Hampton06

i saw chris rock's 'good hair.' i saw it with my mom and my aunt, both of whom have hair. in fact, all of the women in the theater had hair and many of them seemed very invested in what chris had to say about the subject.

i saw the film in a small, old style theater; pre-megaplex. the screen was about the size of a nice plasma. this made things a bit more intimate than i like, but when in rome...

the theater filled with small groups of women and a handful of couples. initially, outside of being black, there wasn't any specific common thread.

and then the film started...

at one point, after seeing what the chemical in a perm can do to a soda can, it felt like all of the women in there (my mother and aunt excluded) were going to join hands and pray.

i have NEVER experienced this sort of behavior in a theater. i have heard people shout recipes ('soul food'). i have seen people dance in the aisle ('school daze'). i have seen fights (magic johnson theaters - crenshaw plaza). none of that compared to the way these women began to speak, full voice, to each other as they watched this film.

there seemed to be both a sense of fun and embarrassment. a woman began screaming, 'my hair is beautiful!' when chris couldn't get shop owners to buy black hair. another woman screamed, 'no more perms my sistas!' half the audience applauded and began chanting 'no perms!'

wtf?!?

as i sat there, i actually got sad. folks have really done a number on us. i don't care what anyone does to their hair; but the idea that the 'norm' is a perm, is sobering. the idea that it's radical just letting your hair grow as it naturally comes out of head is pretty bad.

the saddest part of the film was a moment with a couple of high school girls. one of the girls had a natural. the other girls with straight hair went on to say how unkempt and possibly unemployable the young lady with the natural looked. the girl was beautiful.

parents, uncles, aunts, friends sisters, brothers...we have to do better.

side note: i will discuss this new fascination w/black men in riding boots in another post. chris' film featured the very popular stylist derek j. from atlanta's 'real housewives.'

in a touring production of 'the wiz.'










here she is starring in 'busted up.' how did i miss this?


by the way...if you're reading this on facebook, i don't think video, or pics show up in their feed. go to the original post on hampton06.com

i woke up from my nap today to find martin sheen dishing out raw emotion in the 1986 tv movie "samaritan: the mitch snyder story."

cicely tyson co-starred. she was an old homeless woman. the makeup was horrible. cicely doesn't look that old now and it's 23 years later. it got me thinking though...the makeup and hair departments jack cicely up quite often.

anyhoo...

what really caught my eye, was the recognizable character actor standing around in most of the scenes. i know his face, but i've never known his name. as i looked at him today, i realized that he was the original michael clarke duncan.

i couldn't think of what else he'd been in right off hand, so with the magic of google, i was able to discover that his name is stan shaw. he's probably best known for "harlem nights" and "roots: the second generation."

while not a household name, i think his legacy is breaking down barriers for large black men to play gentle souls.

one of the things that i like to do on lazy weekend days is watch old movies. i especially like when there's a film on that it seems like i should have seen and sometimes, in certain company, i will let people assume that i've watched; for example, "silkwood."

today, my early matinee included the last hour of "cocoon" - genius and "gorillas in the mist."
i recall that i avoided seeing "gorillas..." on purpose. the whole white woman, going to africa and saving the gorillas thing might have been too much for me at the time.

i decided that this was the day. so i leaned back into my sofa, ready to watch sigourney work her magic in the jungle.

within the first fifteen minutes, i was already squirming. sigourney arrives in africa in this outfit more suited for wimbledon. she quickly adapts to her surroundings and has african men carrying her things around in no time. ahhh...just like home.

at one point, soldiers destroy her camp and she begins screaming, "i'm american!" julia louis-dreyfus did the same thing on this week's 'new adventures of old christine' when she got stuck on the customs office in the bahamas. at least with julia, it was supposed to be funny.

in one "moving" scene, after tracking unsuccessfully with her african guide, sigourney finally sees her first gorillas. sigourney is taken in by their beauty and majesty. i was literally thinking, "just leave them alone."

then out of nowhere, one of the gorillas goes ape shit and begins chasing sigourney and her guide.

i found myself saying, "get 'em." at that point, i knew it was time to shut it down. i shouldn't be rooting for the gorilla to kill sigourney. she was only there trying to help.

i rolled over and went to sleep.

“The African-American Influence in Film” was the name of a panel that I participated in at this year’s Mid-Atlantic Black Film Festival. I wasn’t exactly sure where that topic would lead the discussion. How would the moderator frame the conversation? We never really did address the African-American influence, but as in most discussions about blacks in film, the conversation turned to money and power.

Money and power.

One of the films that was mentioned during the panel was “District 9.” I hadn’t seen it yet. There was this idea of ownership of ghetto themes. It was if the film had a responsibility as a social commentary, more than as a piece of entertainment. The thought was that the aliens represented “us” and the film itself was a vague attempt to put a sci-fi spin on apartheid.

I’d read about the Nigerian government’s request that theaters stop playing the film. Admittedly, I didn’t pay much attention to the controversy. I didn’t think much more of it than I did of the uproar over the recent “Transformers” film. Now, after seeing the film, I understand why Nigerians are upset.

Nigerians are portrayed as alien flesh eaters, prostitutes, gangsters and witch doctors. As I type this, I realize it sounds a bit like Lafayette on “True Blood.” The difference however, is that Lafayette represents himself, not blacks. The Nigerian characters in “District 9” appear to paint a broad picture of the entire population. Going back to that money and power theme, the larger problem is that many people won’t make the distinction. They will just have this visual impression of Africans. Sure, they’ll all read about Nigeria’s issue with the film, but will anyone care? Is Hollywood concerned with losing the money from the box office in Nigeria? Probably not.

What I hope doesn’t get lost in the controversy, is the fact that “District 9” is a great film. The film’s core story about a bureaucrat, who doesn’t care much about the aliens until they become a personal issue, rang very true. How many of us become more concerned about AIDS, cancer, homosexuality, abuse etc. after we are personally affected? I watch the news sometimes and wonder why they interview black people after a young black child is killed. I suspect that someone white would also have a compassion for that type of tragedy. It’s that sort of separation being examined in the film; the idea that one person’s pain is different from someone else’s.

The film made me think back to the festival panel. There were those who felt strongly that like the aliens in “District 9,” they were relegated to the ghetto of the filmmaking community. They are forced to take the scraps that Hollywood dishes out. In some ways I understand the frustration, but I believe that we have more power than we give ourselves credit for. In the film, one of the aliens, with his own resources, creates a spaceship in the hopes of finding his way out of the ghetto. In terms of film, Tyler Perry has created his own spaceship. The brothers at Rainforest Films have as well. There are others doing the same. The availability of inexpensive digital equipment makes it more possible than ever for people to tell their stories. So while for some, “District 9” is another example of the exploitation of people of color, I saw a film about the power of hope and ingenuity. If I’d seen the film prior to the festival panel, I would’ve told everyone to build their own spaceship and stop waiting for a ride on someone else’s.

To hear and read more from The Ill Professors, go to illprofessors.com

nene leakes is a star. period. anderson cooper loves her and so does ryan seacrest. the breakout star of bravo's atlanta version of 'real housewives' is making moves in hollywood.

this past week she co-hosted the red carpet of the emmys on E!. it was great fun watching the annoying mr. jay get upstaged by nene. it was even more fun to watch nene not shift gears because of her new surroundings. she was as "refined" as she is on her 'real housewives.'

i could just imagine lisa wu and sheree eating chips and being totally annoyed that they were not on the carpet. i mean, they are the ones who know the fashion world. (if this is your first time reading my blog, i am being sarcastic.)

i was celebrating nene's keep it real success and then all of a sudden a flash of nell carter went through my mind. i guess it wasn't really nell carter. it was nell carter as her character in 'gimme a break.' big, loud, sassy. then the flashes kept coming...

monique (pre-"precious"), louisse beavers, effie white, etc.

ms. leakes falls into a long line archetypal mammy characters that america has fallen in love with. she's nurturing, even with kim's kids. she's loud, sassy and tells it like it is.

and i love it.

there's a part of me though, that wants to see lisa and sheree get their own little piece of the pie. for me, that would actually be a forward step. they are "soulful," but in a much different way than nene is. ironically, there success hampered by their chiseled features and silky hair. i root for them in the same way i root for aisha tyler. not everybody has the capacity to suck their teeth, roll their eyes and necks as nene and monique, but there's room for all of us right?

my gut tells me that sheree might actually have a better go of things if she embraced the gays. she's a bitch, has high cheekbones and created the BEST catch phrase of the year, "who gon'check me boo?" she could have a good three year run at pride festivals just off of the catchphrase alone.

all this nell carter talk has me wanting to bump my 'ain't misbehavin' soundtrack.

I was watching the “Tyra Show” recently and there was a young lady of mixed black and white heritage speaking of her dislike of black people. The young woman had chocolate brown skin and resented the fact that she didn’t benefit from her whiteness in terms of her complexion. She wants to pass.

In addition to that young woman, there were several other guests of mixed heritage who complained that they didn’t like part of who they are. Most were using broad stereotypes of the culture they were choosing to deny. Putting aside how sad I felt for these women, I couldn’t help but notice how flawed their positions were.

As I begin another year as a professor at an HBCU, I realize that I cherish the university I work for because of its unique characteristics, not just because it’s black. In this supposed post-race era we live in, many are asking if there is still a place for black colleges and universities. I find the question itself exhausting. I usually don’t respond to the question, but many who address it, speak of how different and special the experience of an HBCU is.

As a HBCU alum, I do feel that my experience was special, but much of the experience was unique to my alma mater. While there are many similarities between HBCUs, the bands, the Greek life etc.; going to Spelman is not the same as going to Lincoln. The schools are as individual as we are as people. Also, I don’t like the subtext that attending an institution that isn’t an HBCU is somehow less special. At best, I will say the experiences are different.

As I sat listening to the guests on “Tyra” unable to give specifics on what they hate, or love about whites, blacks, or Latinos; I thought about this HBCU discussion. The truth is, I can talk in some generalities about the HBCU experience versus a different type of college experience, but I think specifics work best.

As an undergrad, Hampton University was an oasis. The education, environment and support changed my life. As a professor at Hampton, it is still an oasis. The only difference is that I get to cherish the experience my students are having, in addition to my own. I am sure that most alumni and academics feel this way about their institutions. Ultimately, it’s about the students. As long as students seek the type of education that HBCUs provide, there should be a place for them to go.

For those who say that black institutions don’t give a “real world” experience, should we get rid of everything catered towards a specific market? I don’t ever hear anyone rallying against black clubs, or radio stations. Many people who will complain about HBCUs will gather exclusively with black folks on the Vineyard and at Essence Fest. They’ll join black sororities and fraternities. Why is that okay, but not a HBCU education?

It all comes down to personal choice. Sure, society has changed. We can go to any school we want. For that reason, I think it’s especially noteworthy that HBCUs have survived. Integration was the death of many things that were exclusively black. Many businesses and neighborhoods crumbled once blacks were free to live and shop wherever they wanted. That these schools still exist, speaks to their relevance.

Go to illprofessors.com to hear more.

not even babies can resist her powers...


bonnie has kim down...