Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song is nothing like any movie I have ever watched. If I had not been required to watch this movie for class, I would have turned it off within the first five minutes. However, it was required, and I did finish it. But the exposure to new topics that I received while watching this movie was well worth watching the movie for. One thing in particular I did think about is how the noir theme of nostalgia applied to this movie. In the unforgettable first scene, where Sweet Sweetback receives his nickname, he is raped at a very young age by a prostitute. After this traumatic event, he continues to be adopted and raised by the prostitutes. In his adult life, Sweet Sweetback is a sex worker. As messed up as it sounds, I wondered if there was any nostalgia that Sweetback has from being raped that he indulges in by being a sex worker. For most, such an event would be so traumatic that they would never want to engage in any activity that could be reminiscent of it. However, Sweet Sweetback fully immerses himself in the world of sexuality, a world that could easily trigger memories of the trauma of his childhood. So, even though it sounds disturbed, I do not believe it is entirely out-of-pocket to say that he is somewhat nostalgic about the event. Similar If He Hollers, Let Him Go, Madge practically begs Bob to rape her. In class, we discussed rape fantasies and how we could not believe this to be real. I, personally, cannot fathom that there is a desire to connect with such traumatic things. However, this sentimental longing for something so dark fits exactly in the noir genre. It is a darkness that goes beyond any of my experiences which is what makes it so uncomfortable to discuss. The noir genre takes full advantage of this feeling of discomfort and pushes readers to dive deeper into its meaning. As a class, if we can push past the discomfort, we can move into some interesting conversations about the topics that hide in the darkest corners of society.