Looks like Hollywood's White Savior industry is branching out.
The Blind Side reminds me of Dedicated Teacher movies, especially the ones that depict a goodhearted white teacher wading into some urban decay and becoming an even better person. This happens when the white person convinces some dark kids that there's a whole world of opportunity just waiting for them out there, if they'd only realize that they're not really condemned to life in the ghetto. (For me, the classic of that white genre is the Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle Dangerous Minds.)
Here's a description of The Blind Side that appears at imdb.com, a description that I assume was supplied by the studio that made this movie. Notice the submerged racial assumptions at work here:
A disadvantaged teenager is taken in by a conservative family who see tremendous promise in the young man. Despite certain obstacles, the attention and inspiration he receives helps him mature into an athletically and academically successful NFL prospect.
Hollywood usually panders to its targeted audiences by regurgitating money-making characters and situations. If some of these are racist, well, what the hell, they still make money, eh?
Or so the thinking seems to go. Or, maybe these moviemakers really don't realize that so many of their products are racist?
This is the kind of movie that brings tears to a lot of white eyes. But what do those tears really mean? What is it, really, that brings them on?
Does this movie look appealing to you?
h/t: swpd reader KM
I don't care for these types of exploitative films as they are designed to make white people look good and yes, they do play on black stereotypes. But aside from that, the title of this post seems to indicate that white people helping out disadvantaged black youth is a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteThere are truly good people (of all colors) out there trying to help those (of all colors) who are disadvantaged. These good hearts should not cross the color line?
If this is truly based on a true story, I'm torn.
ReplyDeleteIs it racist? Is it racist for Hollywood (because I assume you're pointing a proverbial finger at the institution, not this one movie or this one story) to keep telling the story of how the white guy/gal/family swoops in and saves a down and out black kid/family/person?
I'm truly asking because I don't know that It hink it is, but I can still see how it might be.
Would this be better if Hollywood had tales of black families who help white kids? They do, but those are the "way-too-close-to-the-racist-line" for comfort stories. Like Bringing Down the House -- a movie Queen Latifah got major flack for, but she shows up and helps this uptight father spend more time with his kids. Or what about Houseguest with Sinbad... same as Bringing Down the House. Driving Miss Daisy is another example though not in the same vein.
The reality of our society is that black people are often not in a position to help white people in the way we see white people portrayed as helping black people in Hollywood. In turn we never see that in movies.
I think this is definitely interesting fodder for conversation.
Does this movie look appealing to you?
ReplyDeleteNo.
i think i know the story but there's nothing appealing, compelling or even interesting about this.
ReplyDeletesingle parent households in the ghetto have raised young men and women into pro prospects without the privilege and the money. same for married or common law couples. same with middle class blacks/hispanics.
and more importantly they've also raised some of them to become so much more than another athlete despite all the obstacles. so why is this so special, other than they're white?
it's not like they raised him into world famous scientist or something.
as i've skipped all the white teacher saviour movies, do they show the external obstacles and racism other, than from some other 'evil teacher' that's there to show how good the protagonists is? or do they show the personal ills as the only thing holding back the 'poor and unfortunate dark peoples'?
this won't even warrant a download.
"Is it racist? Is it racist for Hollywood (because I assume you're pointing a proverbial finger at the institution, not this one movie or this one story) to keep telling the story of how the white guy/gal/family swoops in and saves a down and out black kid/family/person?"
ReplyDeleteRacist, I don't know. Likely to perpetuate unfortunate stereotypes of black people? Absolutely. Happy to perpetuate white privilege while providing the film equivalent of Kumbayah? Absolutely.
Hmm. The part in the trailer where the teenage girl says,
ReplyDelete'Who is that big guy with your little brother?'
Wouldn't that be, 'Who is that black guy with your little brother?' in reality?
I feel the same as A. Smith. Although the movie looks mildly appealing, I don't know how 'racist' it is considering it is a true story.
Is it racist? Is it racist for Hollywood (because I assume you're pointing a proverbial finger at the institution, not this one movie or this one story) to keep telling the story of how the white guy/gal/family swoops in and saves a down and out black kid/family/person?
ReplyDeleteIt is racist because that's the ONLY story they tell. I can personally count on just one hand how many movies feature a POC as the hero helping out the disadvantaged. As a matter of fact, I only know of one movie where a Black man was the hero rescuing a White person out of poverty.
Why does Hollywood treat the stories of White people helping poor POC children as so profound, when there are so many stories out there of POCs doing exact same thing?
I read the book, you should check it out.
ReplyDeleteThe family is very conservative and has some views that I find wrong, but it's a decent story. He was kind of like a project for them. It's an interesting book.
I'm pretty sure this is based on a true story. I remember reading about it some years back in a magazine. It still doesn't look appealing to me knowing that.
ReplyDelete...So when white people -don't- help poor disadvantaged minorities, they're evil apathetic racists for not helping. "Benign neglect"
ReplyDeleteWhen white people -do- try to help disadvantaged minorities, they're condescending and spread the ill message that minorities need white people to save them.
Got it. Whitey is bad no matter what he does.
bitter pill, the issue here is the self-congratulatory and condescending nature of this sort of movie. Helping people is great. Helping them out because you think it's the white man's burden to civilize the savages is... not the worst thing you can do, but it's not the best either.
ReplyDeleteWhether that's the spirit in which the movie was made, I have no idea, but it would not shock me if that attitude is the reason audiences apparently have a taste for these kinds of movies.
It would be more interesting to tell the story from the POV of the the black youth. I think that's what gives the perception of racism to non-whites/those aware.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it always the white female who finds it in her heart?
A white male might not want to?
Why does he have to play football?
Why is he illiterate? (OK he didn't got to school for 2 yrs., got it, but this is definitely a stereotype that COULD have been left out.
True story or not, one who is aware can not deny what is at play here. Is it bad/racist? I am still on the fence.
Sidenote: I love Sandra Bullock.
I love Sandra Bullock too. But does Hollywood also make movies of pocs succeeding the despite the odds and racism or about a black person helping other blacks (both of which might happen more often than succeeding because a white person helped them)? Somehow I don't hear about these movies as often.
ReplyDeleteNice to see the "fist bump" ingratiating itself even more into the dominant culture. Thanks, Obama.
ReplyDeleteI think bitter pill makes some interesting points. WTF are white people supposed to do? It's like they can't win for losing. If you think reparations are the answer, then let's talk about reparations. If we should have more movies about black people helping white people, then say that. But constantly criticizing what white people do doesn't seem very productive, IMNSHO.
myblackfriendsays, sometimes I wonder just how much I really have to spell out -- in this case, a better course of action seems so obvious to me that I didn't see a need to spell it out: "Don't support racist (race-ish?) movies like this one by paying to see them."
ReplyDeleteIf you have suggestions for posts about common white ways that you think would be less critical, do send them along, please, either here or by email. You might also take note here of other commenters who do find posts on this blog, and/or the discussions it generates, "productive."
I think it shows a lack of thoughtfulness to say that just because it's based on a true story it isn't racist anymore.
ReplyDeleteFirst it's only "based" on a true story so the film makers are responsible for what aspects they emphasize. Also - as several people pointed out - it has to do with how many of these "rescue movies" come through our theaters throughout the years.
Frankly I would have been really impressed if he had been "helped" to achieve a career in upper management but that's pure fantasy isn't it?
bitter pill, the issue here is the self-congratulatory and condescending nature of this sort of movie. Helping people is great. Helping them out because you think it's the white man's burden to civilize the savages is... not the worst thing you can do, but it's not the best either.
ReplyDeleteRe-read my comment. I'm not talking about the movie. I'm talking about as a whole, it seems to be an issue on this blog though.
"the issue here is the self-congratulatory and condescending nature of this sort of movie."
"When white people -do- try to help disadvantaged minorities, they're condescending and spread the ill message that minorities need white people to save them."
"A.Smith said: Would this be better if Hollywood had tales of black families who help white kids? They do, but those are the "way-too-close-to-the-racist-line" for comfort stories. Like Bringing Down the House -- a movie Queen Latifah got major flack for, but she shows up and helps this uptight father spend more time with his kids."
ReplyDeleteI would encourage you to see the profound difference between those movies and the white "rescue fantasy." There just aren't movies out there about black *families* saving white kids. There are *some* about black servants raising kids well just as if they were really part of the family. ::shudder::
"Don't go see this movie" doesn't talk about what people can do, it talks about what people can't (or shouldn't) do. What should white people be doing (besides reading this blog?) What do you say to someone like bitter pill--the idea that if white people ignore the plight of downtrodden inner-city youth then they're just being evil racists.
ReplyDeleteBut if they don't ignore it and instead say, "Come live with me in my home, where you can have a bed and go to school." they are accused of being racist "white saviors."
Like I said before, WTF are they supposed to do? Support the government giving out reparations checks? Support a socialist system that heavily taxes the rich to subsidize programs that benefit the poor? Realize I'm not saying either of these options is necessarily wrong, but it's really up to you to explicitly say if these are the ideas that you are promoting. Because if they are ideas you are promoting, then we can talk about the merits of such ideas.
As I said in one of the recent posts in my blog (which I hope you're reading,) constantly focusing on what you don't want just makes what you don't want stronger. I think the focus should be on what you do want. If you don't like this movie, what's an example of a movie plotline that you would like?
So, what do you want, Macon? I (and I'm guessing many others,) are very interested to hear...
"A.Smith said: Would this be better if Hollywood had tales of black families who help white kids? They do, but those are the "way-too-close-to-the-racist-line" for comfort stories. Like Bringing Down the House -- a movie Queen Latifah got major flack for, but she shows up and helps this uptight father spend more time with his kids."
ReplyDeleteI would encourage you to see the profound difference between those movies and the white "rescue fantasy." There just aren't movies out there about black *families* saving white kids. There are *some* about black servants raising kids well just as if they were really part of the family. ::shudder::
>Like I said before, WTF are they supposed to do?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd appreciate it if white people (and, in fact, everyone) did the following:
a) Stop denying there is racism (i.e. 'superiority' attitude)
b) Start seeing others as equals. (A white guy once said, he used to think it's good enough to 'treat' people as equals. Then he realized there is a HUGE difference between 'treating' people as equals and actually 'seeing' them as equals.)
c) Understand that white (and any other dominant culture) privilege does exist.
The world would be a pretty different place if this happened on a massive scale.
Due to poor experiences with Dangerous Minds and the like, I'm leery. I will, however, reserve judgment until Michael Oher (the name of the athlete its based on) gives his opinion. As it stands, I think that while it may be true, it looks formulaic.
ReplyDeleteIt's a true story about people who have good intentions and succeed in helping one person of lower socio-economics. Of course it's racist because it requires people to sit in paternalistic privilege. But that's America- they're not horrible people, they might even represent some of the best America has to offer, but I won't pay to see it.
ReplyDeletemyblackfriendsays is the worst kind of troll, Macon why do you fall for his trap? I'm a frequent lurker and his pattern is very consistent.
ReplyDeleteThis movie will probably surprise a lot of people who actually give it a chance. The fact that it is a true story may result in something different than the typical "feel good" movies that we've all seen. I probably will avoid it not because of the message per se but for lack of interest. This type of movie and the losing team that wins the championship type of movies have played their course.
myblackfriendsays:
ReplyDeleteYou wrote:
"What should white people be doing (besides reading this blog?) What do you say to someone like bitter pill--the idea that if white people ignore the plight of downtrodden inner-city youth then they're just being evil racists.
But if they don't ignore it and instead say, "Come live with me in my home, where you can have a bed and go to school." they are accused of being racist "white saviors."
Okay, now, HOLD ON a minute. Are there really only two choices here: i.e., ignore inner-city youth or take inner-city youth into your home? You're kidding, right?
In any case, I thought we were talking about what THE MOVIE does, not about what actually people do. Since white people of privilege aren't exactly swooping into the projects to save inner-city youth every day, I don't really see how bitterpill's question is relevant. What THE MOVIE does, it seems to me, is offer white people of privilege a way to make themselves feel better while solving nothing. That's a tendency in our culture that white folk, as a whole, don't do a very good job at resisting. And how should they resist? Well, I think From the tropics provides a excellent starting point...
"He was kind of like a project for them." —BigMan
ReplyDeleteDoesn't that kind of sum it up?
I mean, how delightful for them! Here we have a lame ox, which any vet would have just put to sleep, and we've made it pull again!
Honestly, I didn't even watch the clip, because I was like, "helps him mature into an athletically and academically successful... NFL prospect??" Aw, come on. Because that's really shooting for the stars. Dangerous manual labor, performed for entertainment, that will quickly destroy your body, probably not make a lasting change in your economic status, and do nothing for your mind/soul. Awesome! Definitely a win.
Also? Frankly, I'm getting so unspeakably bored of the moldy and tired "disadvantaged kid(s) get rescued" genre. Every single year, we get at least one of those, in either the Dangerous Minds format like this (white person pulls hopeless brown person up from "the depths") or the Bad News Bears format (white coach helps underprivileged team win for the first time).
Just for giggles, I'd like to see that reversed:
The heartwarming story of an average, regular brown person/family (ie: not "Precious," and not the Huxtables) helping a disadvantaged person-of-any-color— all without dipping into the Stereotype Bucket. (Six Degrees of Separation may be the only movie I've ever seen that gets anywhere close.) But in general, all brown people are allowed to contribute in that way is their "magicalness."
A.Smith wrote: "The reality of our society is that black people are often not in a position to help white people in the way we see white people portrayed as helping black people in Hollywood." To which I say: Is that so? Is that really reality? I mean, I'm a single brown woman who earns more, and has a better education than, the average American (of any color). I'm no Huxtable, but I am a lot better off than a lot of people.
I hate these kind of movies because they are the only ones that Hollywood puts out with POC in them. I would almost think that white people would be sick of them as well. It stereotypes whites as well as blacks.
ReplyDeleteAll this talk about Black saving White brought back a vivid memory to my mind....
ReplyDeleteI was about 14 or 15 at the time...We use to live in an estate in London, my neighbour who lived a few doors away came running and screaming and was banging on our front door furiously one afternoon after I arrived home from School. I went to open the door to see what was wrong and he was shouting and ascreaming hysterically that one of his children was dying...My mother, who is a Nurse, and was due on a night shift, luckily was at home that day. She came running wondering what was going on, we ran out with him to his house and his little son was having an epileptic fit on the floor, there was vomit and mucous coming out of his mouth and nose and he wasn't breathing when we arrived and his eyes were rolling back into his head...My mother grabbed him shouting out his name and the only way to save him was for her to suck the mucous out of his nose and quickly perform first aid on the small child who was about 7 or 8. She manged to revive him, and the little lad was able to look up at my mother wondering what had happened to him.
In the meantime, my dad had arrived from work during the commotion and was prepared to drive the child to the hospital.
An ambulance arrived a few minutes later and took the little boy and his father to the Hospital and he was breathing and stable when they left.
A few days later the little boy came to knock on our front door and gave my mother a bouguet of flowers and some chocolates, he gave her a hug and kissed her and thanked her for saving him.
I was so proud of my mother and I couldn't stop smiling that day.
I must say this family was one of the nicest and most genuine and friendly White people that I have ever met in my life. They used to look out for us so that our house wouldn't get burgled.
The pity was that the mother had left the kids behind and run off with another man and the dad always came to my mum to talk to her about it and confide in her. Sometimes the woman would come back, but she was always abandoning her children and running off with other men. I know this because the older sister who was the same age as myself and attended my school always used to talk to me at lunchtime, sometimes we would walk home together from school. It was all very sad.
Eventually, the dad decided to move back to Ireland to be nearer to family who could help him with the kids, and I never saw them again after that. I am in my thirties now and I still remember this vividly.
Now, you never see this kind of thing in the movies do you? But this happened in real life and I'm sure similar occurences happen all the time, but you never see it because Black folks are always supposed to be the ones who are needy and dependent on White people. This is how the media and the film industry manipulates our thinking everyday and either portrays Blacks as needy or criminals despite the fact there are a number of educated, kind and non-criminal Black people in the world doing good deeds everyday.
The problem is you don't get to see that too often.
I must say that I like Sandra Bullock too, out of a number of celebrities, she always seems to come across as genuine and kind. This is the vibe I get from her.
ReplyDeleteNo, I am not saying those are the only two choices. What I am saying is that white people will be criticized by some for making these two choices, or any other choices along the spectrum. Take for example mentoring, that's seems like a pretty moderate thing to do. It is very easy to criticize a white person for wanting to do that. This whole label of "white savior" could be given to any white person that tries to help a person of color.
ReplyDeleteAnd in terms of what from the tropics said: Do you have any reason to believe that the people in that movie weren't already doing those three things?
And here's an interesting thought that I had while I was typing all the rest of that stuff: In terms of seeing people as equal--I wonder how many people of color and "enlightened" white people don't actually see themselves as equal to "white people as a whole," but in fact see themselves as morally superior because they (the enlightened people,) don't have such horrible racist/homophobic/sexist etc. views.
myblackfriendsays:
ReplyDeleteOkay, I hear you. And perhaps we just disagree. But I guess I wonder two things: (1) is there not a way of doing social justice work that is equalizing rather than patronizing? (2) Is how other people may interpret or misinterpret this sort of work a good reason not to do it?
It seems to me that you have to know your own truth, be honest about your own privilege and intentions, and then you act in the best way that you can determine, whether third parties judge you or not.
Simply concluding that there's no way to win, so why bother just seems like a cop out. It's HARD to have your motives questioned, don't get me wrong, but I also wonder if it's doubly hard when you , yourself, have doubts about them. To me, there's a bit of the-lady-doth-protest-too-much quality to questions like bitterpill's.
myblackfriendsays wrote
ReplyDelete"Take for example mentoring, that's seems like a pretty moderate thing to do. It is very easy to criticize a white person for wanting to do that. This whole label of "white savior" could be given to any white person that tries to help a person of color.
I wonder how many people of color and "enlightened" white people don't actually see themselves as equal to "white people as a whole," but in fact see themselves as morally superior because they (the enlightened people,) don't have such horrible racist/homophobic/sexist etc. views."
Well, I have been a mentor myself for kids of all races (helped them with project work, maths, CV, careers, discussions on University life, general encouragement, attention, talking etc) in 2007. When I mentored, I didn't see myself as specifically helping out Black, White, Chinese etc I personally saw it as just plainly helping these teenagers to succeed and be the best that they can be given the environment around them.
I now currently have a mentor who happens to be a White male and he is a very nice man. I don't see him as my "White Saviour", I just see him as someone who is trying to help me to achieve my goals in order to be successful.
Now, when the film industry make these films, they usually make it out as though without White people to save the day, Black people and POC would not make it or be successful in life.
The only film I can think of, off the top of my head, where a Black male is helping disadvantaged males youths of all races to aspire to greater things is Coach Carter starring Samuel L. Jackson (an excellent film). I am sure there are others but I can't think of any right now.
Julia said:
ReplyDelete(1) is there not a way of doing social justice work that is equalizing rather than patronizing?
This is a GREAT question. I think one way is to focus on what social justice would look like in your own life, not focusing on what you think it would look like for other people that you have little/no knowledge about or experience with.
I think any time a person goes into an environment with the intent of "helping" people that did not explicitly ask for his/her help, there is an element of patronization. Because really: What is really going on is that the helper is trying to make the helpee more like the helper.
Get an education. Get a bigger, cleaner house. Get a job that is safe and pays a fair wage. Vote. These are all values that are coming from the helper's frame of reference about what it means to be successful.
What if someone (for whatever reason,) just wants to spend his/her days getting high? Is that something that helpers typically get on board with? No.
Now realize that I am not saying that it is necessarily bad to try to get other people to be more like you. But there needs to be an explicit acknowledgement that that is what you are in fact doing: Trying to get people to think and behave in ways that you think are "better." There also needs to be an acknowledgment that the primary reason you think your way is better is because of the unique experiences that you have had in your life.
(2) Is how other people may interpret or misinterpret this sort of work a good reason not to do it?
Another great question. The short answer is NO.
Many of those who like to criticize the work/accomplishments/motivations of others who are doing big things would fall under the category of "haters." Not much time and attention should be spent worrying about what haters think ;)
Myblackfriendsays:
ReplyDeleteYou're looking at bandaid solutions for individuals, when what is really needed is for all whites to acknowledge their privilege and then seek ways to repair, structurally in our society, the imbalance. That starts first of all with attitudes, media messages, education and understanding. "Saving" someone who shouldn't be disadvantaged in the first place is just going about it all backwards.
After having read through all comments, I decided I would go ahead and throw this one in. Having read the author’s ideas, I was really expecting a different set of arguments/comments. The author said:
ReplyDeleteThe Blind Side reminds me of Dedicated Teacher movies, especially the ones that depict a goodhearted white teacher wading into some urban decay and becoming an even better person. This happens when the white person convinces some dark kids that there's a whole world of opportunity just waiting for them out there, if they'd only realize that they're not really condemned to life in the ghetto.
This description led me to think of Freedom Writers (also supposedly based on a true story), which I recently watched…and applaud. Here’s why.
First, let me say I am a 43 year old Native American male with a passion for the betterment of minority education.
What it seems some find in this type of movie is a racist attitude where, of course, the white woman has to come in and save a bunch of minorities who would otherwise be lost to society…and on and on and on; no one wants to hear it. What I saw in that movie (sorry, that’s all I have to go on) is the notion that I’ve spent years trying to get across; these kids aren’t stupid, lazy, bad, or have any other qualities for which they should be labeled inferior. What these kids are is dark-skinned and poor. Therefore, they have the worst possibilities of becoming well educated. This movie goes to show that with real educators, who actually do care, and who do actually do their job, the ending is sometimes different than one might expect.
I claim this movie, not so much as a loss for Hollywood for any hint (real or perceived) of racism, as I do a win for the minorities.
By the way, I have to wonder if you might view my ideas differently if I hadn’t stated my being a POC, and you could just see me as the white man I appear to be.
Two "dedicated teacher" movies with poc heros are:
ReplyDelete"To Sir with love", an English film from 1967 with Sidney Poitier
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062376/
and
"Stand and Deliver" with Edward James Olmos who gets his students to learn calculus:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001579/
It's not the story that's the problem (as others said, there's nothing wrong with a white person who works with disadvantaged black youth), it's the perspective and the Hollywood-ized message that all of these recycled stories seem to carry.
ReplyDeleteI lived in New Orleans - ghettos were two blocks away from the mansions of St. Charles street. Yet, black children still went by way of unfortunate circumstances, poor education while their white counterparts enjoyed private schools and crime in the ghetto running rampant into the school system.
ReplyDeleteThis scenario unfortunately hasn't changed in the South. And in the South, white people usually consider anyone living in a ghetto or public housing projects to be extremely dangerous. So, maybe this movie might help to enthuse all those rich white people living in those St. Charles Street Mansions to do something instead of watching children live in abject poverty.
While the movie seems pretentious and entirely too played out... the problem of black children living in poverty, not getting a quality education, and not even having a soft bed to sleep on still remains.
Keep watching! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98G9HhJc9xc This video is NOT an exaggeration. In fact, being there in person is actually worse. There's no way they could actually tape all the discrepancies between the white and black race.
I know this is coming months after the original post, but I felt that it was important that you should know about this film, especially since it opened in San Francisco today and will be playing at the Pasadena Laemmle 7 tomorrow and Sunday. This film is The Providence Effect which is seems to be an academic success story that is the exact opposite of the "Nice White Lady" narrative.
ReplyDeleteThe Providence Effect is a documentary that chronicles a K-12 school in a predominantly black neighborhood of Chicago...which has a 100% college acceptance rate and has had it since 1978, a year after Paul Adams, a black teacher blacklisted for Civil Rights Movement activities, fundraised enough money to buy it from the Catholic Church in order to save it from closure.
I'm not naive, and I'm certain there are problems and issues the film glosses over in favour of maintaining a feel-good narrative, but I think this is significant and groundbreaking nonetheless in the face of all the "Nice White Lady" films that get made. Unlike the "Nice White Lady" narrative, this is an example of change coming from within the community, that people of colour are not helpless and in need of white people to save them, and actual long term progress being made because of it being internal to the community. Rather than the "Nice White Lady" just "helping" out one or 5 or 10 disadvantaged black youths, this kind of change is lasting, benefiting all the students of Providence-St. Mel for the past 30 years and for the foreseeable future.
Also, the 13th annual Arab Film Festival has just kicked off in San Francisco and San Jose. It will be continue until the 18th whereupon it will move to Berkeley and Los Angeles from the 23rd to the 25th (not including a free showing at UCLA on the 20th). The AFF showcases films made by Arabs about Arabs, which I think is important given our current popular American constructed narratives about Arabs and Muslims, none which I can recall being pleasant or even truthful for that matter.
websites of The Providence Effect and Arab Film Festival:
http://www.providenceeffect.com
http://www.aff.org/2009/index.php
I'm enjoying this discussion, and I'm really enjoying the fact that right after I first saw that creepy preview for "The Blind Side," lo and behold, people are already taking apart the problematic implications.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the food for thought, macon d.
REALLY enjoying the dialogue between Julia and myblackfriendsays, btw...
ReplyDelete