Black History Month 2013 Day 6

Major Payne/Undercover Brother

Cultural Significance:

Again today’s features are films that are not Oscar winners, but they are absolutely amazing.

Major Payne was a film loosely based on the film The Private War of Major Benson starring Charlton Heston. (Which was news to me while I was researching this.) Now this movie was panned by critics, but the thing that made this movie pop out as culturally significant to me is that Major Benson’s character would have fit any actor profile. When you watch this film I feel that it was cast colorlessly. Damon Wayans was obviously the best choice, but only for his comedic qualities. The script relied on funny jokes that had nothing to do with race. Looking back on it now it is a breath of fresh air to know that it was that way, especially in 1995.

Undercover Brother is one of the best spoof films I have ever seen. It makes fun of blaxploitation films from the 70s and spy films (such as James Bond). It also walks a fine line of completely making the viewer guffaw at the ridiculousness of racial inequalities. This movie is brilliant. It makes dumb jokes and pokes a lot of fun, but underneath it all there is a lot of heart and realism. This movie was actually praised by critics for these very things that I have discussed above.

Personal Significance:

These two movies help define two parts of my life. Major Payne was a movie that we used to watch as a family, a lot. It was my first experience with Damon Wayans and my first time seeing Karyn Parsons outside of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It is also one of the most ridiculous/funny films I can remember. It is a movie that my dad can quote front to back along with my brother and I. I will say that is not a cinematic masterpiece, but any comedy fan I have ever met has told me that this movie is hilarious and is up there on their list of favorites.

One of my favorite scenes in the whole movie is when he decides to tell the young ones a bedtime story. It is classic Damon Wayans and an absolutely hilarious way to tell ‘The Little Engine That Could.’



My father is also a retired Marine so this movie was a way for him to connect with his kids through watching something related to the Corps that wasn’t too violent.

Undercover Brother on the other hand helps me define my college experience. It is a movie that we would all sit around watching together when we were supposed to be studying. (Shh…that’s our secret.) Now, my friends Ferg and Sherm would quote this constantly which would lead to the three of us in hysterics from laughing so hard. Our friend Staci would sit and roll her eyes because she believed the movie to be ridiculous which would lead us to quote it even more. It was such a fun way for us to then lead into more serious discussions about race relations and our thoughts on ‘The Man.’ It will not only make me laugh from the content, but also from the images of friends quoting it in my head.

These two movies will always go down in my personal history book as greatness. If not for amazing social commentary then non-stop laughs. Do yourself a favor and check them both out. You won’t be disappointed.

Black History Month 2013 Day 5

Remember the Titans:



Cultural Significance:

Remember the Titans sprung from the true story about the 1971 T.C. Williams High School football team in Alexandria, VA. Coach Herman Boone was given the job of head coach over a more popular coach from Alexandria, Coach Bill Yoast. The movie loosely follows their rise to State Champions. It is a powerful story that has affected audiences worldwide. It had a worldwide gross of $136.7 million and has a 73% critics approval rating on Rottentomatoes.com and a 91% audience rating.

Most people will call this a fun, inspirational and exciting football film that makes anyone smile when they watch it. Although the film follows the real story loosely and changes details to make the story flow you can still get a feel for the times this community was living in and the struggles that children can go through even when it is something that they may not fully understand. I think it deals with the struggle that children face when influenced by their parents thinking in a way that is organic and natural. It also shows that at our core we are all human beings that have the same emotions as anyone else and I believe this story will transcend the test of time to inspire generations to come.



Personal Significance:

This movie. Well, let me start off by saying that I have probably watched this movie about a hundred times. I’m a sucker for sports films, based on a true story films, and race-relations films. This was a movie that had them all rolled into one. I was in heaven. Plus, it has a killer soundtrack that I have nearly memorized. Plus, it stars Denzel Washington and (Des Moines, IA native) Greg Alan Williams. It can’t get much better than that.

One of the other reasons I love this movie so much is that it really shows how love and friendship is just that: love and friendship. It is simple and it doesn’t need to have all these restrictions surrounding it. Coach Boone was able to take these kids and show them that they were all just people working towards the same goal. He was also able to help them realize that they could be real friends that watch out for each other and love each other.

I have friends from all over the world and I know these lessons to be true. You are my friend because you are nice and I like you. It’s as simple as that.

When I was a student at William Jewell College (WJC) I had the opportunity to meet the real Coach Boone when he gave a lecture at WJC. It was really inspiring to hear from a person who really changed people’s lives with such simple lessons. He is definitely an example I’d like to follow.

Black History Month 2013 Day 4

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner/Guess Who

Cultural Significance:

I believe　that　these　two　films　really　reflected　the　times　in　which　we　were　living　in　when　each　film　was made. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? starred Sidney Poitier and was made in 1967. His fiancé was white and she took him home to meet the family. Guess Who starred Ashton Kutcher and was made in 2005. His fiancé was black and she took him home to meet the family.

1967 was a time when interracial relationships were frowned upon no matter the union, but the content of the film focused on a black man marrying a white woman. The film was set up under the premise that Sidney Poitier was the perfect man for the young woman. He was a doctor, came from a good family, and really loved her; however, he was black. This film was able to take a serious look at an issue that has become more common in recent years and show that love can prevail. Now, it is a Hollywood story and didn’t magically change the world, but it did start these conversations and give interracial couples confidence to be more open regarding their love and relationship.



2005 was a time when interracial relationships were a lot more common, but a black woman with a white man was still pretty uncommon. It is still pretty uncommon. The film was set up on the premise that Ashton Kutcher was not exactly the perfect man for the young lady, but he really, truly loved her. He had recently lost his job and he was always trying to impress her father so a lot of white lies were being told along the way. This film was a comedic way to look at this issue and it has a few uncomfortable scenes that show a few of the differences between cultures. However, it is again a Hollywood story so it was a happy ending story, but it was able to look at this issue from another way while also making people laugh.



Personal Significance:

Well, I will first say that Bernie Mac, rest his soul, has always been one of my favorite actors. He is hilarious and so much fun to watch on screen. Sidney Poitier will always be one of the great actors of the 20th century. Both of these men should be looked at fondly by cinematic history.

These movies are great. They touched my soul in different ways, but in ways that I could understand. I truly believe that love is love and so when I see people struggling over relationships based on things like skin color I can’t fully understand it. I have liked lots of people from all kinds of backgrounds, but it has always been on whether they are nice to me (and if they have cute shoes). LOL. Seriously though, these films are important to me because they put out a positive message of love, but it also shows some of the things that people struggle with when having interracial relationships.

Take some time and watch both of these films. I think you can enjoy both.

Black History Month 2013 Day 3

The Jeffersons & Good Times

Today's post is by my good friend Adam Ragan. He helped me out by discussing some of his favorite shows and films. Enjoy!

Ain’t we lucky we moved on up?



In the 1970s, there were two American sitcoms which occupied two extremes of the socioeconomic continuum. On the one end was Good Times, showcasing a family struggling to get by in project housing in Chicago and on the other end was The Jeffersons, showcasing a family who rose from poverty to the upper middle-class. What unites these shows, apart from their concurrent airdates and Norman Lear, is how they addressed through comedy the economic conditions of black families in the 1970s.



The theme songs of each show set the framework for how the shows characters were faring economically. The Jeffersons set the case that the characters had struggled for a long time but when given the opportunity to succeed or fail in business, they burst through the glass ceiling and “moved on up” to a high rise apartment, complete with a maid. Good Times’s theme operated under a tongue-in-cheek irony that, although the characters were standing in “chow lines” and getting “hastled’n hustled,” the love between the family members was the sole reason that poverty couldn’t, and wouldn’t, exact its toll in tearing the family down.

What makes these shows impactful is that, while dealing with serious topics relevant to life in the 1970s, they never lost sight of their comedic natures. It’s well known that Esther Rolle wanted to make sure the serious nature of black poverty was never overshadowed by the comedy on Good Times; yet, in watching Rolle’s performance, it’s clear that she knew how to charm and disarm through comedy even the most ardent disbeliever who might challenge the abhorrent living conditions of project housing. Marla Gibbs on The Jeffersons knew that some in the black community might challenge the notion that a black family would hire a black maid; thus, in her first appearance on the show she flawlessly delivered the line, “how come we overcame and nobody told me?!”

Beyond the comedy, there is yet another commonality binding these two programmes together: each dealt with black masculinity in up-front and vocal fashion. In the case of Good Times, John Amos’s James was a strong brother, hell-bent on taking care of his family and raising upstanding children. This stood in stark contrast to the white-majority notion that black men living in project housing were derelicts who cared little for their families and deserved their lowly socioeconomic status. Long before we as a culture had the “hand-up, not hand-out” slogan, Amos’s James was living the creed, always working to support his family. In the case of The Jeffersons, Sherman Hemsley shattered the myth that a wealthy black man might behave any differently from a wealthy white man; George Jefferson was just as entitled and removed from the yoke of poverty as any wealthy white man. Hemsley was able to show that there was no difference between white masculinity and black masculinity; it is the character of the man who occupies the body that determines the worth, not the skin colour of the man.



The Jeffersons continued that theme in the character of Tom Willis, a white man married to a black woman. This was the first such portrayal on television and Franklin Cover played the role wonderfully, often fending off racist zingers from Jefferson as much as other whites. I mention this often over-looked aspect because it had such a defining mark on me as a child watching reruns. I never understood why people couldn’t accept that Mr Willis fell in love with Mrs Willis and married her. He was white, she was black; so what? Even at an early age, I never understood why some whites and some blacks felt the races had no business falling in love. Love happens, deal with it!

These two shows have earned a place in our culture. Beyond discussing the times from which they come, they entertained then as much as they entertain now. The cast members from these shows occupy some of the top spots in television-honours lists. The characters they played are some of the most often quoted and referenced in pop-culture. The shows still air in syndication. And, perhaps more importantly, they still make us laugh forty years on. I thought I should include links to two of my favourite episodes, as well as the theme songs. Go ahead, sing along; I know you want to! Ain’t we lucky we can move on up with these shows?

Black History Month 2013 Day 2

Family Matters



Cultural Significance:

This TV series didn't win any prestigious awards, but it did win over the hearts and minds of many families in the 90’s.

Family Matters was a spin-off of the show Perfect Strangers. It focused on a middle-class family from Chicago and then, halfway through the first season, a neighbor kid named Steve Urkel literally stole show. His popularity carried the series to a nine season run. His one liners and quirky personality will forever be ingrained into every child of the 90’s. The phrase ‘Did I do that?’ will never be able to be said without a nasally impersonation of the show’s break-out star.

It is the third longest running TV show starring a predominantly black cast only behind The Jeffersons and Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. It ran from 1989 to 1998 with 215 episodes. It was part of the extremely popular TGIF line-up on ABC. Friday nights were never the same once the Winslow's entered your living room.



Personal Significance:

Today’s choice may surprise a lot of you. For those of you that know my brother and I well, you will be far from surprised. First and foremost, Urkel rules. I know that Family Matters was not an amazing show, but it was an amazing show for families to watch together. I've caught a few episodes in recent years and I realize that it will never be on top of any critics Ten Best list, but I will always have fond memories of this show.

When I was a kid I never wanted to do anything but watch TGIF on ABC every Friday night. Those shows were always the start of my weekend. I remember it being a time for us to watch TV together as a family. I also remember it being a time for my brother to perfect his impression of Steve Urkel as often as possible.

The thing that made TGIF special was that it was programming that was just showing families. I don’t remember there being much focus on the Winslows being a black family in Chicago. I just remember them being a family in Chicago. Family Matters dealt with the ups and downs of families and opened the door to other shows with predominantly black casts to premier on TGIF. Sister, Sister and Hangin with Mr. Cooper were able to grow because of the success of Family Matters.

I’m thankful that ABC took a chance on a series that was a very tiny spin-off of Perfect Strangers. Urkel will always have a special place in my heart and I hope to share the fun of this silly show with my nieces in years to come.

Black History Month 2013 Day 1

This year I decided to take a look at some of my favorite films and television shows starring black actors. I have also asked　a few friends, Adam Ragan, Marvin Dangerfield, & Staci Robinson, to write up a few as well. These choices may not all be blockbuster releases, well-known, or critically acclaimed, but they have shaped our lives in one way or another. This is　not　to　say,　however,　that　these　are　the　only　films　or　television　programs　with　black　actors　that　have cultural significance or influence, but in the short 28 days allowed for Black History Month these are the ones we wanted to share with you. These choices are not only important to Black History, but American History in general. Do you agree? What would be on your list? Take a look and follow along for Black History Month 2013.

Before we start, I would like to thank the exceptionally talented Asheley Brown for contributing her genius to this year’s banner. Love you so much lady!

'Boyz N The Hood' (1991)

Cultural Significance:

John Singleton wrote and directed this 1991 feature film about childhood friends in South Central Los Angeles. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr in his breakout role along with Laurence Fishburne, Morris Chestnut, and (one of my main men) Ice Cube. The story follows a group of friends through the ups and downs of life in South Central.

This movie has significance in Black History and Cinematic History for a couple of reasons. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. This made John Singleton the youngest person to ever be nominated for Best Director, as well as the first African-American nominated for this award.

It had a budget of $6.5 million and grossed $57.5 million. It was also screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. In 2002 this film was deemed ‘culturally significant’ by the Library of Congress and in turn was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The film is still referenced in rap music and had its 20th anniversary DVD release in 2011. Rotten Tomatoes, a movie review website, has given it a 96% rating and IMDB rates the film at 7.7 out of 10. Needless to say, the film still holds a lot of significance in popular culture.

Personal Significance:

Now, this movie has a really funny memory for me. Why, you ask? It is most definitely not a comedy, but the way I first watched it is very humorous. My parents used to tape movies off HBO and put all the titles down on a list. I would read through the list and find movies I thought were interesting, but needless to say in the mid-90s I was much too young to watch most of them. My parents would always say no when I said I wanted to watch Boyz ‘N’ The Hood, and the only reason I can think of that I wanted to watch it was because I thought the title was cool. So, one night when my grandma was babysitting us I got her to let us watch it. She said, “Are you sure you can watch this?” I said, “Of course! Mom and Dad let us watch it all the time.” As we get into the movie my grandma asks again (this time with more doubt in her voice) and I give the same answer (with more elation obviously). We finished it up and I went to bed. As you may guess, my parents were none too pleased, but that film has stuck with me forever. I never really thought about the violence, but I will always remember Cuba Gooding Jr’s impactful performance as Tre Styles.

If you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend it for the strong performances and the powerful story. If you have seen it I recommend revisiting this fantastic film.

Sources:
Wikipedia
IMDB

Calvin Dwayne Straughter 1982-2012

Calvin Dwayne Straughter. Here is a man that could make you love him and hate him in the same moment. Here is a man that made my college years so full of life and learning, but also made me want to strangle him on a consistent basis. Every time I’d ask him why he would say or do things when he knew it made me mad he’d just say “Because I’m testing you to see how far I can push our friendship. If I push you hard but you stick around I will know you are a true friend.” The crazy thing is that Calvin couldn’t be pushed back, not often anyway.

He was, however, always up for a heated discussion. I’ve heard that Calvin was a much angrier person before I met him in 2002, but the only anger I ever saw from Calvin was to better the human race. He got angry about things that a lot of people still push under the rug and ignore. I always valued that in Calvin and it took me a long time to be able to stand up and defend others like he did. Most people that didn’t know him just thought he was an “angry black man,” but it wasn’t just about race. He wanted equality for all. When Jewell was having discussions about protecting people regardless of sexual orientation Calvin was one of the loudest (and we all know he was loud) supporters of this protection on campus. I will never forget how Calvin wanted everyone to feel wanted and loved. Calvin chose the first Unity t-shirt quote by Audre Lorde “Your silence will not protect you.” Calvin encapsulated every part of this quote and taught me to try as I might be as impactful as he was.

Now, I knew bits and pieces about Black History when I met Calvin, but I would not be the advocate I am today for promoting the history of African Americans that I am without him. From my first Unity meeting where I fully found out how sheltered I had been to discussing “Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria?” I started my journey when I met him. He led us, as Unity and as a campus, to greater understanding of what togetherness can feel like. He led our Unity family and wove it into the tight knit group it still is today. William Jewell College was forever changed when Calvin Straughter walked onto its campus and I was forever changed when he first stood up to lead a Unity meeting. William Jewell, for me, was synonymous with Calvin Straughter. My experience wouldn’t have been as full or fun without. That being said it may have been a bit less stressful sometimes, but I’ll take it.

Calvin taught me to stand up and not be afraid to ask the tough questions. He also taught me how to act as silly as possible with too many people watching. I can still remember him giving the backbeat to folks in the cafeteria while they freestyled to things as trivial as food trays and mystery meat. I cherish those silly days in the cafeteria, but I also cherish the days when he was making me work my tail off to put on the first annual Unity Step Show. Man, that still feels like one of the coolest accomplishments I’ve ever been a part of. I never thought I would know what my true passions in life were, but through Unity and the friendships I gained through Unity I found my true passion: love for people, not matter who you are.

Calvin was always still keeping up with me, even as I moved to Japan to start this amazing journey for myself. I had the pleasure of reading an early novel of his that has since been taken away due to stupid computer problems, but I got this glimpse in that moment of the greatness that I am so saddened to say won’t be able to be shared with the world. I cannot imagine the world without Calvin Straughter being a name that everyone on earth knows. How could this be? How am I never going to be able to hear Calvin tell me how he wants to know what life is like or how I’m doing? How can he never be the light that made us all burn so bright? How can he not be here to help those “UNLEARN” what we have so ridiculously been taught by history? How can our leader be gone? I was so excited to feature Calvin in my blog, but I never in a million years imagined it would be a tribute. It was supposed to be during a Pulitzer Prize winning moment. I feel robbed, but I know that the world has truly been robbed because now the whole world doesn’t get the chance to be fully changed and transformed by Calvin Straughter. I’m just thankful, lucky, and blessed that I was able to get that opportunity myself. I love you friend. C Straughter, forever, you crazy punk.