What the hell, summer spell.

On Precious:

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:38:42 -0500

I liked it, but it wasn’t what I expected. Due largely to the preview and this review, I thought the abuse scenes and the film in general were going to be more intense and overwhelming. Instead, Lee Daniels showed some restraint in depicting verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. Of course, Precious’ circumstances were dire and extreme, but the director didn’t take the reactionary attitude that more graphic equals more artistically effective.

The voiceover narration gave the audience some insight into Precious’ character. We didn’t relate to her only with pity; we saw her as resourceful, imaginative, and courageous.

The aspect of the film that has generated the most debate is the politics of it:

Was it good for the Jews? Probably I’m the only person in the universe who noticed this, but a couple of the characters in the film had Jewish surnames (the principal, Ms. Lichtenstein, and debatably Mariah Carey’s character, whose last name was Weiss). The character of the principal says so much about black-Jewish relations in this country in remarkably little time: the principal wants to help, but because of the class divide between Precious and her, she has no idea what’s really going on.

Also, the depiction of homosexuality is almost cartoonishly positive. The representation might be a showy kind of “tolerance,” but at least it’s not a negative stereotype or total omission.

Is it good for black people? Obviously I have the somewhat distanced perspective of a white person, but I liked the race politics of the film. Some criticism of the film argues that Precious equates blackness with suffering, but some of the minor characters—Ms. Rain the teacher, Precious’ classmates—seemed to have stable, happy lives. Ms. Rain in particular had a middle-class income and an education, proving that blackness does not equal destitution. The film promotes the view of blackness that I take: black people are individuals and their experiences of blackness are individuated. There are areas of overlap in individual black experiences, but there is no uniformity. Precious had a particularly harsh experience of blackness—and life—that rarely makes it to the big screen.

Why can’t a happy, successful black woman be a movie protagonist? First, I want to point out that the situation is hardly better for white women on screen: they can be successful and miserable or neither. Maybe this is naive of me, especially considering the tradition of “ghetto comedies,” but I think that bigger problems lead to bigger drama. Struggle and suffering are cinematic.

For what it’s worth, buying a ticket to a film whose cast and production team is majority black sends a message to the film industry. I think it’s worth the money and time.

Your thoughts?

DINNER: a lentil-rice pilaf with spiced, baked fennel and...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:51:13 -0500

DINNER: a lentil-rice pilaf with spiced, baked fennel and tomatoes

"Mr Obama had told his audience that he was a “big supporter of non-censorship”, and that..."

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:18:54 -0500

“Mr Obama had told his audience that he was a “big supporter of non-censorship”, and that unrestricted internet access was a “source of strength” that should be encouraged.”

- “Summit Talks for Obama in Beijing,” BBC News

Remember this one the next time someone tells you that liberals have no spine.

Another choice cut from my grandmother, said to my mother:...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:41:55 -0500

Another choice cut from my grandmother, said to my mother: “Don’t order the salad. You’re here to eat, not to play.”

"Henry Louis Gates relates the story of a group of black high school students in North Carolina who,..."

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:21:28 -0500

“

Henry Louis Gates relates the story of a group of black high school students in North Carolina who, dismayed over the rigidity of standardized achievement tests, devised one more to their own liking. They convinced a group of employees at publisher McGraw-Hill to take this exam, and these custodians of the written word all received Cs and Ds.

A typical question: “Who is buried in Grant’s tomb?” The correct answer, the Harvard scholar tell us is “Your mama.” Gates, in his characteristically dry manner, adds: “It is difficult to explain why this response is so funny.”

”

- an excerpt of The Birth (and Death) of the Cool

colorless coke cans

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:22:03 -0500

colorless coke cans

seeing them tonight.

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:49:52 -0500

seeing them tonight.

Michelle Obama on Sesame Street! It's heart-burstingly cute.

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:40:51 -0500

Michelle Obama on Sesame Street! It's heart-burstingly cute.

Sonotheque is CLOSING on November 15th! You read that right. It's been sold. It's closing. It's gone. The best soundsystem in the city with the best and most diverse programming...gone! SAY GOODBYE NOW.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:26:59 -0500

Sonotheque is CLOSING on November 15th! You read that right. It's been sold. It's closing. It's gone. The best soundsystem in the city with the best and most diverse programming...gone! SAY GOODBYE NOW.:

This makes me feel a million years old. Now what will 17-year-old Arianna dream of?

(via britticisms)

Thank you, Jezebel commenters, for this out-of-nowhere ...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:30:00 -0500

Thank you, Jezebel commenters, for this out-of-nowhere reference

this too shall pass

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:21:48 -0500

this too shall pass

Brad Walsh and Christian Siriano on Halloween

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:31:58 -0500

Brad Walsh and Christian Siriano on Halloween

Dum Dum Girls - Catholicked Dum Dum Girls is in this...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:49:00 -0400

Dum Dum Girls - Catholicked

Dum Dum Girls is in this month’s NYLON (featuring as its cover girl the unknown indie actress Megan Fox). The blurb describes the music as sounding like Nirvana and the Ramones, which makes it clear that the author was thinking of this song and not, say, “Baby Don’t Go” (featured in this episode of I Love My Wife).

There’s something enchanting about a tune that’s equally poppy and haunting. That declaration that wraps up the chorus—“My sins are my own”—I feel it so deeply, without knowing what it means.

Gratuitous photo of yourself Wednesday I tried to take a photo...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:23:00 -0400

Gratuitous photo of yourself Wednesday

I tried to take a photo of myself looking genuinely happy but found that it didn’t translate. I guess in photos, I’m better at looking bored.

I have to open at work on Halloween but I like Día de los Muertos better anyway. Plans are to make pan de muerto with my friends Max and Kristyn, and also to buy and eat one of these chocolate skulls.

Queen - We Are the Champions I just drafted a baby paper and...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:22:00 -0400

Queen - We Are the Champions

I just drafted a baby paper and found an advisor for my honors thesis today, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.

From The Onion, “New Anti-Smoking Ad Warns Teens...

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:51:05 -0400

From The Onion, “New Anti-Smoking Ad Warns Teens ‘It’s Gay to Smoke.’” NSFW but who cares.

I can be nostalgic for things that happened 10 minutes ago. I...

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:43:20 -0400

I can be nostalgic for things that happened 10 minutes ago. I can be nostalgic for right now.

This is a photo of me laughing with my friend Allison in 2006. What were we laughing about? What made us so happy? At the time I knew, but for the rest of my life I’ll never remember. Sometimes I think of lapses like these and feel a genuine sense of loss or mourning.

I feel the same thing when I think of my childhood or teenage expectations for the age I’m at right now. All those fantasies I had about the carefree life I would lead, knocked out cold by reality.

Herman Dune - Don’t Lie The vocals make me think of The...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:27:19 -0400

Herman Dune - Don’t Lie

The vocals make me think of The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson. The production and song structure make me think of the 90s/early aughts K Records roster.

(via amychance)

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:24:57 -0400

(via amychance)

Whole Foods sells a baby bib that says "I Love Sushi"

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:19:11 -0400

reality or David Brooks joke?