12 Search results for "sapphire"

According to the Huffington Post, the U.S. distributor for the Australian film ‘The Sapphires’ has since apologized after the film’s DVD cover was blasted as racist and sexist. Though the film centers around the true story of a 1960s Aboriginal girl group, the cover relegates them to a blue-tinted background and places their white manager […]

by Cosima Smith  Television, movies, and literary representations all serve to enforce, perpetuate, and reinforce the lived-realities of their subjects and audience. They also proliferate the ideas of their creators by portraying a set of characters who, ideally, undergo hardships and growth, experience love and loss, and who (work to) internalize a great deal of […]

Admitting that I might want to have some form of partnership in my life is hard to do. To be more specific, admitting to this as a consciously single, intentionally childfree, marriage-averse, asexual/aromantic Black womxn approaching thirty is hard for me to do. The words themselves aren’t necessarily hard for me to say or write. […]

  The following piece is from For Harriet. It was written by Felice León. By: Felice León Willow Smith is in a league of her own. She is a curious, creative, intelligent, rebellious, envelope-pushing teen. Physically, Smith is in the midst of that awkward stage we’ve all encountered. But mentally and spiritually, she has a level […]

*Spoiler Alert* On Friday, Dee Rees’ much lauded independent film, Pariah will expand its release from four theaters to eleven, increasing the opportunity for many to view this incredibly important Focus Features release. Rees’ debut work has deservedly generated a deluge of critical praise, and should at the very least garner a few nominations come award […]

Coalition of Black Women Pen Open Letter Criticizing “SLUT WALKS”   A coalition of African American women – including activists, academics, and organizational leaders – have co-authored an open letter to the organizers of “Slut Walk,” taking to task the movement’s use of the term “slut,” as well as its level of engagement (or lack […]

This coming Friday, Tyler Perry’s movie, For Colored Girls, will premiere nationally on November 5, 2010. The premiere of Perry’s movie is preceded by the viral YouTube Sesame Street video; I Love My Hair, and Willow’s video, I Whip My Hair. Both videos tell a black girl story of empowerment and self-love.  The last couple […]

Normally, when The Boondocks airs I’m busy reading so I record the episode to watch later. But something told me to watch this episode. And I died. Aaron McGruder is known for taking satirical shots at public figures, having lampooned everyone from Condoleezza Rice to R. Kelly. Sunday’s episode was not at all subtle in […]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5FYahzVU44 Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire is a film about an obese, sixteen year-old black girl growing up in Harlem. She is illiterate, has a really mean mama who beats, rapes, and berates her. She has two children by her father, who also infected her with HIV. Think Color Purple. After getting […]

I am my mother’s daughter and my mother is the daughter of my grandmother. And both their stories and silences speak through me. I begin with this mantra because spiritually and mentally I desperately need to understand why tears stained and wrinkled my cheeks as I watched the movie Precious. Yes, I am a Cancer […]

Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry said Precious was awesome and that everyone should go see it. Since I am the most obedient of Negroes, I saw it last Friday. If Flavor Flav is the world’s greatest hype man, this duo is officially the world’s greatest hype machine. I found Precious slightly underwhelming, uninspiring, and lacking […]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca_vv6urOCY Just last week, I stumbled upon a movie trailer on YouTube that really caught my attention.  The independent film, Precious, tells the story of Claireece “Precious” Jones, a Harlem-bred, morbidly obese, pregnant, HIV-positive, illiterate, junior high school student who struggles with low self-esteem.  If that isn’t already an earful, Precious’ story is further complicated […]