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Martin Luther King Jr.

I Am Not Your Negro – The More Things Change…

March 3, 2017 by Darrel Manson

?The story of the Negro in America is the story of America. It is not a pretty story.?

Can the words of an African-American writer who has been dead for three decades speak to the America of today? I Am Not Your Negro is almost entirely the words of James Baldwin, some from archival TV footage, some in voiceover by Samuel L. Jackson. The world that Baldwin speaks of is the America of the 1950s through 1970s. His words are augmented by news and TV footage of that time and by movie clips that reflect that time period. But there are also news clips that reflect today?s America as well. We are asked to consider if Baldwin?s words are still applicable today.

Baldwin was an extremely articulate voice in matters of race. He also brought great insight into an issue that was more than just about skin color. When we see him in archival footage he speaks in an almost cerebral manner about issues that are very visceral. We can sense an anger within him, yet he holds that back in order to speak in words that can be heard and appreciated for their intelligence more than merely as rhetoric. The voiceover (taken from his writings) have the same tone; they are not emotionless, but the passion is always just a touch under the surface.

Viewers might think that this is essentially a work about history. It is after all about a different period in American history, told in the words of a man who has long since passed. The violence of the racial struggle of that time is brought forth vividly in the archival footage. It also comes out in Baldwin?s words. He reminds us that African-Americans faced terrible violence at that time. The greatest examples of this are the deaths of Baldwin?s friends, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. in a five year period. But those deaths echo a broader vicious atmosphere that confronted schoolgirls seeking to go to school and men and women who sought the rights that belonged to them. Baldwin rightly notes that violence and anger are present in both white and black citizens throughout this struggle.

Of course, in 2017 we have made progress in racial matters. Integration is no longer a matter being fought school by school. Even with last year?s ?Oscars so white? controversy, people of color are far more represented in today?s arts and media than film after film with Sidney Poitier in that era. Many even spoke of a post-racial society with the election of Barak Obama in 2008. But when we hear Baldwin?s words, we quickly understand that at a foundational level, little has changed in the last few decades. His words, spoken so long ago, still resonate in a world in which we have to be reminded that black lives matter and in which people of color continue to suffer unproportionately from poverty and incarceration. Baldwin?s understanding of the fears and rage of both White and Black are still just as valid today as they were when he spoke and wrote about them.

The takeaway for this film is that even though we do indeed live in a different time, there are still far too many similarities with those past years for us to ignore the racial issues that still exist in our society. For those who desire to understand the ongoing struggle that racism represents, I Am Not Your Negro is a good starting place.

Photos courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

March 3, 2017 by Darrel Manson Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Black Lives Matter, documentary, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, Oscar nominated, racism, Raoul Peck

3.9 Mending FENCES

January 16, 2017 by Steve Norton

https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/3.9-Fences.mp3

How do you know if someone is a good person? This week, Steve welcomes ScreenFish newbies Shelley McVea and Audra Gray to the show to talk FENCES, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.

Want to continue to conversation at home? ?Click the link below to download ?Fishing for More? ? some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

3.9 Fences

Thanks to Shelley and Audra for coming on the show!

 

January 16, 2017 by Steve Norton Filed Under: Film, Oscar Spotlight, Podcast Tagged With: Academy Awards, Denzel Washington, Fences, Martin Luther King Jr., MLK, Oscars, OscarsSoWhite, Viola Davis

Oscars, Diversity & All That Jazz Part II

February 4, 2016 by Chris Utley

birthofanationThe last time I offered my $0.02 regarding Oscars 2016 was to defend the Academy and their choices. ?Now, it is time to look at the other side of the argument. ?But I still don?t think that the Academy in and of itself is the problem.

A fellow film analyst (BTW?that?s my official title. ?I?m an analyst ? NOT A CRITIC!) posted an article bemoaning the number of ?slave? movies getting released. ?Another article showed up in The Hollywood Reporter asking why the heck Black films have to be about MLK while White ones can be about mop inventors?in order to get Oscar cred? ?And lastly, several current Academy members have expressed their opposition to the controversial rules and membership changes designed to reflect more diversity. Here are my thoughts on that:

If Spike and Jada want to complain about anything, it SHOULD BE ?the lack of greenlight power by studios for Black dramatic projects. Notice I said BLACK DRAMATIC PROJECTS. They have no issue greenlighting comedies. Heck, there are so many Black comedies pumping out each year that I?ve grown disillusioned with them all. ?

Point of reference, see the invasion of Kevin Hart and Tyler Perry upon our movie screens. We get it, Mr. Studio Head! ?We shuck. ?We jive. ?We make y?all laugh with our Ebonics and blah-blah-blah. ?But, to quote the motto of my first writing gig ?3 Black Chicks? ? WE ARE NOT A MONOLITH! ?

Best Man HolidayBlack audiences are as diverse as any other. ?But you?ll never find that out unless you?re willing to give our diversity a chance. ?Yeah, we can make you laugh. ?Yeah, our hip-hop flow is cool. Yeah, we look to our icons of the past to remind us of the hope that the dark past has brought us. ?You?ll even let us make a rom-com or a few dramedies (i.e. The Best Man Holiday). But where?s the project about Black lawyers? ?Where?s the Black cop patrolling the streets trying to stop the next serial killer? ?

Heck, we’ve only just got our first crop of Black suspense dramas in the last two years (Addicted, No Good Deed, The Perfect Guy ? those last two on the list opened at #1, BTW). ?The answer?

In the race for supremacy at the worldwide box office, the mindset is that Black films don?t make money overseas. ?Comedies may pick up some loose change. ?But dramas don’t stand a chance. ?Can Hence the Hart/Madeathon at the multiplex. I?ve been saying this one for twenty years now. Why won’t Denzel and Sam or Sam and Will or Denzel, Will & Don Cheadle collaborate on a drama project? Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp will collab with any star out there. If Denzel did it, it would most certainly put butts in seats! Same goes w/Spike and Tyler. Instead of taking shots at each other in the news, collaborate! Spielberg & Lucas used to do it. Why can’t they? ?

Which leads to ANOTHER issue: which one of the major (and minor) studios would be willing to fund such a ?super project? featuring a legion of Black superstars? ?And should they fund said project, will Oscar voters even give it a chance? ?According to the THR articles, several dissenting voices who have the power of the ballot feel that Black films (Straight Outta Compton, Selma) simply aren?t good enough to win Oscar. ?By who?s standard?

Selma 3The ruling class of pretentious and older LA/NYC folks who are entitled to judge what films are good or not? ?The ?inferior? SELMA brought its audience to tears and a tremendous ovation ? complete with the gist of the crowd sitting through the entire closing credits ? at the theatre I saw it at?which is THE BIGGEST movie theatre in all of Los Angeles. ?Same thing happened at the same theatre during SOC.

Meanwhile, a few miles up the road in Burbank, I witnessed two Best Picture nominees ? Terrance Malick?s The Tree of Life and The Coen Bros.’?A Serious Man ? receive RESOUNDING boos as their credits rolled. ?Audiences pondered out loud how those two films even were deemed worthy of Best Picture qualification.

So does the majority get to define the standard of what is good? ?Is the anger of those Academy voices and their supporters their way of saying that Black folk have no idea on how to define a quality film? ?It?s interesting to note that over the past few years of Sundance, Black cinema has made its presence known at the festival. ?This year is no exception with Nate Parker?s The Birth Of A Nation sweeping the top two awards and scoring a $17.5 million dollar buy from Fox Searchlight. ?And, yet, the trolls on the interweb took that info and have already deemed next year?s Oscars ?The Affirmative Action Awards.?

birthofanation2Which makes me wonder: even if Black directors make films so awesome that their greatness and awards cred can?t be denied, will it even matter? ?After all these cries for DIVERSITY, does the ruling class even give a care? ?Do they want their cinema representing all facets of the world at large ? with a rainbow of colors, layers, textures and diverse experiences on screen? ?Or are they perfectly content in their vanity and arrogance? ?I posed this same question once in another Christian-based film circle. ?My pressing of that question ultimately led to my excommunication with the organization itself.

We will see where all this ends up. ?Maybe Spike and Jada are right. ?Maybe those persnickety Oscar voters will allow a rainbow coalition of seats at the nominees and winners circle. ?Only God knows.

But I?m still watching the show?and will BOO my head off if Mad Max Death Race 2015 wins the whole thing!

February 4, 2016 by Chris Utley Filed Under: Current Events, Editorial, Featured, Film, Oscar Spotlight Tagged With: Academy Awards, Birth of a Nation, Diversity, Jada Pinkett Smith, Kevin Hart, Martin Luther King Jr., Nate Parker, Oscars, Selma, Spike Lee, Tree of Life

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