Baracking...

I came across this article in an email...


ALBANY — What up, my Obama?

In the hallways of Albany High School, that is the new hello.

If you sneeze, your friends at Albany High might say "Barack you." Goofing off in the hallway? "Barack's in the White House now" means cool it.

Presidents usually don't earn a blip on the radar of teenage American hipness. But Barack Obama's rise to the White House already has changed the way young people talk to one another. Creatively riffing on the unusual name — Baracking — is a natural progression of Obama's prominent spot in pop culture.

Along with simple phonetics, it's symbolic of young people's admiration, said Deborah Tannen, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University.

"It sounds like they are transferring their positive feelings about the person to new contexts," she said.

Obama's place in slang also is a sign that he and his ideas are becoming a part of the daily life of young Americans with a newly developed interest in politics, said Donald Hernandez, sociology department chairman at the University at Albany.

Ocasio Willson, an Albany senior, said Obama has made it cool among young people to be smart again.

He paused to sing a line from Young Jeezy's "My President Is Black" and then said it's not surprising young people use the president's name in entirely new contexts.

"It's a way to express their excitement and their happiness that an African-American is in office," he said.

Isaiah Williams was in the school's college center recently when he heard one student trying to convince another to get something out of his locker. The line of argument to motivate his friend to make the extra effort for class was easy to get: "Barack did it."

Williams said his senior classmates are drawn to Obama's triumph over the odds. A group of his friends started dressing differently on Election Day, he said, because of the president. They switched from baggy clothes to button-down shirts and dress shoes.

"Because he made it as president," Williams said, "it's almost as if anything can happen."

A Black Filmmaker's Gaze: Donald A.C Conley

Up-in-coming filmmaker/writer/poet/actor Donald A.C. Conley views the world through an artistic gaze. His experiences as a postgraduate, living in New York City serve as creative platforms for short stories, skits, and characters—including the delusional Hip-Hop/R&B artist Silky Smooth McNasty, (who is featured below). At 22, Donald lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where he strenuously pursues his film making career in hopes of someday seeing his name on the big screen. His short narrative “Underbelly,”—a film about a shut out high schooler and a heroin addicted prostitute bonding through their love of art, has already garnered local attention. The universal artist spoke with the Post-Grad Review about his film “Underbelly,” and his artistic gaze as a rising Black filmmaker in the industry.

~DnH~ For those of us who do not know what it takes to make a film, what is the process of shooting a film and the major steps to finalizing it?

D.C: First it begins with an idea, a story. You have to start pulling things together: getting people to participate who are interested and want to help. You need money and equipment. And a schedule needs to be put in place. Then sound, editing, re-shoots, etc…

~DnH~ What does the title of your short narrative “Underbelly” mean?

D.C: Underbelly wasn’t supposed to be the real name of the film, it really never evolved past underbelly…But it’s a term that really means the discarded portions on the bottom of the pot, which is pretty much always considered garbage. After you’ve gone through the good parts of the food you scrape it away and that represents a certain community in big cities that I feel like a lot of people consider to be the scarred portion of the pot. Not much process is being made to evolve these people. They’re pretty much considered to be taking out the garbage in my book. So I thought of Underbelly and I just tagged it on as the short term name for it, and I was going to go on to a better name, but once people started hearing about the film, the title just got tossed around so much it didn’t make sense to change it.

~DnH~ Tell me about Donald A.C. Conley growing up?

D.C: Well, I wanted to be a doctor. But I think all kids say they want to be either a doctor or lawyer or firemen. After that I really always wanted to be a teacher in all honesty. But I was also good in the arts, and I've always acted in little things like school plays and church plays here and there, but when I got into HS and I really got into acting in the school plays and on the speech team, I found that I really really liked acting. When it came time to go to college I didn’t want to pay so much money on only acting, I wanted to do something technical, so I thought about film making and a teacher of mine, Mr. Tally, was like film making is a good way to give you a hedge-way into acting if its really what I wanted to do. It's a technical art.

~DnH~ There are common tropes in your film "Underbelly" that suggests you are an African-American director, what type of artistic gaze do you have working as a Black filmmaker in the industry?

D.C: You know what, you do feel like you have obligations. I think that’s the problem with filmmakers that come from minority and ethnic groups, it's that your trying to surf around within your art but you also have everyone from your community—Friends family, constantly talking about 'Oh how we don’t have positive images,' and 'I would like to see this and I would like to see that.' At the end of the day you have an audience. Unfortunately for some [Black filmmakers] more than others, the scope of the audience gets a little limited. What I'm trying to say is I guess for the first couple of pictures ill probably be trying to depict my [Black] audience in a manner that really should alert other people standing on the outside looking in, and let them know about the issues that are going on. After that I would hope i'll get to have a little flexibility.

~DnH~ So you feel limited as a Black Filmmaker if you're not portraying certain type of movies; that your films may not get the credit they deserve?

D.C: I mean yeah…its very true, I mean I do tend to feel limited. On one hand, you walk into an office and you throw something on the desk for an executive and he’s hoping you’re giving him some clownery, cuz unfortunately black audiences view more clownery than they do films that really depict them as positive people. And that’s what the executives want. And it becomes limited. Once the [executives] start reading the work, and it becomes a positive work, now they are stuck with this alternative: 'Do I want to put realness on the screen and face maybe a financial failure?' Or 'should I keep my eyes on the prize winnings and at the end of the day i'll still be making films?' I just want my name to be said and I just want people to see I'm here. I want to be one of those directors you see on the screen and you see my name tagged along with it and it’s a must see [movie]. But I'm not intend in shoving garbage down the throats of my viewers.

~DnH~ So what’s next for the 22-year-old univerisal artist?

D.C: Hopefully the next level, getting “Underbelly” recognized and entered into some festivals and getting my name out there, and hopefully pulling an agent that has belief in my work. Outside of that trying to do bigger things and longer things.

~DnH~

A Writer's Flow by: Danielle Hester

My Thoughts transcend

Into words and verbs of

Conjunctions and Prepositions

Phrases of Prepositions

Building intensifiers of

Subjects, objects,

Nouns, pronouns

They are rhythmic patterns that tell a story

Alphabetical, grammatical formats

Encoded words

Turned flowy prose

Storing thoughts once lingered in my membrane

Now transcribed onto a ghostly canvass remain

Expressions of inquisitive questions

Linking issues of race, poverty, gender, and all the "isms"

If they only knew how deep my thoughts transcended

First from the crescent of my pupil--Sights and observations

Marinating in  my frontal lob

Concocting interrogative words and phrases of 

How, why, when and what was?

Then lethally searching for answers in the realms of

History's wound

I write my thoughts

I thought my words

I am what they say

Combinations of oral reflections and sought out truth

Read them

Understand them

Critique me

Question me

Transcend above me

"Medea Goes to Jail" Catapults Perry's Feature Film Career

I think it is safe to say--if it hasn't been said already-- that Tyler Perry has hit the big time. On its opening weekend "Medea Goes to Jail" brought in an estimate $41.1 million, (nearly double what his first Madea feature-"Diary of a Mad Black Woman" earned its opening weekend four years ago). Now critics are saying the film's strong opening could garner a broader viewership beyond the Black community. The coined "chitlin circuit theater" DVD comedies, purchased on bootleg usually by a man selling them at the local chicken shack, and watched and discussed in the realms of the black home, could now be integrated into the homes of White families. I'm not really sure how to feel about that (ha ha). Although this serves as tremendous news for beloved Perry, it also feels as if a sacred part of Black culture is once again being stripped from us, (I know, I know, I'm getting to deep over a character that is essentially a man dressed in drag), but it does leave for food of thought--What will become of Madea once she assimilates?

Nevertheless, although I have yet to see the film, I have much respect for Tyler Perry for taking his dream and intensifing it to this level. Perry recently appeared on Larry King Live--word is that Perry wants to evidently own a cable network.

R.I.P Travis...

It is western culture to naturally cling to and adopt pets as part of the family--dogs and cats being the top two. Lets face it, us westerns love our pets just a much as we love our mothers, fathers, siblings and children. In my household our dog Shadow, a 70 lb Germaine Shepard mixed with Lab  is the center of attention. My mother talks to him all the time, asking him questions like "how is mommy's baby?," as if he is supposed to answer--( ok, ok, I am slightly guilty of it too). However, there is a very fine line between "house pet" and "wild animal." Which brings me to the point of this post. In the beginning of the week an elderly woman living in Stamford, CT faced what I would call "one of the most terrifying days of her life." This woman, whose name I do not know, was the proud "pet" owner of a 14-year-old, 200 lb Chimpanezz named Travis. She raised the domesticated chimp from a baby and entered him in numerous television commercials and movies. He was even known in the community. One neighbor commented that it was usual routine to see the lady and Travis taking walks and driving together.  

Yet, earlier this week Travis' innate barbarian nature kicked in. According to reports, Travis wanted to go for a drive. After being told no by his owner, Travis took the car keys and attempted to leave by himself. Now after this the details become a bit construe, but essentially, the woman calls a friend to come over and help tame Travis. When the woman gets to the house, Travis brutally attacked her, (resulting in her hospitalization and leaving her with no eyes, no nose, and half a jaw). From there, the lady proceeds to call the police. A team of policemen come to the house and end up shooting Travis down due to his dangerously violent rampage. A couple of days later reports claim the woman had giving her chimp Xanax to help calm him down.  And as the days pass, more and more information reveal that this is not the first time Travis has shown signs of aggressive behavior. 

Experts say it is not uncommon for people to "foster" baby chimps. However, due to their natural aggressive behavior, it is highly suggested giving them up at 5-6 years of age--Travis was 14-years-old and 200 lbs. Why in the world would someone want to sleep with an aggressive 200 lb animal in their home? It is in good intention that people take in pets and care for them. Yet, sometimes our good intentions end up hindering the natural order of things. In this case, one woman's neglectfulness to obey the law cost the life of Travis and mutually scared a good friend. CHeck out the story by clicking on the link below. Its crazy!

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6901843