#black jeopardy

[robokacsa]

Black Jeopardy with Tom Hanks (2016)

Ezzel kulturális szupermérföldkövekkel is hat évvel a medjelenése után sikerült találkozni. Bár a felfokozott kultúrharc mintha azóta alábbhagyott volna - ami egyébként örvendetes - a szembenállás szítása nem tűnt el teljesen. Szóval az annó aktuális reflexió mellett azért is fontos jelenet ez, mert a feketék és a fehérek közti hasonló élethelyzetből adódó kapcsolódási pontkat keresi és összefelé húzni szeretné a társadalmat, nem pedig deznitegrálni.

Utóbbit tegyék csak az elvakult ideológiai fanatikusok, mindkét odalon. A legfőbb dolog nem bevonódni és nem felülni a provokációiknak, hanem együtt nevetni a szeretípiáinkon és egyszerűen csak jól érezni magunkat.

[odinsblog]

Few videos have ever so clearly illustrated the two worlds that exist in America. The fact that in one of these Jeopardy recaps, none of the white contestants could even identify Ketanji Brown-Jackson—the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice, seated in 2022—was as galling as it was informative.

These are supposedly some of the brightest people in the country, but they don’t even know some of the most cursory details of Black history—conversely, Black Americans are all but required to be aware of and know even thee most obscure details of white “culture” and European history if we want gainful employment and don’t want to be ridiculed or ostracized.

Generally speaking, white people already know precious little about the contributions and the importance of Black History and other non-European cultures, which is why when I see Ron DeSantis and other Republicans mandating laws that whitewash and erase Black history, it makes me realize just how extraordinarily EASY it is to do, because white America is already starting from a severe and intentionally maintained knowledge deficit.

[disease]

JEOPARDY 12" EP [INSERT] BORUSIADE | CÓMEME 031 | 2016

[nitrateglow]

Favorite films discovered in 2023

2023 kind of sucked, but it was a fruitful year for me as a movie geek. I finally got around to seeing films that have been on my TBW pile for years now. I also gave myself a challenge that I actually completed: watch at least one film from every year between 1900 and 2023.

Anyway, I'll stop beating around the bush. Here are my top 20 favorite film discoveries in 2023. (The order is very, very loose from 5 on down. I genuinely had a hard time narrowing the list down to 20, let alone ranking everything.)

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (dir. Mikio Naruse, 1960)

This well-regarded drama follows Keiko, a bar hostess who's just turned 30 years old. She has limited options as an unmarried woman in postwar Japan. Considered "old," she has to marry soon or scrape enough money to buy her own bar. With its jazzy score and first-person narration, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs has a noirish vibe but it certainly isn't noir at all. Though the film is tragic, what moved me so much was Keiko's character. She has a tough lot and her story is ultimately tragic, yet she is determined to keep going, even if life won't give her a break.

The Boy and the Heron (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2023)

Miyazaki's current "last film" is certainly his most abstract and puzzling. I imagine it'll be one of his more divisive titles in the years to come, but count me among its fans. While being "in the know" regarding the current state of Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki's 60+ year-long career in animation allows one to better appreciate the many allusions and themes within the film, it stands just fine on its own as a surrealistic adventure about grief and the power of art. Also, damn, I LOVE hand-drawn animation so much.

Black Cat (dir. Kaneto Shindo, 1968)

Kaneto Shindo's Black Cat is yet another confirmation of my feeling that horror pairs best with humor or heartbreak. While there are some morbidly funny moments, Black Cat is largely a devastating supernatural horror story about a young samurai who encounters two mysterious women in the woods, not realizing they are the ghosts of his murdered wife and mother. Even worse, they've sworn to kill any and all samurai they encounter, since their deaths were the result of raping, pillaging samurai-- but they remain human enough to desire an exception. I was creeped out thoroughly by the chilly atmosphere and imagery of this film. I liked it even better than Shindo's Onibaba and that was one of my favorites from 2022!

Malcolm X (dir. Spike Lee, 1992)

I usually dislike big movie biopics for being stuffy and formulaic. Malcolm X avoids both of these issues. Directed to the hilt by Spike Lee, this film is passionate and compelling, about as far from a stuffy Oscarbait biopic as you could imagine. Also, Denzel Washington is AMAZING in the titular role. Like, we're talking one of the best performances I have ever seen because not only is Washington convincing as Malcolm X, he also perfectly portrays his arc from zoot-suited young criminal to uncompromising activist leader. I was absolutely mesmerized the entire time-- it's a long movie that never feels its length and I'll definitely be revisiting it in the future.

The Kiss Before the Mirror (dir. James Whale, 1933)

James Whale’s horror movies are listed among the finest 1930s cinema had to offer, but his other works remain woefully overlooked. The Kiss Before the Mirror is a strange marital drama set in a dreamlike interwar Vienna. A lawyer defending a murderer who shot down his cheating wife comes to discover his own wife in the midst of a casual affair. Will this discovery lead to another killing? Despite the lurid plot elements, Kiss is closer to Kubrick’s introspective Eyes Wide Shut than a typical 1930s melodrama. Both husband and wife are complex characters struggling with destroyed illusions, making the story a hell of a lot more complex than you'd expect.

Five Miles to Midnight (dir. Anatole Litvak, 1962)

I am so glad I ignored the meh reviews on this one because I would have missed out on one of the best thrillers I've seen in years. Sophia Loren is a woman desperate to shake off her narcissistic, abusive husband played by Tony Perkins. When Perkins is wrongly believed dead in a plane crash, he hides out in Loren's apartment so they can collect the life insurance money, split the funds, then part amicably. This being a Hitchcock-style thriller, it doesn't work out that way. What sells the film is the psychological cat-and-mouse game between Loren and Perkins's miserable, mismatched married couple, and a noirish sense of doom lends a great deal of atmosphere.

Shoes (dir. Lois Weber, 1916)

Shoes is the best Lois Weber film I have yet seen and it still packs a wallop a century-plus since its initial release. Mary MacLaren plays a young woman single-handedly supporting her family on a five dollar a week salary. She wears shoes that are falling apart but can never seem to save enough for a new pair-- that is, until an unsavory way of getting the cash presents itself, much to her horror and temptation. This is a heartbreaking little film that showcases a lot of what I love about 1910s American cinema. There's less glamor in the settings and nothing at all genteel or cleaned up about the poverty on display. MacLaren is wonderful in the lead too, her performance a quietly compelling portrait of quiet desperation.

Jeopardy (dir. John Sturges, 1953)

Barbara Stanwyck was in such a wealth of films that I can forgive myself for not realizing this one even existed. After seeing it, it's easily in my top five favorite films of hers. On the surface, the plot sounds like fodder for sleazy sex fantasy: a housewife on vacation is kidnapped by a hot escaped convict. She's racing against time to save her husband from drowning after the tide comes in at the beach where he's trapped; the convict has a very specific price for any aid he's willing to offer. Stanwyck's characterization complicates the situation and the direction amps the tension to a breaking point. Great, great stuff!

Girlfriends (dir. Claudia Weill, 1978)

This film came across my path in a weirdly personal way. One of my sisters got engaged this year. We've been close all of our lives and shared an apartment for years, so this is going to be a big change for both of us. Girlfriends is about a young woman whose best friend is getting married, meaning she'll be on her own for the first time. In addition to making this adjustment, she's a photographer currently hired for weddings and bar mitzvahs, but dreaming of entering the larger world of art galleries. I guess you could say it's a 70s version of a quarter-life crisis film (Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha takes A LOT from it). The performances and direction are exceptional, having that unglamorous, lived-in vibe I love about the films of this period. It also just happened to come into my life at the most resonant time, so there's that.

Ivan the Terrible, Parts One and Two (dir. Sergei Eisenstein, 1945 and 1958)

As a person who hates the idea that realism is the only valid form for cinematic drama, Eisenstein's hyper-stylized Ivan the Terrible movies are a joy. The compositions are like something out of a painting, the acting is operatic, the writing mythic and sweeping. The dance number in Part II is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. Best of all, the films rise above their propagandist origins, becoming a fascinating study of institutional power set against individual charisma.

The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (dir. Emilio Miraglia, 1972)

I've been getting more into giallo lately and The Red Queen Kills Seven Times is among the more memorable titles. You have the fashion world setting, a disguised murderer running around in a red cloak, over the top kills, a villainous junkie who looks like Bucky Barnes, a spooky castle with death traps, the works. It's a movie where I don't really care too much about the plot. It's the off-kilter, sinister atmosphere that draws me in, as with most giallo movies.

Little Miss Sunshine (dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, 2006)

It took Alan Arkin dying for me to finally get around to seeing this much beloved 2000s gem. I expected to only be interested in Arkin as the drug-addled, foul-mouthed grandpa, but the entire movie is so warm-hearted and hilarious that I fell in love with it whole hog. The characters are all quirky without being Quriky (tm), if you know what I mean. And I love the final message about just living your life and not worrying about whether or not you're "successful" in the eyes of society. An old theme to be sure, but done so, so well here. (Also, the mercilessly satirical jab at child beauty pageants is pure gold.)

Pom Poko (dir. Isao Takahata, 1994)

I feel like a lot of western anime fans only see Pom Poko as "lol that movie where the tanuki have comically oversized testicles." And yeah, that is indeed something in this movie but there's so much more. It's one of the boldest films I've ever seen, an "animated documentary" (to use Takahata's words) about a village of tanuki waging war against humankind's encroachment upon the natural world. It's such a genre grab-bag, critic Daniel Thomas' description fits it best: "The story weaves through slapstick comedy, social commentary, satire, surrealism, and tragedy. It changes moods much the way the tanuki change form, bending and molding into a new shape, and relentlessly moving forward." I still think Only Yesterday is Takahata's best film, but Pom Poko is strong competition and yet another film I can see myself rewatching many times to come.

Bullet Train (dir. David Leitch, 2022)

I still kick myself for not seeing this in the theater when it came out. Bullet Train is a wonderful lark of an action film. On first watch, I recall thinking it was like a live-action anime shot in a very Tarantino-esque style. I've seen it a few times now and I enjoy the hell out of it every time. And if you don't like it, well, you just might be a Diesel.

That Cold Day in the Park (dir. Robert Altman, 1969)

Another film with a so-so reputation that I really enjoyed. Sandy Dennis (who's gradually becoming one of my favorites with every performance I see from her) plays a virginal rich woman who takes in a handsome young guy one cold day. Her initial kindness quickly curdles into erotic obsession and her house guest has his own secrets. It's an early Robert Altman film and not his most polished work, but that makes it all the more fascinating to me. It's a creepy psychological thriller with a haunting ending, as well as an interesting time capsule of the late 1960s.

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (dir. Russ Meyer, 1965)

Where has this movie been all my life?? It's a bizarre campfest about three criminally minded go-go dancers who romp across the California desert, strewing all kinds of havoc in their wake. It's such a strange movie that I don't know how to describe it properly: it's got a New Wave sensibility to it all the while indulging in exploitation B-movie nonsense. Definitely a fun film to watch with a group.

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (dir. Chantal Akermann, 1975)

I finally bit the bullet to watch this one after it topped the 2022 Sight & Sound list. Do I think it's the greatest film of all time? No, but I don't like singling out any work of art for such a designation. Putting aside all the drama that ensued when this was granted GOAT status, Jeanne Dielman is a striking film. It's definitely not something you just throw on casually-- you need to set aside the time to watch it and be in the right headspace. My initial mild interest morphed into a sense of anxious dread as the film ground along its three hour runtime, its protagonist struggling to retain her total sense of self-possession and control as she's thrown off her groove by unexpected events.

The Wicked Lady (dir. Leslie Arliss, 1945)

This is not high art by any means. It's melodrama with a capital M, laying the cheese on thick. Margaret Lockwood plays a devious, scheming femme fatale in 18th century England who's a gold-digging noblewoman by day and a highwaywoman cavorting with bad boy James Mason by night. This is easily the most entertaining of the Gainsborough melodramas I've yet seen, dripping with soap opera antics, sumptuous costumes, and camp-a-plenty.

War and Peace (dir. Sergei Bondarchuk, 1966-1967)

There is no substitute for reading Tolstoy's massive novel, but this 1966 Soviet version is definitely a fine work in its own right. Filmed in three parts, it's about nine hours long and it does a good job capturing the interior lives of the characters in the source material. Everything about it is just breathtaking: the costumes, the sets, the massive numbers of extras during those battle scenes. It's the kind of intellectually and emotionally stirring epic that makes all those hours fly by.

The Sweet Smell of Success (dir. Alexander Mackendrick, 1957)

I often chafe when people act as though all 1950s American cinema were Leave it to Beaver wholesomeness and buttoned up repression. Some of the nastiest Hollywood movies I've ever seen came out of the 1950s and The Sweet Smell of Success is prime among them. Among the best of the late classic noir period, it follows Burt Lancaster as a popular but monstrous newspaper columnist who uses his power to control the lives of everyone around him, particularly his sister, to whom he has a borderline perverse attachment. The dialogue is as sharp ("You're dead, son. Get yourself buried." "I'd hate to take a bite out of you. You're a cookie full of arsenic.") and the cynicism as thick as the best of Billy Wilder. If you love noir, you can't miss out on this one.

What were your favorite film discoveries of 2023?

[4y3sh4]

“𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝐼𝓉 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝒾𝓃𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝒶𝓎, 𝐼 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒹𝑜. 𝒮𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒, 𝓌𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓉𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉. 𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒾𝒻 𝒾𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃𝓈 𝓇𝒾𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓉 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈𝓉”

“Au revoir mon amour”

-ryo

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩ ⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩ ⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗♡

I sit on the edge of my bed, my hands trembling as I unfold the note, each word a stab to my heart. Tears blur the ink on the page as I struggle to comprehend what's happening. Then, chaos erupts as gunfire shatters the stillness of my room. Bullets rip through the air, splintering wood and glass. Instinct kicks in, and I drop to the ground, narrowly avoiding the deadly barrage. Heart pounding, I crawl to safety, realizing I've narrowly escaped a fate I never imagined facing.

╭────────── ♱ · 𓆩🤍𓆪 · ♱ ─╮ ╰─ ♱ · 𓆩🤍𓆪 · ♱ ──────────╯

I emerge from the chaos of the attempted attack, only to find myself confronted by uniformed officers. Their voices blur into a cacophony of commands as they order me to the ground, handcuffs clicking into place around my wrists. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you You are under arrest for the murder of sukuna ryomen Shock and disbelief wash over me, but I remain eerily calm, my mind struggling to process the surreal turn of events. As they lead me away, I am left grappling with the surreal juxtaposition of narrowly escaping death only to find myself in the custody of those meant to protect and serve.

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

[pop-roxs]

remembering that one time i was playing vrc w adrienne, maddy, n a few others and adrienne just pulls this whammy outta nowhere(we were playing together for like the longest time)

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Ngaio Marsh - Spinsters in Jeopardy - Fontana - 1960 (cover illustration by Eileen Walton)

[thelegendaryloaf]

watching celebrity jeopardy makes me feel so smart

[small-inconvenience]

PIXIES QUESTION ON JEPOARDY

[not-poignant]

Would not be mad at all if you decided to dedicate 300k words to porn. For Gary.

(in all seriousness though I am absolutely loving UtB and will continue to love it no matter what!)

Gary wouldn't be mad at it either :D I'm definitely just staring at him like 'you get some... some porn' lol

Honestly he just doesn't want to deal with all the pain that's coming *rubs hands together evilly* I can't say I blame him, but the dude has to be forced into some emotional growth, that's just what happens when he's in one of my stories, y'know?

But yeah no he's going to get at least some! :D

[miss-oranje-disco-dancer]

there are only like a few good shows that i've ever watched like true detective season 1 was so so so good... the last episode gave me so much anxiety and the fifth episode is something i cannot unsee but it was the best episode of like all tv holy shit

[downtherabbitholewithlucy]

POP QUIZ FOR THE CLASS

I'd let Wes Borland (in this stage look) ______________?

A) Posses me

B) Fuck me

C) Dominate me

D) ALL OF THE ABOVE

E) Choice (D) but twice for good measure

[shironezuninja]

The rejection I got from Facebook, when they denied me to share a TMNT fanfic link to a Group Post’s comment section, reminds me why I had my DM OC, Shirakage Mouse, slap Nezu-Chan in Trial of Commitment, when he insulted Raphael.

[ghostpeanut]

i have such a grandpa ass personality. like i love golf and jeopardy and dark roast coffee and jimmy buffet and just sitting in my garage & vibing

[msclaritea]

Black businesses face uphill battle after reverse racism ruling from Trump-appointed judge

Story by Gerren Keith Gaynor

“We should really look at these as the pushback against Black economic progress,” says Patrice Willoughby, senior vice president of global policy and impact at NAACP.

The latest set back came by a ruling from Judge Mark Pittman that ordered the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to no longer consider race or ethnicity when deploying its services to U.S. small businesses. 

“This is not one attack, but it’s a series of attacks on the measures that the federal government has put in place to remedy,” Patrice Willoughby, senior vice president of global policy and impact the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told theGrio.

In other words, the judge argued the agency violated the constitutional rights of white business owners.

“While the agency’s work may help alleviate opportunity gaps faced by MBEs (minority business owners), two wrongs do not make a right,” Pittman wrote in his ruling.

Elected officials and advocates are decrying the federal court ruling, blaming a movement led by conservatives and affirmed by Republican-appointed judges that is undoing decades-long efforts to right historic wrongs that have afflicted Black and brown communities. The MBDA ruling, proponents fear, could further exacerbate existing racial disparities in ownership and wealth.

“We should really look at these as the pushback against Black economic progress,” said Willoughby, a former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus. “It’s very clear that, because discrimination continues to exist, these programs are still needed.” 

The mission of the Minority Business Development Agency is to promote the growth and competitiveness of U.S. minority-owned businesses. MBDA provides minority business owners access to capital, contracts and consulting services. Ironically, the agency was established by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1969. Under President Joe Biden, a Democrat, it became a permanent agency under federal law that expanded its reach across the country.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told theGrio that Biden is “very proud” of signing into law a permanent government status for MBDA. 

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre talks to reporters during the daily news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on March 27, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)© Provided by TheGrio

“We’ve seen 16 million applications that were started under this administration over the past three years, which is important,” the Biden spokesperson shared. “There was certainly a boost … with minority businesses starting their small businesses.”

Now that MBDA will be required by law to open its programs to white business owners, experts fear it would lead to already existing patterns of implicit or explicit racial bias and further exacerbate the racial wealth gap.

“What you will have is essentially people do business with people they like,” Willoughby explained. “They want to drive visibility for who is able to benefit underground so that there’s no oversight, no regulation, and there’s no assistance more broadly, with respect to DEI.”

Samantha Tweedy, CEO of the Black Economic Alliance, said the judge’s ruling would “result in an MBDA unable to support diverse business owners navigating an economic system that research shows is riddled with racial bias.” 

“We know that is the goal of many who seek to claw back the pathways to economic progress open to the Black community,” said Tweedy, who called on Congress and the White House to “step in to protect the vital role of the MBDA.”

To date, “reverse racism” rulings that undo race-specific programs aimed at remedying racial disparities have hit college campuses, businesses, and even Black farmers. Conservative activists have largely filed these cases, including millionaire Edward Blum, who was behind the affirmative action case before the Supreme Court. Blum is also behind a pending lawsuit against the Black female-owned Fearless Fund, arguing that its program designed to boost funding for Black women entrepreneurs is discriminatory against white-owned businesses. 

“You remove the legal framework that allows them to challenge discrimination,” Willoughby explained about the growing number of legal challenges against DEI. She said success in courts “emboldens the opponents of equity” and turns back the clock on racial progress.

“Essentially, [they] are trying to return America to what these opponents referred to as the good old days, but really were a white supremacist framework,” noted Willoughby, “which Black businesses and people of color really had very little access to the benefits of this country that other people have enjoyed.”

According to a February 2024 report by the Brookings Institution, while Black businesses saw consecutive growth between 2017 and 2021, the number of Black-owned employer firms remains disproportionate to the number of Blacks living in the United States. In 2021, Black Americans represented only 2.7% of employers despite making up 14.4% of the population. Closing that gap, the report argues, would boost the U.S. economy and create thousands more jobs.

Looking ahead at combating the legal setbacks on DEI-related programs, Willoughby told theGrio that policymakers, researchers and litigants will have to double down on data collection and advocacy. Proponents of DEI programs will have to make “better arguments in the courts” and “firmer justification for the existence of any remedy where race is a linked with disadvantage.”

“It’s going to become a lot more important to collect the data, to document the discrimination, and to prove that the disadvantage is directly linked to race,” she said.

The current legal setbacks also reflect the fact that elections have consequences. In addition to Pittman being appointed to his judgeship by Trump, so were the three Supreme Court justices who joined the majority to strike down race-based affirmative action.

“Now that court, which is hostile to issues involving race and racial remedies, will be in operation for the next decade,” Willoughby said. 

“Voting is connected to Black progress,” she added. “Even if you are feeling disconnected, you still have to look at who has your interests at heart and vote with your pocketbook to identify the candidates that are going to shore up your participation in the economic system.”