Just Wright - Are We Really That Different

by today's Urban Chameleon contributor Aireka Muse

creator of Until I Get to You

I’m frustrated. Irritated.

I saw Just Wright today and set out to write about the relationship between Queen Latifah and Common and got pissed off and sidetracked by a CNN video of a panelists (including Phylicia Rashad and Roland Martin) discussing the movie.

Why is it such a big deal that Black People have jobs?

Why is it such a big deal that an actually well made romantic comedy has two black leads in it?

It just infuriates me that Hollywood has pinned us up so far in a box that once we get a great movie with real non stereotypical shuckin and jivin characters were “defying the rules”. Guess what Hollywood, Black people come in all shapes and sizes, different parts of the country, even come from different social economic backgrounds. And guess what sometimes the big black girl wins! You know the chick with a job, a house, and a father that loves her!

I don’t know why I am surprised. As a black female screenwriter, I deal with this all the time. I once received coverage of a script where the reader said my dialogue wasn’t real because the educated lead character went from being professional to using words like “aint” with her friends. Recently, a hollywood producer was afraid to read my pilot about dysfunctional private school parents because he had a project with an African American writer about an African girl in boarding school. Because we're both black woman obviously the ideas have to be similar, right? There are thousands of Leslie Wright's walking this earth who deserve to see their stories. Tyler Perry is not the authority of the Black American experience. Mike Elliot has been doing this a lot longer then he has. So has Sanaa Hamri. There are thousands of Black industry professionals out there that deserve to be heard. And as shocking as it might seem, all of our stories are NOT the same.

The rant is coming from the fact that I enjoyed “Just Wright”. It was a feel good movie about black people that had nothing to do with race. It’s true sometimes we have a day where we don’t discuss how black we are, or how much race affects our every waking moment. Sometimes our race is just that, so deeply rooted in who we are that there isn’t a separation that even needs to be discussed. I’m thankful for “Just Wright” and hopefully this movie begins to open doors for other folks but CNN, as much as I thankful for the publicity, black people with jobs that fall in love is NOT news. As much as the WASHINGTON POST, NIGHTLINE, and all the other media outlets want you to believe the opposite, black people fall in love, get married and stay together, more often then not.

Towards the end Phylicia Rashad looks just as irritated with the conversation as I am. Just like the Queen she is, she brings the discussion to an end with:

" We were being human, we were being ourselves... People, and I mean people all over this planet, are much more alike then we can ever be different"

Maybe the only thing we need to do is stop making the possibility of having universally relatable films with African American leads a conundrum and the rest of the world will follow.

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Scarface the School Play(the kindergarten version?)

How do you know when school systems are in crisis?

When elementary students are performing an adaptation of the movie Scarface. What faculty approved this?

But wait... why is this both hilarious and disturbing... yes we sometimes struggle with chameleonism between our intellectual and ign't sides

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'Couples Retreat' Movie Poster Causes Controversy in the UK

Urban Chameleon news
















Racism or marketing tactic?

Universal is facing a potential PR mess for its decision to digitally remove the names and images of the only black couple in 'Couples Retreat' on the film's UK movie poster.

According to England's The Daily Mail, a Universal spokesman said the updated ad was released "to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets."

But some are calling foul on the complete removal of actors Kali Hawk and Faizon Love from the film's poster. "I think this was an ill-conceived move," Mediawatch-UK director Vivienne Pattison told the Mail. "We celebrate diversity in Britain and we could have coped with seeing the same poster used in America."
In the U.S. version (above, left), all eight principal stars, including Hawk and Love, are seen standing knee-deep in water with their names displayed above. For the UK version (above, right), a different backdrop is shown with only the six (white) actors and actresses on display.

"Any discrepancy between the posters is cause for alarm because it makes racist assumptions about target markets," says Ann Simonton, founder of the non-profit organization Media Watch. "But this is a somewhat common response to how advertisers target audiences. So much of advertising depends on our ignorance and it's important for the consumer to remain ignorant. When they eliminate diversity, it maintains this false view of our world. It's sickening to think about what the industry's motives are, but it's important that they be called on it."

Daily Mail film critic Jason Solomons weighed in over the weekend, noting, "We don't cater much for the black cinema-going audience in this country, which is a great shame, so it seems strange that when there are black stars in a major feature film, this fact isn't promoted. And, in terms of business decisions, this seems a pretty counter-productive one."

For its part, Universal has acknowledged the omission, saying it regretted offending anyone and is abandoning plans to use the revised poster in other countries.

But you have to wonder: If they regretted offending anyone, why would they alter the poster in the first place?

read full article on insidemovies.moviefone.com

Tyler Perry Chitlin or Progressive?

by today's Urban Chameleon contributor

I still don't know how I feel about Tyler Perry. I can't even lie that brotha pissed me and my husband off so badly with the release Dairy of a Mad Black Woman. Just at the point where home-girl Kimberly Elise pushes Steve Harris into the bathtub from his wheelchair as I think I recall it--we got up and walked out. We were done. To this day still can't tell you how that movie ends. Now it might have something to do with the fact that we are totally those snooty people that just because we have a BFA in acting, performed every Shakespeare, Molière, Tennessee Williams and August Wilson play and have mastered the following articulation exercises three times fast:

Which wrist watch is the Swiss wrist watch, this wrist watch is the Swiss wrist watch,

Three free thugs set three thugs free,

Cinnamon, aluminum, linoleum,

Girl gargoyle, guy gargoyle

uuuhm yea, we don't play. I guarantee that you're not just shooting these exercises off at the tongue all like that my friend. Ok so maybe we're a little deep but to go from this serious and intense kind of acting training to watching Black people draaaaaaaag each other across the floor--- we were really on some Tyler Perry you chiltin' m*thafucka.

Then about a few years later we found our selves at the movies with no other choices other than a white boy comedy, an under whelming drama about white people or a Tyler Perry movie (interestingly enough same choices years later)-- we opted to watch Black people just 'cause sometimes you need a break from alllllllll the stories about white people. The Tyler Perry movie at the time was Why Did I Get Married and we actually were pleasantly surprised on some, "Ok Tyler, Ok." But then two weeks ago he fucked our heads up again after Netflixing Meet the Browns starring a miscast Angela Basset and that horrible Latino sidekick. We were back on some Tyler you chitlin' m*thafucka! Now you might say to us- two out of three stop hatin' on this Black man and move on from him if it's not your cup of tea but WHAT OTHER OPTIONS DO WE HAVE!? All the progressive and emerging Black filmmakers from the 90ties have either gone chitlin' (cough cough Eddie Murphy) or AWOL after years on the battlefield trying to convince Hollywood that there are other kinds of Black people besides drug dealers and basketball players. Eddie come back to us honey! Boomerang?! Coming To America?!

But then Tyler Perry flipped it back on us with the other Netflix movie in our queue , The Family That Preys. We were thoroughly impressed and had to commend him on actually showcasing four Black women four different ways in the same movie. Not to mention extra brownie points for not overwhelming us with the presence of church (Black people do actually sometime solve problems with out prayer- although yes we are very spiritual). So the verdict on Tyler Perry movies is we are staying away from the ones with Madea-- can't handle her, oh god and this latest one that stars Rudy from the Cosby's looks like an atrocity. I saw one shot of her in the trailer playing what appeared to be a hooker/crack head and said, "No." But if this it to mean that a progressive movie is to follow then I say bring on the chitlin' grease that the masses seems to like to bake more of the chicken that people like us can digest.

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