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Sorry, Soap Fans: Days of Our Lives is Better Than Ever

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I read with some regularity a soap opera blog.  In fact, the comments on that blog are some of the best comments on the internet.  Not only are they spirited and fun commenters, but they often spill more tea than the bloggers themselves.

But recently, I’ve noticed that many of those commenters absolutely hate what has happened to my beloved Days of Our Lives since (and including) the 50th anniversary.

Now for me, the 50th anniversary of Days of Our Lives was a transcendent experience.  I bought the book.  I went to the book signing where I met members of the cast and crew.  Most importantly, I actually started watching the show again!  Recorded it and everything!  I didn’t know what I was getting into, but Soap Opera Digest had been teasing big stories via Executive Producer Ken Corday.

What I experienced, in addition to the anniversary fever itself, was months of rich storytelling that honored the past history of the show while taking bold moves for its future.  I was glued to the television every say to see what would happen next.  The writing was dope–I mean literally the best writing I think I’d ever seen on Days.  The actors really stepped it up, too.  The pacing was great, as well.  Neither too slow nor too fast.  And for good measure, Days brought back one plot device that has always worked in its favor:  a serial killer.

Now I’m not a big time Hollywood soap writer, but I am pretty sure that they wheel in the serial killers when it’s time for budget cuts.  I don’t know what the directive was at Days, but damn, they spared no family.  It’s almost like Joseline Hernandez came up in the writer’s room in a blind fury saying “WHO ELSE WANT SOME?!”

So to recap the past several months:  They killed off some girl whose name I don’t remember (sorry lady, you were pretty though) Serena Mason, and then they killed off Paige (who is the daughter of Eve Donovan, a legacy character they brought back with a new actress and inexplicable southern accent).  Okay, whatever, later for them.

But then they killed off Will Horton.  Luckily, they didn’t kill off the actor we all know and love as Will Horton, but his recast.  I mean, the character is still dead, but it didn’t have the emotional oomph because it wasn’t the actor who we saw through Will’s coming out story.

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Real Will Horton (left) and fake, serial killer victim Will Horton.

When I tell you I boo-hooed.  I was a wreck.  No more good.

Chad DiMera was framed for the murders (if you don’t know who he is, your break from Days was too long) but it was really this dude named Ben Weston WHO IS HOT BY THE WAY.

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Heyyyy Ben Weston with yo murderin’ ass

Anyway, blah blah blah, yackity smackity, Bo Brady came back only to die of a brain tumor and really be dead.  Then Hope Brady killed Stefano DiMera in retaliation and he is really dead.  Then Eric Brady went drunk driving on New Year’s night and killed Dr. Daniel Jonas and he is really dead.

Then Ciara got raped!  Then the Salem teens literally rounded up the rapist–lynch mob style–and took him to a warehouse so Ciara could get her revenge!

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I really thought they were gonna murder him!

Most recently, and most satisfyingly (aside from the for-real death of Stefano DiMera), they finally gave my boy John Black a complete story.  It turns out his real father is the leader of an international spy/assassin ring called the Phantom Alliance.  This shit is like the Deadly Vipers from Kill Bill had a baby with Cobra-La from G.I. Joe  and it was Jigsaw from Saw!  No, really guys.  John Black’s father is Jigsaw, actor Tobin Bell!

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This was banoodles

Honorable mentions:  Theo Huxtable Carver, as portrayed by Kyler Pettis, is excellent as the autistic son of Abe Carver and would-be boyfriend of Ciara Brady.  His half-sister, Detective Lani Price joined the cast during the 50th anniversary celebrations as well and it’s so nice seeing Abe’s family grow again.  I am glad that Rafe Hernandez and the rest of his family have more to do and are finally starting to feel like an independent crew, not just love interests for the other characters (although they are still that).  And generally speaking, shout out to keeping the elder/senior actors working in significant ways.  I adore seeing Victor, Caroline, Maggie, Doug, and Julie drive story.

But let me focus for just a moment about the feel of the show.  Many long time fans felt that the show was entirely too depressing for the 50th, and I totally understand where they are coming from.  You didn’t really expect a core character to come back only to die, and Bo Brady was certainly a favorite.

But the writer in me wants you all to know that Ken Corday was right when he told the media “The show is going to be the best it’s ever been and I defy anyone to prove me wrong.”

Rather than keeping us in a holding pattern about Peter Reckell’s status, they let him retire.  The fans have never taken well to Bo recasts, so let him go.  And let his departure drive story for years to come.

Same with retiring Joe Mascolo as Stefano.  We all love Stefano, but for how much longer could we really believe that this one man cause this much havoc at this age, especially when almost all his children are dead, too?  Days artfully, respectfully, and realistically sent Stefano out.  Artful in the irony of it all–getting killed when he didn’t even do what they thought he did.  Respectfully in that his enemies came together to recall their shared trauma–and his son Chad truly being the only person to grieve (well, not counting the crazed Andre).  And realistically in that his body was indeed recovered with no real room for error.

Stefano’s death, however, did create an artistic void.  Who would be the next “Big Bad?”  There is only one DiMera heir in the running and he’s not interested in the mantle.   And Andre is too crazed.  Also, the DiMeras are broke because Sami stole all their money. (sidenote:  HAHAHAHAHHA)

So enter John Black’s father, as stated above.  Watching that episode today had me laid out on the ground like I do after watching an exceptionally good episode of Scandal.  It was dark.  It was scary.  It was mysterious.  Learning about this new entity, the Phantom Alliance, after years and years of growing used to Stefano, the ISA, and the Kiriakis dynasty, made me feel like I stumbled onto that good shit!

Yes, it’s campy, but only a tad!  It’s adventure!  It’s intrigue!  It makes me feel like how I felt back in the 80s when I first began watching!  I like seeing my old favorites in new adventures, and seeing the teenagers mirror their parents’ best and worst qualities.

Thank you Ken Corday, the writers, and the cast.  I know this industry is not easy, but you do it so gracefully.  I appreciate that you breathed life back into “my stories” and have made it the most unique show on daytime right now.  Kudos, snaps, and keep up the good work.

10 Cloverfield Lane: There Were No Black People In It

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This past Saturday, I knew I wanted to see a movie, but the Rock & Roll Marathon was in town so I knew hitting up a theater would be a little challenging.  Luckily, I live fairly close to the Regal Cinema in Silver Spring, MD (although my favorite theater is the AMC Mazza Gallerie).  Can I just say that the Regal is obnoxiously large?  Like I felt like I could have a medical episode in there and nobody would find me for days. [Read more…] about 10 Cloverfield Lane: There Were No Black People In It

Steve Jobs: There Is One Black Person In It

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In the event that you have been in a coma for the past few decades, Steve Jobs was the co-founder and CEO of Apple and is widely regarded as either a genius or the biggest asshole ever.  I was not excited to see this film because I am #TeamPC and #TeamAndroid.

You already know that I am not here for films without black people.   [Read more…] about Steve Jobs: There Is One Black Person In It

The Martian: There Are Black People In It

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I was beginning to feel like the movie industry was conspiring against me.  I have this great MoviePass that allows me to see a movie a day for $30 a month, but virtually none of the films out right now seemed worth getting out of the house and putting clothes on.  I was sort of neutral about seeing The Martian because I am not really a Matt Damon fan, but after seeing that my fraternity brother Christopher had seen it the previous night and enjoyed it, I figured I should give it a try.  Plus, I knew for a fact black people were in it, even if not in the leading roles.

My theater of choice was not showing The Martian, so I went to DC’s historic Uptown theater, one of the last remaining single-screen, neighborhood theaters around these parts.  I had last been to the Uptown back when the first Harry Potter came out.  When I worked for Georgetown, my department had opted to go to the movies as a group rather than the traditional office celebration.  While it was fun, I fell asleep for most of it.

Incidentally, my former boss from a different job I’d had eleven years after Georgetown was also at this showing of The Martian.  So annoying!  Luckily, he did not see me.  I really didn’t want to have to roll my eyes at him, but I was fully prepared to do so.

I headed to the colored section mezzanine of the theater and took my seat.  Less comfortable seating than most other theaters, but what you lost in width you gained in overall size of the screen, as well as really cool layout.  The men’s room had a sitting area.  They call it the men’s lounge.  I got a kick out of that.

By now, you already know that The Martian is a space film.  Matt Damon is an astronaut on Mars.  When a sandstorm comes through, they have to abort the mission and they left Matt Damon for dead.

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The rest of the movie is about people on Earth trying to bring Matt Damon back.  Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the head of the Mars mission.  He’s really good.  He’s just a good actor in the first place, but I really enjoyed him in this role.  He doesn’t overdo it and you really feel his anguish as well as his ambition.

But…

I gotta say I ain’t never met no black dude named “Kapoor.”  I did not read the book this movie was based on, but I am concerned that they “blackwashed” another character of color.  Would I trade Chiwetel?  Not for anything in the world.  But I am hoping he was not “supposed” to be South Asian and they just said “Ah, fuck it, let’s get Chiwetel!”  Because real talk?  Chiwetel could have been Matt Damon’s character easily.  But more on that in a second.

Chiwetel Ejiofor was really, really good in this.  The end.

You know who else was really good?  Donald Freaking Glover.  LIKE SO GOOD.  You guys.  And he’s not just a comic sidekick or eye candy, he plays a really pivotal role in the film.  He makes black guys doing science look cool.  And sexy.  Chiwetel is also sexy, but not Donald Glover sexy.  I don’t want to say more because I don’t want to spoil it, but trust me when I say that his role is necessary.

You know, two things happened to me during this movie.  First, I cried a lot.  Like snot and everything.  I was really moved by the emotional power of the story.

Secondly, I thought very hard about how this movie could impact the children and teens who decide to watch it.  There are so many awesome moments where I was like YAAAAAAAS, I SEE YOU SCIENCE!  I used to be interested in science as a child, but literature captured my passion sooner and surer than any other subject.  But what if The Martian really did inspire more kids to pursue scientific careers?  Especially black boys, who could be inspired by Donald and Chiwetel’s portrayals of scientific cool.

But one thing nagged at me…where were the black women?  Although I did like Jessica Chastain and Kate Mara, I can’t help but think damn, why not Gabrielle Union and Sasheer Zamata?  While I don’t think a film should strive to be a rainbow coalition, it was a bummer to not see black women in the forefront.

Kristen Wiig is not interchangeable, though.  Just want to get that straight.

Back to Matt Damon.  I say this knowing there is possibility of bias because of his recent comments about diversity, but if I put that to the side for a minute, I feel the same way:  Matt Damon is not what made this movie great.  He was just Matt Damon to me and could have been exchanged for any number of white male actors that I like better than Matt Damon.  But again I say why a white male actor in the lead?  Why not Chiwetel?  Why not Anthony Mackie?  Why not Will Smith?  Just kidding, he’s terrible.

All in all, The Martian was great and was very nearly the best movie I saw this year.

But then I saw Sicario.

The Perfect Guy: There Are Black People In It

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I saw The Perfect Guy last week but it took me forever to write a review.  Why?

I mean, the film had black people in it.  I live for black films.  And also, it was not a churchy movie or a Tyler Perry movie, so I really should have loved it.  I love black films.  I love black people.

It had Sanaa Lathan, Morris Chestnut, and Michael Ealy.  I love them.  I love them.

So why didn’t I love The Perfect Guy?

 

It was dry as hell!  We are immediately dumped into this boring at best, vapid at worst couple’s relationship melodrama and we don’t have any sort of empathy for either of them.  Sanaa is playing the role rather shrill and unsympathetic and Morris seems to come off as a cad.  So it seems.

Michael does a bang-up job as the titular perfect guy, and we see more personality in him, but I mean you have to, because you know he has the biggest transition to make in the film.  We have to believe he is a great dude and we also have to believe he is crazy.

My failure to connect with any of the characters has nothing to do with the actors, though.  It was definitely the writing.

I must say, the scene where Sanaa takes Michael (see how I don’t even remember their names?!) back to her parents’ house was well done.  That was good writing and good acting.  But the majority of the rest of the film is utterly predictable.  Just because all the characters are black doesn’t mean it’s not predictable.  We have seen the stalker boyfriend movie before a million times over.

You know what else?  This movie for damn sure was hampered by the PG-13 rating.  The Perfect Guy is so restrained it practically begs for nudity and violence.  Okay, maybe the film itself didn’t beg but I sure am!  We want to hear the F-bomb!  We want blood!  And dammit, we want cheekaleeks!  What’s the point of a psycho stalker boyfriend film without gratuitous violence?  Without those things, I was left feeling as though I saw a really good Lifetime movie… but I don’t pay this MoviePass fee for Lifetime!

Finally, I do want to say a word on what makes a movie “black.”  As you know, the purpose of my movie reviews is to answer the fundamental question whether there were black people in it.  But I also want to have just plain good conversations about representation in general.  So what does it mean that The Perfect Guy was the typical psycho stalker boyfriend film, but happens to have a black cast?

People have said that this film had “colorblind” casting.  Uh, no the hell it didn’t.  It was a very color-aware film.  If it was colorblind, I dare say it would have been a more multi-ethnic cast.  I believe that this film was made to make a point, or to test a theory, even though the point has been made and the theory has been proven time and again:

Yes, black films will perform well in the box office.  Okay, we get it.

But as for me?  I would have loved to have seen more blackness in the film, culturally speaking.  I don’t mean Sanaa had to rock a natural hairstyle or fry chicken while wearing a kente apron.  I mean, why not wear a Spelman sweatshirt?  Or have an elephant collection in her living room?  Or any number of other little touches that the average college educated black person might have.  The Cosby Show was great at this, as well as Steve Harvey’s old sitcom, and that sitcom on Nickelodeon with the obnoxiously large Omega shield in the living room.

Now I did like the reggae club scene, but the more I think about it, the less I like that it was tied to the notion of being exotic and forbidden.  Black spaces are not exotic.  They’re not just where we want to go when we want to have illicit sex.  They are just spaces.

The Perfect Guy was not a bad movie.  It was just an unremarkable movie.  Like mayonnaise.  Black people can do better than mayonnaise.

Dark Water/Death In Heaven: There Are Black People In It

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Last night I went to see Doctor Who in 3D at my local theater.  We saw the Series 8 finale event, episodes Dark Water and Death in Heaven.

If you are not a Whovian, sorry champ, the rest of this review probably won’t make sense.

So my friend and I had already seen the episodes when they aired last year but we thought it would be worth it to see even just the opening credits in 3D.   And I can assure you yes the fuck it was worth it.  Imagine seeing this in 3D:

So basically the premise of this episode is that Danny Pink has died after a freak car accident and Clara wants him back.  She tries to force the Doctor into changing time, but he refuses, instead offering to take Clara to a point in time and space where she and Danny’s timelines are intertwined.

I should mention at this point that Danny Pink is black.  And very, very attractive.

So hell yeah Clara, you betta did that!

So their travels take them to the Nethersphere, which is initially posited as the afterlife, where Danny is.  But it’s not really the afterlife, it’s a hard drive where dead people’s souls go because of a plot to take over the world that the Master (now Missy) has undertaken.  The souls, or consciousness, or whatever the hell we’re talking about (It’s Doctor Who, so I think they make it up as they go along) are scheduled to be uploaded into Cybermen.

Michelle Gomez as Missy is absolutely brilliant, by the way.  She was also worth the price of admission.

Danny Pink eventually is turned into a Cyberman but because he did not delete his emotions, he is not properly plugged into the hive mind of the Cybermen, so he is not obeying orders.  He saves Clara, has one last bitch-fit with the Doctor, and ultimately saves the world.

I may have simplified things a bit and put more focus on the black man rather than the Doctor.

One of the reasons I like Doctor Who so much is that it seems, where possible, they cast black people in significant supporting roles.  I don’t know so much how they fared in the original/classic series, but ever since the 9th Doctor in 2005, they have brought us some great companions and associates.

Mickey Smith, Rose’s boyfriend, is one of my favorites.

But let’s not forget Martha Jones!

And they later were shown to have gotten married and became some sort of government agents.  Perhaps with U.N.I.T.

Now, I did observe somewhat of a dearth of blackness in the Matt Smith years and that really disappointed me.  But with the coming of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor since the 50th anniversary, I have noticed an uptick in interesting supporting characters who happen to be black, Danny Pink notwithstanding.  There was Saibra in Time Heist…

And Courtney Woods in Kill the Moon and a few other episodes.

 

These supporting characters, of course, don’t make up for the fact that there has never been a black Doctor Who (or a woman, but we are talking about black people right now).  But as someone who has been knee-deep in science fiction and fantasy for most of my adult life, I do really appreciate the fact that modern Doctor Who doesn’t shy away from race-blind casting (which I personally think is race-aware, but no matter), or speaking to issues of race and class in its story lines.  I seem to recall an episode where the Doctor schooled Martha on free blacks in London prior to the abolition of the slave trade.  (Or did I make that up?)

For people interested in further discussion of Doctor Who and race, you should get the book Doctor Who and Race!  I definitely plan to.  Of the twenty or so fans in the audience at last night’s screening, maybe four of us were black and there were no other people of color.  It’s nice to know that there is some scholarship going on about this issue and it’s not just being swept under the rug.

Which makes me also wonder… in light of this Matt Damon/Effie Brown thing, I wonder if any people of color have directed episodes of Doctor Who?  Definitely need to get the book!

To Be Real: Black Girls Are Magic

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In 2011, I had started a new job with nice national nonprofit organization after having been laid off from a small local nonprofit.  For this new job, I was a program coordinator for a national writing “contest” for middle school students.  It was nice to be able to link my background as a writer with nonprofit work.

In the first few months of this gig, I discovered that some guy who had attended my college had written a play about a gay guy who pledges a fraternity.  My novel Lazarus, and its sequels, were about a gay guy who had pledged a fraternity.  But this was no mere coincidence–not only had my novel been released while he was a student, but my novel was aggressively promoted on campus.  There’s no way he didn’t know about Lazarus before he wrote his little skit.

My suspicion of his guilt was only reinforced.  I reached out to ask to read his work so I could ensure that it was substantively different, and he refused.

Needless to say, I was upset, not just because a fellow Hoya had clearly been inspired by my novel, but wouldn’t cooperate just to try to prove me wrong.

At the end of the day, my mentor told me there wasn’t much I could do unless I could prove that he had lifted passages from the actual novel.  And frankly, I wasn’t going to catch the Chinatown bus to New York just to see his rip-off Mad TV sketch version of Lazarus, so I let it go.  If I felt he was poised to make any money off of this, I surely would have pursued further action.

My mentor intimated that the best thing I could do was ensure that the people knew whose work came first and whose work was superior.

And that, my friends, is how I relaunched my career.

***

Since that incident, and because of it, I have become more sensitive to moral issues of intellectual property.  Not just the legal aspects, but the parts that deal with community, friendship, brotherhood, and the like.

I believe in putting others on.  I believe in Usher mentoring Justin Bieber and Diana Ross “discovering” Michael Jackson, even though that’s more narrative than fact.  I believe in sitting at the feet of elders, and mentoring, and writing groups, and all the things that build camaraderie among writers.

I believe in the class of 2005, those gay black writers who had their debut novels that year, including Dayne Avery, Fred Smith, Alphonso Morgan, and me.

I met E. Lynn Harris.  We gave each other the Alpha handshake.

It’s levels to this.

Am I a great mentor to other writers?  Not especially–I could be much better.  But I believe in friendliness and cordiality.  I am not going to hate on K. Murry Johnson’s Image of Emeralds and Chocolate because it was the first gay black vampire novel.  I bought his novel.  I support his career.  The fact that Birth of a Dark Nation has black gay vampire main characters is a coincidence that Johnson and I are cool with.

Buy our books.  You can’t get enough gay black vampires.

The point is that we have to know each other, communicate with each other, and be nice to each other.  There is room at the table for everyone to be great in my business.

***

That’s why this #BlackGirlsAreMagic incident currently exploding on Twitter is so problematic for me.  In a nutshell, writer Kenesha Williams has created a speculative fiction (!) literary magazine (!!) focusing on black women and girls as protagonists (!!!).  I really liked the idea when I heard about it a few days ago and automatically presumed that it had the blessing of Auntie Peebz (@thepbg), who is the originator of the phrase #BlackGirlsAreMagic as a “thing.”  She sells t-shirts and everything.

Sure, is it possible that somebody somewhere said “Black girls are magic!” at some point in their lives?  Yes, it’s possible.  But when you Google “Black girls are magic” literally every page that comes up points back to Auntie Peebz in some way, except for one: an article about Kenesha Williams’ literary magazine.

The logos are similar to me as well.  Not identical, but reminiscent.  So that says to me there may have been at least some kind of inspiration from one logo to the next.

Kenesha, sis.  You have a great idea here and I do believe a speculative fiction literary magazine with women and girls as protagonists is necessary, amazing, powerful, and absolutely on time.  And I know that literary magazines are not money-making ventures.  They are labors of love that (God-willing) get your name out there as the arbiter of new fiction, and “put on” new authors who might not be featured anywhere else due to sexism and racism in mainstream genre publications.

But you have got to change the name.

This is not a trademark issue.  This is an issue of sisterhood.

This isn’t about what you’re allowed to do.  We’re legally allowed to do a lot of things.  But this thing?  his thing you shouldn’t do.

Please do the right thing and change the name.  I want to be able to support this publication and all the wonderful emerging writers who will be featured.  But I will not support your publication unless the name is changed.

PS:

cp

American Ultra: There Are Black People In It

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American Ultra is the story of an underachieving, weed-smoking white guy who is a former CIA operative whose memories of his life as an agent have been wiped.  When the CIA decides it’s time for him to be purged, his killer instincts kick in and he realizes he is more than he seems.

As I said in previous posts, I use MoviePass now so I can see a different movie every day for only $30 a month.  I told my mom it’s like “use or lose” leave for the cinema.  Since American Ultra was heavily advertised as a “stoner film” I had low expectations of seeing any black people.

Since I intentionally don’t do a whole lot of investigating before I choose the film I want to see, I was pleasantly surprised to see John Leguizamo.  He is probably one of my favorite Latino actors and in my top five comedic actors/stand-up comedians of all time.  I am talking all the way back to House of Buggin’ in 1995 on Fox!

But Leguizamo’s character troubled me.  He said “nigga” an awful lot to the main character.  I *think* I understood what the writers were trying to do.  I mean, one would not expect a small town West Virginia hustler to be politically correct.  And yes, I’ve seen plenty of Latinos say nigga (and it does not bother me) and I have seen black people call white people nigga (and it does not bother me).  But there was something about John Leguizamo delivering these particular lines to this particular character that bothered me.

maxlandis

Maybe it’s because this guy, Max Landis, wrote American Ultra.  Not exactly who I have in mind when I consider who has the agency to say nigga.

At any rate, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that John Leguizamo has a great body for a man of a certain age.

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Which brings me to the black people who are in American Ultra.  You already see Lavell Crawford pictured above.  There was also Sam Malone, James Moses Black, and an actor who played one of the assets (not sure which one, but he had dreadlocks).

You know, considering I had low expectations, I was disappointed anyway.  Unlike Vacation, which had stellar, but brief performances by Keegan-Michael Key and Regina Hall, the appearances by every black actor in American Ultra was forgettable.  I don’t think the acting was bad, per se, but I think the dialogue was just blah–for the black actors as much as the rest of the entire cast.

You know, I really tried to like the film.  It had a creative premise, fun action scenes, and believable performances by everyone, I suppose.  And it was much more of an ensemble piece than I expected.  But the plausibility of a plot is important to me, no matter how far-out it might be.  Could it happen?  If it could happen, is the script making me believe it?  Are the actors?

In this case, I think the actors tried, but they couldn’t make a wack script hot.

At the end of the day, I could have randomly caught this on cable and enjoyed it.  I left the theater feeling annoyed.

So yes, American Ultra has black people in it–but it might as well not.

 

 

Straight Outta Compton: There Are Black People In It

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There were a million and one ways Hollywood could have messed this movie up.

Thankfully, they did not.  They started by having the presence of mind to cast black actors in the role of actual black people.

They don’t always get that right.  But this time they did.

There are a lot of black people in this film.

Ironically, but perhaps authentically, a many of the stadium concert scenes were filled with white extras in the seats.  I found that somewhat odd, but I never went to an NWA concert as a child, so perhaps that was accurate.  It is a fact (don’t ask for sources) that hip-hop earned its wealth through album sales in the white suburbs.  So the concert scenes in this film were a very subtle, but powerful nod to that idea.

When I first heard there would be an NWA movie, I was scared that it would be wack.  Now that I’ve seen it, I am truly happy with how it was done!  Most, if not all of the roles were cast perfectly.  To me, the standout was Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, but every actor did a good job.  I was very happy to see Aldis Hodge as well–it’s just a shame that it was in the relatively small role of MC Ren.

As is the theme of my reviews, I reiterate that there are black people in this film.  However, you will not see many black women.  Although the ones you do see are depicted positively (Dr. Dre’s mom as well as the partners of the NWA leads), you will not see a conversation about the misogyny of the era and of the genre.  While that’s a disappointment, I don’t think social justice warriors would be disappointed in the authentic portrayal of the meaning of NWA as a moment in time, especially juxtaposed against the Rodney King verdict and ensuing riots.

I liked this film.  I really did.  I encourage you all to see it while it is in theaters.

Vacation: There Are Black People In It

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I recently saw the film Vacation, a continuation of the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise from the 80s.  It was not very good.  But there were black people in it, namely Keegan-Michael Key and Regina Hall!  They were pretty good.

Sorry I don’t have much else to say.  Wasn’t a good film or a good use of black folks.  It was the typical “Black neighbor/friends juxtaposed against kooky white family” for a scene.  Oh well, maybe next time!

Trainwreck: There Are Black People In It

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I try to only support those films and television shows that have black characters, preferably in leading roles. I don’t dislike white people.  I just really make a conscious effort to support art, culture, and media that is reflective of my experience and that of my people.  I think something happens to the souls of people of color when they don’t see themselves.

So when I signed up for MoviePass, the service which allows you to see as many movies as there are days in the month for a small monthly fee, I knew I was going to have to see “white” films if I was going to get my money’s worth.

The first film I saw was Trainwreck with Amy Schumer.  I had wanted to see Dope, but that had already left my local theater.  Gallows was also on my list, but it got terrible reviews.  So Trainwreck it was.  I literally knew nothing about the movie except it was supposed to be some sort of bawdy romantic comedy with some familiar faces from Saturday Night Live and some cameos and walk-ons from other celebrities I was familiar with.

Since you can get full reviews elsewhere, I will just share the three most important things:

  • I really did enjoy the movie!
  • Bill Hader is like really cute to me.
  • There really were black people in it!

No, it wasn’t a predominately black cast, but I enjoyed not only the portrayal of the black people who were present, but the real (if not awkward) discussions of race among the white people in the movie.  There were a few jokes that were related to black folks/hip-hop/urban culture that clearly flew over the heads of many in my theater, but earned hearty guffaws from the people of color sitting near me.

Look out for LeBron James, Method Man, Leslie Jones, Tim Meadows, Amar’e Stoudemire, and a few others making notable appearances.

Again, it was a great movie and I am glad it kicked off my MoviePass experience.  (And if you want to try MoviePass, please click on the link to use my referral code.)

Kids These Days: Best Practices for Youth Step Shows

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In February, I was asked to be a judge for a youth step show at my alma mater, Georgetown University.  As the founder of the GU Step Team (GUST) I was honored to come back and participate.

There were three teams: Dem Raider Boyz, the Lady Raiders, and the Lady Legacy Step Team.  I enjoyed the show and photos are below:

But I did want to bring some things up for people to consider when coaching teams or sponsoring step shows.

Always teach the history before you teach the choreography.  Stepping is an African American art form, first and foremost.  In its present form, it comes from African American fraternities and sororities via many other cultural traditions.  If any stepper does not know this, they should not perform.

There is a difference between boys’ teams and girls’ teams.  They should compete in their own divisions, not against one another.

You can have too much of a good thing.  Consider dividing your team into smaller squads.   Yes, large squads are impressive, but smaller squads are more versatile.

Stop appropriating traditional steps from fraternities and sororities.  Instead, go on YouTube and find videos of great choreography, period.  Beyonce does it.  So can you.  Incorporate moves from different time periods into brand new percussive steps.

You don’t have to grit.  And some teams are calling it the “stank face” which is even worse.  Gritting comes from the black fraternal experience and I am not comfortable with youth emulating it.  There’s a time and place to learn what gritting means and why it’s done.  High school is not that time.

Finally, know that there is life after stepping.  Stepping is a form of dance, and dance is an art, so that makes you an artist.  Take those skills with you to college and consider joining a dance troupe.  And obviously there are professional step teams and dance troupes to join after college, too.  if you are good, keep going!

I am looking forward to my next youth show.  Hopefully there will be many more teams that are ready to handle the stage.

Film Review: Rag Tag

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Rag_Tag_FilmPosterA few months ago, I watched a film called Rag Tag that had been in my Amazon wish list for literally years.  I hadn’t made a point of watching it because I hadn’t been given any particular recommendations to do so.  But thank goodness for Netflix.

I apologize for the sparseness of this review.  I had really, really intended to write a review within a week of watching it.  Then life happened.  Oops.

So Rag Tag is essentially a gay black love story set in the UK.  Basic premise:  two boys who are best friends are separated in their adolescence and reunited in their early to mid 20s.  Both have lived their lives trying to conform to heteronormativity, but have failed because they were essentially in search of one another.

The bad news is that this is a low-budget film which often looks like it.  But isn’t that the case with so many pieces of art that emerge in support of the black gay aesthetic?  Drawing on my own experience, I know that my first novel Lazarus was not a masterpiece, but it remains a sentimental favorite for many of the readers who knew me way back when.

Similarly, Rag Tag is not perfect, but it is necessary.  There is a dearth of black gay romance on television and in film, so this movie fills the void (somewhat).  It feels authentic.  It feels right.

As a bonus, the viewer will also get to see this story unfold on two continents, neither of which includes the Americas.  The portion of the story centering on Africa drags at times, but it so important in deepening the story of Rag and Tag.

Rag Tag didn’t win any Academy Awards, but it did remind me that it will have a special place in the hearts of every black gay boy who needed to see themselves depicted in a positive and realistic way.

Find it on your favorite streaming video platform or be a pal to the filmmakers and purchase the DVD.

 

Ferguson, Social Media, and Good White Folks

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It seems as though we are entering into a new era of the civil rights movement and the onus is on white people to put their heads into the game.

There are many other writers who are versed in social justice generally and Ferguson specifically that can address the details of what’s going on globally.  As for me, I just want to focus on what I’m observing in my own social media sphere.

I see people of color who are hurting.  I am hurting.  We’ve had enough.  We are tired of being the only people speaking out when another black person gets killed at the hands of the police, or at the hands of cowards who think they are the police.

We’re tired of being the go-to people when good white folks need to get their thoughts organized.  But thankfully, good white folks are finally getting it!  This time, things have been different for me.  I haven’t been sent a lot of personal messages on what white people should do, or say, or how they should act, or where they should volunteer or donate.

Now I see my white friends (my real white friends, not the ones I happen to be connected to) actually engaging their own circles.  They are speaking out first on these injustices.  They are being intentional in their outreach to each other.  They are acknowledging their whiteness and the privilege it entails.

In fact, #WhitePrivilegeWednesday arose as a means of white folks talking to each other about their privilege.  It’s a day I get to be silent (if I choose) and let white people talk it out themselves.  I can only do so much as a magical negro patient black man person, but white folks can actually listen to each other, challenge each other, and somehow come to an understanding on the complex issues we’re facing.

I am proud of Good White Folks.  They are also fighting against the fallacy of “black on black violence” and other distracting debates.

And you know what?

It’s all because they learned how to Google the same shit I Googled when I needed to learn more about these things myself.  They follow the same blogs I do, read the same books I have, and otherwise educated themselves.  They don’t rely solely on my worldview.  However, they do give me the space to be pissed, to cuss, and to say “Fuck white people” without them chiming in with “Not all white people.”

There is still a lot of work to be done, though.  Good White Folks still have to educate the white folks who call us “animals” and “savages” when we riot and loot.  They have to educate the white folks who believe in the myth of the bootstraps.  They have so much work to do, but they can do it.

But I’ll tell you one thing…it took me years to get to the point where I am only connected to white people who are committed to dismantling white supremacy.

And…

Trust…

I know a-plenty of black folks who rely on white supremacy to build their own personal wealth.  I mean, I did go to Georgetown.  As my mom told me at a young age, when the revolution comes, some black folks are gonna have to go, too.

Richard II

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Last night, a character on Red Band Society (great new show on Fox) recited a line from Henry V. And it was cute or whatever, but it reminded me how I fell in love with Samuel West’s portrayal of Richard II when I went to England way back in 2000. Truth be told, I had to creatively gain credits in order to graduate on time, and Georgetown’s “Shakespeare: Text and Performance” course was a good way to earn six credits and two courses in four weeks. Plus, I’d get to see the UK. (Note:  It looks like they shortened the program.  That’s too bad.)

I believe we saw six (or seven?) plays all together, four of which were Shakespearean (Richard II, Henry IV parts one and two, and Romeo and Juliet), and then The Rivals and the the Mystery Cycles (religious vignettes) at York Minster.

(Typing those words makes me feel smarter than I really am.)

I am still friends with several folks I met on that trip and I really want to go back to the UK some day, for an extended period if I can. Reflecting on it, I felt both incredibly aware of my blackness in England yet also incredibly free. Certainly the British have racism and racists and privilege and all of that (and I would NEVER go back to York if I could help it), but I also felt like I was part of the diaspora in ways I do not feel here in the states.

I suppose in some ways when you are not home, and you’re black, you look for color everywhere. And England is indeed colorful.

Back to Richard II. The version we saw was at “The Other Place” which was the smallest of the three theaters making up the Royal Shakespeare Company’s properties. It was a “white box” with minimal scenery and gorgeous costumes designed by Sue Willmington.

I really wish there was a DVD of this performance. It was so good.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have traveled overseas at an age where it mattered so much in my development into manhood and into writerhood. I look at this performance of Richard II and I can see now how much it informs the stories I tell, particularly that my protagonists are often not terribly sympathetic and are deeply flawed.

Just a little trip down memory lane.  Sometimes I am amazed at the things I was able to do before I learned how to worry.

Novels that have influenced me

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One of the many memes going around Facebook these days is a reinvigorated “Top Ten Novels” list.  Several people have challenged me to list ten novels which have impacted my life in some way.  Obviously Lazarus, Covenant, Epiphany, and Birth of a Dark Nation impacted my life the most! However, here are ten other novels which also influenced me or changed my life in some way:

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The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty. This is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read. Paul Beatty truly inspired me to take my writing seriously at a young age. He was a poet-turned-novelist, something like me, and his lyricism and vocabulary came together in ways I had never seen before.

[Read more…] about Novels that have influenced me

The Resurgence of DC Black Pride

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Last weekend, as is every Memorial Day Weekend, was DC Black Pride, sometimes referred to as DC Gay Black Pride by those of us who aren’t ashamed of the word “gay.”

I went to my first Pride in the year 2000.  It was epic.  I think everyone’s first Pride is epic, no matter how small it becomes.  I didn’t attend my next Pride until the year 2004.  That year I sat in the lobby at the feet of author Brent Dorian Carpenter as he held court, selling his book and making new friends.  It’s because of Brent that I knew I could publish without the aid of an agent or traditional publishing house.  The following year, 2005, I participated in Pride as an author and vendor for the first time.  Since then, I have attended Pride each year, if even only for a few minutes.

A few years ago, DC Black Pride “fell off.”  Not only were the crowds dwindling due to competition from circuit parties and for-profit LGBT-related vacations, it could also be said that Pride itself had not trained the next generation of leaders to take it over from the elders.  For me, the last straw was last year, when I was told rather flippantly that there would be no authors forum.

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You have to understand, in addition to all the parties that Pride is known for are the more important workshops and “daytime” events, such as the Poetry Slam, the Film Festival, the Author’s Forum.  It’s not just vendors… this is an opportunity for authors to directly connect with their readers, get new readers, and inspire other writers – just as I was inspired by Brent.

Perhaps even more importantly is that the people who attend Pride are those who want to be on the forefront of new movements in the black gay community, politically and artistically.  If I hadn’t been an avid Pride attendee, I would have never known about black gay films like The Ski Trip and black gay shows like Noah’s Arc.

So it was a heartbreaker that they eliminated the Writer’s Forum.

But this year they brought it back and I was invited!  As usual, I had a ball.  Wyatt O’Brian Evans did a more than capable job as the moderator.  I was joined on the panel by old friends BuddahDesmond and LaToya Hankins and new friends J. Omarr and Tiana Meek (T’Ego). I think it was the right size, diverse mix of opinions, and a good vibe overall.  The audience had great questions, too.   I was lucky to reconnect with other old friends from my Georgetown days.

I would say that DC Black Pride is definitely alive and well.  The audiences, though smaller than they were in the mid-00’s, are growing again.  The spirit was back.  Nobody seemed defeated or tired or unhappy.  The name finally matched the feeling – PRIDE.

I hope this message encourages all of you who had written Pride off to make it your Memorial Day Weekend destination once more.  The writers are still writing and we are again being included.   Let’s make it even bigger next year, okay?