Posted on February 16, 2016 at 9:37 pm
The landmark documentary series about civil rights in America, Eyes on the Prize I and II as well as a special new 30 minute episode Eyes on the Prize: Then and Now are being shown on public television’s WORLD Channel (available over the air and on cable nationwide).
The series kicked off last month and continues weekly through the Spring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giGIE13Wx0A
Posted on February 5, 2016 at 3:55 pm
Be sure to take time during Black History month to watch movies the Civil Rights movement, (“Eyes on the Prize,” “Selma,” “Boycott”), and movies that are themselves a part of black history and film history (add to that list: “Killer of Sheep,” “Nothing But a Man,” “The Learning Tree,” “Bright Road,” and “Hollywood Shuffle”). And there are many other good choices for exploring the history of race in America and the story of some of our greatest heroes.
We’re lucky to have a very good movie opening up this month that tells the true story of a very important figure in African-American history: Jesse Owens. “Race,” starring Stephan James, opens on February 19, 2016, and it tells the story of one of the greatest athletes of all time. As Hitler was trying to tell the world about Aryan superiority, Jesse Owens competed in the Berlin Olympics and provided the ultimate refutation with his brilliant achievements, winning the gold not only in the three events he registered for but in a fourth event where he was a last-minute substitute.
PBS has a great line-up of programs, including Misty Copeland’s “A Ballerina’s Tale,” American Masters tributes to Fats Domino and B.B. King, and the superb documentary, “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution.”
Posted on January 28, 2016 at 11:22 am
This is progress. Barbie dolls will now come in diverse shapes, skin colors, and sizes, including petite and curvy. And LEGO is introducing disabled characters, including one in a wheelchair.
It is wonderful that children will be able to play with toys that reflect and validate their own lives and the world around them.
Posted on January 19, 2016 at 3:12 pm
Spike Lee, who accepted a special Oscar award just two months ago, has said he will boycott the award show this year in protest of yet another all-white list of nominees. He is right to be outraged. How could Sylvester Stallone be nominated for “Creed” while his co-star Michael B. Jordan and writer/director Ryan Coogler are overlooked? What about the extraordinary performances in “Straight Outta Compton” (which only got a writing nomination and the Spike Lee’s completely overlooked “Chi-Raq?” What about a nomination for Idris Elba for “Beasts of No Nation” Fans and critics are outraged, with #oscarssoswhite hashtags dominating Twitter.
The Washington Post’s Lonnae O’Neal quotes my friend and fellow critic Tim Gordon in an excellent article about the “processing disorder” in the Academy when it comes to nominations for non-white performers.
From 1927 to 1999, a total of 14 black people won Oscars in all categories, he says. In acting categories, only 24 people of color have won since 1927, according to a Post report. More than 90 percent of Oscar voters are white and nearly 80 percent are male, according to the Los Angeles Times, and those numbers directly affect the range of stories and portrayals.
AMPAS head Cheryl Boone Isaacs, an African-American woman, is unhappy with the nominations as well, describing herself as “heartbroken and frustrated.” But until the Academy starts admitting more young, diverse members, it is not going to change. Boone agrees. She says. “The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond. As many of you know, we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years. But the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better and more quickly.”
Posted on December 29, 2015 at 8:00 am
Chaz Ebert of rogerebert.com writes in The Daily Beast about the importance of more diverse voices in movie criticism — and in those who make movies, too.
Meryl Streep’s use of the word “infuriating” to describe the disproportionate ratio of male to female reviewers on the Rotten Tomatoes is apt.
But the need for diverse voices in film criticism does not suffice with gender. A wide spectrum of voices is critical in challenging the mainstream white male-dominated narrative that drives much of Hollywood and the popular media. Being introduced to diverse critical voices and opinions in the arts not only affects how we see the world but also has a profound influence on how we begin to heal it.
Chaz has been a leader in this effort, and has made particular progress in bringing great women writers to rogerebert.com, including my friends Sheila O’Malley, ReBecca Theodore-Vachon, Jana Monji, Susan Wloszczyna, Olivia Collette, Christy Lemire, and Anath White.
The Atlantic Monthly has an article on the falling percentage of women film critics. The discussion of how women were originally advantaged and then materially disadvantaged in this field is fascinating. Thelma Adams also writes about the problem of too few female movie critics for Variety.
According to the Gender at the Movies study of top critics on Rotten Tomatoes, men account for 91% of those writing for movie/entertainment magazines and websites such as Entertainment Weekly; 90% of those writing for trade publications and websites; 80% of critics writing for general interest magazines and sites such as Time and Salon; 72% of those writing for newspaper sites; and 70% of critics writing for radio outlets and sites such as NPR.
