FILM(S) MONITORED
CATCH A FIRE

Happy Black Solidarity Day!

The monitor of the film listed above is farther down in this eNewsletter.   In the spirit of Election Day, which is November 7th, we start off with some political links just as an almost comic reminder of the falsities and deceptions we’re up against.   Nevertheless, it’s still important to vote because you have some who are banking on a small turnout so the numbers can continue to be easily fudged, fuzzed, manipulated, and tampered with.   Don’t miss the more important and interesting links after the political stuff, such as the Brown University slavery and justice report as well as a piece on the Ocean Hill-Brownsville battle for public schools with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) that happened in New York City in 1968.

INTERESTING WEB SITES/LINKS/ARTICLES OF THE DAY :

When Strategy Fails, Rove Will Fight Dirty
“Karl Rove is not a brilliant strategist.  And what he lacks in brains he makes up for with dirty tactics – distorting the numbers, running smear campaigns, and creating diversions.”

Karl Rove - A Family Secret of Bush's "Architect"
“…there is virtually nothing he will not do to continue to retain power and to win an election….we’re going to see a very ugly Election Day with lost data discs, voter suppression, people turned away from the polls who shouldn’t be, and it’s going to be an ugly day.”

The Real Face of the Men on the Down Low (aka "DL")
Be sure to look at the video to the link above with Reverend Ted Haggard preaching to his congregation.   He’s really taking them to the bank monetarily and spiritually.   Haggard has already admitted to “sexual misconduct.”   We know what’s coming next:   a book deal and appearances on Oprah and Larry King.

Haggard, Foley and GOP Preach Against the Vices They Can't Shake
“Mark Foley, who had pushed legislation to protect youth from ‘exploitation by adults using the internet,’ was revealed to be an internet sexual predator.”   This article, while mostly on point, makes a reference to racist senator Strom Thurmond having a “Black lover.”   How ridiculous is that, let’s call it pretty much what it was – rape – he took advantage of the underage household help.   Weren’t those the primary reasons she gave up the child he impregnated her with?

Brown University – Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice Report    [PDF Version]
This 106-page report was released in October 2006 and it goes into Brown University’s connection to the slave trade as well as some of the 246-year history of the United States enslavement of – and free labor from – Africans, which we learn very little about through the American educational system.   It also goes into the question of reparations.   The report, which was initiated in 2003 when Brown’s “President Ruth Simmons, the first Black president of an Ivy League school and a descendant of slaves herself, appointed a committee of students, faculty and administrators to study the university’s ties to the slave trade and recommend how the college should take responsibility,” also seeks to establish a memorial, center on slavery.

Principal Baruti Kafele – On-Line Student Empowerment Pamphlet
As anyone who reads our eNewsletter faithfully knows, we’re big fans of Principal Kafele.   He’s now offering his motivational student empowerment pamphlet online to reach more students.   Just click on the link above, read it, use its messages, and share the knowledge by passing it on to others.

Paul Porter:   Hip Hop's Hang Low Image
“Media radio, television and film still answer ultimately to White owners.   Although the land of the free boasts the ‘American dream,’ which is merely a carefully controlled mix of government and wealth controlled media.   Hollywood has shaped the minds of a nation.   Ask any American Indian how westerners have portrayed this nation’s original inhabitants.   How does the government and our education system still celebrate Columbus Day as if America was an uninhabited land?....But if you’re waiting for Russell Simmons, Puffy or Jay-Z to speak up on hip hop’s abrupt change, don’t hold your breath.   In today’s culture, money in the hands of a select few silences the empowerment of the masses….Hip Hop’s largest names are never mentioned in Hewlett Packard television ads.   You will never read about Sumner Redstone, Jimmy Iovine, Edgar Bronfman or Lowry Mays when it comes to hip hop.”   Porter also mentions 15-year old rapper Jibbs first single entitled “Chain Hang Low,” which probably unbeknownst to the youngster has minstrel origins.   Following are two links on the song’s background, the first one includes a link to the video and the second is the original link as it appeared in the New York Times:   Playahata Link and Video
New York Times:   Yo, Do Your Ears Hang Low?

Whites Understand the Advantages of Being White
As a follow-up to BN-W #69 where we provided links about the mysterious and hard-to-get (in fact, we’re still waiting for it) “Whiteness Survey” report recently done by the University of Minnesota, above is a link with some additional information on the topic, which we all know – even if it’s subconsciously – more accurately as White supremacy.   Remember it’s not just about the KKK, wearing hoods, and burning crosses.   It’s school systems that maintain and promote a European viewpoint and primarily push European ancestry as superior and great, it’s news shows with mostly White faces as anchors/reporters and an overwhelming amount of White commentators/pundits/analysts (CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc. all do it daily), it’s commercials glorifying Whiteness (the hair commercials are the worst offenders), it’s a show such as “The View” that figured what the hell and finally decided to go for it and feature all White hosts, and so on.   And those are only a very small sprinkling of the full spectrum of the system of White supremacy.   We haven’t even touched on employment and housing issues.

New Face of White Supremacy - Racism and Cheap Thrills at the University of Texas Law School
“Ghetto Fabulous” themed parties thrown at universities, which are a “reminder of the depth of White society’s commitment to White supremacy….Even with the gains of the civil-rights movement, U.S. society is still White supremacist in material terms (there are deep, enduring racialized disparities in measures of wealth and well-being, some of which haven’t improved in four decades) and ideology (many White people continue to believe that the culture and politics of Europe are inherently superior).”   If you read the last BN-W eNewsletter, we had a quote from the Pope indicating just this type of viewpoint.   Nonsensical and simply ridiculous, of course, but that’s the thought process of the many that we’re up against.

Psychologist Claims Africans 'Better Off' As Slaves
The most interesting aspect of this article is, once again, the sheer ignorance about Africa and the superior attitude and thought process that’s still alive and well in 2006 – and what’s even more unsurprising is that the comment, as is often the case, comes from someone who’s considered educated:   “Africa at the time of slavery was still primarily a jungle…Life there was savage…and those brought to America, and other countries, were in many ways better off.”   And, again, this extreme ignorance and thought process is what we – and our children – are up against.   Since this article also references the gay rights issue, our viewpoint is that we don’t connect the two to any great degree because the two struggles have very different histories and very obvious distinctions.

White Supremacist Minutemen and the Anti-Immigration Movement
Well, here we go again.   We even get pulled into the immigration issue.   “Somebody needs to say a good word for slavery.   Where in the world are the Negroes better off today than in America?”   Since our ancestors built this country and many were specifically stolen from Africa based on their particular knowledge and mastered skill, we know that’s reason enough to be here if we so choose and can only ask what’s your reason for being here?

China Courts Africa, Angling for Strategic Gains
More follow up on the “poor” continent of Africa with the plentiful supply of rich natural resources that many other countries need and constantly try to get for close to nothing.   There are 53 African countries and “ China’s economic goal is to secure Africa’s abundant supplies of oil, iron ore, copper and cotton at the lowest possible prices, analysts say.   Chinese companies view Africa as an open market, neglected by Western multinationals, that they can cultivate with their trademark low-priced goods.”  

As we mentioned in BN-W #54 the conclusion of Part II:   Black-Jewish Relations will be included with our new bi-monthly Music Monitor.   As we also stated, we’ve got a lot of information, and, for that reason, until Part II comes out, we’ll be filtering stuff to you so it won’t be too overwhelming in the buildup to Part II’s conclusions.   Refer to BN-W #53/54 if you need a repeat of our feelings on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).  

The Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis:   New York's Antigone by Jerald E. Podair (Lawrence University)
This paper gives an introduction to the background of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville public school battle between the predominantly Black community and the “ninety-percent White, and majority Jewish union, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT)” that took place in May 1968.   Parents wanted their kids out of a system that miseducated and misinformed their kids (even back then and it continues today), but the bottom line was that the UFT really wanted to – of course – ultimately maintain control under the guise of union representation and strength of a billion dollar school industry and what students are taught.   Major problems with the UFT, curriculum selection, and lack of educator diversity continue to plague the organization today.   “Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s, New York Jews had indeed constructed a dual identity, one that was not ‘Black,’ but not quite ‘White,’ either.   This stance had its benefits, to be sure.   It allowed Jews the option of identifying as White, or when this was deemed inappropriate, as a besieged minority group.   But at Ocean Hill-Brownsville, Black resentment of this position’s privileges finally burst to the surface.   Jews would no longer be permitted the luxury of ambivalence about their ‘Whiteness’:   they would have to make a choice….and pulled by the promise of a race-based coalition with White Catholics, they completed their journey to unambiguous White identity…”  

Two interesting films that are not on the BN-W monitoring list but are worth seeing:

Black Gold                (Read review by Kam Williams)

Color of the Cross     (Read review by Kam Williams)
In an interview done with Kam Williams, writer/director Jean-Claude LaMarre states the following about the film:   “We're smart enough to send information to people halfway across the world in milliseconds, and yet we would accept an image of an individual who couldn't possibly have looked at the time like the image he's currently represented by.  From an intellectual or practical standpoint, it doesn't make any sense.  From a psychological standpoint, I think that Black children for way too long have worshipped an image of their God outside of their own.   History has shown us that a powerful people typically worship their God in their own image, while a conquered or a weakened people typically worship the image of their God in the form of their conquerors, or their oppressors.   So, I think in order for us as Black people in this country to start really growing psychologically, and to move away from some of the damage that slavery has inflicted, we need to begin at the core of our existence.  And that is God….I think you can make a direct correlation between the state of Black people in this country and the God that they worship. It's not healthy to have a White Jesus in a Black household.”   There you have it!

Flags of Our Fathers is not on the BN-W monitor list and we haven’t seen it but due to the controversy about this new Clint Eastwood film that apparently continues to falsely promote Whites as the sole heroes and Blacks as non-existent when it comes to fighting in wars we thought it would be fitting to include some information about it.   Following is an article that appeared in the Britain’s Guardian publication in which former US marine Thomas McPhatter, who is Black, fought at Iwo Jima, and is now living in San Diego, said “I feel like I’ve been denied, I’ve been insulted, I’ve been mistreated.   But what can you do?   We still have a strong underlying force in my country of rabid racism.”   Here’s the full article:   Where Have All the Black Soldiers Gone.   Also, here is another excellent review by Kam Williams on this film and not only its stereotypical portrayal of a Native American as an alcoholic and the marginalization of the African-American male, but its underlying message, which “is that wars are still fought by brave White guys for God, mom and apple pie, and that anybody who would disagree must be a cut-and-run coward.”   Click here to read for the full review.

If you missed any other BN-W monitors, just send an e-mail to bannword2@yahoo.com and request that it be sent to you.   As always, we highly encourage you to see these films for yourself and, if applicable, make your own judgment call on the N-word usage – appropriate/inappropriate? necessary/unnecessary? sensible/nonsensical? does it add to or take away from the film’s concept? does the N-word have to be used at all? is there a valid reason for doing so? is it mandatory for the scene(s) to be effective? what are the circumstances/situation that necessitate any use of the word? is it just thrown in for humor, fear, crime, insult? are other culturally insulting slang terms used as much as the N-word in the film?   Lots of questions and a whole lot of reasons to wonder what’s the real purpose and thought process behind why these entertainers, writers, directors, producers, executive producers, distributors, and studios/studio heads and executives give the “greenlight” for these crews to liberally use (or allow to be used) the N-word.

FEATURE FILM(S) :

C A T C H   A   F I R E

[Release Date:   10/27/06]

Starring Derek Luke, Tim Robbins; screenplay written by Shawn Slovo; directed by Phillip Noyce; produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anthony Minghella, Robyn Slovo; executive produced by Sydney Pollack, Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin; studio – Focus Features
 

NOTE :   While the United States’ version of the N-word is not used, the South African version – kaffir – is used.   Predictable, lightweight film, and continues with the usual theme as we mentioned in our monitor of “The Last King of Scotland.”   In terms of films about Africa, “Blood Diamonds” is coming up, so we’ll see if there’s any difference in how the lead characters play out.   The one positive about Catch a Fire is that at least the lead character ultimately decided to stand for something meaningful and was willing to die for a righteous cause instead of just bowing down and doing nothing.

BN-W Monitor Coming Soon:  “Déjà Vu” [Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer]; “Bobby” [Laurence Fishburne, Anthony Hopkins]; “Casino Royale” [Daniel Craig, Jeffrey Wright]; “Stranger Than Fiction” [Queen Latifah]; “Let’s Go To Prison” [Chi McBride]; “Slow Burn” [LL Cool J, Ray Liotta]; “Dreamgirls” [Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy]; “Blood Diamond” [Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou]; “The Pursuit of Happyness” [Will Smith, Thandie Newton]; “Pride” [Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Kimberly Elise]; “Home of the Brave” [Samuel L. Jackson, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson]

Also Coming :   Part II:   Black-Jewish Relations; Bi-Monthly Music Monitors