**This can be found at Black & White Blog, where I am co-author. You can comment here or at the above site which deals with racial issues from various viewpoints.**
So I was walking to my house on a Sunday at 6:15pm, and I was reminded of something that causes me pause. Young White males. Seriously, they make me nervous. In this case it was because as they drove past me they decided to just scream at me as they drove past relatively slowly. I suppose they expected me to jump or shout or something. I did flinch for a moment as my thoughts were elsewhere.
But when you think about it, many claim young Black males are dangerous. How silly. While many African Americans may posture and dress like the ready-for-prison crowd, they in fact are just regular kids. Few actually commit crimes, especially violent ones though the major media likes to play it as if they do nothing but felonies.
But young White males are dangerous. High school shootings? White males. Most petty crimes, the same. Nooses hung from trees and various other places? White males. ‘Redneck row’ and other whites’ only places enforced by White males. Bensonhurst, and so on and so on.
Why? Because a White male can bring a shotgun to a school and have no penalty. A White male can instigate fights and be seen as the victim. A West Virginia – the men had half a dozen or more arrests, one being for murder, not counting the women) which the media buried and refuse to discuss.
So when you face the fact that the media, law enforcement, and far too many people have an absolute fear of me, while I am less likely to do anything, you see things differently. I’m fearful and cautious because if I confront young White males acting badly, I stand a better than average chance of being the one that goes to jail. I get nervous because the real possibility of me being harmed is high. Because I am a Black Puerto Rican I stand a great chance of being killed, by the police, young White males, or the lack of timely medical attention.
In fact, even at 40, my chances of being killed are higher than Whites of virtually any age or background. So can you imagine why on a Sunday afternoon I was startled and nervous when 3 young White men decided to antagonize me for no reason?
So yes, what I fear are young White males. Due to sheer numbers, and sheer number of acts of violence and suffering. Not that any of this is conveyed by the major news media. Not that anyone will notice a start of police shooting down White kids 50 times, even with cause. Not like my fear, or my above average chance of death, will have a reason to diminish as I get older.
Do you share my fear and caution? Why?
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Iron Man, Dark Knight, Darfur Now, I Am Legend and more movie previews Part 2 - 11.3.2007.2
Continued from Iron Man, Dark Knight, Hitman and more movie previews Part 1...
Then there are the films that are seriously interesting. Most notably is the film Darfur Now.
I am a fan of this film. I support the call to action that people like Mr. Don Cheadle and others have been championing for years. I am angered by the failure of the United States to address or act in behalf of the people being killed in Darfur. This movie deserves to be seen. Not because it is a fantasy, or escapism, but because it is real and we can do something about it. The major media has failed to address this. Politicians have stuck their heads in the sand about this. Even ultra-liberals fail to discuss this, let alone having had this as part of a single Presidential debate to my knowledge. Watch this film and then do something. Or just do something. Seriously.
Another film for the holiday season goes in a very different direction. A family oriented film, The Ten Commandments will be brought back to the theaters. This is a remake of the classic Charleston Heston film. But the difference this time is that it will be animated. Similar to the Heston classic the voice actors are a group of renowned actors including Mr. Christian Slater (as Moses), Mr. Ben Kingsley, and Mr. Alfred Molina.
Sadly after so many years we still don’t get a decent racial diversity in the telling of this story. The characters may look Black, as they should, but the voices are solidly not. I will never get over how in the Heston Classic, which is well done, everyone except Yul Bryner is White. Now it seems that in this animated film we will have virtually no one that is African or Black, yet this is happening in Egypt.
Oh, add to that the fact that it will also probably be dumbed-down as it is targeted to children. Still the artwork is quite good, and the story it is based on is quite good. And the actors are well up to the task, if not a diverse group. It will easily make $100 million, but the quality I’m not so sure of.
Not to be forgotten is the Will Smith lead remake I Am Legend. I’ve already spoken about it but here is that trailer now. It should do well, and the storyline is quite good. Good enough to have been made into 3 different versions over the years. Definitely a winner.
Of course if this is all too high a quality, you can always watch Harold & Kumar 2 or Fred Claus. But I wouldn’t advise it.
On the far horizon, keep an eye out got Hulk 2 (pray they don’t have Eric Bana in it, and they get a real story), Captain America (now who will play that enigmatic role?), and Wolverine. Not to mention the next installment of Star Trek with the young versions of Spock, Kirk, Bones and the rest of the crew.
Then there are the films that are seriously interesting. Most notably is the film Darfur Now.
I am a fan of this film. I support the call to action that people like Mr. Don Cheadle and others have been championing for years. I am angered by the failure of the United States to address or act in behalf of the people being killed in Darfur. This movie deserves to be seen. Not because it is a fantasy, or escapism, but because it is real and we can do something about it. The major media has failed to address this. Politicians have stuck their heads in the sand about this. Even ultra-liberals fail to discuss this, let alone having had this as part of a single Presidential debate to my knowledge. Watch this film and then do something. Or just do something. Seriously.
Another film for the holiday season goes in a very different direction. A family oriented film, The Ten Commandments will be brought back to the theaters. This is a remake of the classic Charleston Heston film. But the difference this time is that it will be animated. Similar to the Heston classic the voice actors are a group of renowned actors including Mr. Christian Slater (as Moses), Mr. Ben Kingsley, and Mr. Alfred Molina.
Sadly after so many years we still don’t get a decent racial diversity in the telling of this story. The characters may look Black, as they should, but the voices are solidly not. I will never get over how in the Heston Classic, which is well done, everyone except Yul Bryner is White. Now it seems that in this animated film we will have virtually no one that is African or Black, yet this is happening in Egypt.
Oh, add to that the fact that it will also probably be dumbed-down as it is targeted to children. Still the artwork is quite good, and the story it is based on is quite good. And the actors are well up to the task, if not a diverse group. It will easily make $100 million, but the quality I’m not so sure of.
Not to be forgotten is the Will Smith lead remake I Am Legend. I’ve already spoken about it but here is that trailer now. It should do well, and the storyline is quite good. Good enough to have been made into 3 different versions over the years. Definitely a winner.
Of course if this is all too high a quality, you can always watch Harold & Kumar 2 or Fred Claus. But I wouldn’t advise it.
On the far horizon, keep an eye out got Hulk 2 (pray they don’t have Eric Bana in it, and they get a real story), Captain America (now who will play that enigmatic role?), and Wolverine. Not to mention the next installment of Star Trek with the young versions of Spock, Kirk, Bones and the rest of the crew.
Iron Man, Dark Knight, Hitman and more movie previews - 11.3.2007.1
It’s time to talk about movies again. With the end of the year quickly approaching, movie studios are trying to capture the holiday shoppers with a distraction from all the sales at the mall, and prepare us for the fare coming in 2008. There are several films that are upcoming that have my attention already. I won’t bother with the fluff that will obviously fail.
I’ve already mentioned the Iron Man film. From the trailer you can see that the dialogue sounds good. The casting of Mr. Robert Downey Jr. is perfection. The fact that Mr. Terrence Howard is involved as well is another indication of the potential quality of the film. And the red and gold suit is a page out of the comic books. Plan for that in May and pray it’s not another Ghost Rider / Hulk fiasco. I truly doubt that it will come to that.
Another film for 2008 is The Dark Knight. This is the sequel to Batman Begins, featuring Mr. Christian Bale as our dark hero. This is a far darker vision of Batman and it hits the mark. I expect the sequel will be equal to the first film, and hopefully better. The main villain is the Joker, which was hinted at in the first film. Mr. Heath Ledger is slated to take on this role.
I know that I initially had reservations about Mr. Bale being able to pull off his portrayal of the Batman. He did an excellent job though. Yet I find myself having reservations again, though this time it is the role of the Joker. I have difficultly seeing Mr. Ledger as the Joker. It’s a critical role. Not only is the acting ability crucial, the look is absolutely vital. While Batman has a suit that creates a large part of his presence onscreen, the Joker is always in costume. If his look misses, his character fails the same as if the acting was bad. Like Mr. Jack Nicholson, or even Cesar Romero, the look is the character and sets the tone of the whole thing. Hopefully the fact that the Joker’s image is still a solid secret means they got it right. If not, this will fail miserably.
Looking at more up coming films there is Hitman, which is based on the video game of the same name. I loved the calculating and thoughtful premise of the game. More than a mere shoot ‘em up, deliberate thought is required. The storyline was well planned and made a lot of sense. It should easily transfer to the big screen of movie theaters. Lots of gun fights, explosions and action. I expect this to do well. I just hope they stick with the classical music in the background as the trailers seem to indicate. It really makes the mood.
Another film of interest is the Golden Compass. Think of this film as a cross of several fantasy genres, most notably The Lord of the Rings. Of course it looks like this film is geared more towards children a la Harry Potter. But the animation of the armored polar bears is interesting. Given the look of the film, it may well be the first film in quite some time that Nicole Kidman is involved with that will do well. Witches, magic, talking polar bears and familiars are all contained in this film, and heavy CGI use. But the trailer looks interesting. This one I call 50/50.
Continued in part 2...
I’ve already mentioned the Iron Man film. From the trailer you can see that the dialogue sounds good. The casting of Mr. Robert Downey Jr. is perfection. The fact that Mr. Terrence Howard is involved as well is another indication of the potential quality of the film. And the red and gold suit is a page out of the comic books. Plan for that in May and pray it’s not another Ghost Rider / Hulk fiasco. I truly doubt that it will come to that.
Another film for 2008 is The Dark Knight. This is the sequel to Batman Begins, featuring Mr. Christian Bale as our dark hero. This is a far darker vision of Batman and it hits the mark. I expect the sequel will be equal to the first film, and hopefully better. The main villain is the Joker, which was hinted at in the first film. Mr. Heath Ledger is slated to take on this role.
I know that I initially had reservations about Mr. Bale being able to pull off his portrayal of the Batman. He did an excellent job though. Yet I find myself having reservations again, though this time it is the role of the Joker. I have difficultly seeing Mr. Ledger as the Joker. It’s a critical role. Not only is the acting ability crucial, the look is absolutely vital. While Batman has a suit that creates a large part of his presence onscreen, the Joker is always in costume. If his look misses, his character fails the same as if the acting was bad. Like Mr. Jack Nicholson, or even Cesar Romero, the look is the character and sets the tone of the whole thing. Hopefully the fact that the Joker’s image is still a solid secret means they got it right. If not, this will fail miserably.
Looking at more up coming films there is Hitman, which is based on the video game of the same name. I loved the calculating and thoughtful premise of the game. More than a mere shoot ‘em up, deliberate thought is required. The storyline was well planned and made a lot of sense. It should easily transfer to the big screen of movie theaters. Lots of gun fights, explosions and action. I expect this to do well. I just hope they stick with the classical music in the background as the trailers seem to indicate. It really makes the mood.
Another film of interest is the Golden Compass. Think of this film as a cross of several fantasy genres, most notably The Lord of the Rings. Of course it looks like this film is geared more towards children a la Harry Potter. But the animation of the armored polar bears is interesting. Given the look of the film, it may well be the first film in quite some time that Nicole Kidman is involved with that will do well. Witches, magic, talking polar bears and familiars are all contained in this film, and heavy CGI use. But the trailer looks interesting. This one I call 50/50.
Continued in part 2...
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