Dear White People

"Remember when Black movies didn't neccesarily star a dude in a fat suit and a wig? Or have major plot twists timed to Gospel numbers for no apparent reason? No?

Well believe it or not there was a time when "Black Art-House" was a thing. When movies like Do The Right Thing, Hollywood Shuffle, and Boyz In Da Hood were breaking box office records as well as making us laugh, cry, and think in ways movies hadn't before.

The humble producers of DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, a satire about being a black face in a white place, long to bring those days back." DEAR WHITE PEOPLE follows the stories of four black students at an Ivy League college where a riot breaks out over a popular "African American" themed party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film will explore racial identity in "post-racial" America while weaving a universal story of forging one's unique path in the world.

  

I stumbled across this trailer on indiegogo.com and fell in love with the concept.  This group of independent filmmakers are looking to raise money to get this movie produced and released at a theatre near you!  After viewing the trailer, I must admit, it is a refreshing change from today's movies with  predominantly black casts.  Do you think this movie could be successful?

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Nueva York - Day 4

As my vacation progressed, I became less and less focused on photos so forgive the lameness of these pictures.  It's so easy to get caught in awe in this place.  Monday was super hot so we decided to hang somewhere cool---the movies.  I saw Battleship and MIB 3.  I'm really not a movie person but I thought they were both good flicks.  I was pleased with Rhianna's performance in Battleship and I really liked the way the movie referenced some aspects of the board game.  That was pretty neat.  Will Smith was of course funny in MIB 3 but the movie did have a interesting twist at the end that I didn't expect!!  That's all I'm going to say to keep from spoiling either movie for anyone.

Movie stubs.  Notice the prices.  Both were matinees.

After the movies, we made a quick stop at White Castle.  I must confess, this was my first White Castle experience.  Thanks to the State of New York, which requires restaurants to post calorie information next to all foods on the menu, I knew exactly how unhealthy my delicious meal was.  I'm not gonna lie...it kinda ruined the thrill a bit for me.

My first White Castle experience--delish!!

A friend of mine insisted on Spanish food later that evening.  Good call!  Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the place but the food was great.  I felt much better about this meal than my burgers earlier.

Spanish meal

This is the last recap of my trip since my photos are getting super boring now lol.  Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I will DEFINITELY make plans to return.

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Disappointed Hunger Games Fans

America has exasperated me for the past several weeks with the ongoing coverage and updates on the Trayvon Martin "investigation" and racist campaign bumpers stickers created by Obama non-supporters but I've been trying to bounce back.  I try not to let those types of things get me down.  Of course, just when I think I can go back to blogging about shoes, bags, and clothes, I come across an article on Jezebel about book fan reactions to The Hunger Games movie.  As you all know The Hunger Games movie was released over the weekend.  The highly anticipated movie was expected to do well with so many fans of the book written by Suzanne Collins.

The movie did make history by being the 3rd largest grossing movie in box office history ($155 million) but many book fans were disappointed in the casting.  More specifically, they were let down that there were so many characters in the movie who were black (namely Rue and Cinna).  Wait...what?  Nope, you heard me!  The Jezebel article has photos of tweets posted by several people who were "disappointed" that Rue was a black girl.  One tweeter went so far as to say that Rue's death wasn't as sad after discovering she was black. 

This breaks my heart.  I've read many books which later were turned into movies.  Everyone knows the book is always better because the movie never captures all the details outlined in the book, sometimes it changes the storyline completely.  But to be disappointed that the race of the characters weren't what you expected is absurd and straight up racist.  It also shows that many did not read the book carefully since the author described Rue as having "dark brown skin".  Be sure to read the entire article and view other tweets posted on Jezebel.  There is also a The Hunger Games Tumblr (unofficial) page which has many of the comments (positive and negative) from the movie and the book.  America has come so far but still has so far to go.  

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