"Brown Stones To Red Dirt"

It is hard for me to know the full motivations of the creators of this film, though i want to believe that they are taking initiative to instate social change in and outside of the United States, there are some aspects of the film that i feel to be problematic. This film focuses on a group of African American children who reside in the projects of Bed-Stuy, NY and their pen pal relationship with a group of children who reside in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Both groups of children live within the struggles and endure hardships that surround them, for the Bed-Stuy children this includes inner-city poverty, low income housing projects, ever increasing crime levels and extensive amounts of violence in the community. Though this may sound terrible the children of Freetown experience much, much worse including extremely severe poverty, a lack of common resources necessary to survival, such as medicine, nourishment, hydration and shelter. The children in Freetown are accommodated by a makeshift school/orphanage called Children In Crisis, established by a woman named Aunty Musu, who is responsible for saving many of the orphans from death and neglect after an extensive and hostile civil war that left Sierra Leone devastated. The children of Bed-Stuy attend an urban environment primary school that promotes peace and positivity within the community, and through this school initiated the pen pal program that has brought these children together.
This documentary represented and portrayed communities of color exclusively and positively though it was created at the hands of two white males, which to me indicates an imbalance. Though we might begin to see more legitimate representations of communities of color on screen we cannot forget the lack of representation behind the camera in areas of authority.
One thing i really found remarkable about the film was the fact that the young kids in Bed-Stuy were able to look passed the inequality and negativity of their own situation and be selfless enough to conduct a fundraiser in hopes of bettering the education and lives of less fortunate children. The children of Bed-Stuy should be viewed as role models for the rest of the world in that their determination allows them to be potent vessels of social change. One thing that i did not agree with the director on was his belief that keeping the groups of children physically separated would somehow add dramatic effect to the film, though by the end of the film you would think that the children from Sierra Leone and Bed-Stuy had been friends for their entire lives.

Also, this film passed the Bechdel test for both race as well as gender with flying colors.

NW Connections

Last weekend i attended the SIFF film "Northwest Connections", which was a collaborated compilation of five short films all locally created and produced in the north-west. Prior to the films commencement i assumed that all the shorts would have a running theme that would connect the ideas from each film and conclude in some sort of resolution at the end, but i was wrong. Each film varied drastically from one another in both content and form, though the concepts were easy to follow and held my interest thoroughly. The first to films featured in this collective sequence, though one being a fictional narrative and the other a documentary, seemed to mirror two films we have watched in class, The Godfather and Boyz 'n' Tha Hood. The first short film was called Shuffle, featuring what is assumed to be an Irish organized crime family that strongly upholds patriarchal values and associates ideas of masculinity with violence and an inability to feel or express emotion. I feel like this film was synonymous with The Godfather in defining what it is to be masculine in a patriarchal society dominated by white, heterosexual males.The second short film that premiered consecutive to Shuffle was entitled White Lines and The Fever: The Death of DJ Junebug. This short but compelling documentary dives deep into the history of hip-hop recalling its roots, rise to recognition as well as its evolution, but most importantly this film focuses on the Bronx's most popular hip-hop club in 1983, Disco Fever, and who is considered by many to be the most talented DJ of all time, DJ Junebug. Through the multitude of interviews in this film, somewhat of a history is built around the club, Disco Fever, which is described as a hub for early hip-hop. A DJ by the stage-name Junebug was hired immediately following the clubs opening and succeeded in drawing large amounts of people to the club every night. Soon people were coming to Disco Fever exclusively to hear Junebug's record spinning because he was so talented. Soon, Disco Fever began hosting turntable competitions of which over Junebug maintained the reigning champion title, even against competitors that would come to be known as the godfathers of DJ'ing such as Grandmaster Flash. Junebug's talent in the growing hip-hop community was undisputed until he began selling cocaine. Starting out just to make a few extra bucks, Junebug soon found himself overwhelmed in the drug world and began accepting multiple kilos of cocaine on consignment from kingpins. He routinely doubled the clubs nightly revenue with his cocaine profits alone, and soon became so preoccupied with his illegal business that DJ'ing became a thing of the past, only DJ'ing a few hours a night at most. One morning Junebug was found brutally shot and stabbed to death in his own apartment, and his girlfriend beaten and drowned in the bath tub. As well he had a young child prior to his death.
This film really made me think of Boyz 'n' Tha Hood in that many of the events that took place in Junebug's life were synonymous with those of the character Ricky, in Boyz 'N' Tha Hood. Both victims of oppression and residents of inner city minority communities, Junebug and Ricky share the same plight of underprivileged, disadvantaged living conditions. Like Junebug's passionate talent for DJ'ing, Ricky's talent for football provides him a progressive opportunity to make a better life for himself and his family. Another similarity is the fact that their lives and careers are cut short due to the fact that they both become targeted victims of internalized oppression. Sadly, it seems almost coincidental that like Ricky, Junebug became a new father a very short time prior to his murder. It seems coincidental that these stories are so synonymous, but we have to realize that unfortunately real life stories like Junebug's are the inspiration for these reoccurring fictional themes in Hollywood.

Heteronormativity and Intersex

So this week we as a class have been discussing and examining issues of gender identity, sexual orientation, heterosexism, homophobia and heteronormativity in society and how they are projected through media. "But I'm A Cheerleader", the film we screened in class this week, really delved deep into these issues, especially heteronormativity in that the film revolved around a camp called "True Directions", implying that heterosexuality is the only "true" and therefore righteously and naturally acceptable sexuality to practice as a human being. As well this film is a prime example of camp in that through it, the form and content of Hollywood film are both zealously adopted and concurrently satirized for suggestive effect. This film exaggerates and blows out of proportion the idea of heteronormativity in an attempt to deconstruct and discredit its institutionalization in our society. A definitive quality of camp is it's overly emphasized, analytical references to ideas of sexuality and gender, which in my mind exhibits camp's political nature. Relating to the latter topics, we have as well this week briefly touched on the issue of intersex. Intersex is a broad definition for inborn conditions, usually apparent at birth, involving sexual anatomy that is conflicting with typical gender specific anatomy. Before this discussion I had no idea that intersex existed, much less the prevalence of the issue in a social context. Though the term "intersex" is used to designate a biological condition, it is by all means a socially fabricated classification of "Otherness" in that it opposes the dominant norm in a variety of ways. In our society sexual classifications are reduced typically to male and female to alleviate the tension and discomfort of social convergence, "intersex" as a classification playing the same role.

Racial Impersonations

What gives one the idea that impersonating and in turn mocking another race or ethnicity, based upon stereotypes created by the dominant ideology, is acceptable in any situation or scenario? In my mind imitating a people by means of cultural cliches is an act that should never be committed in private or public, much less on a screen for the viewing pleasure of an audience lusting for entertainment. First of all the existence of stereotypes in our society is unfortunate enough, but to raunchily entertain a group of  people at the expense of another is unnecessary and uncalled for.  The fact that these overt acts of racism have constructed the foundation of America's film industry, or shall i say pervaded the entertainment industry as a whole, and continue to be exhibited today in a variety of ways indicates something about American culture's dominant ideology. Not only does this fact solidify the idea of "white privilege" in America it exhibits an imbalance between "ethnicity" and "whiteness", in that throughout history whites have in a multitude of ways attained their status, privilege and dominance at the expense of non-whites, or "Others." A historical example of this racially based impersonation can be seen in the first film with synchronized sound called The Jazz Singer. In this film a Caucasian Jew sings in a Broadway performance wearing "Blackface", which is the use of face-paint and other props to imitate an African American. This racial mimic is completely, one-hundred percent irrelevant to the content of the film and is a prime example of acting out a stereotype for the sole purpose of comedic entertainment. A more contemporary example of this racial imitation can be seen in the Wayan's brother's film White Chicks, which is a comedy revolving around the impersonation of two white females by two African American men. It seems racially based entertainment and comedy are prevalent throughout society but i do not consider this issue to be one of any comical connotations and is not something to take lightly.

"Murderball"

The film Murderball focuses on the life events, rehabilitation and recreation of 

quadriplegics and forces common issues, ideas and misconceptions of ability and disability into an uncharted landscape of intellect and new understanding. Wheelchair rugby, formerly known as "Murderball" is essentially indoor rugby played on a regulation size basketball court by quadriplegics in reinforced, all metal wheelchairs. The underlying focus of the film is a heated rivalry between Canada's and the USA's rugby teams, not only because both teams are equally talented but also because a former USA player, Joe Soares, is now coaching the Canadian team. Scenes in the film portraying the actual game in play are accented with the team's fervent shouts and intense heavy metal music which serves to emphasize the aggressive competitiveness felt by both teams. Many of the quadriplegics who participate in this activity do so with such zeal due to the fact that they feel as though they need to regain some sense of masculinity that was lost through the event of their disablement. The majority of the players on team USA had been active in some form of physical recreation prior to their disablement, some became disabled as a direct result of these competitive endeavors. A significant message communicated through this film is that a man's masculinity is not compromised or defined by his ability or disability. One thing I did notice throughout the film was that all quad rugby players, not only Americans, seemed to project a heightened sense of masculinity that had been self/peer constructed, which the film did not really attempt to analyze, deconstruct or understand. The form in which this documentary was produced really served to dramatize and accentuate the reality of these men's lives and the strength they exert in every aspect of their lives. 

Harlan County USA

A true David and Goliath scenario was passionately portrayed in Barbara Kopple's Harlan County, USA, depicting the merciless feud of 1973 between the 180 impoverished coal mining residents of Harlan County, Kentucky and the gluttonous corporate representatives of Duke Power Company. In order to accurately represent the situation of the miners, Kopple and her film crew  spent years documenting the poverty-stricken lives of the miner's families as they continued to strike for fair labor practice, healthy and safe working conditions, and satisfactory wages. While the striking methods of the miners begin to exhaust they were forced to be innovative with their strategies and expand their horizons by picketing in front of New York's stock exchange, interviewing miners and ex-miners who have been diagnosed with black lung disease, and catching on film a miner being shot while on strike. I felt that the peak of prominence in the dispute was when the company's adamant intent to include a no-strike clause in the miner's contract became visible. I believe the feelings of authenticity that this film projected are in part due to that fact that Kopple allowed the townspeople to narrate the film with their daily conversations. I believe that this factor severely altered the form of this documentary, and it would not have had the same intense impact if Kopple had narrated it.  

Duke Power Co.'s profits increased more than one hundred  percent in one year, and miners already lacking basic utilities like running water or electricity received a four percent pay increase in spite of a seven percent increase in costs of living the same year. Statistics such as these indicate a devastating wealth and income inequality between coal miners and corporate employees. In this particular scenario i believe that the income inequality should be reversed based on the fact that harder work deserves better pay, and these coal miners are working harder than any corporate occupation and not to mention risking their lives daily. 

 

The extensive amounts of bluegrass music in the film serves to emphasize the joys, sorrows and anticipations of the miners and their families throughout the film. For too many of these mining families this film recorded what was expected to be the verge of their demise, a strong sense of courage permeates from a people who remain willful through what might be their last days. After about a year on strike, it takes the death of striking miner Lawrence Jones, who is fatally shot by corporate employee, to begin peaceful negotiation between the miners and the company. Much of the film examines the ideologies of the miner's families and is shot from the perspective of the miners wives who straightforwardly state how they feel and what they believe, through raw unadulterated emotion. One striker attributes the ultimate termination of the strike to Barbara Kopple and her film crew, stating that the cameras most likely prevented some form of violence. It was evident throughout the film that Kopple felt sympathy towards the miners of Harlan County and their families, which is probably her reason for creating the film. 

Power Structure = Imbalance

Corporate - Bribes, "Gun Thugs", Alliance w/ Authorities, Union Busting, Shifts in Labor to Non-Unionized Areas, Influence on Laws, Communist Baiting

Union - Strike, Negotiations, Raising Public Awareness, Influence on Shareholders

The Jazz Singer

The Jazz Singer, indicating the decline of the silent film era and the birth of what would come to be known as "talkies", was the first full length motion picture that featured synchronized dialogue excerpts. The story revolves around the young son of an elderly Jewish couple, who has chosen to defy and disobey the religious traditions of his reverent Jewish family by singing popular songs in a bar rather than the sacred ceremonial songs sung in the synagogue. Jakie's father, a cantor, punishes him for committing such an act of blasphemy as singing secular songs in a bar for recreation, so Jakie runs away home. Many years later, after changing his name to Jack Robin in hopes of separating himself from his Jewish lineage, he has become a famous and talented jazz singer. In his attempts to build a career in the entertainment industry, he finds himself torn between his culture and success. Realizing that his family's life is more important than the success of his own, he is finally able to make peace with his father and his god, and in turn spark a successful career.

Being the first full-length motion picture with synchronized sound I feel like this film was very well organized and produced fluidly, given the primitive technology at the time. The synchronization of the lips and the dialogue was executed quite well, and the movements of the characters are also synchronized with the ever changing background music which serves to accent, emphasize and dramatize the actions of the characters. 

In this film the Jewish culture is portrayed very differently than how Jews in contemporary films are portrayed. Jew's in this film are portrayed as extremely devout to their culture, religion and traditions, and extremely anti-secular. As well they are depicted as very much oriented around ideas of traditional values, ethics and morals. In "passing" as white, or trying to assimilate, the main character loses his home, family, traditions, culture, and heritage though he gains success, wealth, fame, friends and a job. It seems much of what is lost through assimilation is idealistic in nature and much of what is gained is materialistic in nature, this idea might be one reason minorities living in poverty assimilate into white culture. What i did not understand about this film, and had somewhat of a problem with, was the fact that the main character adorned himself with black face-paint, striving to imitate an African American, before his first Broadway performance. In my opinion the practice of "Blackface" in early cinema was, is, and never will be acceptable due to the fact that it's presentation is an overt act of racism, based on evolving ancient stereotypes. In this particular film i did not understand why the main character wore "Blackface" because it was completely unnecessary and irrelevant to the content of the film. If an African American man was not allowed to perform on Broadway, why would Broadway hire a Jewish man to impersonate one if not only to exercise white privilege.