Falling In Love...w/ an IGNORANT Song!

Okay so I am a victim....of feeding into the ignorant song movement.

Often times I find myself humming or grooving along to a song by Plies or Souljah Boy...I guess I'm just a victim of my environment.

I feel that artists are not excluded from the impact the recession has on American's wallets. Many artists want to continue to bring in their oogobs of money and how are they going to do this? Feed their listeners what they want. And it seems that their listeners are supporting and buying this "ignorant" music that some of our favorite artists create....so why not continue to make it so they can continue to get the money so they can continue to live the lavish lives they live? I mean...I would.

But that is not what should be happening.

Music is supposed to uplift the community and should serve as support during the trying times we are in. As consumers, we should be supporting the artists that create this music and groove to those lyris instead of the sexually explicit and often demeaning songs that we often finds ourselves bumping in our cars on a daily basis.

I shouldn't be preaching because I am at fault for contributing to these song but it would be nice if people could turn on their radios and hear something that sent a positive message instead of yelling at all the women to bounce their butts up...down...and from left to right....

Maybe when the recession is over we can get back to a more powerful message in our music.

Rappers Turned Actors.....

Don't get me wrong....

I am ALL about people exploring their options in their career choice. You know...if you are a dog groomer...and you've always had a passion for event planning....so you decide to open up an event planning company for birthdays for dogs...that's awesome! Best Wishes! But please! please! please!...know what you are doing and perfect your craft so you can be the best dog birthday/event planner in the industry!

Where am I going with this...?

Okay...this whole rapper turned actor thing...! I think it is great! Expand your repertoire...learn more about yourself and the business while you’re at it...but if you have had little to no experience in the acting world...don't do it. Go get lessons for months or even years before you try to enter the acting realm.

So many times...people with no experience in acting get placed into a movie just because of their fame....not because of their acting experience and they add nothing to the film! It makes people walk away from the movie saying..."hmm....that would have been a GREAT movie except if...’so and so’ wasn't in it.."

Not everyone can be like Will Smith or Queen Latifah and Ice Cube. It takes acting classes....meditation...and many other tools to master the craft of acting and actually make a connection and lasting impression with the viewing audience. I feel that if a rapper wants to venture into the acting world they must be willing to not only silde through but master the acting classes they participate in so they will not be another....rapper turned actor failure.

Slumdog Millionaire.

I thought Slumdog Millionaire was a phenomenal movie!

I found myself getting caught up with the story. Jumping and at times shrieking at the way people got killed or punished by authority.

The cinematography was great! The camera angles and the dim/dusty look allowed for viewers to feel really take in the look of the slums in India. The fact that the movie was centered around the questions from the TV show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire was interesting. I was able to follow it and I thought it was a nice way to tell Jamal's story.

I do agree with Phill Boogie in the sense that they should have added a part to the movie to allow viewers to grow closer to the actual relationship between Jamal and Latika. I felt for these characters and really wanted them to fulfill their destiny to be together but I do feel like the directors should have just added something around the scene where Jamal allowed Latika to get out of the rain and sleep under whatever it was that they were sleeping under. I think that would have allowed viewers to have an understanding as to why Jamal desperately wanted to find Latika instead of him randomly asking Salim about him or searching the streets for her.

I felt the children who played Jamal, Salim and Latika were adorable and great actors...to the point where when they got older I wanted them to stay younger. Overall, I thought the movie was very moving and humorous. I would definitely recommend everyone to see this movie and buy it when it comes out.

Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I.Really.Enjoyed.The.Curious.Case.Of.Benjamin.Button.

The movie captured the story in a beautiful way. I agree with Randy Bandit, the cinematography and special graphics was great. It really added to the story. I enjoyed watching Benjamin evolve over the years and I sort of felt attached to him and sorry for him at the same time. At first, I thought it was wild how ugly they made Benjamin looked in the beginning of the movie. He looked nasty and I definitely did not expect for his father to give him away in the manner that he did.

I also found it interesting how Henson's character served as his motherly figure and I often felt sorry for her because she had to add another dimension to her life filled of nurturing. I felt like she already had a lot on her plate (taking care of all of those older people) and I didn't necessarily want her to take on Benjamin simply because of all of the extra care he needed. Although I found myself being selfish on her behalf, I grew attached to her character because of her nurturing spirit.

I thought it was hilarious how the director gave humor to the elderly man who got struck by lightening numerous times in his life. It added a light and totally random element to the movie in which I enjoyed.

I could go on and on reflecting on all of the different parts of the movie that I enjoyed but I won't. If I could chose one element that made the movie great it would definitely be in cinematography (like I stated above). I enjoyed the dialogue but the way the picture the movie was shot in and the graphics that depicted Benjamin's physical being were spectacular. I have never seen a movie done in this way and not look cheap and unbelievable.

This movie is definitely one that everyone will enjoy and leave with an emotional attachment to the characters.

WAKE UP!!!!

Guess what!!

I FINALLY saw School Daze! I told you I was going to do it...

So...I'm not going to lie...I got a kick out of watching School Daze. I am a fan of musicals and I thought Spike Lee's portrayal of the lives of students at Historically Black Colleges was very interesting and influential.

As I was watching the film, I just thought that Spike Lee was going to tell the story of fraternities and sororities and other "groups" on HBCU campuses. I was some what surprised to see that he structured the ending "Wake Up!!" scene. For those that forgot, this scene had Lawrence Fisbourne's character ringing a large bell while shouting at the top of his lounges for his fellow students to "Wake Up!"

I thought it was very interesting that Spike Lee chose to portray this message after he painted the image of what goes on on many HBCU campuses year after year. The "Wake Up!" mentality is depicted as the thought processes that African Americans, not only on college campuses, but across the country need to wake up and realize that black people as a whole need to better themselves. African Americans need to stop settling for less than what is possible for them to achieve and reach and aspire for advancement.


Even though this movie came out in 1988, there are still African American people across the world that still have what can be referred to as having a "local" mentality. This generalized mentality is one in which "locals" feel that if they come from a small town full of people who do not pursue more than the minimum. These people are often born, raised, work and continue their lives day to day with little notion to get out of their small town and pursue dreams that are bigger than what their community can offer them.


On Hampton University's campus, many students refer to the people who do not go to our school as locals. Hampton University students refer to these people as locals because they portray an attitude that reflects the mentality of them feeling that Hampton University students "feel" that they are better than what they are. When discussing these "locals" many Hampton University students talk about them in a demeaning way. Students talk about the way they talk, act and dress and I can see how locals may feel that we think we are better than them because we often make comments that show such a mentality...although that may not be how we mean to come off as.

When Lawrence Fishbourn's characters and his friends went to KFC and were met with some scruffier looking, trash talking men who grew up and reside in that area. The "locals" were talking down to Fishbourne's character and his friends, calling them niggers and telling them that they think they are better than the locals just because they are pursuing an education.

I feel School Daze did a great job of pointing out nuances within the black community. This allows viewers to see how crazy some of the way people's mentalities are. Hopefully people, not only black people, will realize how necessary it is for change to take place so that the children our black community is raising will not continue this “local” mentality.

School Daze.

This past summer I decided that I was going to FINALLY watch this well-known movie, School Daze. I heard so much about it...saw clips here and there...but never actually sat down and watched the movie in its entirety. I couldn't find the movie in Blockbusters...Hollywood Video...the $5 bin at Wall-Mart...anywhere! I have no idea why I have not been able to find such a popular movie in one of these stores...so...needless to say...School Daze continues to be on my list of movies that I should have seen...but just haven't gotten around to it yet list.

But anyways...

From what I have seen from various video clips and musical selections...one of the topics the movie highlights is the issue of light and dark skinned African Americans. The movie showcases these people as traveling in packs and hating on each other simply because of their shade of “blackness”. I find it crazy to think something like this could have actually occurred in our history...but sadly I can believe that this form of stereotyping really did exist.

In School Daze, the dark skinned people were showcased as brash and belligerent while the light skinned people were portrayed as "siddity" and prissy. These portrayals are not always the case but of course there are exceptions which include people that actually embody these generalizations.

I feel that it is beneficial that Spike Lee chose to shine light on that subject matter in a humorous way. Although stereotypes are a sensitive subject, it needs to be highlighted and discussed so people can see how ridiculous some of the stereotypes we discuss on a day to day basis truly are. As people, we need to not judge others. We need to be accepting of all races and shades that come within a race until they prove that they should be treated otherwise. Far too often, people are not able to progress through life because they are cut short of opportunity by people who think they are going to act a certain way in which they may not in reality.

Coming together as a whole and stopping the use of generalizations of people will only further our human race.

Films like School Daze are beneficial and add a humorous touch to a serious subject that we all need to be aware of.

Double Idemnity.

So as I'm perusing the interview on illprofessors.com with Arlen Escapeta from the new horror movie, Friday the 13th, I see that her favorite movie is Double Idemnity. Coincidently, I just watched that movie for my film criticism class and enjoyed it!

*Sorry...I got a tad bit of a spoiler for those of you that just so happen to read this and haven’t seen it...!*

Double Idemnity is a classic black and white film released in 1944. The film describes the story of Walter Neff, a salesman for an Insurance Company and a married, Phyllis Dietrichson. Phyllis has an affair with Walter. They fall in love and plan to murder her abusive husband so she can get the insurance money and begin her life with Walter. After Walter and Phyllis have carried out the murder, Walter finds out from Phyllis' husband's daughter that she believes that Phyllis killed her mother. Walter also becomes suspicious that Phyllis was cheating on him with a younger man. This causes him to murder Phyllis.

So there is more to what I wrote about the film...but that's the jist of it. I thought the dialogue between Phyllis and Walter was very interesting. I thought it was funny how Walter was directly flirting with Phyllis and how she would come back at him with sharp responses. Such as the conversation about the police scenario where Phyllis feels that Walter was getting a little "fresh" by asking if he was breaking the speed limit by flirting with her as much as he was.

I also found it interesting how they did not show Walter and Phyllis having sex in the movie. The most they showed was them kissing…which was not too disturbing to watch like it can sometimes get nowadays. Back in the day, viewers had to...put two and two together. For example, in Double Idemnity, viewers could tell a sexual act just occurred when Phyllis was reapplying her lipstick and Walter was relaxing on the chair, smoking a cigar.

I think the film was very good. The dialogue was interesting; the murder story was inviting and made me want to see how Walter and Phyllis’ plan evolved throughout the movie. I did not know about this gem before this film criticism class and am glad I had to watch it. I'm interested to see what else I have missed out on from the era this movie came out of.