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mitochondriaandbunnies · 2 months ago

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The Outcasts (1968) - Episode 2: A Ride to Vengeance

This is the kind of show that starts with the main characters mugging "GASP! Did you STEAL the COOKIES?" faces in response to surprise false murder charges and ends with them bickering about money and riding away laughing while a couple they nearly broke up watches in mute disdain. However, It is also the kind of show that (without using the specific terminology, because it was written in 1968 and is about emotionally constipated men in 1873) unpacks the fact that a) the Black lead has PTSD as a result of being a slave, b) that a white man accused him of murder simply because he made a fool of him years earlier, and c) that he is aware of things as a Black man in 1800's America that the white lead is not and that the white lead doesn't need him to prove that to believe it's true. The tonal whiplash is occasionally vertigo-inducing.

#the outcasts #the outcasts 1968 #my gifs #otis young #don murray #tv westerns #the whole vibe of this show is so all over the place. sometimes to its benefit and sometimes very much to its detriment #there's a lot of stuff that a) wouldn't fly today and b) is reflecting the attitudes of the era it's set in. and some is quite uncomfortabl #including the fucking awful choice to have jemal and corey sometimes ironically refer to each other as boss and boy #but then-- even *that* is used to make a point here: jemal knows corey doesn't know what it's like to be hunted and dehumanized #and was in fact part of the system that caused that dehumanization-- so the boss when he asks him is not the usual ironic nickname #it's his way of reminding corey of the very stark difference in their perspectives #so y'know. my obligatory warning that the show is a product of its time and not everyone is going to find it enjoyable or even tolerable #but that it really was doing its damndest to address serious issues in whatever language and methods it had available to it #also i know these are potato gifs but there's genuinely no better version of the episode. you should hear the audio errors

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