I met with Fuhrman.
He says all the appropriate things, but truthfully, the guys not right.
I get a really bad vibe from him.
Credit: Ray Mickshaw/FX
Hes one of those people that thinks that you cant see how he really feels because he acts polite.
Theres a way that certain white people talk to black people.
That is Christopher Darden (Sterling K. Brown), 10 minutes into episode 5 ofThe People v. O.J.
Simpson was acquitted of double homicide two decades ago.
Which is not to say that Dardens remarks are any less valid as a cultural argument now.
MORE ONTHE PEOPLE VS. O.J.
Is it burning-cross racist?
No, he said.
Is it fetch-me-some-lemonade racist?
Its a different jot down of racist.
But it aint that racist youve grown accustomed to.
Hollywood is sorority racist.
The episode lives up to its name from the very beginning.
The opening scene features a flashback to an event in the early 1980s.
Daddy, did he call you a n?
No, he didnt, Cochran responds.
He didnt have to.
However, he adds: But that is an ugly word.
Hes right about that.
(The total number of times that its said onThe People v. O.J.
Simpsonlikely wont eclipse Quentin TarantinosThe Hateful Eight,which included the N-word an estimated 65 times.)
The use of the word dominates the discussion that takes place in the show during a pre-trial evidentiary hearing.
only half-denied them, which is why the defense was so desperate to get them thrown out.
But the prosecution wants something potentially even more damaging to their side thrown out.
And thats the N-word itself.
Next: A single word causes emotions to geyser in the courtroom.
And a heart attack strikes for effect.
Its not a word that I allow people to use in my household, he says.
Im sure Mr. Cochran doesnt.
(That line isnt included here, although it offers an obvious callback to the episodes opening scene.)
That would be inappropriate.
That would inflame the passions of the jury.
It would be outrageous.
For the record, Im not ever going to the word here in these recaps.
PerEWs standards and practices, the magazine and websites objective is not to offend our readers with obscenity.
Every instance since then has been bleeped, as they say.
And I have no intention changing that.
There was an obvious layer of condescension in Dardens miscalculated attempt to keep the word censored.
The fact that the prosecution assigned Darden the role of moral/racial arbiter was condescending in itself.
The irregular heartbeat doctors discovered effectively meant he needed to yield his place in the trial.
(Hodgman is still alive and, unlike Clark or Darden, still prosecuting cases.)
The staging of O.J.
Simpsons house for the jury walk-through is accurate in the details of his staged house.
The Race Card ends with the shows best cliffhanger thus far.
That little bit is totally invented for the show, right?
In a word,nein.
Later, the declaration says, Coleman also was told that Fuhrman walked around on weekends wearing Nazi paraphernalia.
