babasoul
Baba Soul
Artist. Friend. Dad. Lover of all things that fulfill one's potential.
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Shallow Version 2 - Cover by Jeff Jacobs & Swagata Biswas from Duane Chivon Ferguson on Vimeo.
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Look what came in today #nyemmy #nomimee #hardwork #blackamericatv #teamwork
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#oscarsstillaintdiverse
Don’t get me wrong. I am absolutely floored that this years Oscar Nominations came with a lot of non white nominations in major and so called secondary categories. Very historic nominations....including Viola Davis’ third....Octavia Spencer’s second, also being the first black woman to be nominated after winning an oscar.... Denzel Washington’s 7th (actor) and 8th (producer) nomination, Barry Jenkins trifecta (director, screenplay and picture) which could possibly make him the first black director to win an oscar.... the historic three acting nominations for black actors in the best supporting female category.... as well as Ava Duvernay, Raoul Peck, Ruth Negga, Dev Patel, Joi McMillion rounding out a historic nomination of non white profesionals.
As excited as I am... and as proud as I am of these amazing artists and their craft.... let me be clear.
Marginalized groups outside of the white spectrum still aren’t represented very well in Hollywood. Lest we forget Doctor Strange....and the Himilayan born Ancient One portrayed by Tilda Swinton. Emma Stone portaying a Hawaiian born character in Aloha. The acting talents of Grace Dove, Forrest Goodluck, Arthur Redcloud and Melaw Nakehk’o all but overshadowed by Tom Hardy and the Hollywood quest to bequeath an oscar to a (very due) Leonardo Dicaprio.
There are countless stories....and communities.... that still have stories to be told. I myself am black and proud....but I would love to see the Caribbean diaspora represented in Hollywood. I would love to see stories from Central America.... aboriginal tales from Australia...Polynesian tales bought to life.
Moana could quite possibly win Best Animated film this year.... and I would love if it did. It would be a step in the right direction and would give me the hope to extend the warmth I had when Sanjays Super Team was nominated for best animated short last year.
We are living in a time when people still feel betrayed when their land is taken away from them for economic reasons. We are living in a time when communities are ripped apart by lack of education... lack of infrastructure... lack of compassion for those of a different sexual energy.... or those who pray to a different God. These conflicts are cross cultural.... and are integral to what I believe cuts to the pain, the dissonance..... the very conflicts that shape art and lead to amazing and great storytelling.
So... get out there and tell YOUR story....make your culture proud.... fill the world with the beauty that makes you you.... and hopefully... if you desire... you can make Hollywod take notice and inspire a new generation of story tellers.
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So....its really difficult to define your comfort zone. Alls I know is....you have to power through it so you can grow. Been doing a lot of soul seeking lately...especially in light of the world's purple loss. If you don't jump now....you'll never know if your stuck or not.
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Dear Lupita....
Dear Lupita. Congratulations on your achievement. You have really set the bar and standard for race, beauty and absolute poise. As an actor and man of color, I knew exactly what you meant when you were talking about young girls watching you and seeing possibility. Endless possibility.
I remember being a young kid in Trinidad, watching the oscars.... and wondering what that world was all about. It was pretty much like watching an actual movie.... being part of an audience that understood that was no possible way of being on that screen. Then... in 1983... Louis Gossett Jr won an Academy Award for his role in 'An Officer and a Gentleman'. I was 10. I was stunned. And... all of a sudden.. I saw.. and felt possibility.
I wasn't born to see Sidney or Hattie's speech.... but I felt the tingle, the same pride when I saw Denzel, Whoopi, Jamie, Forrest, Jennifer, Halle, Morgan, Monique, Octavia and you step up to the podium.
You, my dear, are not only the pride of Africa, but of every one of us of every color and creed that have felt the sting of exclusion. Thank you for your grace, talent.... and amazing energy.
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Berryandco
I am in a band now... And I can't tell you how much It feeds my rock and roll fantasies. I mean... Ever since I was a kid... I imagined being on stage... Being one with the audience... And tonight... By god...it happened. Tonight I am proud to be an artist... Proud to be a Brooklynite... Proud to explore guitar... Proud to have taken a chance and decided to play in public. If anyone has ever had a fantasy... And thought it was too late... Its never too late. Never. No regrets FAM. Live your live and dream out loud.
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"Standing up for a Darker Superman" by Zyphus Lebrun.
Standing up for a Darker Superman.
By Zyphus Lebrun
06/13/14
As the reviews for the film, Man of Steel continue to be posted on websites and film critics hand out apples on tv. I can’t help but be filled with a growing anger towards those who seem to know very little about Superman himself and hand down these heavy -handed criticisms that the character is too dark.
The film’s director and producer set the tone early when the first images of the Man of Steel featured a darker hued costume and a variation of the iconic “S” Shield. Many fans resisted the change but I personally believed in Chris Nolan and Zack Snyder and was behind the reimagining of the character.
Before I go any further with this , I have to say that Superman is one of my favourite characters and at the writing of this I have not seen the film, that premiers in the US in a few short hours. So it may turn out that the movie itself may be bad. But this is more about the notion that the Man of Steel cannot be a bit brooding. What I can say is that I know Superman, I’ve read books about the character’s cultural and social significance and I have read hundreds of comics about him and his adventures. I claim my nerdom as a comic book fan and I’m also a journalist who appreciates when characters are grounded.
But at this point I’m digressing from my original thought, I think that too many of these critics want the bright and shining version of Superman with no tarnish. Truth is Superman is very dark and tortured. This internal struggle is on full display in his dual identity. Am I Clark Kent , the human or am I Kal-El the man from another solar system?
If I told you the story of a young immigrant boy who is orphaned after his country is destroyed by a natural disaster. Then finds out that the people who he think’s are his parents have really adopted him. Then he realizes he has remarkable abilities but his father tells him that if he shows the world what he can do that he would be hunted for the rest of his life. You’d think that was pretty dark, right?
Think about what I just said, the man is an alien. There is virtually no one else like him around. Talk about a recipe for isolation. His parents are dead, how about survivor’s guilt. He learns that the man and woman who he thought were his real parents are only adoptive. So they’ve lied to him all this time. That could be crushing.
Also you’re strong enough to lift a bus over your head without breaking a sweat. That’s not normal. The, “Who am I?” question during adolescences is magnified a thousand fold for him. He’s already dealing with hormones, bullies and being awkward around girls. Now he’s even more of a freak because he’s hearing clouds scrape together and seeing things hundreds of miles away.
Look I get that many of these folks leveling critiques that the film may be too dark are thinking of their grandfather’s Superman. What I don’t appreciate is what seems to be a lack of understanding that the character has evolved over the years as writers and the audience has matured Superman has turned into a more nuanced character. He does fight for truth, justice and the American way anymore. He actually renounced his American citizenship in the previous DC continuity.
Also have a read of Action Comics 775, no spoilers here but we see him in a different light. The issue is part commentary on the dark and hard-boiled anti-hero that emerged during the late nineties. It also sought to answer to the question, can Superman evolve and still hold true to some basic tenets.
I don’t understand why Batman has to be the only one with the monopoly on being a bit dark. I understand the Superman and Batman are supposed to be the light and darkness of the heroic ideal. But boiling them down to those two very simple archetypes is ridiculous, especially when many comic book readers, who are in their thirties and not kids any more, demand more mature stories with more nuanced characters.
If any of these critics who are out there have read a decent Superman comic in the last ten years they would know that the characters has been going through the paces over the years. Geoff Johns wrote an amazing story in Action comics about xenophobia in the future where alien heroes like Superman are hunted and locked away. The story reflected the anti-immigrant, post September 11th zeitgeist that still very much exists in this country.
If the Superman film only broaches this issue in passing you can see why the tone would further shift toward darker tones. Added to that is the fact that in truth if a man like Superman did appear people would fear him, is he here to help or harm. Then of course there’s the military’s role in this story. The Pentagon would certainly want to either harness his power, manipulate him or if those fail destroy him. How about those for dark under tones?
I’ve said a few things here and if anyone reading this has actually made it this far, what I want you to understand is this. Superman was created in a simpler time when strongmen were needed to fight of the Nazi bogeyman. He needed to be one thing . He need to be a paragon of virtue because that was what America wanted. The country needed its heroes to be beyond reproof and Superman was the epitome of that. Whether he was holding the US flag boldly on comic book covers or allowing and eagle, the symbol of American freedom and pride, to perch on his arm. He was the perfect American hero.
Buy the truth is America’s hands were not clean and people are more sophisticated now and won’t stand for that kind of portrayal of their heroes. Also by giving him a dark side and making him flawed he’s more relatable. A man who deals with his demons, yet strives to be the best that he can. I say that’s more heroic than being a goody two shoes who’s never conflicted about anything and always knows the right thing to do. I mean how boring is that? Seems that some of these critics want some of that proverbial Americana pie but then complain that Superman has no weaknesses but Kryptonite and thus he’s too perfect. See how much they know, he’s also vulnerable to magic.
Okay so that was a jab. Still I think the point is that as the character became more popular, he has transcended just being and American hero. His shield may be the second most recognized symbol on the planet after the Christian crucifix. We’ve even turned his name into part of speech i.e., “You’re no Superman.” So yes he’s part of the zeitgeist and that has changed, so why can’t he to a certain degree?
I know I’ve belabored this for three pages now and I’m about out of steam. So here’s a parting thought. At the base of this character, Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El’s psyche is fractured and very dark. He’s a man who has to lie to just about everyone in his life about who he really is. His home is a Fortress of Solitude. He deals with isolation all the time. He’s an orphan with survivor’s guilt who never feels like he quite fits in and some people will never trust him because of where he’s from. You don’t think that’s heavy? I think that’s quiet a weight to carry, one that’s perhaps heavier than strapping a planet to your back.
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A video poem written by Jherelle Benn, a poet, journalist, activist and dear friend of mine. She hails from Trinidad .... just like me.... and I wanted to do this to support not only her art... but to support gay Caribbean-American artists. Lets let the art speak. Not the sexual orientation.
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