Film The Betrayal
posted by on September 17 at 11:43 AM
Let’s begin with this image:
To properly decode Lando Calrissian—to read the American reality from his fictional position in the Star Wars universe—we must first decode Han Solo. Who in reality is Solo? In reality he has his social substance in a figure Norman Mailer classified as “the white negro.” Solo is in essence a black man—this reading is supported by the fact that Billy Dee Williams actually auditioned for the role of Han Solo in 1976. Williams did not audition for Luke Skywalker because Skywalker, like John Denver, is a white country boy (Solo is black and urban).
Now that we know Solo is actually a black man, we can understand the real function of the fictional friendship he has with Lando, another black man.
But first a quote from IMDB: “There’s always been a lot of misunderstanding about Lando’s character. I used to pick up my daughter from elementary school and get into arguments with little children who would accuse me of betraying Han Solo” (Billy Dee Williams).
If we understand that Han and Lando are black, then we understand the nature of the betrayal, and also the source of Williams’ denial of that betrayal. The ground is this: Lando represents the black American middle class that emerged in the 60s. The black American middle class not only emerged but also broke with its past—the hood, the inner city, the streets, the underworld of crime and poverty concentrated in places like South Chicago, Watts, and the Bronx. The black American break with the black underclass is the real meaning of Lando’s betrayal. Lando is a manager; Han is a criminal. Lando was once a criminal but he climbed out of that bleak hole. His betrayal of Solo is inevitable because the two no longer share the same class. Solo fails to see this, fails to see that Lando is no longer a brother, and he pays dearly for the mistake.
Lando’s betrayal is not only that he turns Solo over to The Evil Empire, but he deliberately broke his present from his past as a hustler, a gambler, a member of the underworld, the black market economy. In short, he is no longer black. Han Solo, of course, has not lost his blackness. He knows where he is from, he knows his enemies, he is still for real. Look at Han’s partner: a brown creature that speaks a funky language; Look at Lando’s partner: a white and robotic administrator.
With this reading in mind, we can see that the function of Han is to make Lando black again, to remind him of his roots, his past. But it’s too late. There is no going back/black. What Billy Dee Williams himself failed to understand (and what the kids at his daughter’s school knew for sure—read the IMDB quote above), is nothing can reverse the betrayal. Once you have changed your class status, you can never be trusted, never be down, never be anything but a black backstabber.
The sense of Calrissian guilt, and the internal conflict caused by the betrayal and its irreversibility, is resolved in the 80s by The Cosby Show.
Stopped reading after the quote. I tried.
What's a Nubian?
I thought it was resolved when Vader threw the Emperor in the shaft thingy.
What about Lando's little Latino friend in Jedi?
Every time I read Mudede I get a contact high.
Star Wars is a perfect distraction for the goyium. It's the only examination of the world of soul/spirit that most gentile males are capable of.
Kabbalah is the world's only real recepticle of intellect illuminated by spirit, and it remains safely protected from the shrivled minds of the goyium. I love the Star Wars postings Charles. As the world moves towards war with Iran, we must distract the minds of the goyium with silly movies and nonsense. Star Wars will serve as well as anything.
Recall "sparks" of holiness are tightly connected to "shells" of impurity and are waiting to be let free. These "shells" [klipot] are naturally attracted to their polar opposite. The light/dark is ONE.
Mudede is god
Darth Vader was an Oreo.
When are we going to get the disseration on the meaning behind Darth Vader's unmasking in "Jedi," when the strong, black visage broke away to reveal an old white man hiding underneath?
Sorry, that's "dissertation."
Whenever I read Charles Mudede's posts, I get this distinct feeling of disconnect from context, as though I'd dozed off and the conversation topic changed and I don't know how it got there. Viaduct, city council, civil rights, bar scene, city council, 2008 election, viaduct, bar scene, skin color in Star Wars. I want to blink three times, look around sheepishly, and ask, "This is apropos of...?"
Word!
I'd like to see a similar dissection of the beach scene in Rocky III.
Rocky is definitely the working-class character, and Apollo is the yuppie. Is Rocky also black? What is the meaning of Rocky outrunning Apollo Creed? And what's with the homo-erotica?
Perhaps it is showing that through heart and hard work, the working-class can rise again. And the man-love shows that though we have different living standards, we are still brothers. You are uptown, and I am downtown, but neither of us have visible body hair.
And what's Lobot supposed to be, a Chinese laundry worker?
OMG! I KNEW the Cosby show was more relevant than everyone thought!
@2
I was just coming here to comment that this sounds like a speech from a Kevin Smith movie. I'm glad to see that I'm not alone.
BLACK RAGE!!!!!!!
Did Lando actively *betray* Han Solo, or did Darth Vader basically hold innocent people hostage, forcing Lando in to an awful choice one?
I think betrayal is too strong a word. Weakness in facing terror is less than betrayal, even if Solo was pissed.
I'm with @16 on this one. Besides, he did help everyone else escape.
Uh, that was Norman Mailer, not Norman Wailer, who coined the term "White Negro."
Norman Wailer just cries a lot.
@16-
Lando betrayed Han. Lando says, and I quote: "I just made a deal that'll keep the empire out of here for a long time."
And then Vader shows up and takes Hans gun and freezes his ass in carbonite.
Next thing you know, Charles will tell us that Vader was a black man.
Yeah, right. He's white, cause he's the voice of CNN ...
i (heart) charles.
if i could wave a magic wand & make it so a cultural phenomenon never existed, Star Wars would be #3 on the list.
1. Monotheism
2. Disney
3. Star Wars
they're all essentially the same, tho.
I love, LOVE!, Charles' dissections of Star Wars. When I first watched Empire Strikes Back I just totally had the hots for Luke Skywalker, and thought light sabers were the coolest thing ever. I had no idea the philosophical underpinnings of this masterwork.
Thanks Charles!
I could have sworn that Han never really trusted Lando. Lando had always been a backstabber, just not one that would side with the Empire. Besides, it seemed like Han was perfectly capable of forgiving Lando in Return of the Jedi.
Or maybe:
1) Lucas is a hack writer.
2) Han Solo is just a smuggler.
3) Lando is just a former gambler who made it big and did what he had to do.
4) Mudede is also a hack writer.
@25 you forgot ...
5)
6) Profit!
Darth Vader or . . .
Dark Traitor?
the place where han and lando find common ground is the rebel alliance. here race is not an issue--in fact, the supreme commander of the alliance is some kind of deep-sea creature with a phlegmy throat. the alliance is--and has always been--beyond race, while the empire is comprised solely of white guys with british accents.
the reconcilliation bt solo and calrissian mustve been enough for solo; he allowed lando to pilot the falcon, which led to the destruction of the second death star. lando might be best known for his betrayal, but from the start, it was done with the bigger picture in mind.
@28
I believe you are speaking of Admiral Ackbar who led the Rebel capital ships into the Battle of Endor. A member of the Mon Calamari species, Ackbar and his people manned the distinctive warships supplied to the Rebellion by that aquatic culture.
He represents White Anglo Saxon Protestants, and their sense entitlement to power, and their love of seafood.
I guarantee that this Meduede character has the action figure.
God I'd kill for a martini right now!
@29--REVELATION! it only now hits me that the name for ackbar and his fish-eyed race is mon calamari. CALAMARI. as in fried squid.
" I love the Star Wars postings Charles. As the world moves towards war with Iran, we must distract the minds of the goyium with silly movies and nonsense. Star Wars will serve as well as anything."
ok, issur is a troll in the mold of shoshana, but he actually does make a good point here.
@28 the leader of the rebellion is Mon Mothma, that woman in white with the red hair.
Hooper: Always some white boy gotta invoke the holy trilogy. Bust this: those movies are about how the white man keep the brother man down, even in a galaxy far, far away. Check this shit: You got cracker farm boy Luke Skywalker, Nazi poster boy, blond hair, blue eyes. And then you got Darth Vader, the blackest brother in the galaxy, Nubian god!
Banky: What's a Nubian?
Hooper: Shut the fuck up! Now... Vader, he's a spiritual brother, y'know, down with the force and all that good shit. Then this cracker, Skywalker, gets his hands on a light saber and the boy decides he's gonna run the fuckin' universe; gets a whole clan of whites together. And they go and bust up Vader's hood, the Death Star. Now what the fuck do you call that?
Banky: Intergalactic civil war?
Hooper: Gentrification! They gon' drive out the black element to make the galaxy 'safe' for white folks. And Jedi's the most insulting installment! Because Vader's beautiful black visage is sullied when he pulls off his mask to reveal a feeble, crusty, old white man! They tryin' to tell us that deep inside we all wants to be white!
i stopped reading honey bucket's opinion after "now that we know solo is actually a black man"
the fact billy dee auditioned for the part doesnt mean that lando is actually a black man. in fact the white negro card is idiotic because the context of the essay is about modern times and i defy you to find any point in harrison ford's acting where he adopts black style, black language and black music. I defy you to point out where Solo hangs out mostly with black people.
Honey Bucket, think before you come up with some half-assed assertions that simply arent true or even supoprtable.
@3 - Lando's little friend in Jedi is obviously Asian, not Latino in any way. The Ewoks, on the other hand, were all Mexican.
You can't ignore the significance of Admiral Ackbar....you can't!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avBAd9wB91Q&mode=related&search=
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