On Twitter last night, I caught wind of the latest internet fuck-up done at the expense of black history and black women. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons posted a video that parodies slavery and the constant surfacing of celebrity sex tapes released to the open public. However, the video was no laughing matter. The Youtube video, […]
I’ve never been a fan of these so-called reality-based TV shows networks seem to crank out more often all year, every year. I became even less interested when I’ve learned that these shows produce stereotypes. And we all know that in this society, stereotypes matter more than actual people. But, I had high hopes for […]
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not feeling these new movies where the White House gets taken out by terrorists. When the POTUS was white, the only people who could take out the White House were aliens or the occasional tidal wave produced by a meteor. But now that the president is black and Will […]
Essence Atkins Blasts Tyler Perry Over Kim Kardashian Casting Tyler Perry’s work is a lot of things, and polarizing is chief among them. Some people hail his movies as cinematic gold, because he’s a poor (black) boy made good and who managed to position himself as a major power-player and entity unto himself in the […]
I missed the premiere of the Ken Burns film The Central Park Five on PBS last night. It wasn’t until a few people following me on Twitter reached out to me to see if I was watching it, that I remembered that it was due to air. But being caught up in the coverage of […]
Some time ago I came across a “semi-documentary”, written and directed by English filmmaker Carol Morley, called Dreams of a Life. The haunting and speculative 2011 film attempts to piece together the life of 38-year old Londoner, Joyce Carol Vincent. A beautiful aspiring singer and seemingly gregarious woman of Indo-Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean extraction, Vincent’s decomposed body was […]
Some time ago I joked about me not being able to wait for Django Unchained winning the Best Picture category at this year’s Oscar Awards, to finally be able to celebrate our post-racialness. Well, at last night’s Oscar ceremony, that didn’t happen. Ironically, the film did in fact win two awards. However, as the Hollywood’s […]
This week, Walmart turns 50-years-old. In such a short period, Walmart has become the nation’s largest employer and one of America’s most profitable companies. It’s estimated that Walmart net $15.7 billion in profits in 2011. So what is Walmart doing to help boost this dismal economy? Simple. They’re doing what they’ve always done. That would be, […]
I always tell students in my film courses to understand the creator of a piece of work before they delve into the work itself. Holding dear to my formula, Quentin Tarantino, the director of the highly anticipated and now, highly controversial Django Unchained is a piece of work himself. However, I will focus on Tarantino’s heavy […]
It’s time to gear up for Black History Month — and so, in addition to preparing for one of the few times that BET delivers news and Black folks blast each other for being “conscious” (another time being Kwanzaa and during tragedies), we must prepare for the retail marketing of Black heroes in America. You […]
I remember the good old days when the frequency of the word “nigger,” bring used in a movie or press conference was a barometer of racism? Yeah, I wonder what happened to those good old days. At any rate, those days are long gone. And, I suppose the fact that Quentin Tarantino dropping the n-word […]
On a historic day that saw America’s first black president as well as two former presidents celebrate and commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech. Noticeably absent from the proceedings were the voices and presence of notable leaders in the Republican party. One would think that as […]
So, Rush Limbaugh thinks he’s like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Rush Limbaugh is one funny white man. No seriously, folks; the sooner you accept him for the comedian that he is, like me, you too will refuse to take him seriously. After all, the only people who take anything he says as gospel are […]
Been working all day trying to come up with a word to describe how I feel, now that The People’s March honoring Dr. King and his “I have a dream” speech is done. I’ve come up with several actually. However the one that sticks out is “empty.” It’s done, we marched, we shouted, we sang, […]
The irony of a racist extremist working for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the nation’s first black president isn’t lost on me. In fact, in this post-racial age of Obama, one could say that times have changed to the point where this is expected. The trouble in this instance is that Ayo Kimathi, […]
I get the feeling that there’s a competition between the Carolinas. Given recent legislation set to disenfranchise minority voters in North Carolina — arguably the most progressive state in the south — the Tar Heel state has been giving its neighbor to its south a run for their money. But as racist fuckery would have […]
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