Feedback: Let’s talk ‘black-ish’

‘Black-ish’ tackles a sensitive subject

The N-word’s unsavory legacy has roiled the realm of classic literature going back decades before the advent of television [“That word,� Sept. 20].

One of Joseph Conrad’s pivotal works, “The N— of the Narcissus,� was first published in 1897 under an innocuous title, “The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle.� Though the N-word had yet to be deemed offensive, the publisher insisted on that title change due to fear that a book about a black man would not sell.

By the mid-20th century, the N-word’s usage evolved to pejorative application, as a definitively racist insult. By that time Conrad’s book had been published for decades under his original title. Newfound aversion to the N-word led to cessation of its publication until early this century.

While some editions over the last decade feature the original title, in 2009 one publisher issued “The N-Word of the Narcissus,� which excised all mention of “n—� in the text. Alas, that well-intended tack met with strident criticism from classic literature purists.

Perhaps discussion “black-ish� prompts by its “The Word� episode will hasten the day when the N-word no longer provokes controversy.

Gene Martinez

Orcutt, Calif.

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What I didn’t see in the article was this: If blacks are offended because other ethnicities use the N-word, the solution is, blacks shouldn’t use it either. It is just as offensive. It is no different than a black person calling a white person a “honky.� If blacks don’t want other people to use the N-word, than the buck stops with them. They can’t use it either, in music, comedy or anything. Blacks can’t have it both ways.

Marlene Drozd

Las Vegas

‘River’ is not worth the time

What the hell is going on at the L.A. Times? Your art critic, Christopher Knight, devoted a full page [“Certainly Not Mainstream,� Sept. 27] critiquing a 5-hour and 18-minute film, “River of Fundament,� created by one, Matthew Barney, who wallows (in Knight’s words) in “Crushed auto parts swallowed in sludge, funeral barges, drawings of decayed factories and decomposed humanity, monuments to rebirth, open sewers flowing with feces.�

By the 21st century, these kinds of scatological fantasies are no longer “disturbing and perplexing� as the article’s headline promises. They’re just boring, and even Knight finally finds this film “sluggish and inert.� Such stuff doesn’t deserve the public attention their sick creators so desperately crave.

Al Ramrus

Pacific Palisades

Attendance, not dress, is the key

Letter writer Roger Walton’s admonition that one must “show some respect� by dressing up for the opera or the theater reflects a fogyish, aristocratic, East Coast preoccupation with what is “done� and “not done.� Most Angelenos do not feel the need to indulge in such time- and money-wasting rituals. This is a city where studio execs greenlight hundred-million-dollar movies in jeans and sneakers and few restaurants with strict dress codes survive.

If Mr. Walton wishes to gussy up and don a penguin suit to attend a light comic opera, more power to him; I saw it several years ago in shorts and sandals. Among my friends in the performing arts, none gives a fig what you wear, as long as your butt’s in a seat, enjoying and supporting the arts.

Jordan Chodorow

Los Angeles

The complexity of migrant crisis

Re Charles McNulty’s essay on refugees [“Dilemma Plays Like Greek Tragedy,� Sept. 20]: Avoid a deeper and solemn look at this tragedy at our own peril. “Grappling with complexity� has become un-American.

June Maguire

Mission Viejo