June 22, 2009 • Eyiwunmi Salako
Imagenation Film Festival screened Skin featuring Sophie Okonedo on South African Youth Day this June.
June 9, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
"What is it that makes us human? Not somebody you can program. You can't put it in a chip. It's the strength of the human heart. That's the difference between us and machines." The contemplative words of John Connor, albeit corny to many a moviegoer, closed another chapter in the saga that speaks deeply to the power of the unbowing resistance, compassion and sincerity peculiar to the human race.
Directed by McG and starring Christian Bale as John Connor in post-apocalyptic 2018, Terminator Salvation depicts Connor as the man who is now fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators.
While writers John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris hold steadfast to the standard Terminator plot of man against machine chock-full of dirt-smeared rebel soldiers, robotic acrobatics and thrilling vehicle chases, an underlying theme of love for one’s fellow man is served up with just enough macho man fight scenes to not scare off its testosterone-driven male base.
June 8, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
From music to film to fashion, Nigeria, West Africa has produced some of the world’s biggest names bursting from the motherland, and, is itself home to a burgeoning art and entertainment scene currently influencing the world stage.
The Nigeria Entertainment Awards, held in the Cramton Auditorium of Howard University in Washington D.C. on June 6, is an annual event focused on recognizing the ample contributions of Nigerian Artists to the entertainment industry across the globe.
The event’s producer, Tope Esan, is dedicated to “promoting the image and rich culture of Nigeria and increasing the awareness” of one of the continent’s edgiest and fastest growing entertainment markets.
May 26, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
In an age where reference research no longer requires a library card, but rather a well-oiled pointer finger and a high-speed internet connection for streaming YouTube clips with ease, many have labeled this generation a post-literate one.
In response, Booker Mattison, author of Unsigned Hype, is using the new medium of hip hop literature to captivate an audience of young, web-savvy, music loving, hip hop heads enough to resign them from their video IPods for a few hours to pick up a 224-page novel.
“I wanted to reach an audience of young Black youth who never read anything, for the person who would never go into a Barnes and Noble for any reason,” said Mattison. “Actually, my 13-year-old nephew – whose mother was an English major and makes him read several books a month – said this book was the best he ever read and not because it’s the best written book, but because he’s in it.”
In response, Booker Mattison, author of Unsigned Hype, is using the new medium of hip hop literature to captivate an audience of young, web-savvy, music loving, hip hop heads enough to resign them from their video IPods for a few hours to pick up a 224-page novel.
“I wanted to reach an audience of young Black youth who never read anything, for the person who would never go into a Barnes and Noble for any reason,” said Mattison. “Actually, my 13-year-old nephew – whose mother was an English major and makes him read several books a month – said this book was the best he ever read and not because it’s the best written book, but because he’s in it.”
May 12, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
Poet Maya Angelou met comedian Dave Chappelle on Sundance Channel’s show Iconoclasts.
Dave Chappelle asked her about growing up in the civil rights movement and what it meant to have experienced such intense marginalization based solely on the color of her skin and if it ever made her her angry.
“Absolutely,” she said quite simply. “But what you do with anger is you paint it, and you speak it, and you dance it, and you sing it, and you write it, and you sculpt it.”
The act of drowning one’s anger and hurt in art was never more real to the man, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr., played by Jaime Foxx in this season’s Oscar-worthy film, The Soloist.
This story was inspired by a series of real-life columns written by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, who wrote about the plight of a homeless, schizophrenic musician, Ayers, (which eventually was chronicled in Lopez's book, "The Soloist."
Dave Chappelle asked her about growing up in the civil rights movement and what it meant to have experienced such intense marginalization based solely on the color of her skin and if it ever made her her angry.
“Absolutely,” she said quite simply. “But what you do with anger is you paint it, and you speak it, and you dance it, and you sing it, and you write it, and you sculpt it.”
The act of drowning one’s anger and hurt in art was never more real to the man, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr., played by Jaime Foxx in this season’s Oscar-worthy film, The Soloist.
This story was inspired by a series of real-life columns written by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, who wrote about the plight of a homeless, schizophrenic musician, Ayers, (which eventually was chronicled in Lopez's book, "The Soloist."
May 11, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
Friendship. Betrayal. Intrigue. Sex. War. Adultery. Murder.
All the necessary ingredients to make it big as a primetime network TV show. And, yet, all found in what remains the best-selling book of all time – The Holy Bible.
Kings, a modern-day soap about a hero who rises to become the King of his nation, is based on the biblical story of King David. It will return to NBC in June, airing every Saturday at 8 p.m.
A cross between The Tudors and Smallville, much of what makes the actual Biblical story of David so rich in symbolism and fertile for allegory is what makes Kings a huge hit.
A lowly farm boy who possesses a rare gift of musical virtouso is anointed to become the land’s next king.
Executive produced by Michael Green, Kings bears clever resemblance to some of NBC’s hottest shows: Heroes and, yes, Smallville. Why? Because Green co-created them as well as the highly acclaimed WB show, Everwood.
All the necessary ingredients to make it big as a primetime network TV show. And, yet, all found in what remains the best-selling book of all time – The Holy Bible.
Kings, a modern-day soap about a hero who rises to become the King of his nation, is based on the biblical story of King David. It will return to NBC in June, airing every Saturday at 8 p.m.
A cross between The Tudors and Smallville, much of what makes the actual Biblical story of David so rich in symbolism and fertile for allegory is what makes Kings a huge hit.
A lowly farm boy who possesses a rare gift of musical virtouso is anointed to become the land’s next king.
Executive produced by Michael Green, Kings bears clever resemblance to some of NBC’s hottest shows: Heroes and, yes, Smallville. Why? Because Green co-created them as well as the highly acclaimed WB show, Everwood.
April 27, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
You thought Grand Theft Auto was bad. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
While The Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition, dub Grand Theft Auto as the most controversial videogame series ever with over 4,000 articles published about it, including accusations of glamorizing violence, deliberate sexual indulgence, and connections to real life crimes, GTA won’t have a prayer of keeping its spot when the masses catch wind of a new game entitled: Rapelay.
April 15, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
What does it take to be good at something? I mean, actually good.
To hone a craft, you gotta be disciplined, ruthless, consumed by its intricacies and totally given to the structure and order governing that craft. That’s if you want to be good at ONE thing. I mean take, Olympics medalist Michael Phelps who swam 13 miles everyday, slept 10 hours every night and ate five times more than the average human, just to snatch up eight gold medals and break seven world records.
But, think how difficult it would be to apply that dedication to more than one craft. It could get you committed. Or, maybe - like Deion Sanders - you find Jesus.
Many times this sort of lunacy is the very lot chosen by the entertainer. The Barbra Streisands, the Will Smiths, the Debbie Allens.While the performing arts world is quick to dub certain artists triple threats (those who sing, dance and act), one may dare say these entertainers are most times barely believable at two of the three.
To hone a craft, you gotta be disciplined, ruthless, consumed by its intricacies and totally given to the structure and order governing that craft. That’s if you want to be good at ONE thing. I mean take, Olympics medalist Michael Phelps who swam 13 miles everyday, slept 10 hours every night and ate five times more than the average human, just to snatch up eight gold medals and break seven world records.
But, think how difficult it would be to apply that dedication to more than one craft. It could get you committed. Or, maybe - like Deion Sanders - you find Jesus.
Many times this sort of lunacy is the very lot chosen by the entertainer. The Barbra Streisands, the Will Smiths, the Debbie Allens.While the performing arts world is quick to dub certain artists triple threats (those who sing, dance and act), one may dare say these entertainers are most times barely believable at two of the three.
March 25, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
Love is timeless. Love is transcendental. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things.
While the story of Slumdog Millionaire is a raw account of one slum-reared Mumbai teen who becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" and the trauma-drenched life events that help inch him ever closer to the 20 million rupee grand prize, the story is really that of love – which at its purest – is a signature of the divine. This film, which swept eight Oscars including Best Picture of 2008, was devoid of pretense for it depicted the truth of this steadfast bond reified amid squalor and destitution. We meet Jamal and Salaam Malik who were made orphans after an attack by Hindu fanatics on their Mumbai slum. At the tender age of eight and five, they were drawn into a life of unscrupulous panhandling made possible by a Father Fagan character who would purposely blind the best kid singers in the bunch.
March 25, 2009 • Tiffani Knowles
It’s like MTV cribs, but a great deal more gratifying – as it were.
While the story of most Blacks in America is a proverbial rat-race of chasing an all too elusive American dream: a house, a life mate, 2.5 kids, the story of 7 African Americans in the film Blacks Without Borders is an entirely different tale of rich, full life set in stunning South Africa.
“We noticed this trend of African-Americans leaving the U.S. and heading to South Africa to achieve what they couldn’t here,” said Stafford Bailey, filmmaker. “After Nigeria, South Africa is home to the largest number of African-Americans living outside of the U.S. …we wanted to explore why that was.”
Amid the lush green flora, gentle rolling hills and gorgeous multi-story homes decked out with swimming pools carved out of coral stone, wine cellars and city-light views of downtown Johannesburg, we begin to understand a person’s case for the move.