Love Some Spike Lee

So I can probably say that most of my top favorite films are "Spike Lee Joints". It used to drive my mom crazy when I would stumble across some of his more overtly sexual movies but these days I can still appreciate what he was doing. I've never seen She's Gotta Have It or Jungle Fever. But Mo' Better Blues, School Daze, Crooklyn, and Bamboozled are probably my absolute favorite films from Spike. To keep naming a few, you have to respect Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing. I feel like what Spike Lee did in the beginning of his career are the things that Tyler Perry should be doing. Spike Lee gave a voice to the voiceless with his work. Even stretching to the "end" of the Spike Lee era, he captured one of the more prominent events of the 90's with Get on the Bus. Spike also launched a lot of Black actors' and actresses' careers during that time. If Tyler Perry could create a movement around his name like Spike did then Black film would be in good shape.
Not too downplay any of Spike's work during the late 90's and into the millennium, but I really don't feel like his work during that time had the same impact as then. I guess what the Ill Professors were saying about all the controversy around him may have had an effect on the public response to his movies. He Got Game definitely stands out to me. I remember my mom being on her "support Black movies" kick and taking me to see that. I'm pretty sure I didn't get to see a good part of that movie (Spike keeps it raw). But all in all, that movie said a lot about the politics around young Black athletes and Black men in the prison system. Yeah Ray Allen IS NOT the best actor but he added that taste of reality that Spike is good for. I think that film should come up more often when the conversation switches to Spike Lee.
To truly get into to Spike Lee's work would take up a lot of time so I'll just end it on this note. Spike's influence will always be evident in Black films. Hands down.
*Tyler Perry might learn a little something from Bamboozled (just my opinion)*

Not Too Young to Enjoy New Jack Swing

So by now everybody may know I'm only 20. I think I mentioned in the School Daze blog that I was born in the latter part of '88. But I like to think I'm not too young to appreciate the New Jack Swing movement. Randy Bandit took me back a little bit when he mentioned The Winans. My first experience with the New Jack Swing sound was probably with Teddy Riley's work with gospel group Commissioned. Teddy Riley definitely made the fact my mom only wanted me listening to gospel music real cool lol. But now that I make my own musical decisions I have to say my iPod is heavily influenced by New Jack Swing. I mean yeah I've got some recent stuff and some late 90's music that doesn't fall into New Jack Swing but if Guy or Keith Sweat comes on it can definitely change my day lol. To me, some of the best music post-Motown was during the New Jack Swing era. Like Phill Boogie said, it gets you moving and its fun. I can't betray my generation and say we make bad music but I have to say that......hmm I can't think of recent male R&B groups, that says a lot. Well I'll throw Dru Hill out there (they fall in the middle of now and then). Dru Hill was hot when they came out but none of their songs gets people going like a Guy song or Bell Biv DeVoe. And on that note, New Jack Swing groups were full of talent. All of those guys could hold their own outside of the group (Aaron Hall is a good example). To keep it simple, without New Jack Swing, R&B would have had a hard time finding a new direction. If any era of music represented the culture of its audience at that time it was definitely New Jack Swing.

Rappers who want to act

I feel like there is nothing wrong with taking it back to the old days where an artist did not limit you to one medium. Versatility pays the bills for artists. At the same time, when an artist wants to crossover into a different medium, it should be done right. There is nothing fair about a trained actor losing out on a job because the competition had a platinum album or the most downloaded ringtone. There should be a certain level of respect. It annoys me to no end when some random singer or rapper decides their life should be made into a movie starring them (50 cent and the God awful Lifetime movie about Fantasia).

In every profession there is a loop hole that leads to the top. Whether it's the boss' daughter, son, niece, nephew, next door neighbor (you see where I'm going with this), there is always someone who manages to slip in the back door. For trained actors this is a bad thing. Marketing and shortcuts are taking their shine. I say fight back. Give these people a reason to want you and not Beyonce......or maybe cut a record I don't know lol.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

First off I'd like to say this was one of the best movies I've seen. It owned up to the hype that generated around it. Although it was extremely long, by the end of the film, I did not feel like I had been sitting idle for 3 hours. To me that's an accomplishment. With that out of the way, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a powerful movie and I completely agree with Phill Boogie on that one. However, I also agree with Randy Bandit when he said Benjamin himself was not all that interesting beside the fact he was aging in reverse. I think that a lot of the power behind the movie comes from the fact that personality wise there was nothing extraordinary about Benjamin. I think it kept the audience from feeling sorry for him or being overly sympathetic to him if something did not quite go his way. He was a person who just happened to be a little different. I really liked the fact that mostly everyone Benjamin came in contact with treated him as an equal. There was not a whole lot of the shock factor and what was included only lasted for a little while.
To speak on Taraji P. Henson's performance, I know a lot of people identify her as a sort of "Mammy" character. I did not really see that until someone brought it up. In the theater, I was truly enjoying the film for what it was. I can see how she displays some Mammy-like characteristics but I feel like to call her a Mammy is to say that every Black woman in a caretaking position is a Mammy and that is not necessarily true. Henson's character was not indebted to the people she took care of. She was not, in the traditional sense of the Mammy, neglectful of her own personal life. Like Phill Boogie said, she had control over what was going on. Although she put her romantic relationship slightly on hold for Benjamin, it was implied that it continued at a slower (maybe more physical lol) pace. Like many of the surrounding characters, she contributed to what was interesting about Benjamin.
All in all I truly think this was an amazing film. It incorporated romantic love, love for self, forgivness, selflessness, and adventure without confusing the viewer or making them feel bombarded.