epidemic

M

mike

Mild Horses
Has anyone seen Lars Von Triers film 'Epidemic'? I saw the world premier of it in new york a few years back, and couldnt quite understand the one scene where the cabbie says "all a nigger needs is a loose pair of shoes, a tight pussy and a warm place to shit", then i read this today and somehow it all made sense:


In 1976 Earl Butz, the secretary of agriculture, resigned
after it was widely publicized that he had made a racist
remark. Butz's statement had been: "I'll tell you what the
coloreds want. It's three things: first, a tight pussy;
second, loose shoes; and third, a warm place to shit."

Most people watched Butz make his exit without knowing
exactly waht he had said. The Associated Press sent out
the uncensored quotation but, according to _Columbia
Journalism Review_, only two newspapers printed it:
Wisconsin's _Madison Capital Times_ and Ohio's _Toledo
Blade_. Other newspapers said Butz had derogatorily
described blacks' "sexual, dress and bathroom predilections,"
or that he had said "a tight [obscenity] ... a warm place
to [vulgarism]," or otherwise cleaned up the language.
("Courageously." David Shaw of the _Los Angeles Times_
commented, "...no editors dropped 'shoes' from Butz's
remarks and substituted 'an article of footwear.'")

quoted from:
http://tafkac.org/celebrities/butz_racist_remark.html
 
J

John Doe

Well-known member
mike said:
Has anyone seen Lars Von Triers film 'Epidemic'? I saw the world premier of it in new york a few years back, and couldnt quite understand the one scene where the cabbie says "all a nigger needs is a loose pair of shoes, a tight pussy and a warm place to shit", then i read this today and somehow it all made sense:


In 1976 Earl Butz, the secretary of agriculture, resigned
after it was widely publicized that he had made a racist
remark. Butz's statement had been: "I'll tell you what the
coloreds want. It's three things: first, a tight pussy;
second, loose shoes; and third, a warm place to shit."

Most people watched Butz make his exit without knowing
exactly waht he had said. The Associated Press sent out
the uncensored quotation but, according to _Columbia
Journalism Review_, only two newspapers printed it:
Wisconsin's _Madison Capital Times_ and Ohio's _Toledo
Blade_. Other newspapers said Butz had derogatorily
described blacks' "sexual, dress and bathroom predilections,"
or that he had said "a tight [obscenity] ... a warm place
to [vulgarism]," or otherwise cleaned up the language.
("Courageously." David Shaw of the _Los Angeles Times_
commented, "...no editors dropped 'shoes' from Butz's
remarks and substituted 'an article of footwear.'")

quoted from:
http://tafkac.org/celebrities/butz_racist_remark.html
Click to expand...


Obviously you're not familiar with Richard Pryor (or his early work anyway). He had a whole routine/song around this (though I remember it been 'New shoes, tight pussy and a warm place to shit') and I think used it one of his early films (called 'New Shoes' I think).

TBH I thought it was something he'd devised: I didn't realize it had such a racist source.

Edit: no, now I think it was 'Tight pussy, new shoes and a warm place to shit...'
 
P

polystyle

Well-known member
How was the Movie BTW ?
never saw Epidemic , only heard about it from someone who did.
Lar's followed with "Element of Crime" which i watch over and over , still
 
F

francesco

Minerva Estassi
polystyle desu said:
How was the Movie BTW ?
never saw Epidemic , only heard about it from someone who did.
Lar's followed with "Element of Crime" which i watch over and over , still
Click to expand...


No, Element of Crime is first, then Epidemic follow, then Europa (best Lars film ever with the exception of Riget) close the E trilogy.
Epidemic is indeed very very strange and disappointed many and was a total flop at the box office. But I loved the end. Without too much spoiling, Epidemic is a film starring director Lars von Trier who, accidentally erased from pc the script to his second movie, decide so to quickly write and film a new movie called Epidemic. But in Epidemic they (WE) just are.
If you loved "Element of Crime" you will love "Europe"; if you thinks genius can be allowed to (calculated?) failure sometimes you will maybe like Epidemic too.
 
M

mike

Mild Horses
It doesn't really matter if it was a box-office success or not, as neither of his films were ever intended to be blockbusters, but i think its one the films where we get to see him struggle with nearly everyone of his phobias, including big budget commercial filmmaking, as seen in the 'movie within the movie' sequences. I am totally sympathetic to his phobia of developing cancer, or "cancer of the balls" as he specified in an interview, and after having read this I started to focus more on the themes of illness in almost everyone of his films, epidemic being particularly hypochondriaic.

Subsequently, the techniques used to film the story that takes place in the 'real world' inwhich he and Niels Voersel play themselves (co-writer on element of crime, Zentropa & the Kingdom series) serve as prototypes for the 'rules' he would eventually proclaim in the Dogme manifesto.


I have not yet been able to find any mention of that Richard Prior film "new shoes", which sounds amazing. any leads would be greatly appreciated.
 
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