The Modern-Day Micheaux Podcast Series: Episode 2

Check out episode two of The Modern-Day Micheaux Podcast Series on Tuesday, July 7th, @10PM when I speak to independent filmmaker Dwayne Buckle, filmmaker of The Minority and The Glasses.

The Modern-Day Micheaux Podcast Series:

Oscar Micheaux was an African-American filmmaker in the early 20^th century. Having been shunned by Hollywood for his race, Micheaux took on his own projects, producing, directing, writing, and scrounging everything together for his work. Having completed forty films, Micheaux became the most prominent producer of race films and the father of independent filmmaking. Micheaux is the reason minorities see themselves on the screen today. Where would we be if Oscar Micheaux had given up? Would Spike Lee have come about, or Tyler Perry for that matter? Would anyone known how to make a film independently if he hadn’t proved it was possible? Would blacks have ever had a rebuttal to “The Birth of a Nation?” How many Oscar Micheauxs are out there, and how many more would we have if those with a dream had never given up?

The Modern-Day Micheaux Podcast Series is a monthly 30-minute discussion with black, independent filmmakers. The mission is to inform and inspire, as well as motivate and shed insight. However, unlike Tanya Kersey’s Urban Hollywood series, this podcast focuses on the inspirational and highlights filmmakers still in the trenches. The moderator is Denzel Hawke of The Black Hawke Review.

Gabrielle Union Flick

Neo Ned is a film from 2005 that I've just become aware of. Ned, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, falls in love with Gabrielle Union's character while in a mental institution. 

This hits along the lines that people and attitudes can change, and barriers can be broken. I look forward to reviewing Neo Ned. From the clips so far, it looks pretty interesting. 

The film is now on DVD and will be showing on Starz during the month of August. 

Precious Co-Signer

On May 18th, 2009, Communications strategist David Magdeal spoke with Tanya Kersey on the "Inside Urban Hollywood" podcast. Working on the media campaign for Precious, this is what he had to say.

 

David Magdeal:

"For me the most amazing thing was Mo'Nique. If she's not nominated then there's something wrong. And then the new girl, the one that plays Precious, Gabby, she nailed that to the wall. Everybody in there is really good. You don't even recognize Mariah. I had to even do a double take. Like that's Mariah? Oh. She's really good."

Precious's theatrical release is November 6th. With Oscar's new 10 best picture change, its practically a shoe-in to garner a nomination. Mo'Nique's, Gabourney Sidibe's, and Mariah Carey's performances have all popped up on shortlists for Oscar contenders as well. 

Is Transformers Racist? The Discussion Continues:

Since the outrage of the Transformers 2 character's known as Skids and Mudflap (also known as the term Sambots) has only intensified since the film broke box office records last week, and friend and I have been verbally jousting on whether this can be construed as racist or not. 

Below is the transcript of our facebook conversation in which Crash makes an interesting cameo. Feel free to voice your opinion. Does Transformers 2 take it too far? Or are people being too sensitive?

Naysay: 

"So I saw transformers not racist at all. I think the problem is that people still look at themselves as these stereotypical characters. I didnt find it racist probably because I dont see those characters emulating me."

Denzel: 

"It's not that we see ourselves in these characters because I sure as hell don't. It's that other people see us in these characters and they depict us as such in the media. My perspective on black people isn't going to be changed by Skids and Mudflap, but what about those from other countries who associate characteristics such as not reading with being black, or black youth who are too young to understand this is not who they're suppose to be. You know well enough that some black people go out of their way to confirm stereotypes. This is why they think black people can't be doctors. Cause the world tells them they're suppose to be Skids and Mudflap. This is akin to white supremacists or KKK saying all blacks are unintelligent thugs except for instead its coming from Michael Bay and Transformers."

Naysay:

"And the twins did have a very important part to the movie. If being comic relief in a film isnt important enough, because it is, those two destroyed Devastator mostly by themselves, well they made him weaker. Also protecting Sam along with Bumble Bee. Watch it first!"

Denzel:

"Comic relief is important but not important enough to constitute a character's entire existence. I'll give it to you that I haven't seen the film and am making judgments based on other people's reactions. When the DVD is released I'll be better able to validate my views because I refuse to pay 8+ dollars for a movie ticket just to expound upon how delusional you are. That is already a given."

Naysay: 

"In general you will hate the 2nd movie. It has way more plot holes than the 1 you noticed in the first one. But also, there's a character named Wheelie, with three teeth, dumb, I associated him as the hillbilly robot. Since when is a movie racist becuase they act upon stereotypes. If that's the case Crash is a racist movie. Is it different because one is comedy and one is drama? Is that fair enough to call a movie racist?"

Denzel: 

"I don't think Crash is racist because it presents stereotypical characters with layers. Larenz Tate and Chris Bridges aren't just thieves. They're actually somewhat intelligent, thought-provoking, are capable of realizing the faults of their behavior, and religious. True racist stereotypes are one dimensional. They say you can only be this and nothing else."

FALLOUT FROM FIRST TRANSFORMERS:

Naysay: 

"QUIT BEING SENSITIVE! If you watch the old cartoons Jazz was voiced by Scatman Crothers. One of the originators of "cool". He spoke with an "ethnic" style. Showing more diversity. So Hasboro didnt have to hear from other black people "how come there arent any black autobots?" "Why they all gotta be white?" Just like barbie, and care bears, and GI Joe and every other thing black adults scrutinized to ruin the youth of children. Besides half you niggas say "Whats crackin lil bitches" on a daily basis. So quite being sensitive. Jar Jar was different."

Denzel: 

"My problem wasn't with Jazz being "black". My problem was Jazz being "black" and having stereotypical black characteristics a.k.a. being flashy, breakdancing, and destroying the car. From what I hear, Transformers 2 is taking it to a whole different level."

THE SOLOIST REVIEW

Before the huge 2009 "Precious" buzz, this was the movie of the year I couldn't wait to see. Robert Downey Jr, Jamie Foxx and director Joe Wright, about a musician whom plays classical music, how can you go wrong???? We soon will see. 

The Soloist is based on the true story of a Los Angeles Times columnist (Steve Lopez/Robert Downey Jr.) whom befriends a schizophrenic, homeless musician (Nathaniel Ayers/Jamie Foxx). It's basically a bromance drama except one buddy needs serious help but doesn't want it and the other buddy doesn't know when to quit pushing. The film was directed by Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice & Atonement).

         

Let me start by saying I am not bashing this film. It is a good film, it just doesn't hit home as I would have wanted it to. 

Both Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. both hold up their end showcasing superb acting, which isn't a surprise since they've both played variations of these roles before - (Downey in Zodiac, Foxx in Ray). But what got my attention is director Joe Wright whose rising up my favorite to watch list. Wright transforms even the most mundane shots to visual gemstones. There's the typical Downey on the phone scene, yet Joe makes it breathtaking by putting him on  a ledge overlooking the Los Angeles freeway. There's also an awesome scene where a young child Ayers sees a burning car out of the window in his basement. Wright moves the camera around Ayers (who's still playing the Cello) highlighting him and the raging fireplace behind him.  This is showing his progression into schizophrenia and again was all in the placement of the camera. Sorry I couldn't find a youtube clip of it, but if you see the film you'll see what I'm talking about. He even makes South Central Los Angeles look beautiful in a macabre sort of way. There's even a scene showing the vibrant colors of music that reminded me of this scene in Ratatouille.

 

                             

The problem I had with The Soloist, even though minor, is the script and I truly believed it could have turned this average film into an Oscar short list contender. Everything works out well except for the emotion. As an audience member, you never really understand why Lopez is so desperate to help Ayers. They allude to it being his failure as a parent but it still is never clear. And you feel sorry for Ayers as a schizo but you never feel that sorry for him. He lives on the street but you never get a sense that he's in any danger. He actually seems to enjoy it and feel a  bit at home. I hate to say it, but maybe more dramatiziation would have been the key. If I would have understood the characters better and saw them in a little more peril then I could have gotten emotionally invested. But unfortunately, I did not. However, screenwriter Susannah Grant also wrote Erin Brockovich so I'll let her off the hook this once. 

CULTURAL INTROSPECTION:

The topic of those mentally challenged came up the other day when I was visiting a friend's book signing.  A lady discussed movies she's seen depicting those with mental illnesses and said The Soloist was the first one that gave the person any type of personality. I'm not an expert on the subject but it is worth thinking deeper about. Sometimes it's hard not to think of them as lost causes (which is what society often does) but these are real people too, with families, and personalities, and dreams, and hopes, and feelings. Nathaniel Ayers was a musical genuis with a slightly mental off-balance. 

In the movie, Steve Lopez does the exact opposite. He cares too much in that he thinks he can fix Ayers. Don't get me wrong, he does a lot for him. But when Ayers discovers Lopez sees him more as a charity case, he goes ballistic. He didn't need a savior and in truth the obstacle was over Lopez's head, but just by being Ayers friend he did so much good for him.  Again, it's hard to think of them in terms of real people with the same emotions and embarrassments that all of us share. But sometimes they don't need a savior. They need a friend that won't treat them like the lowest form of human.

                     

THE BLACK PERSPECTIVE:

A big character in this film is South Central L.A. and it features a group of people often not depicted in Hollywood - those in poverty. As I said before, Wright depicts this often forgotten side of life in a beatiful yet macabre way, yet I couldn't help but noticing most of these people were black.

South Central L.A. could very well be mostly black, but it more than likely isn't. One problem Hollywood and the media for that matter (often news) has is the overrepresentation of minorities in poverty. Because whites overpopulate blacks (and for now Hispanics) in this country they also overpopulate them in poverty. I pulled up a 2007 Census Government report that shows that there are roughly 243,000 whites under the poverty line, but only 39,000 blacks and and 46,000 Hispanics. However, after watching TV one would think differently. This is not only true for poverty but also for crime.

"Whereas Blacks actually acconted for the lowest percentage of arrests in the real crime statistics, they made up the highest percentage of petratros represented on TV news. Whereas their actual arrest rate was 21%, a full 37% of TV news perpetrators were Black. In contrast, compared to the actual arrest rate for Whites (28%), only 21% of the perpetrators shown on TV news were White. "

(Sparks, Glenn G. Media Effects Research A Basic Overview (with InfoTrac®) (Wadsworth Series in Mass Communication and Journalism). 2nd ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2005.)

The media is notorious for sending sublimimal messages, mostly in issues revolving around race, sex, violence, and concepts of beauty. The only way to really combat these messages and misconceptions the media portrays is to be aware of them and understand that everything you see is not how it always is. 

                     

                       

RATING:

= 2 Stars
= 2 Black Fists