Erik Prince route of amassing swaths of armed, trained manpower. Even just a run-of-the-mill Black politician choosing to make full use of Super-PACs and implement reform in terms of local policy; all it takes is one capable, willing man with his hand on the levers of power.
This man may not even have the best interest of the Black community at heart, but he'll likely make use of populism; and his rise to power will change the socio-political framework drastically in his wake. Greatness is not goodness, and vice versa.
@@Nykandrosno it's not. The great man theory of history is a garbage model for understanding history.
@@Nykandros Nope it'll be someone who's humble and knows the responsibily and sacrifice he must make after all every Messiah has always died at the end of their revolution and the thing about it is the Messiah never claims to be THE Messiah , its just a guy who's humble and cheerful he knows what has to be done he knows he must sacrifice what others would never do
kanye def fits this bill.....
The black community does need a savior. Community with our enemies does not help us. We need a pure black america.
Love how you connected ATLA, DBZ, and Gurren Lagann into this
I think the fear of a messiah figure made it easier for us to see them as our only option out of struggle
It helped create the myth, kinda like how the destruction of the air temple deified Aang to keep with the metaphor
Right right, like how everyone was waiting for the avatar to return, everyone had lost there hope
Today I was thinking about artists I idolize too much, and remembered I like that you’re just a person. I don’t come to this channel hoping for some grains of truth from my well of knowledge lol. I come here for analysis or political strategy and praxis from a fellow nerd that wants to make a difference. I don’t come back here for a homily, I come back here because it’s like coming back to my roots. Reminding myself why I decided to grow in the first place.
Two thoughts:
1) I learned to not ideoloize revolutionary figures, however much a I may still look up to an individual, after reading part of Fred Hampton's speech "it's a class struggle, godamnit!" In the speech Hampton calls Stokely Charmicale a "mini-fascist." I was shocked because I had admired both of these men for a few years. They both stood on their beliefs and practices. This opened my eyes to understanding that all people that I admire are still just people. People with disagreements and beef. I now make sure not to mythologize people, for everyone's sake.
2) I think part of the fear is that the government actually wants to believe in a Messiah. This is ideological so don't take it exact, but the idea of a Messiah sounds preferable to the alternative, a mass movement of various people all dedicated to an immortal cause vs. a man that can be killed.
"Miracles only occur for those with the determination to never stop trying!!!"
- Imperious Ivankov -One Piece
What do you think they meant by miracles?
Thank you!! It's the pessimism of this video for me
@@encouraginglyauthentic43
They definitely didn't mean "magical stuff happening".
People need to start working together to even have a chance at beating the odds.
Because with enough chances on a long enough timescale 1% eventually becomes 100%.
@@blksmagma No, I meant, do they mean luck or something else
@@Russellrgc1996No.
I think something like this is especially true in Africa, seeing the reactions to the West African Junta leaders has made me think of this. Everyone is sitting and hoping for the one magical president that will come and save the country by himself. A guy comes into power and says something bad about Europe, says some Pan-Africanist things and suddenly he's the messiah who will save Africa by himself. It builds a cult of personality around that person that acts like a shield. One that makes people never question what economic ideas does that person have, or even if they actually know how to run a country. Nobody cares about it until it's already been years and the country has made no development, people have died because the government's head is simply a soldier who had no real plans or economic knowledge and his cult of personality has boosted his ego to a level to where just questioning him can get you thrown in jail or executed. Then another coup happens and the cycle repeats.
what people think kendrick lamar is...
People deffo tend to conflate it with the black celebrity class.
It's a shame he has such a big reputation for being revolutionary, when in really, he's hardly even political
Same with Marcus Garvey
Kendrick: I am not your savior
his stans: so tru, GOD.
Hi hater.... you must not hear not like us
I’m white, so can only speak from that experience, but this reminds me of something I’ve seen in white dominated political spaces.
It’s well documented that the pop culture obsession with “heroes”, when aimed at white society, is concerned with lionisation of the police. However, I think there’s another effect that you touched on with the white saviour complex, and that’s the infantilisation of minorities and their political concerns when they clash with the dominant white systems. Whenever something like abolishing the police or prisons is bought up to a lot of white moderates, it’s not just the predictable “what do we do with the r*pists?” comments that follow, but something of a “we know best” attitude. It’s often couched in very performative (and probably sincere, not that it makes it less toxic) language, but you’ll hear stuff like “but the police are needed in black majority areas because of the high crime rates! They need the police to protect them!”. It reads, to me at least, as if what’s actually being said is “these communities don’t understand their actual needs, we (white outsiders) do, and so we need to enforce what’s good for them by bolstering the police/prisons”. I also hear similar when other marginalised groups advocate for their concerns, such as how so many cis people have spoken about the Cass Review when trans folk call it out for the violence it is: “they just don’t understand the Cass Review! It’s designed to help trans youth!”. The overall effect being whatever mental gymnastics are needed to avoid actually listening to the group in question.
Also not surprising this is the same rhetoric that’s justified all manner of “civilising” measures through imperialist history, coming home to roost!
Thanks for pointing this out. Also white feminism that tries to push their issues as the "default" of ALL feminism.
Khadija Mbowe has made a good video tackling this.
The only reason Goku hated Frieza initially is because he knew his friends were at risk from him and his squad though.
I don't even think he gave a fuck about the fact that his race of people died from his hand or that Namekians were dying until Vegeta was down and out telling Goku about why he should have pride in where he came from and why the Super Saiyan was important, and for the Nemekians: during King Kai's conversation about Frieza.
Both Goku and Vegeta straight up said they didn’t care about the other saiyans. That said, Goku recognized that Frieza was evil and couldn’t be allowed to continue; Goku knew that if Frieza continued to exist, earth would be threatened.
@@timhenley3602vegeta obviously had pride in his people he spouts almost every chance. Goku is just someone who follows his heart rather than pride which is why he didn’t care. The fours star is goku’s dragon ball representing heart chakra
Oh my God, you're still making videos!!!! Why didn't this ever show up on my homepage????
I love everything you make and I'm so glad you're still doing your thing. Keep keeping it real, my man.
This video was excellent by the way. ❤
3:14
Missed opportunity to say "There's no queen of England."
I really like the points you touched on especially with Kamina and Gurren Lagann, the only thing I don't agree with is chalking up Kamina's entire character to an immature caricature of "toxic" masculinity he is much more complex than that, what I would say is that Kamina represents many of the old school/traditional ideas of masculinity which unfortunately does come with some toxic traits but Kamina himself as a character for the most part is not really what I would call toxic based on his actions, If anything I kind of feel like Kamina was sort of the beginning of what masculinity is now which is that you can be strong but also loving, supportive and understand your feelings and let go of silly things like chauvinistic nonsense. (ie. him accepting Yoko as a fighter very quickly despite his initial comment about women)
From the very first episode alone when the underground shakes begin and Simone begs Kamina to go somewhere more safe Kamina almost immediately snaps out of his stubborn mindset of "Don't run" and realizes that Simone is scared because his parents died and Kamina comforts him within seconds, that is not something that a toxic male would do. Most toxic masculinity is about not feeling your emotions, lacking empathy and just mindless brute strength. I found Kamina to be a very supportive and loving person to the people around him, another good example is during the episode where Team Gurren is captured by one of the generals and simone is digging his way out with a tiny core drill, Yoko reflects on a conversation that she had with Kamina where he opens up about his insecurities which is rare even now for some men to do.
Kamina is complicated for me. It sounds like I'm oversimplifying him, and to be fair, I did for the purposes of the point I was making. Make no mistake, I love Kamina and I don't think he's entirely just this toxic character, not nearly as much as his dad was anyway.
But his uncomfortable comments to Yoko, a lot of speeches being about what it means to be a man and just the whole beach episode as a whole make it hard to not make this assessment. Perspective is everything too. It feels like with every generation - Kamina's dad, Kamina, Simon and eventually even Gimmy, they grew less toxic in their ideas and mainly maintained the positives, which I liked! But, I can't sit here and act like Kamina didn't have clearly toxic traits. Even in his dying act, he reasons Simon should be slugged when he's afraid which Simon even carries with him into adulthood.
Again need to stress, I love Kamina and there's so many great things to say about the character, but his chauvinism and self-destructive ideas of masculinity, to me, are part of what make him an interesting character. Both in his actions, his influence and eventual deification.
@@TheStorytellerAJ Yeah fair enough, I was definitely hoping it was a oversimplification for the sake of keep the video on topic but I do agree, I think that's part of why I like Gurren Lagann so much. It's such a great vehicle for young men to learn good lessons about what is means to be a "Man" leave the bad things from previous gens behind and keep what worked/is healthy.
Appreciate the response to, keep up the good work!
Always a pleasure heairng where you minds at Storytellar. From experience, I think a big idea of a hero complex is the desire to shape the world to what you feel is best. Heroes don't just save people they save the day and almost have the final say of what their world looks like afterwards. I know for me when I dreamt and at times still dream of revolutionary aspirations centred on me as the figure head, I struggle to make peace with the fact peace will likely not look like how I imagine it.
Though there's a peace when the weight of the world is no longer on you. For me that peace is that my personal failings and limits as a person aren't the end of the good I want to do for those I love. If things step out of m control and I am no longer fully responsible for saving everyone and everything, I can allow myself to be saved the burden of being a hero all the time.
Wasn't expecting this. Cool.
Was thinking a lot about this in the context of Black men specifically in watching. I think a big part of it too is that a lot of Black men come in the way that hypermasculinity has been imposed onto us as a way to justify dehumanizing us. It coincides with a lot of the hyperindividualist beliefs of a great man rising above others, and that pursuit of that hypermasculinity is something a lot of us struggle to escape from or move outside from.
It's how you get so much dissonance when it comes time to discuss issues affecting Black women, children or Black queer and disabled people. Even several archetypes like thugs, pimps, rappers, etc often lean into or outright are extensions and modernized interpretations of the same concepts that have been used in years prior to impose those beliefs onto Black men.
One of the hallmark characteristics of a thug is his desensitization, his emotional paralysis. In other words, a thug does not feel, except when his territory (i.e., family, physical space, or physical person) is threatened. Thugs see themselves as being committed, not necessarily to the community in terms of enhancing its infrastructure, but to “keeping it real” by remembering the people, the dilapidated housing projects, and the “hard knocks” lifestyle and exemplifying this remembrance via their clothing, hair styles, walk, talk, improvisational discourse, dances, and virtually every conceivable dimension of their lives. - Scripting the Black Masculine Body: Identity, Discourse, And Racial Politics in Popular Media
The thug is the contemporary version of the brute and represents a clear symbol of black criminality that excuses the expansion of the prison-industrial complex and disproportionate confinement and murder of black people.
Distancing oneself from the stigmatized thug is understandable, but it also illustrates how the thug can function as an image against which to define middle-class black propriety and respectability.
On one hand, this is part of a larger quest to challenge notions of black pathology and push against racialized and classed hierarchies of masculinity. On the other hand, it is also an embrace of white middle- and upper-class notions of respectability. As popularized in gangsta rap in the late twentieth century, which itself repackages white historical constructions of violent black masculinity, the thug also operates as a reclaimed symbol of resistance to these politics of respectability.
- Men in Place Trans Masculinity, Race, and Sexuality in America
It's a pursuit of power, but rather than wanting to end oppressive systems around them, the desire to acquire or mold that power to better serve us and not actually challenging it.
Desire/ability politics is the methodology through which the sovereignty of those deemed (conventionally) Attractive/Beautiful is determined. Put another way, the politics of Desire labels that which determines who gains and holds both social and structural power through the affairs of sensuality, often predicated on anti-Blackness, anti-fatness, (trans)misogynoir, cissexism, queer antagonism, and all other structural violence. It is intended to name the social, political, and economic capital one obtains / is given access to through their ability to be Desire. By this I mean that Desire is about much more than being desired; it is about one’s ability to always already be positioned as the very embodiment of the thing(s) that make(s) one Desire/able.
- Harrison, Da’Shaun L. Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness.
Doing so still acts within the respectability politics narrative. I no longer do so now, but I remember how many people insisted Black people need a new "leader" to guide the BLM movement back a few years ago and how many thought it'd be beneficial to have someone disown things like riots and vandalism. What they failed to grasp was the ways they still center liberation as having a leader or face to appease the white masses. That helps nobody. It's dehumanizing. Even in years prior with several social justice movements, they were never done alone, and the mass media benefits from revisionist history that imagines a great or enlightened individual, one who conveniently fits the structural narrative of the white masses.
Using your Avatar example, Aang isn't just a dehumanized leader, but the framing of AtLA still imagines what the "right" way of revolution is within the confines of its liberal writers. Aang doesn't want to erase his culture, but the show imagines incarceration and imprisonment as a humane and pacifistic solution to Aang's dilemma. It contrasts Aang and to a degree Katara as virtuous relative to other revolutionary characters within the same story. Other media like the 1960s Julia, A Different World, Black Panther, TMNT Mutant Mayhem, and more in how they imagine revolutionary behavior as assimilation or an enlightened, great man.
Over in the UK you can see a lot of those ideas about criminality and individuality in things like Bullet Boy, but it's a prison that's designed to trap and dehumanize us under the guise of being seen as liberation. The way it intersects with the pursuit of hypermasculinity is especially important to consider as Black men.
thoughtful comment, check out tommy curry if you havent
As an Afro-Latino 19-year-old dude named Messiah in real life, this shit helped a lot. Thank you.
Another tops vid man, brought to mind my thoughts while reading Soledad Brother, a lot of the topic runs parallel with the struggles of George Jackson.
We should note that one of the things that made the civil rights era so impactful was the fact that we had multiple “leaders” who led/inspired millions of people. All of whom fought for the same cause.
Also thank you for pointing out the lack of agency we have in our society along with our resistance to working together.
Then why did things fall apart! After Dr. King's death, there was a marked decline in civil rights activity. There was also a marked decline in coverage of the little civil rights activity that remained.
@@andreabrown4541 I honestly could write an entire essay and go on and on but in a nutshell there were multiple attacks on the cohesiveness of our community. As well as an effort to instill negative values in our culture that would encourage infighting fear of growth.
Leaders assassinated in the 60s
Leaders incarcerated in 70s-90s
Structure of welfare program
Relocation of business that created massive job loss
Mass incarceration
It’s hard to fight when you can barely support yourself and they figured that out about us.
@@DaBraveboy are you arguing that this didn't happen before the 1960s? If so, Daisy and L.C. Bates are holding on line 1. As much as we venerate the ancestors (which didn't include the entire black community), I would think there would be more of us who would have been inspired to do more. That's all I'm saying.
@@andreabrown4541 no of course not I only pointed out what happened since the 60s because of the civil rights era peaking at that time. Many of our people don’t even know the history of our fight for in this country they’re only taught the usual about Rosa Parks and Dr. King. Many don’t even know how to pickup where our ancestors left off properly, much less care because it seems daunting to them. Everyone doesn’t have the heart for it like you and I unfortunately.
Bro I missed you ❤😭 I’ve beeen looking for your channel since 2020 I’m glad I found it. You do great work!
Cult of personality is always the problem, people use it as a rally point before devolving into tribalism. What are "we" doing is the biggest truth 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾. Its all about the group effort!
Living Colour infected my brain cause I read "Cult of Personality" and nearly screamed "I know your anger"
@@TheStorytellerAJ "I know your dreams, I've been everything you wanna be" is such a bar 😂
I'M EVERY PERSON.
YOU NEED TO BE.
"I exploit you!
Still you love me." is the rawest shit. "Pride" and "Open Letter (To A Landlord)" also go hard. Great band.
Perfect video for Black August!
There is no Black Messiah. We have to save ourselves.
WE HAVE TO BE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE!
It all starts with US!
Another banger. Keep up the good work
Appreciate the love ❤
Is on Spotify
Love this video and how it connects integral aspects of collective black thought and the byproducts of oppression to some of my favorite pieces of fiction. Great job TheStoryteller!
Only gripe I have is the oversimplification of Kamina as a character but I understand why you did it. May I provide a third context in relation to his character and how he represents masculinity. Kamina as a character at his very core is a child who had to teach himself how to be a man after he father left/died. With big dreams and aspirations his personality and views were contagious and impacted so many of those around him. I could tie this into the Black Community as a whole as well with Absent Fathers/One Parent Households and how so many little black boys maneuver through life without the integral father figure. Very interesting parallels there that i wont go deeper into but those toxic traits he exhibited are at its very core the learned behaviors of a boy taking anything from his surroundings and piecing together how to become a man himself.
Aside from this thought provking analysis, the Bath House episode is 1000% just Japanese Anime Humor and that shouldnt be indicative of his character but again I understand how that plays a part. Again, amazing video man keep up the great work!
Very great video! I had also delve into video essays into why black male rappers portray themselves at one point as messiahs which seems to be due to this myth of the black messiah.
I also like how you brought up pastors only being male, that only men have access to this connection with God. My main issue with this ideology is how female pastors are treated, with some(sadly incl. my mother) going as far as saying that these female pastors were misled by the devil/demons and/or they misheard God. Yet male pastors that have committed atrocities(such as Eddie Long) are still revered as pastors.
always love your vids, they really speak to stuff i dont always know how to express. ive definitely felt this before, especially in learning more about the ideological origins of the bpp and black anarchism in general. ive felt the desire for a messiah, or a savior, or just someone who could speak the truth and unite people, because it seemed to me then and still does now that its impossible to achieve the unity needed to improve our lives without a "hero" to guide us. but i couldnt reconcile this desire with what i know the government and the people in power do to us when we do rise up. every time topics like this come up i think of all the brave young black protesters who were murdered after the ferguson protests in 2014. it feels like no one remembers them, but i remember the boy who was in that picture with the flag that was spread everywhere, and i remember that hes dead. its so hard to know what we can or should do when just trying to assert that we are people is so inherently dangerous. i can only hope that one day itll make sense. thank you for the work you do, its very much appreciated
I think the solution is going to be more collectively involved for sure. A lot of our idolization of people and over reliance on them is partially as a result of conditioning.
@@TheStorytellerAJhave you seen Ibrahim traore, president of Burkina Faso speeches ?
Man I love your channel so much. Big love from Los Angeles !! Hope to work with you one day
I'm new to channel. I dig what you're doing. I'm about to start going through all your videos. Keep up the good work
Phenomenally well done video, especially the points about individuals vs communities
I think that there can be a need for a savior figure in terms of someone to get the ball rolling and organize what the movement is about into a codified system that then everyone hopefully can adopt.
Power to the prople is great until you realize 1000 people have 1000 different ideas of how to run the revolution. It becomes like a body trying to move in several directions at once. Ive been a part of 3 movements here in the states and I can tell you, everytime there wasnt someone or group to come out and say "this is what we're about and what we justufy and dont justify", the movement died out.
Still, youre right about if you have a singular leader or group, you get all that drama. But its the cost of taking on that role. Thats the cost that life places on them. Its true for all animals and its true for us.
Great Video dawg, plus points for Joey Badass in the background
Do you think The Black Messiah Complex is something the Overall Community could come to an understanding of and tackle it? It feels like a new figurehead is upheld to be our "savior" every which way from the way the Mass Public opinion is when somethings deemed "not like us" there isnt much effort for understanding given beyond that.
I think we'd have to, as a society, confront the ways in which idolisation has become a normalised part of our lives and how we perceive success. And almost very much come to terms with the collective responsibility we have in certain situations.
A lot of it is just replications of how society already functions with an added racial dynamic to the mix. A lot of how we even observe history feeds into it. We speak more on people more than we speak on their ideas.
It's the same feeling I get when someone tells me "Malcolm X denounced his beliefs at the end of his life." At least to me, it's not inherently about him. It's why it's so easy to break down movements and ideas, by criticizing and bringing down those who subscribe to or innovate ideas. We need to move beyond the celebrities and speakers, and build more on ideas.
Stuff like this is also why I'm big on the idea that art takes life on its own. Assign too much of something's value to an individual, and it dies with them.
How about protecting and aiding people who are profiled as the next black Messiah against their will
Like another commenter said; this is just a variation of the "Great Man Theory". It's a completely accurate theory but the problem is in how the Black community interprets it. The problem is in the "Messiah" half; the Black community believes this Great Man will be some sort of well-intentioned empath with his eye out for "equality & justice". A high-level babysitter or something of the sort. I guess that's why the guy in this video ties it to cartoon heroes for some reason lol.
In all likelihood, this man will be someone in the mold of Sonni Ali, Caesar or Napoleon; someone ambitious, ruthless & single-mindedly driven to accumulate power & subvert the structure of state they currently exist within. Someone who is highly selfish, but highly capable & bold of action. I could see some wealthy, previously low-radar Black man popping up on the scene as a majority shareholder & decision-anchor of many top Fortune 500 companies, single-handedly guiding the hand of American industry; or a Black military vet starting up a PMC & going the Erik Prince route of amassing swaths of armed, trained manpower. Even just a run-of-the-mill Black politician choosing to make full use of Super-PACs and implement reform in terms of local policy; all it takes is one capable, willing man with his hand on the levers of power.
This man may not even have the best interest of the Black community at heart, but he'll likely make use of populism; and his rise to power will change the socio-political framework drastically in his wake. He will come in the mold of a Conqueror/Usurper, not a Savior; and he will have come with claws & fangs, not flowers.
@@NykandrosIbrahim traore
@@kf9926 Precisely. He's the exact sort of archetype we should be expecting, not some sort of Gandhi/MLK figure. Ibrahim is making waves, excited to see how he handles the obstacles ahead of him.
Genius, please keep making content
Sometimes it's just enough to remind people that they aren't alone.
Being alone is natural as breathing to some it ain’t bad
The beauty in doing Gods will is making sure no righteous soul will ever have to suffer again, and seeing the beauty and harmony your kingdom is in. For anyone using the word narcissistic, understand narcissism on a spectrum from deep narcissism, functioning narcissism and healthy narcissism. Take away all the labels and then you realize it’s just about people’s intentions. It’s really only Good and bad people.
I feel like this is precisely the reason why so many culturally significant black artists end up either spiraling or giving up on the culture entirely. Tupac, Kanye, Kendrick most recently, etc.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I think about this nearly every day
Is this why you resonate with Jaden so much?
One of three reasons yeah.
I'm working on a video about it, but to boil down to the core reasons, it's:
1. The Hero Complex
2. Difficulty Managing Relationships
3. Grappling with Adulthood
Iykyk…And no man shall redeem you…
Power comes in numbers. The vanguard is a myth.
A vanguard party is how you organise those numbers for effective resistance
@@nicholascharles9625 And how you get the revolution killed. A body with no head can not be cointelpro'd.
I definitely support a lot of the narratives in this video. I remember watching ‘This Is Us’ where the character Jack Pearson is posed as this (mostly) perfect father and being incredibly dissatisfied as the only thing we saw of him was self sacrifice. I didn’t know his interests, cares, quirks, his peace outside of fulfilling a self sacrificial role for his family. He was great because he was the island his family could lean on. But to me, it just looked like the mad scramble of a man stretched way too far. This can’t be our vision for what a man or woman should be as a leader in our communities. We all need to embody leadership in our own right and take collective responsibility.
This is what I'm A Virgo is about
The Black messiah was Thomas Sankara
it would be crazy if the black messiah was one of the people in the comments section
SPOT ON! As always ❤🔥
Great video
11:34 I can not for the life of me remmber the name of this song 😂, I had the album thats the trip part
FOUND IT!!!!9th Wonder,Buckshot No Future 😂
You use the best music
Great video as always! My question is do you think a modern revolution could be faceless? Considering that history tells us that almost every major revolution of the last 2 centuries or so has had one, if not multiple iconic figures, what would it take in your mind for a true revolution of the people?
The one will rise above our X!!
Your content is GOAT’d
For the algorithm.
Is this channel based on our fellow black ancestors im loving it
Amazing piece
You'd love the protomen.
Sir you could not be more right , what makes everything in this meat grinder of a sistem is us , not the capital , not the State , and if we all colectively want to and persever for it , we can take everything down and rebuild it in the way we want.
We can do it TOGETHER THOU 🖤✊🏾
Leaders and collective action are needed; America's individualism turns any leader into a single great and erases the collection actions that was needed for any change to happen
Sometimes it seems like a lot of people to struggle to comprehend the idea of multiple people being responsible for making something good or bad. Like when you said 2 people leaving might not have been responsible for Boonsdock S4 being bad, the comments sections were really confused
People simplify things into binaries because it's easy to understand. It's easy to rely on a singular guy or set of "leaders" to help us. It's harder to make sense of the nuances of this world collectively.
Oh shit I hear a no name fan🙌🏾I love this video man excited to see what you do next🙏🏾
Another video for the Political Favs, great video sir. Also what's that Ending Music?
Linked in the description. But, it's called "don't fight the feeling" by beatboxbandit
“We are not a cult”
Dang my dude it’s been a minute
Fred Hampton . That was him. And he was murdered at 22
What’s the song at the end 🧍🏽♂️
I'm curious how this idea of the black messiah works in the context of liberation movements that already ended or succeeded, I think of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and Kenneth kaunda in my country and question how much the idea of a head of the movement was something placed in post for the purpose of consolidating political power
Very good video ❤
(Sarcasm) yup, yup, the supposed "Black Messiah ubermensch" will be 6"3, a wall of muscle from head to toe, and will lead us all to prosperity Being likened to Doomguy almost.
Where do you find all of this new Boodocks art?
There's a lot of lost Reboot art
It's because of religion. That's why we have the messiah/martyr complex and why we wait for a savior
What's that song at the end of the video?
How do you think Huey would feel about Kendrick?
Nice
Now that I've seen the whole video I can agree a man alone can't be a Messiah or a savior\hero or whatever your looking for.
But I believe the Bible which says God is the ultimate savior, but In this world the people glorify men who have so many faults. Just look at all these Pastors, or celebrities in scandals and yet for some reason we treat them like a Hero.
It takes a sort of truly organized movement to change something not one Man's limited power and reach.
Dune 2!!!!
I’m scared
When you go back to the beginning, I believe this goes back to the Jesus Complex. Jesus of the savior, because Jesus died for our sin. It. goes back to that. And of course, you should never, ever follow a man or a woman anywhere. There are a few things we have to understand. The. line of succession is also important and you don't follow any human being. You follow the plans and the rules and codes. That keeps movement alive. and succession is important because when one leader goes out, a number one must come in.
Did NONE of us get the message of Frank Herbert's Dune??? Leaders are not to have your full trust and should always be held in scrutiny!
I’d argue the hero complex phenomena is a cry for help because of the white supremacy eurocentric euro-centered society that has been created.
The self inflicted inferiority complex european people placed on themselves to 1. Create race so in turn creating black and white… has created villains of people and in turn victims of the rest looking for hope.
But “hope” is a word and the system was made by people and upheld by an ideology.
So the hero to many is the only way out and they forget how powerful they are.
If someone can be so warped in their thinking they can create a system like this. By that alone there are people who can look to themselves with others to topple it.
👍
I think the central statement of this video loses sight of the reason heroes and leaders exist and the value they provide that lead them to be necessary in political movements.
People are predisposed to apathy and maintaining status quo for the sake of familiarity. The revolution only happens if someone can motivate and inspire ppl to take action to change what already is. Otherwise, there's no revolution to kill in the first place
If not for kamina, humans would have stayed underground forever.
If not for aang, the other nations would have surrendered to the fire nation
Are there any Black Brit "messiahs"
Olive Morris
@@TheStorytellerAJ ty, I’ll look into him.
@@SlugSage it's a black woman
@@TheStorytellerAJ right, i read it as “Oliver” lol
I DON'T HAVE A HERO COMPLEX, "I HAVE A SENDING ZOMBIES COMPLEX"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE HUEY CHARACTER IS DIRECTLY BASED OFF OF MY LIKENESS IN REAL LIFE, "NO 🧢"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I be having to remind people my ways is not your ways you don’t have to follow my ways of life I have to say …I’m not the Christ
a few people compared me to Christ and even some called me the black messiah (one man literally called me God ) but I have to tell them I’m just a normal man but they deny and say no your not normal your more then that but as Kendrick say … I Am Not Your Savior
Knock knock potential… I don’t give no fucks!
KNOCK KNOCK POTENTIAL.
NOBODY ANSWERED.
bump
Who are you? Youre very intelligent! I love your podcasts. And, whomever drew those super cute little boys did a fantastic job.
Who are you 👀
I think the notion of a singular hero is just done now, Joseph Campbell lied, like look at Neil Breen movies, dude has a crazy ego
Starting to see people treat Vince staples like this…
I thought Jesus was the Black Messiah.
Lol
Men are to be leaders women work to support that leadership. It works similar to the Father and Mother dynamic. Makes for a harmonious relationship. That’s not misogynistic that’s naturalistic.
Nothing about that is natural because it has to be enforced. Misogynistic fool
Men do nothing but lead women.. and the world really.. into destruction and temptation, in every aspect.
Everet Ross is NOT a white savior bro helped out there’s better examples of films with a white savior complex
I like to think I'm pretty understanding all things considered. But, a movie called BLACK PANTHER did not need a former CIA AGENT to be a hero in the movie. It's completely ass backwards and 110% a white savior trope, as well as copaganda we're going there.
@@TheStorytellerAJit's a MCU movie, what did you expect?
@@TheStorytellerAJ all he did was take out 3 ships 😭😭😭
@@0Gumball6470 he shouldda taken himself outta the movie
This video is libertarian conservative and tone deaf. The FBI will target activists and organizers as the next emerging black messiah not over the fault of their own but over the fear of black people and racism., leading to attempts of assassinations and isolation. Some people are stereotyped as the up coming black messiah against their will and it's not their fault.
Some people are not necessarily being saviors some people just are not comfortable with the present times of today and are struggling and fighting hard is how they cope.
It should be good to want to see us win.
Some people don't want to be a Messiah but don't want to be a libererian goody too shoes, bourgeoisie.
This comment reads like you didn't watch the video and left a comment like 20 seconds in.
It made more sense when I watched the last 10 sec of the video
@@TheStorytellerAJI understand the elitism of the civil rights erra was homophobic and sexist and that was wrong. However the black Messiah myth still exists by the FBI and I wish we can find a way to defend popular activists and rising activists. Cause the police started harassing me and I wish I had more people on my side but people were way too scared to intervene and step Infront of the police when this happened and I'm just saying collectively maybe we need to do better or create some kind of protection of police out of anarchy?
You just need to be a goody too shoes at the start.Do some good deeds to the community.Have a scapegoat to all your bad deeds.Then people will naturally have a positive bias towards you .Their is much more too it but I’m not writing a whole book in the UA-cam comments.
I know this video is aimed predominantly at the Black community but your message is relevant for any community and something I wholeheartedly agree with.
If it ain't for you, why comment?
@@Zendzhii What ain't for me?
@@Zendzhii Just because a video has a target audience, it doesn't mean people outside that target audience cannot watch. If the creator only exclusively wanted a black audience, they wouldn't have posted it on youtube - A site mainly used by non-black people.
For someone who preaches collective responsibility and taking accountability you sure do blame the patriarchy and whiteness a lot.
Exactly. You have to fight patriarchy with patriarchy. Yet the white patriarchy tries to convince people that what black people need is less patriarchy. AND PEOPLE FALL FOR IT!
Idk where, but it says in the Bible that women shouldn't be pastors, idk EXACTLY why but tis doth what The Lord sayeth...
Nobody cares
I know there's one of Paul's letters that get weaponized a lot after the fact.
While Christianity was still a new thing they kept having problems with each offshoot following their own beliefs and branding off into counter-productive cults that would give the others a bad name; Paul's letters were a unifying influence on each of these, city by city, issue by issue; hence most of the New Testament being place names.
The thing with the woman pastors was addressing a specific context, where _those_ women were going way off topic and hijacked the local church into their own clique; he wasn't saying "NO woman should be pastors EVER", he was more saying "at the end of the day you're still someone's mother and someone's wife; if your ego can't handle the responsibility of pastorship, let it go and focus on your family"
Old fashioned but not intended as a hard and fast rule to be followed by everyone; it was a specific context
Of course, pastors now cherry pick these and many other examples and extrapolate whatever the fuck extremist topic they want to make it into
Yes, I agree with @samwallaceart288, sometimes we forget that the Bible is an ancient piece of meditative literature, so we should be reading it along its historical and cultural context. I would recommend the Bible Project UA-cam video called "New Testament Letters: Historical Context" to better understand the New Testament letters.
@@samwallaceart288that's not true. The reason why they forbade Women as spiritual leaders then.. and NOW is simply because of sexism because of the fact that God was a WOMAN, for centuries...before Moses and the Israelites raped, murdered, destroyed and enslaved all Goddess centered religions and the communities, rituals and practices centered around the Goddess.
@@Msanewcreature I'm just stating the reason given in the biblical text by their own logic. Maybe there's some more lore I'm missing.
Being human is not to be glorified smh
First