Prometheus 6

P6, not much unlike you, I think I purposely boycotted watching it last night on general principle.

(…What new was I going to learn about being black?)

But I accidently caught a snippet of it featuring Spike Lee.

I’ve always given him mad props for directing the alt-rock band Fishbone’s ‘Sunless Saturday’ video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi5TBF4uloY

AND, for the fact that he stepped up to the plate to make certain that the Broadway show ‘Passing Strange’ was recorded as a film for posterity:

http://www.silive.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2008/07/spike_lee_to_film_final_perfor.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUBsDn1lTUg

(…Which, if no one saw it during it’s original run, there’s still hope you’ll see it on DVD or late night cable in the none too distant future!)

…So, for that alone, I’ll be recording the encore presentations and checking it out weekend after next, or whenever it is that time allows!

(Stuff like this, to me, is like ‘Cold Pizza!’ …Much better to ingest on the day after!)

(Stuff like this, to me, is like ‘Cold Pizza!’ …Much better to ingest on the day after!)

It's more like surfing to me...catch the wave or miss it.

Maybe I was mistaken, but I thought the special was for white people to learn about being black. Not to tell black people about our own lives.

I didn't watch Thurs night. But I watched Wed night, and it wasn't that bad. Of course, my expectation were only slightly lower than dirt.

I thought the special was for white people to learn about being black. Not to tell black people about our own lives.

Correct. But they didn't say anything white folks don't already believe.

I haven't watched the show. I never watch programs like this. When black people loved Tavis Smiley I could only take about ten minutes of him tops. I am just tired of watching Cornel West, T.J. Jakes, Michael Dyson et al. talking about anything at all. I miss James Baldwin, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Maybe, I'm spoiled.

Yesterday's show, while flawed, I thought at least tried to humanize some elements of Black folk.

Tonight's show, was just a hit piece on Black men. It's like CNN couldn't be bothered to find a brother who wasn't in the prison system or who was successful and didn't have people accuse them of acting white. I mean, they covered the full array of "Black men" - irresponsible fathers, caught up in the prison system, unemployed, disinterested in education, and overly influenced by Hip Hop.

Only thing missing was the 'Down Low Phenomenon' and a 'Stop Snitching' t-shirt.

Fugg 'em.

Black Men are either gay, fucked-up, criminal-minded or any other pathology, no wonder people like "Something New", Tommy Jefferson and Alex De Tocqueville were right. Black Men and America will never get along in peace and brotherhood because neither side will never forget and can't trust each other.Whites full of the privilege and advantages that came with it and their black enemy who they stole from his land and displaced him as the head of his family who will never forget or forgive the enemy of a country who did that to him.The reason I did not include Black Women because the war is really between Black Men and the American White Man.

Women for the most part since time immemorial are part and parcel of a struggle between who is the male figure head to be admired and the vaniguished to be looked down upon.It may seem cyncial and paranoid, but this a cold war between American BM and WM so CNN special just illustrated what I personally believe is fact underneath all the poltical poustring, idealogical jousting is the same struggle since 1619. Jefferson and DeTocqueville knew that Black Men would never forgive America and it's citizens for what was done (which was to destroy a male of that race's sense of worth) and White Men will never grant Black Men their full humanity at any cost. It may sound racist but I think it's more truthful than any special and why don't they invite us on Soledad's show instead for usual suspects like Tara Wall and Roland Martin and other black elites?

“…It's more like surfing to me...catch the wave or miss it.”

(…If I didn’t bottle the wave, I’d miss EVERYTHING!)

“…I thought the special was for white people to learn about being black. Not to tell black people about our own lives.”
I agree, which is why I was reluctant to watch. But my curiosity is always to see how well anyone comes close to encompassing the reality of it all.

This, of course, has been by no means the first attempt at capturing ‘The Souls of Black Folk’ but I’m curious to see what an organization like CNN, with probably has the biggest stable of on air black talent thinks is a decent effort.

(…Plus, there’s always the question of ratings. If ‘Black America’ got a chance to tell it’s story, would anyone listen? Did they?)

“…I miss James Baldwin, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Maybe, I'm spoiled.”

PT, I was just thinking this very same thing the other day. I can remember reading ‘The Fire Next Time’ as a kid along with every other novel Baldwin ever wrote, thinking that he was one of the most brilliant minds alive.

It was a level of intellectualism that demanded respect.

(Not too many people get that deep anymore…)

Hey, PT! Were you at Wattsstax?

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2004/wattstax/

…And you KNOW Jesse was!

(I remember buying the soundtrack as a little kid!)

But I think Wattstax was a far better depiction of Black life even now.

The film ‘Killer of Sheep’

http://www.killerofsheep.com/

As good as it is, is still about as undiscovered of a gem detailing black life that I think you’ll find out there.

"...Tonight's show, was just a hit piece on Black men."

(..When isn't it? But I'm sure I'll figure out exactly how in few days!)

of a national news system attempting to describe one portion of its own audience to another, with the implicit understanding that the other, the one that "needs" a series like this, is intrinsically lesser. Or perhaps I'm reading too much into CNN's motives...

I agree that there was nothing there that black people didn't already know, but then again what could CNN say about us that would be a revelation. I also agree the real issue is how the subject is presented to white America and again I don't think that White people watching would come away with a better understanding of the black man.

A real show would deal with how white people have and continue to benefit from free black labor and continue to contribute to the condition of the black man in America.

Tell the story of how the U.S. became an economic power house based upon 400 years of free labor. Make the point simple by comparing it to how a corporation would become hugely successful if it didn't have to pay its employees for 4 centuries. Then after becoming the biggest most powerful corporation in the world, then tell its employees "OK" lets forget the past and compete fairly now...all the while cheating by changing the rules ( Jim Crow laws ) to make it harder for the ex-employee to compete. Simplified for simple minded people who can't handle truth.

“…I miss James Baldwin, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Maybe, I'm spoiled.”
PT, I was just thinking this very same thing the other day. I can remember reading ‘The Fire Next Time’ as a kid along with every other novel Baldwin ever wrote, thinking that he was one of the most brilliant minds alive.
It was a level of intellectualism that demanded respect.
(Not too many people get that deep anymore…)

Baldwin was a rare gem. Whenever he was on television my father and uncles would gather around the television and listen intently to what he had to say and discuss the subject afterwards. What mattered to them was the quality of his ideas and the eloquence of his words. They knew that Baldwin was a homosexual but this non-issue never came up in their discussions about him or what he said.

It was only later when sociopathic criminals like Eldridge Cleaver were pushed to the forefront of our struggle that Baldwin's sexual preferences became an issue and he was tossed aside as if he were a leper. Cleaver actually wrote in his jeremiad against Baldwin that Baldwin's real problem was that he wanted to have a baby by a white man. No black intellectuals or leaders of any stature rose to Baldwin's defense. My dad and I always thought it was bizarre that an admitted rapist, who confessed that he first practiced assaulting and raping black women because he knew the police would not care much to investigate before working up the nerve to assault and rape white women, was given a platform to expound about black people's struggle in this country.

"Hey, PT! Were you at Wattsstax?
http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2004/wattstax/"

No, I wasn't at WattsStax.

"The film ‘Killer of Sheep’
http://www.killerofsheep.com/
As good as it is, is still about as undiscovered of a gem detailing black life that I think you’ll find out there."

I had the great pleasure of meeting Charles Burnett in April at the African American Film Festival in Seattle. I told him how much I liked his film "To Sleep With Anger" that starred Danny Glover. In fact, I later gave him a ride to the hotel he was staying at. Quiet, thoughtful guy. He and Glover were both in Seattle to premiere Burnett's most recent film about the long fight of the people of Namibia to overthrow the apartheid regime. Burnett directed the film and co-wrote the script. Glover plays the role of a minister who is grappling with his pacifistic beliefs as a Christian and his growing dismay at the violence that is being deployed against his people.

I watched both episodes (and some additional material they had on Friday and Saturday). It is always good to know how we are being represented in the mass media. If you look hard enough, you can find some positive things in the production.

That said, I liked the closing video! Rap/Hip Hop is not my thing, but I enjoyed this piece.

It is always good to know how we are being represented in the mass media.

No surprises though, right?

If you look hard enough, you can find some positive things in the production.

Why should I have to look hard?

Last I saw you was in Cobb comments about two years ago. How's it been?

Still rolling on this side of the sod! Roll by Cobb every now and again, but I just ain't 'publican and I hate screaming at the monitor! Actually, I followed a link from Spence's blog to here: the piece about Baraka. I've been going back and forth with Spence about Obama's "responsibility" talks: Spence gives me the "Obama should be ...." and I'm saying that we've got to get him elected (over McCain). We can work on the platform and the actual programs later.

As for CNN and the specials: I said "hard" because some folks are very critical and are turned off by the slightest discordant word. I'm getting mellow in my old age and I can accept less than 100% of what I want: that's why I can understand Obama and what politics are necessary to get elected.

I can't get all bent out of shape because of FISA: It is better than it was and we may have the numbers to make it even better in the future. So we let a few off the hook on this pass; moving forward, the loopholes are closed. Plus: Obama's vote meant nothing (in terms of the compromised bill being passed). He gains very little politically if he tries the filibuster route.

What is interesting to me: First time around Obama votes no; McCain votes yes. Next pass: no vote from McCain.

The left has to give Obama that one and close ranks to get him elected. That's my take; ain't you glad you asked??

How's things with you? When I do venture this way, I'm reminded of your working with the German Bank; is that still the case?

Spence gives me the "Obama should be ...." and I'm saying that we've got to get him elected (over McCain). We can work on the platform and the actual programs later.

Let me ask you...if Obama gets elected on a platform that desperately needs improvement, why should he change that platform afterward?

I get that you don't get 100% off the top, but at minimum we need to make our needs (as opposed to others' opinion of our needs) public and obvious. He needs to know where he's missing the mark. And it really does bother me that we are the only constituency that believes loyalty to the party comes before the promises of pork.

He gains very little politically if he tries the filibuster route.

He shouldn't have promised to do it then. A lot of his critics wouldn't be critics...I think that would be a political gain. Would it balance the lobbying efforts of the telecom industry?

I'm reminded of your working with the German Bank; is that still the case?

It was a Japanese bank, and no. I ran into the ethical limits of what I was willing to do to advance.

I ran into the ethical limits of what I was willing to do to advance.

This might sound funny, but congratulations on that. Not enough folks have any limits to run up against.

Politicians are entitled to change their minds. What they are not entitled to do is to go south on certain commitments they have made to their core constituents. It is absurd for folks to argue that we should go along with Obama's switch on FISA when it was his position on FISA that persuaded many of us to support his candidacy.

Not everything is negotiable simply because a politician wants to be elected to a higher office and, no, it does not matter how badly some folks want him to be elected to that higher office. The very least this group could do is to admit that the candidate switched positions rather than arguing that the issue does not matter very much to the entire electorate or, worse, that the bill currently being proffered is better than its previous incarnation when that assertion is demonstrably false.

"And it really does bother me that we are the only constituency that believes loyalty to the party comes before the promises of pork."

True, true. I thought things were bad enough with Bill Clinton but now many of our folks want us to believe that Obama's shift-shaping or complete reversal of position on some issues is less important than getting him elected. I think it is important to elect him over John McCain but not at the expense of common sense and truth.

We certainly should be checking the platform as it unfolds. We need to take active roles in the Platform Committee. We will not agree 100% with whatever platform emerges -- so what things are non-negotiable and where can we step back/swallow hard and take less?

I still think FISA is not where we should draw the line. Take away his vote and focus on what he tried to get accomplished with the amendments. Holding some telecom execs' feet to the fire for what they did yesterday is not the end of the world. As far as I know, FISA gives no prospective immunity, so going forward, at least part of that pit is closed. Like I said, after the elections -- assuming the liberal gains expected -- the issue can be revisited.

We're talking politics and my line in the sand is around the 70% mark: ie, if I agree with 70% of the positions, I can live with that candidate. I'm not blind to his shortcomings and they have not added up to that critical mass number for me.

"I still think FISA is not where we should draw the line. Take away his vote and focus on what he tried to get accomplished with the amendments. Holding some telecom execs' feet to the fire for what they did yesterday is not the end of the world."

Well, if you want to blow up the Fourth Amendment and give the government carte blanche to monitor without warrants the international telephone calls of American citizens who are not criminal suspects, then why don't you state that as your preference? I am a fanatic. I don't believe my government has the right to spy on me without the sufficient cause necessary to the granting of a warrant by a judge.

You are talking politics and I know a great deal about politics having had a long history of being involved in the care and feeding of politicians. I'm talking about my Constitutional right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. I'm still voting for Obama but don't blow smoke up my behind and tell me the world is on fire.

I still think FISA is not where we should draw the line.

Okay. I've been arguing for voting Obama in so he hasn't hit my tipping point yet either. We still have to react publicly though, or they will...legitimately...claim they didn't know we objected to anything.