thatblackgirlblogging

Angela Bassett Agrees to Play Doctor Until the End

When I heard the news that Angela Bassett would be joining ER this fall I had mixed emotions. First, I am glad that this sister has a steady gig. There aren't a lot of movie or television roles for a black woman about to turn fifty. Yeah, I know that Meet the Browns has made over 40 million at box office to date but that role as well as some of her other recent turns are a long way from What's Love Got to Do With It, Waiting to Exhale or even How Stella Got Her Groove Back. But part of me is sad because of the timing. ER is going into its last year. Truthfully, I thought the show was already off the air. I know I stopped watching it at least four or five years ago. Do you know anyone who watches it? Is there even an original cast member left?

Angela is being charged with breathing new life into a show long past its prime. But can she keep ER interesting for over twenty episodes? I think that's a tall order for even this talented Oscar winner. But I am sure she will give it her theatrical best. (I will never forget her turn as Lady MacBeth at The Public Theater in New York some years back--totally over the top!) And that's why I will cheer her on even if I can't bring myself to tune in to this lifeless show beyond her debut.

Fade to Black, Literally

The web is breathing new life into the golden age of television. At least that is what The New York Times is saying. Sites like Hulu, Joost and Veoh are getting a lot of buzz and traffic because they are streaming both new and old shows online for free. Sounds great, right? Well, not for us. Many of their archives go back 50 years but none of our shows are among them.

Why you might ask? It is doubtful that they are available. It seems that the film canisters documenting many of our early shows from the 50s and 60s weren't stored very well. Guess no one thought they were valuable. As a result, there are only snippets of show like Beulah (which ran for years with three different stars) and perhaps a handful of complete episodes.

I am not sure I want to sit down and watch Hattie McDaniel, Ethel Waters or Louise Beavers playing the wise-cracking role but it would be nice to have the option. Especially because we know that they did everything they could to rise above the material available.

I am more troubled that the shows that came after Beulah aren't available via these venues either. Not even A Man Called Hawk featuring the awesome Avery Brooks. (Believe me I checked). And what about those once in a blue moon miniseries like Backstairs at the White House or Sister, Sister (not the series) the movie that was actually written by Maya Angelou and starred Diahann Carroll, Rosalind Cash and Irene Cara. (Yes, I am a font of trivia). It would be great to click on a site and see them clashing in a time warp. Because it has definitely been a minute since we've seen a perky Irene Cara (except for the annual airing of Sparkle on BET). Seriously, is a whole body of work by talented African American actors and actresses going to be lost in the digital age?
I guess Irene might want to change the lyrics of "Fame" to "maybe you'll remember my name."

">Leave it to Bealuh">Intro for the '50s tv series The Beulah Show

Injustice, Dignity and Destiny: Why Nicole Paultre Bell Must Carry On

I can't say I was totally shocked, surprised and stunned when the three police officer accused of gunning down Sean Bell on the morning of his wedding were acquitted this morning. We've seen this before and we'll see it again before long. And that will never make it right. However, because the victim of these crimes is often a brother, there is usually a black woman (his significant other/wife, mother, grandmother) left behind to pick up the shattered pieces of her life as well as those of her children. Nicole Paultre Bell is living this nightmare and unfortunately for her it is far from over. Of course she is distraught after hearing the verdict but she doesn't have the luxury of falling apart forever. In the long-run she must choose both how to keep Sean Bell's memory alive and the way she is going to live her life moving forward.

I was reminded of this earlier in the week when The New York Times profiled two Newark women, Delores Timmons and Shalgam Hightower, whose lives have been drastically changed by the senseless violence resulting in the deaths of their loved ones.

Hightower's daughter, Iofemi, was one of the bright college-bound students killed execution style in a Newark park last summer. Timmons' grandson, Gary Farrar, Jr. was a recent college graduate and victim of a random drive-by shooting right in front of his home. Prior to the first incidence the women, who live on the same block, didn't know each other but now have formed a friendship with too much in common. They have been on this earth a few decades longer than Paultre Bell so they know moving forward is mandatory and they do so with purpose. It honors the memory of those who have been lost.

After Paultre Bell has the chance to take this all in and weigh her legal options (like federal charges and perhaps a civil suit!) she can begin to take those first bold but tentative steps forward too. Because even in the face of injustice she can keep her dignity as part of her destiny.

What's Up With Juanita Bynum?

This morning as I was leaving the house I heard an interview between Steve Harvey & Company with Judge Lynn Toler, you know the one who took Judge Mableen's place on Divorce Court. Well she was on the show to promote a special two-art episode that will air Thursday and Friday where Televangelist Juanita Bynum comes on the show to seek a dissolution of her marriage to Bishop Thomas Weeks III. But the thing is, I am not sure that her husband is even in the courtroom. (His attorney says their real mediation is scheduled for May 13th). So if there is a mediation scheduled, why the need to be on Divorce Court ? A need for publicity perhaps?

If you've been living under a rock you don't know the story, but here it is just in case: last summer Weeks attacked Bynum in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel. Battered and bruised she held a press conference and mentioned that because she's been a victim of domestic violence this would be her new platform. Then came the two-part interview in Essence (complete with cover story). And then she was silent, sort of. Then last month, Weeks pleaded guilty to the charge and received three years probation. But the story didn't end there. Rumors of text messages between them in which she said she still loves him were rampant. Now comes her very public television divorce (before a real one happens).

Bynum may believe that she is doing this to be an example to women in the same situation. And the message to get out of dangerous situations and seek help is powerful. I think it would be more compelling, however, if she were telling it from a healed position. Are we to believe that she is already healed? If not, her actions are akin to inviting the world in to watch your open heart surgery with no anesthesia.

Maybe I am biased because I didn't jump on the Bynum bandwagon from jump street. I am always concerned when the messenger outshines the message. (The same reason that I won't attend a church that makes you stand on line to get in like you're at a concert.) However, she did sway me a bit last summer when I heard her speak at the Essence Music Festival. But I do remember her talking about her skin care and cosmetics lines and it gave me pause. Still, I even bought her CD. Later, I gave her the benefit of the doubt when those You Tube videos featuring snippets of her sermons began circulating. One of them focused on her telling her audience they needed $500 pens. (Remember how Jeremiah Wright came across in a sound bite.) But somewhere between the Festival and now, she lost me.I decided she really wasn't my cup of tea but may be an effective trumpet for a specific audience. But right now I can't help but look at her sideways anyway because this Divorce Court appearance seems suspect to me. Tell me, am I missing something here? And if any of you watch these shows please let a sister know what you think. As you know I have become reality adverse and that's exactly what this seems to be.

The Other Sides of Jill Scott

Jill Scott continues to amaze me with her versatility. I'm already impressed with her as a consummate performer (who can get even the most staid crowd on their feet) but now she is showing off some other talents. First, she is showing off her curves (well, sort of) as one of five celebrities to pose au naturel in Allure in the May issue. She is making a bold statement about how comfortable she is in her own skin. Literally.

But she isn't stopping there. Her bra line which is called The Butterfly Collection by Jill Scott will debut at Ashley Stewart stores on May 15th, according to Women's Wear Daily. Apparently, Jill designed the bras because she couldn't find a comfortable and fashionable bra in her size. But Ashley Stewart? I am not so sure... Let's just say that I will be taking a wait and see attitude on this one. (These things don't always hold up so well in the long-term, I believe Queen Latifah's partnership with Curvations went kaput.) Still, I do admire Jill's entreprenuerial spirit.

Finally, I am anxiously awaiting Jill's turn as Precious Ramotswe, the traditionally-built Botswanese heroine of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agencyfilm. If you haven't read Alexander McCall Smith's series yet, get thee to the library before this movie has its debut on the small screen here in the U.S. It turns out that you've got time. The film has already been seen in the U.K. (with Anika Noni Rose and the delicious Idris Elba in key roles) but I've heard that HBO may not schedule it stateside until next year. Where's a good bootleg when you need it? (I am joking!) I can be patient because director Anthony Minghella did pass away recently and they need to figure out who would be at the helm should the movie turn into a full-fledged series. I am keeping my fingers crossed for Jill and for us. We need a positive series to root for.
">Jill Scott Talks About The Real Thing

Black Women & Breast Cancer: Why Can't They Figure it Out?

Breast cancer has been in the news a lot in the last couple of weeks. First, there was the New York Times article on how the shift to digital mammograms is resulting in a greater number of follow-ups. However, the upshot was that this new technology is worth all the extra trouble. After reading it I wondered, do black women know that they should be getting digital mammograms? If not, who is going to tell them? A lot of insurance companies operate in the don't ask, don't tell mode so sisters may not know that they should be quizzing their doctor or facility about what type of mammograms they offer before they make an appointment.

Next, came the study conducted by the National Cancer Institute that revealed that even one or two drinks a day up the cancer risk for post-menopausal women by 32% and by over 50% if three or more drinks were consumed. Hmmm, again I asked myself how does this effect us?

Finally, there was the study from the University of Chicago Medical Center which reported that rates of invasive breast cancer have been decreasing among white, Hispanic, and Asian women but remain static for us. The report looked at women ages 50 to 69 and concluded that the decrease was likely attributed to less use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) across the board. Even if only 10% of black women used HRT why didn't our numbers go down? The findings even stumped the researchers—who could only point to the less than successful mammogram programs in our communities. But that is only a possible explanation.

The fact is that the medical community hasn't yet stumbled upon the truth and until then, they will continue to speculate about the reasons. (The same way they do about our incidence of fibroids.) And we will continue to have higher mortality rates. But we do have some power within our hands:
1. We can be diligent about self-examinations and yearly mammograms.
2. We can make sure that we go to a facility that offers digital mammograms.
3. We can participate in more studies. The Sister Study is still recruiting African American women. It is worth our while to check these things out. Yes, even if the Tuskegee experiments are ever present reminder of why we should be cautious.

Another One Bites the Dust

Khandi Alexander's character will be DOA on CSI Miami next fall according to TV Guide. This is troubling not only because Khandi has real range as an actress (who can forget her as a crack head in HBO's The Corner) but because she is yet another one of us who is disappearing from the small screen. Never mind that she has spent the last few years talking to dead bodies (what a waste). But even then she tried to breathe life into an incomplete character by showing compassion in tragic situations. But relegating the sister to the morgue is actually becoming a troubling trend of its own with Tamara Tunie (Law & Order SVU) and Paula Newsome (Women's Murder Club) in similar roles. I guess since housekeeper/maid isn't politically correct these days, handling dead bodies is the next best thing. It's another job most people don't want in real life either.

I must confess that I tuned out all the procedural dramas because they seem to offer more of the same week in and week out. But it was nice to know that Khandi was still going strong with Horatio Cane & company. I never thought I would start counting the number of black women with roles in hour-long dramatic shows (we already know our comedic options have gotten slimmer—thank God Vanessa Williams knows how to chew up the scenery in Ugly Betty).

I think part of the reason that I am sad to see Khandi go is that she looks like a regular sister. But Hollywood doesn't really know what to do with actresses who look like people we see walking down the street. Instead they rely on real-life characters or should I say, carricatures like Omarosa to bring the drama. Obviously its working for someone because she keeps turning up like a bad penny. Cable used to fill the void with more diverse opportunities for black actresses but even they seem to be drying up. It's time to stem the tide before we disappear altogether.

">The Corner

Which Is Worse: Stepin Fetchit, Buckwheat or Flavor Flav?

As you can tell, I can't get this buffon out of my mind because his influence is becoming pervasive. Today I read that Flav's 21-year-old son will be the star of the next season of Flavor of Love. So it is obvious to me that this man won't go away until we tune him, and the shows he's associated with, out collectively. That may be wishful thinking on my part. But his ubiquitous foolishness got me thinking about those early stereotypes that got our community up in arms.

Stephen Fetchit (aka Lincoln Perry) became a millionaire playing the shiftless, lazy Negro in the 30s. White people thought he was a hoot but black folks thought he was a disgrace. And he was exiled into obscurity (bankrupt and cast-out) until the 1970s when the NAACP decided to acknowledge the doors he opened in Hollywood by giving him a special image award.

Then there are the black actors who were part of Hal Roach's Our Gang series. Those short films seemed to be on all the time when I was a child but my mother was not having that mess on in her house. In fact, she forbade us from watching it anywhere else, especially the babysitter's house. So me and my two sisters had to leave the room if it came on after school. It was the mangled English and the pickaninny look that set my mother's teeth on edge every time. Although Buckwheat, Farina and the others were sometimes the butt of the other kid's jokes, the black kids often had adventures right alongside the white ones. A somewhat radical notion in the 20s and 30s but it was deemed okay because they were children. But, let me be clear, in historical context it is a sad depiction of us. Yet despite protests lots of black folks watched them and laughed anyway. (And when Eddie Murphy brought Buckwheat to SNL, folks laughed again).

Its been over 80 years and we some of us are still entertained by these deplorable images. But the difference now is that Flav is choosing to promote his buffonery (at the same era that Denzel and Forest are doing Oscar worthy work every time they're on the screen these days). Yet Flav is following in the footsteps of Stepin Fetchit by becoming the butt of a joke of his own making. But this time I don't hear the rallying cries of our leaders. Maybe they are thinking about giving him some kind of award somewhere down the line.

What do think is Flav more acceptable than Buckwheat or Stepin Fetchit? Let me know.

Buffonery and the Bottom of the Barrel: Flavor Flav Gets A Sitcom

Why, oh why, would anyone give Flavor Flav a sitcom? Isn't it enough that women fight to get on his circus of a show to make fools of themselves on VH1? But now we are bombarded with trailers asking us to take the leap of faith that this negro can act. This is some network executives idea of easy money or what he may believe is giving black people want they want. The scary part is that some of us may actually watch this mess.

I've got to say when I heard the promos on the radio I thought it was some sort of a sick joke. But it is not, in fact this show masquerading as entertainment premieres on Wednesday. And judging from the trailer it is worse than we can ever imagine. Ripping off not one, but two, of our shows. The plot is a ghetto-ized version of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, with him coming out of jail instead of a bad neighborhood. The worse part is that they stole the series name from the CBS drama about a couple generations of a black family living together in Seattle that ran in the 90s. It starred James Earl Jones, Joe Morton, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Essence Atkins and Merlin Santana. Who would ever have thought that the names Flavor Flav and James Earl Jones would ever come up together. Well they will now because of Under One Roof.

If My Network wanted to make a statement they would have brought the original series back (although it had a short run) back and run instead of this buffonery and The Best of In Living Color (we can already catch the series on BET). They couldn't make those serials worked with washed up nighttime soap stars from the 80s like Morgan Fairchild so they decided to go black. On the cheap.

The only positive thing I can think of is that buffoon will be getting a check and can support the myriad of kids he has fathered around the country. But isn't there another way for this man to make money without threatening to invade our living rooms?

On Wednesday night I imagine Chuck D will be staring at his tv screen in disbelief. Fight the power indeed.

Alicia Keys and The Secrets of a Superwoman

There's no doubt that Alicia Keys is an accomplished artist who stands out in sea of wannabes. But although her songs can reach deep into our souls Alicia herself seemed like an enigma. I considered her a distant diva, because she certainly never wore her life on her sleeve. I wasn't sure whether she was shy or standoffish. Neither turns out to be true. In the new issue of Blender Keys reveals that the walls she put up to protect herself as a child started to become a prison that she couldn't break free from. Soon she wasn't able to let her guard down around anyone (even her family and friends) and that caused her to take drastic action and drop out of scene for a while.

I think most of us can relate with Keys' desire to protect herself. We all want and need some kind of boundaries to avoid being taken advantage of both emotionally and physically. However, we don't often thing about what happens when we take things to either extreme. On one hand, we end up shutting everyone out and on the other we let everyone (even those we are undeserving) in. Each of us has to find their own comfort zone and it isn't always easy. After you've had walls up for so long, you feel more vulnerable when they come down. Conversely, it takes some getting used to when are surrounded by people who routinely cross the line. In that case, you need to stand strong and set new ground rules for yourself and others.

And as we all struggle to find the perfect balance we should think of Keys' example, because even a diva can lose herself if she isn't careful.
(Note: I do know about the gangsta rap conspiracy comment but that's a whole different story.)

A snippet of Alicia's Blender cover story
">Alicia Keys Superwoman Live (listen to these words again)