Musing and Venting by Rambling Raven
By Raven • Feb 16th, 2010 • Category: Rambling Raven •
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Musing and Venting by Rambling Raven
It was a heck of a week. Let’s go through a few of the attention grabbing headlines that surfaced last week.
Now that the movies Precious has been nominated for a few academy awards it appears that there are some anti-Precious sentiments within the Black community. Apparently there are people who think that the story of an illiterate, abused teen makes us look bad to those outside of the community. Well, I actually think the local news does that more than this movie. Anyhoot. Yes, Precious tackles hard to swallow subject matters. However, I see it as a movie that chronicles one woman’s journey. It isn’t for everyone for sure but I certainly don’t see it as an assault to our community. There are many “Precious” types that live among us. Many of our children, black and white, have had their lives touched by abusive parents. I am a teacher in one of the largest school districts in this nation and I can tell you that there are a multitude of children who have had their spirits broken by horrific abuse and cold-hearted hateful adults. Precious began as a book written by a black woman, it was then produced and directed as a movie by black people and it stars black actors. We can’t be mad at the Hollywood establishment this time because this one comes from us. And I think it is unrealistic to expect for every movie to depict us in a glorious light. There are some stories out there to tell that are not the most flattering. We have to learn to take the good with the bad but in this case I think some people are jumping the gun. The movie does tackle some tough issues but it does it with cinematic class and integrity. I hope Oscars are awarded to the movie because it deserves it. It was a hell of a story acted out by very talented actors. Hmmm, I wonder how many of us will groan the next day if Mo’nique isn’t awarded the Oscar for best supporting actress?
John Mayer has some explaining to do. In an interview with Playboy magazine he fired off some colorful remarks regarding his ex-girlfriends and black women. Here is a shocker— I wasn’t offended by what he said in his interview. John Mayer can compare his ding-dong to David Duke if he wants to, and he can say that he isn’t all that sexually attractive to black women. Whatever!! Look, before this little tirade did anyone really know who John Mayer was other than Jennifer Aniston’s ex-boyfriend? And upon careful reading of his statement he didn’t come right out and say that he wasn’t sexually attractive to black women, he stated that he has only boinked white women , hence the comparison of his penis to David Duke. Now as for the use of the N word, that is inexcusable but I think that no matter who says it—black or white. Look there are way more important things to be pissed over than a second rate artist like John Mayer. I can’t even name one song of his. Yes, get on his ass for using the N word but let’s move on. He isn’t worth the energy. He was trying to be hip and smart at the mouth. It didn’t work. Lesson learned.
Bill Clinton’s hospitalization this week was a little scary. Although I am still a little pissed at him from the things that were said during Hillary’s bid for the presidency, I still like Bill. He was my president. He was the first president I cared about. And I believe that he cared for the community. So when I heard of his hospitalization I said a little prayer. Glad to hear that he is doing fine.
The Winter Olympics have started and like many Americans I was glued to the television for the opening ceremonies. Who didn’t want to see the artistry and pageantry of it all? Now, I knew it wasn’t going to be anything like the Beijing opening ceremony but I still enjoyed it. It was a little more intimate than the one China put on and I was glad to see someone pay homage to the Native ancestry of their country. Besides it was nice to be able to understand what was being said and not have the NBC correspondents translate for us. Now I won’t be watching the winter games much, I never really do. However, I will stay tuned for the closing ceremony. It would be nice to see how Canada ends it.
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Raven is an educator with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Education. She has been an avid reader since childhood. Her favorite genres are mystery, suspense, and horror, although she will give any genre a try. She is a life long resident of Chicago. Her love of books opened her mind to people, places and events far beyond her Chicago home. Reading helped to shape her world and her opinion of the events that took place within it. No matter what demands her career requires of her, she has always found time to read and write in a journal. Along with reading and journaling, she loves to watch the sunset, and discuss hot topics with family and friends. She loves baseball, horror movies, mysteries, listening to music from every corner of the world and expressing her view of the latest books with the women of APOOO.
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Great column!The part about Precious needs to be sent to Black Roots or somewhere. I was disappointed that with all the fanfare and elaborate themes and sets, that there wasn’t anything,, to my knowledge about the Underground Railroad and the role Canada had in it.
Dera´s last blog ..Late, but Right on Time
As usual great commentary
I have social worker friends who felt Precious painted social workers in a bad light. I enjoyed the post, but the part on Precious needs to be shared. Too many people are seeing negative in the attention given to a movie with such a dark side.