FILM(S) MONITORED
SOMETHING NEW

Great news for those who may not know, Dr. Yosef Alfredo Antonio ben-Jochannan, or Dr. Ben, as he’s lovingly known, suffered a stroke three years ago, but still lives in Harlem, New York, with his wife Gertrude.   We stumbled upon this article in one of our favorite newspapers, New York Amsterdam News, and although Dr. Ben makes it clear about his disappointment in many Blacks because he feels that “we are afraid of our own history,” he makes some solid points on the pyramids of Saqqara, the Middle East, religion/theory, man/woman, feminists, Europe/Africa, pride, history, his books, and his legacy.   The full article by this truly authentic scholar is right here:  

An Honor Deferred will air on the History Channel on February 11^th at 8:00pm.   This movie is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and is about the Medal of Honor – the military’s highest honor – and the African American soldiers who were intentionally denied recognition of their contribution due to racism.   A study was done by Shaw University and it was “uncovered that an ‘unwritten agreement’ among White officers in WWII [World War II] not to recommend any Black soldiers for the highest military award.”   Finally – in 1997 – seven soldiers were properly honored for their bravery and heroism and justly given the award they earned.   Unfortunately, only one was still alive to attend the ceremony and pick up his award; the six others were awarded posthumously with their families picking it up in their honor.   For more on the story, or
http://www.alrokerproductions.com/show_description.cfm?SHOWID=41

Many of you may remember Alton Maddox, but if you don’t, he represented Tawana Brawley.   He writes a weekly editorial for the Amsterdam News; one that’s not only always interesting and informative but also superbly written.   That’s consistently been one of his strengths – the ability to write extremely well and effectively and then translating that technique into winning cases with his keen and detailed knowledge of the law.   Remember the Central Park Jogger case, his client was the only one whose case was dismissed during the initial trial (now the rest are finally free after being wrongly imprisoned for years).   Alton Maddox had NEVER lost a case before being pushed out of the legal field.   And this is the reason he was so feared and the reason for his troubles as a Black attorney who fought for his people.   To get an update on Mr. Maddox, check out his Web site and be sure to read his “Biography” and the “Tawana Brawley FAQ.”   You’ll find many of the untruths about him and that case are cleared up very well:   http://reinstatealtonmaddox.net/   The following link is his latest Amsterdam News editorial:  

Everyone knows that we haven’t been big fans of Dave Chappelle (see the BN-W #26 “analysis”) and that’s primarily because of his mostly negative portrayal of Blacks on his Chappelle’s Show Comedy Central (owned by Viacom) comedy series.   It appears (and we won’t know for sure until he does some 2006 material) that he may have come to his senses and finally realized that he was being laughed at – and not with.   On his recent Oprah show interview, because he said many things that related to having some Black pride and social responsibility, the White media basically didn’t focus on anything of importance that he said on this show, especially when compared to the intense coverage that was given when it was believed he went to South Africa for mental reasons.   This time around, the media gave scant coverage and focused primarily on the mention of “stress” but left everything else overwhelmingly out.   If he’d admitted to being in a psychiatric hospital or said he’d continue making a buffoon of himself, then it would have been all over the media.   Why is that?   Is it because it would have been another Black man continuing to make a fool of himself and his people for some money and fame (albeit somewhat notorious)?   But the “everything else” that the media conveniently didn’t report at all or meagerly include:   acknowledgment that he has been exhibiting “coon” behavior; how he felt like “they got me”; how he hasn’t been more socially responsible; how strong Black men in the industry are almost always put in a dress at some point in their career; how many Whites take his humor as a fact about Black people, when that’s not necessarily his angle (it’s hard to believe he’s just getting this, but at least he finally did); and the calling out of his “best friend”/writing partner Neal Brennan – who is White and wrote all those mostly racially negative sketches toward and about Blacks with Chappelle – never called to check on him or see how he was doing, which certainly had to be an eye opener for Chappelle.

Here are a few links to some of the sketchy coverage on this story.   Out of the ones we found, the best so far is from Black America Web. You can also see the sarcasm in this New York Daily News piece calling Chappelle’s interview with Oprah a “passionate rant,” “making a mountain out of a molehill,” and how Black men in dresses “have enhanced their careers unleashing the great women behind great men.”   This is obviously a writer who simply just DOES NOT GET IT – or maybe she does and just expects to see a Black man in Hollywood in a dress at some point.   Here’s the article:   Here’s a CNN story on it, which was actually taken from the Associated Press:   Finally, here are some interviews done with Neal Brennan during Chappelle’s Show heyday and take note of his glowing description of the “Niggar Family” and how that sketch came about; he seems so proud of it.   Yippee!!   Also note the seeming professional (and thus financial?) dependence on Chappelle.   For some reason, it was difficult finding basic information on Brennan, but we eventually found something that had a little bite to it.   Following are the links, including this very basic imdb.com biographical sketch (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107366/bio):

http://www.thecareercookbook.com/profile.php?profile_id=2
http://www.gaelicweb.com/irishampost/year2004/04apr-may/printed.pdf

In case you haven’t heard, that dreadful movie – Hustle & Flow – about a Black hustling pimp who’s gotten undue accolades from film critics because he finds an easier, less taxing, and even more potentially profitable hustle – as a rapper, how novel – has received two Oscar nominations.   One for Terrence Howard in the best actor category and the other for best original song for “It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp.”   We provided these lyrics for you in BN-W #41, but here they are again:   Unbelievable and people try to say the image of the Black man is not being toyed with.   Believe what you want – but this is certainly not by accident, this is by design.   Why is that?   Well, here are two stories on this movie, one on the song nomination and the other on the “pimpology” that’s a “bastard creation” that is assaulting and branding us.   In the former article, the writer asks the question:   “Why would the Academy embrace a song that belittles women and refers to Blacks in derogatory terms?”   And we ask, yet again, why is that?

http://www.nathanielturner.com/hustleandflow.htm

The film “Something New” is actually something old – very, very old in fact.   Apparently, many Blacks felt that way as well, which is probably why it only made $4.9 million for its opening weekend in approximately 1266 theatres (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=somethingnew.htm).   This film’s opening is on par with the recent Usher movie In the Mix, which had a similar theme with an opening weekend of about $4.5 million and a domestic gross of about $10.25 million to date (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=inthemix.htm).   Overall, “Something New” wasn’t bad.   It attempted to touch on racial issues surrounding interracial relationships, and you were at least able to come away from the film with the feeling that there was more to the relationship than “seeking” a Black or White partner.   It didn’t come off as a Tiger Woods type of situation, where racial preference is obvious and self-love and self-knowledge appears to be seriously lacking.   Robert DeNiro can be cited as an example too, but for some reason he doesn’t exhibit the lack of pride and ethnic confusion that Woods gives off – who can forget Woods’ “Caublinasian” self-description?  

With all that aside, however, it would have been just as powerful to present a strong Black relationship – one where the Sanaa Lathan and Blair Underwood characters were a match with him as the sensitive and perceptive landscape architect.   Lathan has proven time and time again that she can have the sparks flying with any of her leads.   She was hot with all of her Black male leads – including Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Omar Epps, and even Taye Diggs.   She’s an excellent actress and just has “it” in the chemistry department when it comes to acting.   Given a chance, she and Underwood would have definitely lit up the screen.   It certainly would have done better at the box office.   Unfortunately, however, the backers of this film (including Stephanie Allain who also produced Hustle & Flow) decided to go with the interracial aspect and it didn’t fly.   Blacks want to see a balance in the reflection of our relationships on the big screen, which should also include strong, thoughtful, respectful, fun, loving Black relationships, and not the usual drama and difficulties (domestic abuse, cheating, etc.) that continue to dominate Hollywood films about us.

Trying to push interracial romance on us because we supposedly “can’t get along” won’t work because racism is so entrenched in this society that we will always go to our comfort zone – and rarely outside of it.   Additionally, until those hundreds of years of enslavement here in America and all that came along with it (rape, pedophilia, physical/mental abuse, human bondage/selling, lynchings, etc.) are apologized for or somehow properly acknowledged as wrong through the proper education – which means massive and substantial changes in what’s taught in schools – then interracial romance will never be totally accepted by the majority of Blacks – men or women.   And, finally, at the real core of this is the fact that Blacks know something is wrong when the White media is constantly telling us (and, yes, very often it’s filtered through people who look like us) that we need to just forget about making it work as couples because we’re HIV infected, hate one another, our women are angry, our men are on the down low, etc., then our red flags really go up.   And, once again, we’re forced to ask, why is that?   Black men and women don’t want people telling us we’re limiting ourselves if we choose to date and marry people who remind us of our parents or that things are so bleak that we should look for other alternatives.   Sorry, Blacks are probably just a little too vain for that.   On top of all that, the main problem that needs to be resolved is that we – no doubt – have got a lot of soul searching, cleaning up, and self-educating to do in the Black community amongst ourselves to stop all this negativity that’s able to seep into our homes through not only the media, but embarrassingly, through our own stupidity and ignorance at times.  

For starters, we need to consider seriously reducing our intake of the media’s messages by not only being critical thinkers but by substantially lessening what we watch on television and, quite frankly, read more, especially about our history – starting with Africa, the birthplace of humanity and civilization.   Also seek out entertainment that will teach us and not just market to us through product placements and subtly telling us how to keep up with the Joneses as well as what’s supposed to be beautiful or manly.   We’ve got to stop being the number one consumers.   Much of this sorry, but not hopeless, state is our very own fault.   Sure, everybody else has fallen into the trap too, but the BN-W focus is on Blacks and pulling us out of the hole.   Surely others gain from it as well, but we’re Black, our families are Black, so our focus has to be and will be on Black people.

We also read one review of this movie where the Alfre Woodard character was described as “Afrocentric.”   In case you read that review and are not sure if it’s true or not, we can tell you that her character is anything but that.   She’s probably more in line with a Henry Louis Gates Jr. personality type.   There’s also a scene where the Simon Baker character (Lathan’s love interest) asks Lathan to take out her weave, which she fortunately does.   But then she’s described as “natural.”   For the BN-W record and for those who don’t know or are unsure, having a Revlon (or any other name brand) permanent relaxer in your hair to straighten it is not quite “natural.”

We came across this New York Press article about “Black skin” in December 2005 and held on to it because we knew we’d eventually be able to put it as a link somewhere in one of our pieces.   This piece also kinda sorta explains our curiousity about that Samuel L. Jackson movie In My Country (BN-W #29) where we wrote it was a “chemistry-free love story” and the film’s female lead said “my skin will never forget you” to the Jackson character.   This link helps us understand it just a little:   Overall some parts of the piece are pretty laughable and downright insulting with its all-inclusive generalizations about Black men and Black women (“Black men are happy to get the [White] babe they couldn’t have when she was twentysomething and fertile.”   Is that right?   We doubt it, but OK if your ego needs it.   “They [Black women] resent our taking their men.”   Is that right?   We doubt that too, but OK if your ego needs it.)   Of course this article slams White men and their image/professional dependencies and their aging insecurities.   She also brings out all those “sexuality” issues of Black men compared to White men, which in all honestly seems to be the culprit that seems to keep “the man’s” foot up the Black man’s behind in one form or another (the pushing of Hustle & Flow for one thing).   We’re not White, so we can’t ask “is that right?” here because how would we know?  

We definitely do love our brown skin and its diverse range of hues, so we can relate to this New York Press writer from that angle.   In support of that, here’s the lyrics to an India.Arie song called “Brown Skin” that many of us do enjoy:   http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/indiaarie/brownskin.html   There’s also the male perspective from D’Angelo with “Brown Sugar,” which we would have loved to link as well, but the brother uses the N-word once, so it’s a no-go here.   But we found this “Brown Skin Girl” by Santana, which fits the bill as well:  

As we mentioned in BN-W #54 the conclusion of Part II:   Black-Jewish Relations will be included with the Winter 2006 Music Monitor.   As we also stated, we’ve got a lot of information, and, for that reason, until Part II comes out, we’ll be filtering stuff to you so it won’t be too overwhelming in the buildup to Part II’s conclusions.   Refer to BN-W #53/54 if you need a repeat of our feelings on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

The articles below focus on the color and social issues within the Jewish ethnicity/religion that have evolved over many years into many (not all, especially the Jews of color) of them now considering themselves to have successfully “blended in” enough to officially and confidently self-describe as White.   The articles discuss many issues, from a brief description of Jews trying to pass as well as nose jobs and curly hair concerns to a writer’s critique of those Jews who through their “enlistment and complicity” continue to perpetuate the “oppressive features of White supremacy.”

African American Review, Fall 2004 :

Jews and the Problem of Whiteness :

I’m Not White I’m Jewish BUT I’m White :

If you missed any other BN-W monitors, just send an e-mail to bannword2@yahoo.com and request that it be sent to you.   As always, we highly encourage you to see these films for yourself and, if applicable, make your own judgment call on the N-word usage – appropriate/inappropriate? necessary/unnecessary? sensible/nonsensical? does it add to or take away from the film’s concept? does the N-word have to be used at all? is there a valid reason for doing so? is it mandatory for the scene(s) to be effective? what are the circumstances/situation that necessitate any use of the word? is it just thrown in for humor, fear, crime, insult? are other culturally insulting slang terms used as much as the N-word in the film?   Lots of questions and a whole lot of reasons to wonder what’s the real purpose and thought process behind why these entertainers, writers, directors, producers, executive producers, distributors, and studios/studio heads and executives give the “greenlight” for these crews to liberally use (or allow to be used) the N-word.

FEATURE FILM(S) :

S O M E T H I N G   N E W

[Release Date:   2/3/06]

Starring Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker, Blair Underwood ; screenplay written by Kriss Turner; directed by Sanaa Hamri; produced by Stephanie Allain; executive produced by Preston Holmes, Joe Pichirallo; studio – Focus Features
 

NOTE :   One major highlight of this film is that there was no N-word used, which is very typical of many Black households and lives.   We don’t use it and we don’t even think about using it.   Never!   Ever!   And this is despite what the media – and those that control it – continue to push on us and, ultimately, the world.   Another highlight was using Jill Scott’s “Family Reunion” song as the film’s closer.   If you have a family you just adore then you’ve got to love this song.   Great choice.

BN-W Monitor Coming Soon:  “Pink Panther” [Steve Martin, Beyonce Knowles]; “Freedomland” [Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore]; “Madea’s Family Reunion” [Blair Underwood, Tyler Perry, Cicely Tyson]; “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party” [Dave Chappelle]; “Phat Girlz” [Mo’Nique]; “Inside Man” [Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster]; “ATL (Jelly Beans)” [Antwan Patton, Keith David]; “Waist Deep” [Tyrese Gibson]; “Idlewild” [Andre Benjamin, Antwan Patton];

Also Coming :   Part II:   Black-Jewish Relations; Winter 2006 Music Monitor; Spring 2006 Music Monitor; Summer 2006 Music Monitor