Final : "Scorned"

 *DISCLAIMER* THIS IS STRICTLY FOR MY BLACK FILM CLASS, NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED* (i.e.. PICTURES BEING USED. HOW EVER THE PLOT, SYNOPSIS, ALL MY OWN WORDS)

"Scorned" is a movie about a girl name Danielle. Throughout her life Danielle never knew her father. She never knew any family but her mother, Patricia. Although, Danielle's mother was loving, caring, and kind the men in her life were cruel, disrespectful, and abusive. At a young age Danielle witnessed men abuse, destroy and break her mother. This caused Danielle to really have hate towards men and even more of hate towards her father. Danielle's hatred towards men caused her to never trust them and ultimately caused her to become a serial killer towards men.

"Scorned" was definitely a good movie. You would never think someone in Danielle's situation would end up like that.  African American communities have a high percentage of single mothers. I could definitely relate to Danielle because as a child she experienced a lot of pain. Danielle's father abandonment issues to her mother tolerating disrespectful men within their lives.  "Scorned" takes you on a real journey. The journey of a forgotten child in a sense. Danielle was just like many other children in that situation, she suppressed it but never sought help. I think the point where Danielle decided that every man was evil was the scene with her mother. Danielle was coming home from school, and witnessed her mother being abused in front of her. Danielle had heard  it, seen the bruises, but never physically saw it happen in front of her eyes, Patricia's boyfriend at the time, was a drunk, lazy, and did nothing for the betterment of Danielle or her mother.

In the movie the first murder that Danielle committed was very symbolic. She had graduated from college, found a good job and was working in the corporate world. Something she had always wanted so that she would never have to rely on a man, she valued her independence. Danielle was working under Devin Smith, a prominent investment banker, who seemed like a respectable gentlemen, then one night of late working he tried to force his self on Danielle and though it was by accident Danielle did enjoy stabbing Devin in the neck with those scissors. At that moment Danielle felt she had done society, her mom, and herself a justice.

"Scorned" does not have you look at Danielle as a villain but rather as a female Robin Hood. In her mind she felt the killings were a way of judgement. In her eyes the men she murdered were the real villains. They were the ones causing society harm and it was her duty to ensure that no one experience that type of injustice. This movie had me looking at the opposite sex differently. Don't get me wrong I'm not about to be like Danielle and go on murder killing spree, but I do feel that women in a way are victimized and too many do not come forward but suffer in silence, until they finally snap.

The ending was very bittersweet. Danielle had murdered so many men. But she still felt that void, that anger. She felt the only way to fix that void was to kill her father. The man who ultimately in her mind was responsible for all the damage in her life.I felt that this part was very metaphoric. Danielle in her own way felt that she would never receive closer until she finally murdered her father. Just like many people who grow up without a certain parent there is always that want to get questions answered, receive that closure needed to finally move on and live life.

The conclusion was a stunning yet display of irony. This ending is so unforeseen that viewers will watch it over and over again this is a seat gripping suspense that will leave viewers captivated. I would give this movie 5/5 stars. We all can relate to being scorned.


 *DISCLAIMER* THIS IS STRICTLY FOR MY BLACK FILM CLASS, NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED* (i.e.. PICTURES BEING USED. HOW EVER THE PLOT, SYNOPSIS, ALL MY OWN WORDS)

"Bamboozled"

Bamboozled is a 2000 satirical film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning "black face" makeup and the violent fall-out from the show's success. The movie stars Damon Wayans as Pierre Dekacroix, a Harvard graduate who is a program executive at a cable TV network. He works under a boss who is, in his own eyes, admirably unprejudiced, Dunwitty says Delacroix's black shows are "too white," and adds: "I have a black wife and two biracial kids. Brother man, I'm blacker than you." Well, Delacroix isn't very black; his accent makes him sound like Franklin Pangborn as a floorwalker. But he is black enough to resent how Dunwitty and the network treat him, when he's late to a meeting. In front of his office, he often passes two homeless street performers, Manray played by Savion Glover and Womack played by Tommy Davidson. Fed up with the news that he's not black enough, Delcroix decides to star them in a "black face" variety show set in a watermelon patch on an Alabama plantation.  Spike Lee's criticism is against black performers and image makers who allow the negative representations of their people.

 "Bamboozled" is a harsh indictment not only of Delacroix, for letting down the African-American community, but of the talented tap dancer, Manray, who prostitutes his talents towards the negative depictions of black people. The hubris of Manray and Delacroix is juxtaposed with the guilt and better judgement of Womack and Sloan. The greatest and most devastating aspects of "Bamboozled" lie in Spike Lee's ability to visually articulate the racial psychology that resides on several subliminal levels in minds of many Americans, some blacks, many whites and others about African Americans and their depiction in the media. Whether it be the contribution of some rap/hip hop artists to degradation of African American women in music videos or the inner-city proclivity to send money on indifferent big-name clothing fashions like Tommy Hilfiger or some African American's habit of openly calling each other the "n-word". Also how some modern-day Black entertainers will do anything to be accepted. 

Bamboozled" shows all of these popular attitudes and issues "Bamboozled" has some truly disturbing scenes though it's not in a dark context, the disturbing thing is that you have the first sellout of a Black man who has these puppets that represent the terrible history of racist name-calling towards black people . Then the second sell-out is the one who depicts these puppets on TV for entertainment purposes which brings me to my second realization.The puppet metaphor in this I found to be absolutely frightening in a sense as the white executives for the TV company love the idea that Damon Wayans character proposes and decides to use him and his bad idea. Jada Pinkett- Smith plays  the most difficult of these roles as the one who knows that this is entirely wrong but instead goes ahead with it. This may sound a little wrong but I understood the part where Manray is forced to tap dance because of gunfire at his feet which he eventually eats by some really angered thugs in an alley. The ending, in which cartoons are showed in conjunction with the black actors in black and white prior 1950s style, is truly unpleasant but effective with the cartoons with the monkeys being replaced by the black actor finally to fit a horrible spitting image. At first I did not notice it because I never looked at it that way but now that I see it, it really is disturbing.   The central dynamic of this film was how the black audience was the pull for the fictional show, exploiting narrow stereotypes.  The old stereotypes relied on blacks as stupid, lazy, sex-obsessed, lawbreaking, and fundamentally different. Both then and now have demeaning visuals, just minstrel ones are rejected by today's society and the urban ones are embraced. "Bamboozled " seems to skirt with the fact that all entertainment is pornographic and it is hard to tease out who is the exploiter and who is the exploited.

But In my opinion, "Bamboozled" is only controversial because everything hurtful happens to African Americans due to the actions of African Americans, and if you are unable to universalize the lessons, it overloads the significance of African Americans and all the stereotypical devices in the coon show, as grotesque as they are, so moviegoers may end up in twisted knots thinking about "the black thing"  and what they are supposed to think of Spike Lee. Even though, "Bamboozled"  may exploit a very particular venality of television, there is something very deep and eye opening harsh in Lee's critique of the business, and as didactic as many critics have called "Bamboozled" you would think more people will truly get it, but I think many will be stewing in their own juices. 

The Black Candle

"The Black Candle" is a documentary that uses Kwanzaa to explore and celebrate the African American experience. This is a documentary about struggle and triumph of family, community and culture. "The Black Candle" was shot across the United States, Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean. The film focuses on why the seven principles of Kwanzaa are relevant today. The several principles are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and space. The film traces the holiday growth from the first celebration in 1966 to its present-day reality as a global holiday embraced over 20 million celebrants. The sensible mixture of Maya Angelou's poetry and narration, with pieces of interviews, statements, and academic snapshots by distinguished African American intellectuals and activists; the blend of archival materials and lively reports of several community organisation underlined by an outstanding musical soundtrack, all reflect the serious and committed research conducted by M.K. Asante Jr. not only in America but also in Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean. This was a beautiful documentary that not only spoke to Kwanzaa but the Black Power Movement as well. It was very educational and should be included in the study of the history of kidnapped, sold, bought, and enslaved African people in relation to their journey to North America. The Black Candle is a documentary that should have a place in any institution concerned with cultural understanding as an extremely important piece of scholarship towards African resurgence. I really enjoyed watching the movie because it really takes you back to your roots. I can honestly say I never really understood why people celebrated Kwanzaa. I knew that it was a holiday celebrated by African Americans in the world but I never knew that the candles each stood for a principle. In school, while growing up they never made it clear as to why Kwanzaa was celebrated. It was just mentioned but never fully explained for us to get a better understanding. I also never knew how old the holiday was either. I was very impressed with the caliber of people that participated in the film. The film brought to light how African Americans are not educated on the reason Kwanzaa is celebrated. I believe though as a race we fail to educate ourselves on things that we have not yet mastered and why we celebrate it. No matter who you are, you should celebrate all the wonderful things about yourself and your community. A lot of people of African decent in the U.S. are taught to hate themselves or to love themselves and hate others. Your worst enemy and your best friend is the person you look at in the mirror every day. I believe though as a race we fail to educate ourselves on things that we have not yet mastered and are unclear on so we defiantly cut ourselves short.Yes racism and white supremacy may be barriers but you and I decide whether these barriers will keep us from striving. We need to call for black accountability. Unless we do that we will continue to walk on psychological crutches instead of mobilize. The seed of change is not within the end of racism or white supremacy. It's within every one of us, brothers, and sisters.