Mark passed on Loren Estleman's review of Ridley's
latest:
>"'The Drift' is the kind of book Chester Himes might
have written but
>for censorship. John Ridley declares his own
independence from today's
>repressive left through free use of the dreaded
N-word and the stoicism
>that [main character] Charlie shows in the face of
hate. He bids fair
>to become the Ralph Ellison of the postmodern
hardboiled novel."
Huh? Today's repressive left? What on earth is Loren going on
about, now? Using the word "nigger" hardly seems that
liberating or brave or even rare in this day and age, either
in print or film or even, increasingly, on television. (See
the collected work of Pelecanos, Ellroy, Tarantino, Spike
Lee, HBO, Fox, etc.)
I thought the "repressive left" controlled the media? (I
actually heard this on Limbaugh's radio show so it must
true...). And maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but didn't
Himes himself use the word frequently?
Where's the full review? Is it online? I'd love to read it. I
like what I've read (and seen) of Ridley.
And Mark added:
>Ridley also wrote the screenplay (honestly, although
the book was
>released first, I'm not sure which came first, the
novel or the
>screenplay). Supposedly Stone kicked him off the set
of the film.
Gee, another reason to like Ridley.
--
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