Do the Right Thing: The Sound and the Fury--20 Years Later.

Yes, it has been 20 years. Twenty years since one of cinema’s most powerful films debuted on the screen. “Do the Right Thing” is arguably Spike Lee’s greatest film. Nothing like it existed before it came out and there hasn’t been anything like it since. It’s the reason I even wanted to tell my stories through film. When the film was released I was too young to see it. When I finally did see it, in middle school, I was still perhaps too young but I was shaken by its power. I’ve watched it several times since, hypnotized by it’s dynamic brilliance of passionate visual storytelling. This defined Spike Lee as more than just a filmmaker. He is an artist.

“Do the Right Thing” is a revolutionary achievement. A fiery social protest film evoking the rhythms of hip hop’s intensity and it’s early sociopolitical investment in the urban community. It is an urgent, furious love letter to the issues of racism, classism, and the trials, tribulations, and celebrations of everyday urban life. It was shot like a brilliant kaleidoscope of colors swirling into one glaring force of radiance. Filled with a strong cast of characters who are mesmerizing social archetypes to convey Lee’s message. The booming rhythm of the movie is illuminated through the endless power of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power.” It is one of the greatest hip hop songs ever recorded during a time when hip hop was used as an intelligent weapon to fight urban oppression. This movie is its companion piece.

We watch the day-to-day interconnected lives of pizza delivery guy Mookie, his boss Sal and Sal’s two sons Vinnie and Pino, the neighborhood kids, the wanna-be activist Buggin’ Out, the elders Mother Sister and Da Mayor, and soul brother number one, Radio Raheem, along with a host of various other characters. As the humidity progresses on this hot summer day, so do the tempers of the neighborhood people, soon the deep tensions start surfacing and it explodes into a volcanic fury of brutality and rage. It was and still is a highly controversial film and a metaphor for America’s race relations.

What I find so amazing about the film is Spike’s fearless vision, the film’s unapologetic nature, and the strong, unflinching images it highlights. It’s one of the most groundbreaking and influential movies ever made. It’s stylistically amazing and its bold, unwavering perspective is just as radical as it is refreshing. It’s like a sucker punch in your face—the one you won’t forget—because it's the one you needed to learn from.

Michelle Williams in "Wendy and Lucy"

In March, I posted a blog called “Star Worship: Brilliant Women Performances In Movies.” After watching the DVD of the film “Wendy and Lucy” this weekend, I may be adding the performance of Michelle Williams to that list. In this tiny, sparse film about the forgotten wanderers, desperate and longing for a sense of home, Michelle Williams gives a heart-wrenching performance as Wendy. Wendy is a drifter stuck in Oregon on her way to Alaska to find work. Her sole companion is her dog Lucy. Wendy and Lucy encounter obstacle after obstacle and when Lucy disappears, it’s Michelle’s devastating performance as Wendy that illuminates a girl who’s lost everything. Her quiet, maddening desperation to find Lucy is heart-stopping. I literally wanted to break down and cry while watching this film. There are few young actresses with Michelle’s brilliance as an actress. She plays Wendy with so much heart and depth; her eyes expressing an eternal aching sadness. It doesn’t matter that we know nothing of Wendy’s back-story—who she is and how she ended up the way she did—it doesn’t matter. Michelle gives Wendy everything we need: a young woman--damaged, breaking yet somehow not yet broken.

Women Make Moves and Movies...

Many people in the film industry or those who follow the film industry are quite aware of the lack of women behind the scenes--as writers, directors, and producers. As many amazing stories as there are to tell it's so unfortunate that so few women artists are given an outlet to speak their stories into cinematic existence. Without that terrible "chick flick" label as if all stories about women's lives--whether romantic or not--fall into one trite category. There are many independent women filmmakers out there--you may not know of them. But they exist. They have voices and they seek to make all types of movies about a variety of complex subject matter.

At this year's Tribeca Film Festival, the film "Entre Nos" premiered. The film stars the extraordinarily talented Paola Mendoza (pictured below) who also co-wrote and directed the film along with filmmaker Gloria LaMorte. From the articles I've read, the film is inspired by Paola Mendoza's mother's journey from Columbia to New York as a mother who wants a better life for her children. The film is about finding courage against enormous odds to create one's own place in the world.



I am tremendously excited about the presence of this film and will definitely be supporting it when it hits theaters. To have women--especially women of color--making independent films with such important voices is vital and celebratory.

I wish Paola Mendoza and Gloria LaMorte much success with this film and their future projects.

"A woman with a camera--now that's a political situation" - Unknown

The End of the World As We Know It

Yes, it's the end of the world (as we know it). This may sound like an extreme overstatement in regards to my hearing of the news that Virgin Records in Union Square was closing down--like the one in Times Square did a few months before. Like Tower Records did, a couple years before that--and so on. This pattern of loss in record stores is definitely signaling the end of an era (Sam Goody, anyone?). No one is buying music, they download. No one is buying DVDs, they Netflix. And while I feel the i-pod is probably the greatest musical invention since the...drum, I am still sadden by the disappearance of record stores.

There's nothing like browsing a good record store--seeing album covers, posters, running into music lovers and having philosophical discourses on the love or hate for a particular band or album. Even if I wasn't necessarily partaking in the conversation, just hearing those conversations being had always warmed my heart.

With every loss as we know, there is rebirth. There will be other avenues and channels that bring music lovers together. Most likely on the Internet, satellite radio, social networking sites, or some other new innovation. Record stores will soon be remembered as ancient artifacts, relics frozen in time. I'll always remember what it felt like, sounded like, smelled like to wander the aisles with excitement and glee on Tuesdays when all the newest music was released. Or browsing endlessly through CDs in search of a new discovery. And despite the slick, new advances in technology and all the wonders that accompany it--truth is, some moments just can't be downloaded.

A Visionary: Remembering "Left Eye"

It’s unbelievable that 7 years ago yesterday, April 25, 2002, TLC member Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes died in a tragic car crash while on a spiritual retreat in Honduras. I was devastated by the news of Left Eye’s death like so many fans around the world. TLC was one of the biggest, most successful R&B girl groups of all time. Their original look and sound inspired an entire generation of female empowerment. Ranked by Billboard as one of the greatest trios of all time and the most successful girl group of all time selling over 22 million albums world-wide. I will never forget when TLC burst on the scene in 1992 with their playful anthem “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg.” I was in middle school and all my friends wanted to be a member of TLC. We listened to their music, did all their choreographed moves at the school dances and knew the lyrics to their songs better than any of the answers to our math tests.

Members T-Boz, Chili, and Left-Eye each represented and symbolized the ultra-feminine personality. T-Boz was the Cool One, Chili was the Sexy One and Left Eye was the Crazy One. She was the rapper of the group and her raps were always poetic and energized with her spunky-edged flavor. There were many significant R&B girl groups of the 1990’s such as SWV, Xscape, and Brownstone. But TLC were trailblazers because of their uniqueness. Their songs weren’t just about love. They dealt with phony friends “What About Your Friends?,” social issues, “Waterfalls” which captivated all of radio and MTV for an entire year, and emotional insecurity “Unpretty.”

As the music industry continues to decline for a variety of reasons, one main reason is the lack of great music out there. So as I remember the beautiful and talented Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez and listen to TLC songs tonight, I will pray some young musician/s somewhere will carry on the tradition of making timeless music that’s not only fun and danceable but has some real heart.

Excerpt from the song “WaterFalls”:

Left-Eye: “I seen a rainbow yesterday
But too many storms have come and gone
Leavin a trace of not one God given ray
You say because my life is ten shades of grey
I prey all ten fade away
Seldom praise him for the sunny day
And like his promise is true
Only my faith can undo
The many chances I blew
To bring my life to anew
Clear blue and unconditional skies
Have dried the tears from my eyes
No more lonely cries
My only bleedin hope
Is for the folk who cant cope
Wit such an endurin pain
That it keeps em in the pourin rain
Whos to blame
For tootin caine in your own vein
What a shame
You shoot and aim for someone elses brain
You claim the insane
And name this day and time
For fallin prey to crime
I say the system got you victim to your own mind
Dreams are hopeless aspirations
In hopes of comin true
Believe in yourself
The rest is up to me and you”

"Thank You For Being A Friend…”: Award-Winning Actress Bea Arthur Dead at 86

Emmy-winning and Tony-winning actress Bea Arthur died Saturday April 25, 2009 at her Los Angeles home after a battle with cancer. Bea Arthur will probably be most remembered for her role as Dorothy on the hit 80’s sitcom “Golden Girls” about retired friends living together. It was a wonderfully funny show and Arthur was the razor sharp wit always trying to hold her friends and mother together. I watched the show often with my mother while growing up. I remember it being one of her favorite shows and she loved singing the infectious theme song: “Thank you for being a friend…”

Bea Arthur had a major impact on TV sitcoms long before “Golden Girls.” She starred in the hit, controversial sitcom “Maude” in the 1970’s. It was a spin-off of “All in the Family” another brilliant, controversial hit show. Sitcoms and comedies today are a dying breed. With the overwhelming interest in the vapid world of reality television, sitcoms are becoming virtually non-existent. And unfortunately much of what does exist, is poorly written, empty, and droll (with few exceptions.) When I think of Bea Arthur on a show like “Maude,” it makes me remember a time when television not only entertained audiences but also challenged them. Maude was an upper-middle class liberal feminist married to her fourth husband when the show debuted in 1972. The show often conveyed dark humor and even drama, which was groundbreaking for the time period. In November 1972, audiences watched as Maude, age 47, had an abortion two months before the Roe vs. Wade decision was legalized nation-wide. The show will probably be most remembered for this episode. I remember seeing the show in reruns and this is the only episode that I remember clearly. To see a TV show, a sitcom, deal with such a timely, controversial issue was brilliant, moving, and brave. The show also dealt with alcoholism, mental illness and domestic violence. Much of the show’s brilliance is credited to the magnificent Bea Arthur who played Maude so fearlessly.

Unfortunately, these kinds of shows no longer exist. But we must remember a time when actors like Bea Arthur used art courageously to shed a truthful light on our funny and sometimes painful world.

R.I.P. Bea Arthur and many warm thoughts and prayers to your family and friends.

Boombox Vibrations: A Tribe Called Quest...Forever

It happened last night. I was in a Mexican restaurant with my very wonderful friend Stacey and out of nowhere we have this conversation about how A Tribe Called Quest is our favorite hip hop group of all time. (Untouchable, in my book...) Our adoration was deep, we rapped random lyrics, laughed hysterically, and reflected on how incredible rap artists like Tribe were and will always be--what they meant to us then and what they mean to us now. We both confessed we have to play A Tribe Called Quest songs about every other day.

A Tribe Called Quest burst onto the scene in the early 90's. Although they were not rap's biggest hitmakers, they have unquestionably become iconic pioneers of hip hop. When one thinks "hip hop purity" A Tribe Called Quest is usually within the next few sentences. They were trailblazers, capturing the hearts of hip hop fans and music lovers in general with their distinctive, playful, jazz-fused intelligent stylings. As lyricists they were poets of the ever-so-clever--the balancing act cat-and-mouse, call-and-response of emcees Q-Tip and Phife Dawg laced with the incredible production of Ali Shaheed Muhammad made them magnificent, exciting, and constantly refreshing. You hear a song like "Can I Kick It?" or "Check the Rhime" and you can't help but nod your head or move your body.

They also released classic albums: (their second release) The Low End Theory and (their third) Midnight Marauders are hailed as not only some of the finest albums of hip hop music, but music period. When I heard Midnight Marauders in the 8th grade, something in me changed. I remember being at my friend Amber's house listening to the song "Award Tour" and learning it lyric for lyric. Age 13 was such an awkward, transitional time for me as a kid but there was something very constant, very assuring about that album. I played it everyday in my Walkman (way before the i-pod, peeps) and it kept me as sane as possible during those emotionally turbulent times.

A Tribe Called Quest disbanding in 1998 had me heart broken--like so many other fans. It symbolized the end of an era (and just as well the beginning of the incessant gaudy commercialism hip hop seems all too obsessed with now--but that's another story for another time.) As Stacey and I rode the R train home from our Mexican restaurant outing, we shared my i-pod listening to "Oh My God", nodding our heads, rhyming lyric for lyric. And I started to wonder about the future of this hip hop, this music I hold so dear. Many claim Hip Hop is Dead. And my only response is a lyric from Q-Tip: "So play the resurrector and bring the dead to life..." WORD.


BONUS:

Q-Tip recently released The Renaissance, which is one of the most exciting hip hop albums in the past few years. The Renaissance is a collage of sonic grooves with Q-Tip's mind-bending lyricism. It is a wondrous collection for any one who loves the inner beauty of hip hop and just loves good music to lay back and nod your head to.