The Viewing Culture

Upcoming Movies 2014 -- These are movies that are scheduled for wide releases and feature people of color as the main characters...I hope I'm missing some. Think Like a Man Too - June 20 Verdict : I didn't see the first one, don't think I'll be seeing this one, even if Kevin Hart is in it. Get on Up - August 1 Verdict : I need to see another trailer. I'm leaning toward seeing the James Brown biopic right now. Addicted - September 5 Verdict : The synopsis of a woman being addicted to sex makes this seem like it will be too much like Tyler Perry's Temptation, which I did not enjoy. At all. No Good Deed - September 12 Verdict : If the trailer doesn't look hacky, I will see this because Idris Elba is in it. Annie - December 19 Verdict : I liked the original Annie. I like Jamie Foxx (I seem to be the only person who does) so I'll give it a shot. Upcoming Television Pilot Developments 2014-2015 -- These are TV pilots being ordered or develop...

http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/stephen-colbert-letterman-analysis-questions-answered.html This article concerns Colbert stepping into Letterman's shoes at CBS in the coming years and whom Comedy Central will be looking to choose to fill Colbert's vacant spot. However, the part of the article I want to focus on is this: Will a non-white, non-male ever get a network late-night gig? I think the wrong questions were asked here. The responses all seem to point to them choosing the personality with the most experience and with a proven brand. Yet my own question is this: "Why haven't non-white, non-males been mentored and given opportunities to obtain the experience needed to establish a brand?" The Comedy Central machine hasn't been diversified in developing talent in those roles that last, taking away the excuse that a white male was the most qualified for the job. Are they considering a non-white, non-male as the host of The Daily Show if Stewart eventually...

I read this article and wondered why the person who wrote it thought it was timely (besides the fact that the New York Times  already wrote about the subject). The fact that the majority of children's book characters are white is hardly surprising. I think we're all aware of this fact. The solution proposed is to make sure that the editors and staff at publishing houses are more diverse so that the cycle can be broken somewhere along the line. The editors choose the books with primarily white main characters. Those books are the only options for children. We all get use to those choices...and maybe even get locked into them. I say that because the article kind of glosses over the fact that books featuring non-white characters tend to sell poorly. This begs the question: why aren't we buying books with diverse characters? Maybe a clue is what one African-American journal professor said about "not trying to make [her] kids read books about slaves all the time"...

I'll just accept this show as one of those pieces of work that I don't 'get.' Critics keep telling me to watch it because it's getting better and better. FOX keeps renewing it, but I'm just confused. The show isn't even mediocre. It can't properly connect its storylines without dropping characters or involving characters without good reason (if the plot doesn't directly involve Mindy, then good luck making sense of it), and why do these writers get a free pass on being stereotypical, insulting, and racist, but everyone harps on a show like Dads? I don't get it. I wish them the best of luck though and I hope the show continues to improve and find its audience. I just know I'm not it.

I wonder how this Extant mini-series will be. The trailer looked kind of melodramatic to me. I'm not really into flashy, cheap drama. Flashy, yes. Cheap, no. Halle Berry will be an astronaut who returns to Earth after a year-long trip in space. I guess she'll come back with a guest... She'll obviously be pregnant.

http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/the-colbert-report-embroiled-in-racial-controversy/#more-705803 Political correctness vilification strikes again. I think we all know the difference between real prejudice and racism and a joke. How wearisome. And this is not about if it's funny or not. It's about knowing--knowing--what the intentions were of these people who tweeted that joke from the show, but deciding to be offended anyway. That feels likes an abuse of the situation there. Play the victim and make it that much harder for the real thing to be taken seriously. Thanks. That's helpful to everyone. *sarcastic slow clap*

My first impressions for the Caesar Chavez trailer... There was no Spanish--I guess to not scare away the Americans. No strong narrative either. The trailer is kind of unfocused. Trying to tell two different kinds of stories--biography and civil rights drama. I'd pick the civil rights drama for the first trailer. That's compelling and makes us ask questions about the man behind the revolution. Lastly, did any of the women speak? An odd message there.

I vaguely remember talk about this movie some time ago when it was doing festival rounds... Not sure if it's my kind of movie, though. It's probably a moot point, however. What's the chance that it's coming to a theater near me? I barely got to see 12 Years a Slave. Barely. My theater had it two measly days. Eh, we'll see. This seems like one of those 'see whom I can get a rise out of' kind of movies...

Who's watching the new Arsenio Hall show? I catch it every now and then. Especially on Thursdays after Scandal. I love watching his black guests and seeing how different they are on his show compared to--say, Letterman. It's weird. Would Omar Epps talk about being a backup singer/dancer for Queen Latifah so candidly on other late night talk shows? Well, yeah. But not in such a relaxed way. Even the way he was dressed was catered to the 'urban' crowd. Ah...the compartmentalization of black folks.

This actually looks okay. It has a mystery. How he end up there? A somewhat clear goal and stakes. He's got to get out...or else. And is very much urgent...I think. The lead boy is all special and will lead the lesser, no-so-enlightened boys on the path out. He'll also find love? Don't know how that fits in. The cast is diverse, so that's a plus. There's a bit of implications going on, though, that I don't even want to get into.

Apparently, Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club (yes, apparently all of that is the title) isn't doing well as his movies in the past have in their opening weekends. So far it's sitting at number six. Maybe because this is his attempt to crossover to white audiences, and the black audiences can smell it? Yeah, the trailer features Nia Long, but I see all those other actresses there, and they were the ones with the goals, not Nia. I also see that Cocoa Brown is relegated to the comic relief role that actresses that fit a non-traditional type are forced into. Is it that his audience is losing faith in Mr. Perry? Or are they just not feeling the change-up? Maybe it was just a miscalculation on everyone's part? Who knows?

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=116066 First of all. I'm not even sure that Dwayne Johnson should physically have enough time to film another movie. Second of all, could the description of that movie be any more generic and oh so familiar.

When I saw this news, I wondered what this was all about. What could she possibly be doing for the series? I was kind of excited/concerned/intrigued. Then I read the role: the nanny for their baby. Oh. Just the perfect part for a young African American girl. I sigh and shrug.

First of all, do I want to watch any live-action show on Cartoon Network? No. Okay, got that out of the way. Aaron McGruder, the writer of "The Boondocks" will be bringing us..."Black Jesus" a live-action, half-hour comedy. Black Jesus will try to bring love and kindness to the downtrodden on the streets of Compton. Nope. I don't know McGruder, but I'm not sure how he's qualified to do this show. Boondocks is already screechingly preachy and one-sided. Now he's taking a historical 'preacher' and...no.

I'm attending the Comic Con tour at Sacramento. It's all very nerdy and kind of over the top to me. Josh is having fun, though, so I guess it's worth it. I went to the film festival that showcases local filmmakers and their films. They had a special panel by a professor and two of her students from Sac State. The professor discussed Star Trek and its multi-racial characters since she, the professor, was biracial. One of the students analyzed the recent Black Panther (2011) animated series from the standpoint of how inferior black males are usually portrayed in media. The other student looked at the first two Alien movies and how they blended gender, 'queer' gender roles. Of course, the first two talks were much more interesting to me than the latter. Yet it got me to thinking. In the Black Panther series, they gave a new history for a subset of blacks. One that didn't involve poverty or slavery or oppression. On the other hand, in the Star Trek series, black...

Sometimes I don't want to have topics to write about for this blog. I want it to be irrelevant. Anyways... Mr. Michael B. has been cast as The Human Torch in the upcoming reboot of The Fantastic Four movie. Do I think he will be good in the role? Well, if the script doesn't hamstring him, he should do fine. Of course, I wonder how they will handle his canonically biologically Caucasian sister. Yet the director seemed to always wanted Michael B. for the part...but they cast his sister, Sue Storm, as white. The interwebz, as usual, went crazy. It's no wonder: they had problems with Jessica Alba being too 'ethnic' and tan for the part of Sue Storm in the 2005 movie so I'm sure a black man for a part that has always been white in the comic books and previous movies has left people positively slathering about the mouth. 'Oh, this will ruin everything because...' Yes, the color of his skin will somehow ruin everything. Thanks for that. At least that...

Lupita for Supporting Actress! 12 Years a Slave for Best Picture! Wow!

I was quite surprised by the number of pilots ordered that cast people of color in the main--not just supporting--roles. I'm also excited. There's no way that one of these won't make it on the air so there'll be even more of that screamed about 'diversity' on network television. Here's a random list of ordered pilots and series from the networks: ABC Rosie Perez co-starring in An American Education (not sure how big her part is) Constance Wu starring in Fresh off the Boat Romany Malco and Amber Stevens starring in Keep It Together Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, and Tracee Ellis Ross starring in Black-ish Mykelti Williamson  co-starring in  Clementine Viola Davis starring in How to Get Away With Murder Courtney B. Vance  co-starring in Warriors NBC Malcolm Barrett  co-starring in Mission Control Craig Robinson and Larenz Tate  starring in Mr. Robinson Echo Kellum  co-starring in Two to Go Meagan Good  starring in Babylo...

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=113670 They can't agree how to portray Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a man...as opposed to what? Will he also be a dragon? Maybe Oliver Stone leaving the project will be a good thing. I've never much liked his biopics. They always feel too long and draggy and uninspired.

So SNL has finally hired a black female player--Sasheer Zamata. Hmm. On the one hand, it's about time. There couldn't really have been a dearth of talented black female comedians for this long. On the other, she's gonna have a lot of scrutiny on her. Every laugh she gains or fails to gain will be under a microscope. I wouldn't want that kind of pressure. It wouldn't be very conducive to the creative atmosphere of making people laugh. So who is Sasheer Zamata? I'm not sure. Apparently, she does a Beyonce impression. I've watched a little of her stand-up, but I guess we'll all see how she does once she's with the cast. I expect to see a lot of 'bout time jokes. I hope they let her find her own naturally.