Black Moment of the Week :0)

Actually, this would be better entitled "Black Moments of Two Weeks."

The first involves a young filmmaker from Nashvegas, Bobby Poole who made a short film called The Earl Thompson Movement that was screened at the Nashville Film Festival. I really enjoyed it. The story was interesting, concise and relevant. Admitedly, a great part of my delight in the piece is the fact that it was shot on video instead of film. [Very encouraging to us broke folk!] Bobby's a really nice guy and he's from Hampton Roads, VA where I grew up but I digress...

The second, and don't act suprised, is Akeelah and the Bee! As my ChinLao friend Kanya said, "That movie was SO cute!" I think the marketing for the film was a little off though because it doesn't really catch the essence of Akeelah's character. The trailers I've seen don't show nearly how spunky she is. Come on y'all she's from Crenshaw! Get it right. The trailer I've seen was all "suburban PTA meeting" or something. And God help the people who made the movie poster! The child's profile looks like an abandonded Muppet with a bad wig! On the positive side, one of the things I liked about the film was that it got away from the bilateral black-white racial paradigm that's normally seen in American films. The main characters are black, mexian and chinese. (And people have the audacity to ask me why I love southern california!)

Warning: Color Purple reference to follow.
Also, I want to give a shout out to Angela Bassett for killin it as a single mom in the ghetto! When Akeelah came home late one night, I was squealing in frightened anticpation like Mousy before she got clocked by Miss Sophia.

Friends, contrymen, SUPORT THIS FILM! Please let Hollywood know that somebody out there will watch a film that features black characters who are not pimps, hos, strippers, gansters or over-the-top comedians. Otherwise, none of my films will get made and I'll have to write about white people for the rest of my life! *End panic attack.*
See the movie. I promise you'll thank me.