Thinking Out Loud–Movies That Speak to Us or Not
By APOOO • Aug 3rd, 2008 • Category: Thinking Out Loud •
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What Do These Movies Have in Common?
Took a nap from 7pm - 11pm yesterday…so I found myself awake at the wee hours of this morning. LOL. Anywho I found myself watching ET (Entertainment Today) as they highlighted movies that made us cry. Hmmm…I was like yea 3 of 4 of those movies made me cry (hmmm anytime someone is dying from cancer in a movie…it’s heart-wrenching)…but being the cynic that I am…I thought–’Where are the movies that represent me. Where are the movies with folks of color. Don’t we feel pain too? Ain’t we multi-faceted, mutli-dimensional beings who not only shuck, jive and laugh but also shed tears, cry and even have emotional breakdowns?’
DISCUSSION QUESTION
So where are the movies that show black folks doing something other than singing and dancing…that even bring a tear or two to our eyes? I thought of Imitation of Life (which isn’t necessarily a black movie…but the daughter treated the black mom so bad that my heart goes out and I weep everytime I see this movie) and Soul Food (another movie where the black mom dies). APOOO SAYS: What other movies can you think of?
Peace Out…Holla!
OH SNAP…WAIT…how could I forget this one!
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Here’s my list:
Crooklyn
Claudine
Raisin in the Sun (original)
Akeela and the Bee (yes, I did cry on this one)
Beverly Mahone’s last blog post..You Get What You Pay For Kathy Hilton
Hey Beverly…feeling you on Claudine…never saw Crooklyn…and Raisin in the Sun…oh that movie makes me so upset…but I don’t remember ever crying…lol.
Claudine
Raisin in the Sun(original and P-Diddy’s versions- Phylicia Rashad had me bawling and ready to beat P-Diddy’s a$$, lol).
Sounder
The Marva Collins Story
Brian’s Song(yea, yeah..but I am a bawling idiot with this movie, no shame admitting it)
“The Wiz”(Diana Ross singing “Home” was my teary eyed moment)
“Q”
How Stella Got Her Groove Back(Whoopi’s character dying…I saw this the day before my mother died at the hospital(Aug. 23, 1998) and swear to this day it was a premonition because I got chills in the movie theatre and it was not the air conditioning).
Imitation of Life gets me too…especially the funeral scene when Mahalia Jackson sings “Troubles of the World,” and I am done! My face gets soaked and I get a headache, all because I love Mahalia so much…
Lisa, Raisin in the Sun/remxi–definitely wanted to girl P-Diddy a beatdown…
Imitation of Life–yep Mahalia SANG…yeah she did!
THE COLOR PURPLE…
Everytime I watch it… the scene when Mr. throws Netty out… When Sophia can’t spend christmas with her chillin… gets me every time.
tHE WOMEN OF BREWSTER’S PLACE
when he rapped the Lesbian sister to show her what a real man feels like.
MALCOM X
when he slautered in front of his children… “Get yo hand out my pocket…” (couldn’t resist)
LEAN ON ME
when the kids stormed the court house… “Free Mr. Clark..”
OK, I’ll stop now… lol
Greetings Julia…and thanks for sharing…you provided a few I forgot about!
The Color Purple–It made me cry happy tears and sad tears all throughout
Antoine Fisher–his life was a MESS, but thank God for Denzel (sniff sniff)
Lady SIngs the Blues–OMG. This movie was a total tearfest! I couldn’t take how much he loved her, but she loved her drugs more.
Madea’s Family Reunion–The scene where the daughter tells her sister what their father had done to her and how their mother was a coldhearted witch.
Waiting to Exhale–I felt Angie Basset’s character’s pain. To this day, whenever I see her husband (I can’t remember his name) in other shows, I want to throw darts at him. Can’t stand him!
There’s more I have to think.
Lisa–YES, The Wiz at the end when she sings Home, sends me in a frenzy.
TAvery–I’m feeling you on Antoine Fisher!
Black movies that have moved me to tears…
Love and Basketball (don’t ask why…i think it was Sanaa Lathan’s acting..she’s good)
Talk To Me
Hotel Rwanda (not Black American…but still)
The Color Purple
Sparkle (This movie was KILLIN’ Dreamgirls…)
Antoine Fisher
The Great Debaters
I saw Talk to Me and Hotel Rwanda and yes they both TOUCHED ME.
Some great movies were named and I second Color Purple, Glory, Imitation of Life, Hotel Rwanda. I also tend to tear up at any move with a father/daughter wedding scene.
Some of my favorites have already been mentioned but are worth being repeated -
The Color Purple
Love & Basketball
Malcolm X (Denzel & Spike should have won an Oscar for this movie)
Rosewood (don’t watch this and go to work the next day)
Down in the Delta (last movie Esther Rolle played in)
The Inkwell (a good coming of age story starring Larenz Tate)
I’m going to have to add Eve’s Bayou and Set it Off to the list.
Maia R.’s last blog post..Book Review - Blood Colony by Tananarive Due
And I know only Whoopi was in this movie and won a well-deserved Oscar for it…
“GHOST”
The whole damn movie had me crying, but especially when Whoopi’s character transcend herself so that Patrick Swayze’s character could form physically so Demi Moore’s character could see and kiss him one more time….
ain’t enough Kleenex on this damn planet…
Hey Maia I enjoyed Eve’s Bayou and Set It Off…hmmm need to watch them again to see what effect they have on me today.
Lisa–yes Ghost had some teary eye moments.
Definitely Rosewood…makes you want to stomp some butt!
Antoine Fisher definately made me tear up it was a helluva movie. The first time I saw The Color Purple I couldn’t watch it all the way through because it hit too close to home and I was bawlin’ like a little girl (and I was out on a date to boot!). After a while I watched it again and it still made me cry but I had become stronger and was able to deal with the subject manner.
Other movies that brought tears were: Loosing Isiah, Monster’s Ball, Blood Diamond (not necessarily a black movie but the FACT that they were cutting off those African childrens arms behind those diamonds and the way the Africans were treating each other just touched my heart and broke it), The Passion of the Christ (not a black movie either and up for controversy as far as what ethnicity/color Christ really was) even though I know it was based on the bible I think about Mary standing by as they brutilized Christ and I ask myself could I have done the same or would I not listen to God and jump in to save/help my son,
My husband mentioned Monster’s Ball…I was like huh…lol…but then he reminded me about the character that played Halle’s son.
Coming to America (I still laugh!)
The Last Emperor (cinematic joy!)
A Patch of Blue (life lessons I learned)
Imitation of Life (both versions) (biracial issues I learned at a young age)
Clueless (don’t laugh but it was funny to me)
Election (so true with how I feel about certain people during this election)
Roots (I need to re-watch !! Powerful)
School Daze (a reason why I went to an HBCU!)
TheJennTaFur’s last blog post..Tyra Channels Michelle Obama In Bazaar Photo Spread - Tyra Banks : People.com
JennTaFur–what HBCU did you attend? Where did you attend law school?
I have to agree with a lot that was posted here, including all of the ones listed in the blog entry:
Brian’s Song
Color Purple
Glory (right along with Denzel)
Antwoine Fisher
Five Heartbeats (when Eddie Kane was singing in that church)
The Tempations - tv movie (when Melvin died even though I knew it was coming)
Boyz in the Hood
The Joy Luck Club (although this was a Chinese cast)
The Wire (HBO special, but powerful!)
Hey LJ and yes the Joy Luck Club is a good one and one of my favorites.