People Before Profit blog

"Duck Dynasty" fans react to Robertson's hiatus

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:00:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (AP) - When the A&E network suspended "Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil Robertson for disparaging gay people, it may have followed a time-honored TV tradition of quickly silencing a star who, for better or worse, speaks his mind. But in doing so it also ruffled the feathers of possibly millions of fans of its most popular show.

Fourteen hours after it was learned that Robertson had been placed on indefinite "hiatus" for telling GQ magazine, among other things, that gays are headed to hell, more than a half-million people liked an impromptu Facebook page demanding the show be boycotted until he returns.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who had her picture taken with Robertson just last month, complained that his free-speech rights were being trampled. Bobby Jindal, governor of the state of Louisiana, where the show is filmed, complained that Miley Cyrus got a pass for twerking on TV while Phil got shown the door.

T-shirts, of course, went on the market with the words "I Don't Give a Duck About A or E, Bring Back Phil."

"It's a show that is promoting clean living and good moral values, and that's something we need more of today," one of the program's many fans, Rick Peter of Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, told The Associated Press.

It's also a show that 67-year-old Robertson, who sports a beard that seemingly should qualify him for immediate membership in the rock group ZZ Top, is at the center of.

When or if he'll return - or if he'll ever really go away, however - is an open question.

"Duck Dynasty" is on hiatus until Jan. 15, and a network spokesman said Thursday that nine of next season's 10 episodes have already been filmed. That means Robertson likely isn't needed in front of the camera before next March, by which time this whole crisis may have blown over.

And blow over it will, eventually, says veteran Hollywood crisis publicist Howard Bragman, who added that Robertson will likely return to the show as well, perhaps after making a heartfelt apology.

"There's too much money at stake," said Bragman, vice president of reputation.com. "Although he plays kind of a hick on TV, I don't think he's dumb. I think he gets what's at stake here. And I hope people on his team, the network and his producers get the message that what he did was wrong. "

The Robertson family released a statement on the Duck Commander website Thursday evening in which they expressed thanks for prayers and support. The statement said though some of Robertson's comments were coarse, "his beliefs are grounded" in the Bible and he "is a Godly man."

"We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith," the statement said. "We have had a successful working relationship with A&E but as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty."

Robertson and his extended family became wealthy manufacturing duck calls and were turned into TV and pop culture stars by "Duck Dynasty," which has set cable ratings records for a non-fiction series.

"Duck Dynasty" is often the highest-rated cable show on television, and an episode last August that drew nearly 12 million viewers was the highest-rated of any show, cable or broadcast, that week.

Asked his definition of sinful behavior by GQ, Robertson replied, "Start with homosexual behavior and just go from there."

Then he continued, "Don't be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers - they won't inherit the kingdom of God. Don't deceive yourself. It's not right."

Although his suspension won quick praise from gay rights groups, it offended people like Peter, who says conservative views like his are often overlooked by Hollywood and the news media.

"I think we're getting a little bit tired of that pro-gay sentiment that's out there in the media and it's time to fight back," he said.

Randy Schmidt of Illinois agreed, saying that while gay people can be happy that some states have granted them the right to marry, "I find it unnecessary to flaunt it all over the media."

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what conservative fans may think, said another veteran crisis publicist, Michael Levine. A&E had no choice but to suspend Robertson, he said. If the network didn't, it would have had to deal with complaints from gay rights groups that would have made advertisers skittish and damaged the "Duck Dynasty" brand.

"The advertisers, the brand, people would stop buying 'Duck Dynasty' merchandise," he said. "At a certain point the brand just becomes radioactive."

This isn't the first time, of course, that someone has been taken off a popular show for remarks or behavior away from the cameras.

Isiah Washington was fired from "Grey's Anatomy" in 2007 for referring to one of his show's gay actors with a pejorative.

More recently, Charlie Sheen's erratic behavior got him tossed from "Two And a Half Men," even though the show was a hit and he was the star.

But the interesting thing about this controversy, said Bragman, who himself is gay, is that it seems to be occurring during a time when American culture is undergoing a profound shift in its feelings toward gay rights.

"The tide has turned in that there's an inevitability to gay marriage and gay rights in this country," he said, noting that New Mexico's highest court coincidentally upheld same-sex marriage rights on Thursday, the day after A&E's announcement.

"This is taking place during an interesting cultural touchstone moment," he added.

Photo: This 2012 photo released by A&E shows, from left, Phil Robertson, Jase Robertson, Si Robertson and Willie Robertson from the A&E series, "Duck Dynasty." The A&E channel says "Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil Robertson is off the show indefinitely after condemning gays as sinners in a magazine interview. In a statement Dec. 18, A&E said it was extremely disappointed to read Robertson's comments in GQ magazine. (AP/A&E/Zach Dilgard)

“Club Red”: Vacation, Soviet-style

Thu, 19 Dec 2013 15:56:00 +0000

There have been a lot of books written about the socialist experiment in the Soviet Union. Most fall into the dominant Cold War, anti-communist mold. But others are considerably more balanced, nuanced and objective. Diane P. Koenker's unique Club Red: Vacation Travel and the Soviet Dream falls into the latter category.

While still critical of shortcomings, failures and structural mismanagement within the Soviet planned economy, Koenker also paints a vivid, detailed picture of a government sincerely attempting to live up to its promise of "the good life" for its citizens - one aspect of-which is the right to a vacation.

Koenker writes, "... the process of becoming a tourist, learning how to take a socialist vacation, constituted one of the paths towards consuming the Soviet good life." As consumers, she says, "Soviet vacationers expected to receive cultural uplift and education." In fact, "The quest for meaning in leisure travel, in both tourism and rest, constituted an important part of the purposeful Soviet vacation experience."

However, Koenker adds, Soviet "tourism and vacation policies and practices explicitly encouraged the celebration of individual autonomy in a state founded on collectivist principles." She calls this "the paradox" at "the heart of" the Soviet vacation and tourism industry. This unique paradox helps to shatter the widely believed anti-communist myth of a collective despotism determined to destroy all remnants of the individual.

Unlike in the western capitalist world, where vacation is considered a luxury available only to those who can afford it, in the former Soviet Union vacation was a right every person was entitled to.

This, however, did not mean that everybody got to go on vacation, or experienced vacation in the same way.

Vacationers received vouchers, which "entitled the recipient to a course of treatment, food and lodging at a designated institution for a particular period of time." The voucher "possessed a monetary value that represented the sum total of food and services to be provided." Vouchers were distributed "by criteria other than price," meaning a person's ability to afford the vacation wasn't the main factor determining who should receive the voucher.

In most instances, vouchers were distributed by the local trade union or factory committee. Officially industrial workers were given priority due to the physically demanding nature of their work. The Central Trade Union Council "directed that 80 percent of sanatorium [health vacation resorts] places should be reserved for workers." However, as records indicate, this wasn't always the case, and those who misused a worker's voucher were often sent home, shamed in the press and sometimes faced criminal prosecution.

Like their western counterparts, especially as World War II neared, Soviet vacation planners faced "shrinking capacities" and "[f]inancial difficulties ... resulting particularly in the inability to recruit and retain" skilled vacation staff, cooks, hosts, tour guides, etc. However, even under conditions of budgetary cutbacks, "universal access most markedly distinguished proletarian tourism from comparable practices in the capitalist world," as the "socialist state would subsidize its tourists, especially those with the fewest resources to travel" by negotiating with transportation agencies and constructing inexpensive tourist lodging, among other examples.

Understandably, during World War II Soviet leaders redirected their attention away from vacation and tourism, away from creating "the good life," to focus on saving their nation from the Nazi onslaught. It wasn't until July 1945 that the right to a vacation was reinstituted.

After the war, with its terrible toll on the Soviet people, the government faced a dilemma. Koenker writes, "Recognizing that not all deserving workers could immediately regain their right to rest, Soviet authorities stipulated that ... priority should be given to invalids from the war, pregnant women and nursing mothers, [and] workers in hazardous branches of work."

According to Koenker, as "the Soviet standard of living continued to rise" vacation time also increased. "The Soviet working person could now expect an annual three-week vacation." Currently, in the United States the average paid vacation is two weeks; however, most vacationers take less due to fear of losing their jobs. And it should also be noted that a large percentage of Americans do not receive any paid vacation time off at all.

While the Soviet experience was far from perfect, there is a lot we can still learn from their experience with vacation as a right, as this book shows.

Club Red: Vacation Travel and the Soviet Dream is a fascinating read. Although parts of the book can be a little tedious due to the use of too much statistical information, Club Red is a welcome addition to the history of the socialist experiment in the Soviet Union. And Koenker does an excellent job of balancing the government shortcomings and failures with the promise of "the good life," in which every Soviet citizen could enjoy vacation travel and tourism - a promise our political leaders never make.

Book information:
Club Red: Vacation Travel and the Soviet Dream
By Diane P. Koenker
Cornell University Press, 2013, 328 pages
Available in hardcover and ebook

Top 10 worst sequels and remakes of 2013

Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:08:00 +0000

The term "sequelitis" was coined and used extensively throughout 2013, and a quick look at the box office tells us why. Out of the ten highest-grossing movies this year, seven of them were either sequels, remakes, or reboots. While some of them were actually good, many of them weren't. Here are ten films that make a compelling case for why Hollywood has come down not only with severe sequelitis, but remake-itis as well. And here's hoping 2014 will offer a little more originality on the big screen.

10. Evil Dead

This remake of 1981 cult classic horror film The Evil Dead attempts to modernize the original plot. In this one, some teens staying at a cabin encounter some unexpected demonic mayhem after reading a book of black magic. It seems like this film tried very hard to live up to the original, but it's too wacky to be taken seriously, and not wacky enough to pass for dark humor. It does have some fun visuals and gruesome monster makeup, but it's ultimately a waste of time and money. Unfortunately, it's rather like the bowl of spiked punch at a party - colorful and pleasing to the palate, but you'll regret it afterward.

9. Star Trek Into Darkness

I almost didn't want to put this one on the list because of its stellar lead actors. But this sequel to 2009's Star Trek is essentially a dumbed down, half-hearted redux of a 1982 Star Trek film. Moreover, what Gene Roddenberry's original series offered in story and sociopolitical commentary, this J.J. Abrams-directed movie turns into CGI, lens flares, and space terrorism; hardly the future that Roddenberry envisioned when he first conceived Star Trek.

8. The Lone Ranger

Johnny Depp, a fantastic actor, has lately made the mistake of getting involved with Tim Burton and Disney over and over again for over-the-top fantasy movies. While these collaborations have produced many fun films, the formula has gotten old, and one might wonder how much creativity might be gleaned from any further alliances of the sort. This time, Depp stars in another Disney film, a remake of the original 1950s Lone Ranger television series. This one doesn't add much to the original show's legacy, nor does it succeed in resurrecting the long-dead-and-buried Western film genre.

7. Machete Kills

This was the sequel to 2010's Machete - an enjoyable pro-immigration film starring Danny Trejo that audiences could really get on board with. It made some daring statements about the exploitation of undocumented workers and the twisted U.S. immigration system. Machete Kills initially seems promising, but its prior commentary is lost this time around, replaced with cringe-worthy attempts at one-upping the original in the shock and comic violence departments. Casting Charlie Sheen as the President of the United States doesn't help it much, and at this point, it's safe to say that Machete has jumped the shark. Oh well. At least we can look forward to the promised threequel, Machete Kills Again.

6. Carrie

I really wanted to like this film, even though it was a remake of a 1976 horror film that wasn't my cup of tea - itself an adaptation of a 1974 novel by Stephen King - which, by the way, also wasn't my cup of tea. Things got interesting when they cast the talented Chloe Moretz in the role of Carrie, with Julianne Moore as her religious fanatic mother. But it ends up feeling emotionally empty - the climax doesn't feel earned, and it feels as though the actors are just going through the motions. It also begs the question - why remake this film - again - in the first place?

5. A Good Day to Die Hard

The fourth film in the Die Hard series, 2007's Live Free or Die Hard, was an excellent adrenaline rush of a film that offered surprising commentary on cyber-terrorism, added some great supporting actors into the mix, and had some phenomenally funny moments. So you could imagine my excitement when the fifth installment debuted this year. I quickly learned, however, that no day is a good day to see this film. A Good Day to Die Hard bullishly plods along with its stripped-down story, anemic dialogue, and increasingly over-the-top action sequences. Worst of all, it lacks the political subtext and characterizations that made the original film so great.

4. Texas Chainsaw 3D

A quasi-sequel to the original 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the story focuses on a young woman traveling to Texas with her friends to collect an inheritance from her grandmother. She soon learns, to her horror, that the inheritance includes her chainsaw-wielding cousin, Leatherface. This is easily one of the most pointless, redundant sequels/remakes/whatevers of 2013. It brings nothing new to the table, and we've seen it all before. Even worse, it fails to build on the 2003 remake and its sequel, which were actually great, twisted movies with good acting.

3. G.I. Joe: Retaliation

This yawn-inspiring, possibly brain cell-reducing sequel to 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra feels like retaliation against the audience for paying to see the first one. An utter waste of 118 precious minutes of life you'll never get back. Why good actors like Bruce Willis and Ray Park bothered with this film is beyond me. It should go without saying that this one is best avoided - it is, after all, based on a toy franchise. If you absolutely must, however, look for it in the 99 cents bin at your local big-box retailer.

2. The Hangover Part III

More tragedy than comedy, this threequel continues the misadventures of its knucklehead main characters. One wishes what happened in Vegas really would stay in Vegas, but this one picks up some plot elements from the original film, making it feel not only like a bad movie, but a derivative one to boot. The final film - and mercifully so - in a series that was already past its expiration date.

1. Red 2

Further proving that 2013 was just a bad year for Bruce Willis, this movie, which also stars John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, and Anthony Hopkins, is a sequel to an already-awful movie, 2010's Red. The original film took the potentially great concept of old, washed up CIA agents past their prime being forced to "get back in the game" - and proceeded to ruin it entirely. The sequel beats the dead horse further, and throws in some more cookie-cutter action sequences. It's a shame, because the lead cast could have been wildly entertaining with the right direction and writing. Instead, it was easily the worst sequel this year.

Photo: The Lone Ranger official Disney website.

Black superheroes forever changed comic books

Tue, 17 Dec 2013 13:03:00 +0000

With the recent success of comic book characters on the big-screen - Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, just to name a few - is it any wonder there is an increased interest in comic books?

Unfortunately, missing from the comic book box-office bonanza are characters of color and, concomitantly, issues of race.

Yes, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury appears in the movies above - mostly as a post-credits tease to get movie goers excited about the Avengers, which eventually became a billion-dollar big-screen hit. However, even in the Avengers, Nick Fury has limited screen-time compared to his lighter skinned counter-parts, who do most of the fantastical heavy-lifting of world saving.

Adilifu Nama's Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes does a great job of introducing many of today's comic book fans with the history of African Americans in comic books and pop culture generally - something our current comic book-to-movie craze has failed to do.

Nama doesn't just focus on African-American superheroes, he focuses on race relations in comic books generally and between comic book characters specifically. Additionally, his analysis of race as a plot device used to address larger political issues - like drugs, crime and the prison industrial complex - within a contextual framework makes clear the point that comic books aren't just for kids.

For example, Nama credits Dennis O'Neil's and Neal Adams' Green Lantern co-starring Green Arrow as a comic book series that "dramatically recast superheroes, and shaped the superhero comic book as a space where acute social issues were engaged," including racism.

In the Green Lantern co-starring Green Arrow inaugural issue (#76, 1979) titled "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight," the superheroes confront American racism. Across several panels an elderly black man is depicted questioning Green Lantern's commitment to racial justice: The elderly man says, "I been readin' about you...How you work for the Blue Skins...and how on a planet someplace you helped out the Orange Skins...and you done considerable for the Purple Skins. Only there's skins you never bothered with! The Black skins!" Then the man asks, "I want to know...how come? Answer me that, Mr. Green Lantern!"

According to Nama, "Their conversation forever changed the boundaries of the superhero genre. Superheroes were no longer constrained to fighting imaginary creatures, intergalactic aliens, or Nazis from a distant past. Now they would grapple with some of the most toxic real-world social issues that America had to offer," like racism.

Nama also places the creation of Black superheroes into historical context, and argues that many were by-products of specific political and ideological trends within the larger national and international movement for full equality and civil rights.

For example, Black Panther, who first appeared in Fantastic Four (#52, 1966) and is considered the first Black superhero in mainstream comics, is "a super-intelligent and highly skilled hunter-fighter superhero..." from a technologically advanced imaginary African Nation. In other words, he was "an idealized composite of third-world black revolutionaries and the anti-colonialist movement of the 1950's that they represented..." While Black Panther initially appeared in Fantastic Four he eventually got his own comic book in 1977.

Similarly, Luke Cage, was a Black superhero that symbolized "the cresting prison reform movement of the early 1970s..." As a former gang member sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit, Cage became a "victim of medical experimentation and prison violence at the hands of white authorities" and is considered "a very serious comic book superhero...who periodically takes on questionable assignments..." like chasing down Spiderman or working for Dr. Doom in order to pay the bills.

Unlike his white superhero counterparts - like Batman - Cage "struggles to 'get paid.'" Undoubtedly, though he occupied a two-dimensional world, Cage was as a three-dimensional, complex comic book character. After 16 issues Luke Cage, Hero for Hire changed its title to Power Man, thereby articulating a connection to the 1960's and 70's Black Power movement.

Nama also addresses the preponderance of African Americans, or other people of color, as sidekicks. "Such representations," he writes, "symbolize, promote and normalize their status as second-class citizens in American Society."

While Nama also discusses movies and other forms of pop culture, Black comic books are his main focus.

Super Black is a short, yet illuminating analysis of Black Superheroes and race relations, primarily in the 2-D world. Obviously, at only 180 pages, it couldn't cover all aspect of American culture and Black superheroes. However, as a short book, it does one hell of a good job.

Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes

Adilifu Nama

University of Texas Press, 2011, 180 pages

Available in hard cover, paperback and Kindle editions

“1913 Massacre”: Great movie about Michigan tragedy

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 15:50:00 +0000

1913 Massacre is a touching documentary that revisits the tragic events that took place in the copper mining town of Calumet in the northern tip of Michigan on Christmas Eve 1913. The film starts with a title card explaining the tragedy: "On Christmas Eve 1913, in the town of Calumet, Michigan, striking miners and their families were gathered for a party at the Italian Hall. Someone in the hall hollered "Fire!" The crowd panicked and ran for the door. 73 people were crushed to death. 59 of the dead were children. . . . There was no fire in the Italian Hall.

Rather than the traditional voiceover, this movie is structured around Arlo Guthrie's visit to Calumet as he sings lines from his dad's classic song, "1913 Massacre," acting as troubadour/narrator interspersed throughout the film. It creates a powerful emotional impact. (You might want to listen to Woody's original version while you read the rest of this article.)

"Take a trip with me in 1913, to Calumet, Michigan in copper country," the song opens, and proceeds to tell the terrible story that took place that fateful night.

People came from all over the world to work in Calumet, including from Poland, Croatia, England, and Finland. Calumet and Hecla Mines hired as many as 25,000 miners making as little as 25 cents a day. Working conditions were extreme, many men losing their lives going down a mile into the earth to bring out copper that fed deep profits for the company bosses. Most workers failed to catch the light of day, with a few hours sleep, before another dark day started in the deep tunnels. It was an industry town, and miners were divided on their willingness to form a union. Some had the guts to fight and risk their jobs for better conditions and pay, while others just accepted their lot.

It was a time of strikes, with workers fighting for better pay, shorter workdays, safer working conditions and union recognition. But there were miners fighting miners also. There's a historical debate among the townsfolk about whether the doors of the hall swung inwards or outwards. Those defending the "inward" theory place blame on the building structure, while the "outward" theory places blame on folks who held the doors shut knowing they were causing panic within the hall stairwell. But then the question is "Who yelled 'Fire!' and what did they expect would happen?" Anti-unionism took on a deathly reality that still plagues relationships in this small town.

Over half those who died were children between 6 and 10 years old. One of the most striking scenes in the film shows dozens of tiny white coffins being carried long distances through the snow to the cemetery in a funeral cortege that included thousands of mourners in the dead of a northern winter, because the town didn't have enough carriages. A totally unexpected and senseless tragedy.

The directors interviewed many of the townsfolk in a respectful and heartfelt manner, allowing residents to recall their memories that have lingered on in different versions. Some said, "We couldn't celebrate Christmas for many years, because it wasn't a happy season." The physically sound building was torn down in 1989 to "kill the ghosts" and bad memories, as explained by many in the film.

Seamless editing, engrossing interviews and a stirring well-integrated music soundtrack make the film flow like long lost friends catching up on history. Arlo makes the point early on that it was folk songs where people learned about working class history, such as this tragic event, that may have been forgotten to the world otherwise. This movie could be called a "folk movie" as it tells the story in the same dramatic and powerful manner. It joins the ranks of great progressive movies based on famous songs, that include Strange Fruit, about the song about lynchings written by Abel Meeropol and made famous by Billie Holliday, Alice's Restaurant based on Arlo's famous song, and Bill Moyer's Amazing Grace, a probing study of the history of the classic hymn.

The film ends with the last line of Woody Guthrie's song, and the subtitle of the film, with Arlo singing, "The parents they cried and miners they mourned, 'see what your greed for money has done.'"

Directors Ken Ross and Louis Galdieri can be seen in an interview here and more on the film is available at the official website.

Movie information:

1913 Massacre
Produced and directed by Ken Ross and Louis V. Galdieri

2011, 66 min.

Available on DVD

Photo: "1913 Massacre" official Facebook page

“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” is stunning must-see

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 15:10:00 +0000

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, directed by Justin Chadwick and starring an inspiring Idris Elba in the title role, is visually stunning, unfolding professionally within a familiar bio-pic template. In an era of insanely budgeted big studio monstrosities, Mandela is a must for serious filmgoers, a useful complement to all the commentary surrounding the recent death of Nelson Mandela.

Based on Mandela's autobiography, the film traces his origins in the Xhosa tribe - Rolihlahla, his name in his native language, means "troublemaker" - and spans seven decades, ending with his becoming president of South Africa in 1994.

William Nicholson's screenplay examines both sides of the Great Man vs. the Movement of History debate. The heroic figure of Nelson Mandela in the film is an idealized version of an intensely dedicated but thoroughly human individual. The film does not skimp on details of Mandela's early struggles to contain his urges and emotions. These incidents provide counterpoint to Mandela's later development as a master strategist in imperfect but ultimate control of his feelings and thoughts in the all-out fight against apartheid.

Madiba, the clan name by which Mandela was popularly known in South Africa, is shown as a young lawyer, married to his first wife. But he is nearly overwhelmed by the stress of representing black clients seeking impossible justice in a system utterly stacked in favor of the white minority. His frequenting of bars and "entertaining" female acquaintances put a fatal strain on his marriage, and separate him from his two young children. Cleverly using Afrikaner prejudice to his advantage in court, Mandela has a case dismissed for a client working as a domestic who is accused of stealing from her white housewife employer - a harbinger of the tactics he successfully utilizes later in the anti-apartheid struggle to turn the opposition's fear and hatred on their head to advance the movement. We witness the undisguised contempt with which Mandela is treated, as a black man in an otherwise white courthouse.

Ever more radicalized by life experiences, Mandela is approached several times by activist members of the African National Congress to join the cause, and in 1942 he becomes a member. The ANC's young leadership pushes the organization to adopt boycotts, strikes, and civil disobedience as vehicles for social change. The brotherly bond Mandela shares with these comrades is a focus of the film, revisited often at significant junctures over the decades.

At the scene of the 1957 Johannesburg bus boycott, Mandela's commitment to the struggle is pointedly portrayed: His choice between domestic family life and direct involvement in the events of the day is made (possibly for dramatic effect) at that very moment. Incidentally, that boycott occurred roughly two years after Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., city bus. The struggles against U.S. Jim Crow and South African apartheid reveal numerous instances of mutual inspiration. History in that anti-colonial era was definitely on the move, and Nelson Mandela stood in the front lines in his country.

The infamous 1960 Sharpeville massacre showed the regime responding to democratic demands with violent fury. It also showed to the ANC, which had up to that point embraced nonviolent protest, the necessity to adopt armed struggle in the form of sabotage and guerrilla tactics.

As a consequence of his anti-apartheid activities, Mandela becomes a fugitive from "justice," hiding out in rural safe houses until captured. He and other members of the ANC leadership are sentenced to life imprisonment and are taken to Robben Island en masse to serve their time. The courtroom scene, with ANC supporters' raised fists and freedom songs and chants in the air, is a high point of the film. Mandela's association with the South African Communist Party goes unmentioned here, perhaps a mandated omission for the sake of commercial distribution.

An active storyline involves Mandela's complicated relationship with his second wife, Winnie (the gifted Naomie Harris). Isolated though he was from the outside world during his long imprisonment, Mandela's skills as a leader ever searching for greater unity continue to emerge, even as Winnie is profoundly impacted by life on the ground in the stewing tumult that was South Africa.

The global outpouring of appreciation for Madiba's life can be explained by his unique position at the fulcrum of South African history. Change had to come one way or another, but only this one Great Man could have channeled it toward a resolution in relative peace, with reconciliation and respect for law. His work will long serve as required study for activists for change.

Movie information:
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Directed by Justin Chadwick
Starring Idris Elba, Naomie Harris
2013, UK/South Africa
PG-13, 139 min.

Photo: Mandela film website

American Latino Museum could be “beacon for the planet”

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 13:16:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES - The Smithsonian National American Latino Museum, already 20 years in the planning, will be a reality some day, but no one can say when.

A public town hall meeting on the plan, at the University of Southern California campus here Dec. 6, featured panels of artists, curators, academics, public relations specialists, and Congressman Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., who has championed the project for years in Washington.

Such town halls around the country have stimulated widespread interest and support for the project in cities with significant Latino populations.

But getting 50 million Latinos in the U.S. to agree on the character of the museum, whose experience it should represent, where it should be located, what it will include, and how it will be funded - these are complex issues requiring a great deal more dialogue. Some of these differences boiled over in animated exchanges at USC.

A consensus around the museum is that its presence on the National Mall in Washington is necessary. However, construction has been closed off there in order to preserve the cityscape of the national historic area. So planners are looking to remodel an unused site already on the Mall, the old Arts and Industry Building.

The Smithsonian Institution is known as the "great school," but Latinos have long felt their contributions to be absent from the curriculum. Much of the Latino history that is left out needs deeper research. David Hayes-Bautista, professor of medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA's School of Medicine, pointed out that the most iconic Latino holiday, Cinco de Mayo, was first observed in Los Angeles during the U.S. Civil War as a protest against slavery and for democracy, at a time when Spanish-speaking cavalry units fought on the Union side.

Some might argue that separate museums for different ethnic, religious, and other groups, shouldn't be necessary. Why can't our institutions cover everyone? Yet decades - and centuries - of history show that minorities are never fairly or proportionately represented in art galleries, museums, textbooks, media, nor among the upper ranks of the professional, business, and political worlds.

At the same time, the social sciences have shown that culture is far more than finely painted portraiture by European-trained artists. An original example of the short-handled hoe that Latino and immigrant farm workers were forced to use, bent over our crops in torturous back-breaking labor, may be the most telling document of its time and place.

The argument for a Latino museum is not only that Latino stories need to be told, but that their very telling affects all of the other stories in the various museums on the Mall. But how to tell them? In today's times, are the media of new technologies perhaps more important for today's audiences than the message itself?

Filmmaker Moctesuma Esparza took umbrage at this suggestion. A1960s-era activist for civil rights and equality, Esparza has produced a score of feature and TV films, many on Chicano themes, and won numerous awards.

"The only reason we're beginning to have this conversation is that we've reached the point where we're beginning to have power," he said. "Our historic culture has been disrupted. If it had not been, our artifacts would be here. Ours is a journey of working-class people in the main."

The task of the museum, Esparza continued, is to tell that story so that it is "a beacon to the planet." Its message, he said, is: We are all here. The worth of the individual and the pursuit of happiness is a human right. "Let our bloodletting define the story, what the American dream is all about, which is actually for everyone," Esparza said.

Fundraising estimates for the museum run to half a billion dollars, assuming the federal government matches that for the rest of the cost. At least, says Becerra, the bipartisan Latino Caucus in Congress is unified on the idea.

Two Nican Tlaca representatives, speaking toward the end, said they were defending the indigenous peoples of the Americas. They denounced the Latino Museum as a "white supremacist" concept "that glorifies the racist genocidal Spaniards [and] the holocaust of our people."

One look at the poster created to promote the Latino Museum suggests that the indigenists have an important contribution to offer. Their arguments will certainly have to be taken into account as plans evolve.

Top photo: Poster for the proposed Latino Museum. Eric Gordon/PW

Second photo: Moctesuma Esparza speaks at the USC panel. Eric Gordon/PW

What does Wonder Woman mean for 2015?

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 11:35:00 +0000

Gal Gadot, a relatively unknown Jewish Israeli actress, has been cast in the role of Wonder Woman, set to make her first big screen appearance in the 2015 film Batman vs. Superman (a tentative title), the direct sequel to this year's Man of Steel. Comic and film fans erupted into a mixed chatter following the Dec. 4 announcement. Amidst them were cries of relief and concern. Perhaps more importantly, some took the time to ponder what, exactly, Wonder Woman - or a female superhero in general - means to people in modern times.

Various Wonder Woman projects have been stuck in limbo since the Lynda Carter-starring television series concluded in 1979. Among these was the pilot for a planned 2011 television remake starring Adrianne Palicki. The NBC network ultimately decided not to pick it up for a series. Notably, that pilot drew criticisms for overt sexualization of the character and an almost parody-like tone. The former criticism is significant - hyper-sexualization of female characters has become a common element of big Hollywood action movies. The women in these films, if not pushed entirely to the background, tend to be there to simply "look pretty," with little focus on their feelings or validity as people. It's incredibly demeaning, and it's become par for the course.

The most recent case in point comes in the Joss Whedon-directed 2012 Marvel's The Avengers, in which Scarlett Johansson portrayed the character Black Widow. An otherwise fun film, it didn't take particular care to give the character much useful backstory, motivation, or emotional connection with viewers. Black Widow was more "eye candy" than character, and that's unfortunate. This is something that's endemic to mainstream comics and their adaptations. Wonder Woman has, by and large, suffered the same treatment at the hands of a largely male-dominated group of comic book writers.

Noah Berlatsky, writer for The Atlantic and author of an upcoming book on the original Wonder Woman comics, explained, "She has become a perennial bit player - a super-powered cheerleader for the big two tight-clad boys [Batman and Superman]. In the 2004 comic New Frontier, for example, Wonder Woman is mostly there to advise and comfort Superman and tell him his values are great. Similarly, in the 2001-2002 series The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Wonder Woman's main function is to inspire Superman - though this time by having sex with him. Why is she always the one telling him the world needs him? Why not vice-versa?

"This is particularly frustrating, because initially, the whole point of Wonder Woman was that the world needed her and not Superman," Berlatsky said. "William Marston, who created the character in the 1940s, was a committed feminist, and conceived Wonder Woman as a superior replacement for the Man of Steel." So what happened?

In a 1944 article for The American Scholar, Marston said, "It seems to me that comics' worst offense is their blood-curdling 'masculinity.' A male hero, at best, lacks the qualities of maternal love and tenderness." The solution, for Marston, was to remind both male and female readers of the values of women and femininity. These are values that many modern comics and films omit, at the cost of failing to represent true gender diversity.

The cries of relief, in response to the casting of Gal Gadot, were over the anticipated willingness to finally give an iconic female superhero her own major film, which is expected to follow Gadot's debut in Batman vs. Superman. The cries of concern were over the expected continued sexualization of the character (keep in mind that the upcoming film's director, Zack Snyder, was responsible for Sucker Punch, which some critics found to be highly misogynistic). Concern also abounds over the fact that, at least during her first appearance, Wonder Woman will once more be pushed to the background in favor of Batman and Superman.

Gadot herself has a fairly thin resume. She is known only for her appearance in the Fast and Furious film franchise (which, according to an article by Think Progress, "has a more consistent record on its racial diversity than its gender politics"). Many fans, however, see this as a chance for DC Comics to recreate this character in a more positive, progressive light. The ball is in DC Comics' court. Comic fans can only wait with crossed fingers to see how this will play out, and whether the legacy of Wonder Woman might be rendered respectfully and true to her creator's views in modern times.

Rounding out the cast of Batman vs. Superman will be Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, and Amy Adams. Other actors rumored to be circling roles are Idris Elba and Denzel Washington. The film's release date is set for July 17, 2015.

Photo: DC Comics official site

“Night People”: Humanity, New York style

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 13:43:00 +0000

Night People and Other Tales of Working New York is a new collection of short stories and poems reflecting the struggles of average citizens and workers in New York City and beyond. Author John Pietaro draws from his personal city experiences and presents some very human characters that readers are sure to connect with. With an easily flowing style throughout the 121 pages, he reveals the daily grind of workers, empathizes with souls who are in need, and also confronts the city itself and what it means to live there.

Pietaro is a professional musician, writer, activist and union organizer, and has been on the front lines where his stories take place. These tales put the readers directly onto the streets of New York City. The daily experience of riding the subway to work is a recurring theme. From the mid-winter stillness of Coney Island and its Wonder Wheel, you actually feel as if you boarded the train and are holding onto the pole as you rumble towards Manhattan. The city may come across as cold and harsh, but definitely home. From afar, the writer proclaims, "New York City is not a collection of people and things, but one massive, wriggling organism." Up close though, these people and their struggles are very real. Pietaro explores the love/hate attitudes residents often have with their familiar surroundings, wherever home may be.

The individual stories are intense glimpses into personal lives. In a subtle noir fashion, you feel as if you eavesdropping on their dilemmas before they disappear around a city corner towards an unknown fate. A small slice of daily existence, but a powerful one. Pietaro's straightforward urban style is reminiscent of beat literature, with a clear progressive view. Readers walk along with a struggling writer who won't give up, a night waitress and her co-workers, and an overnight security guard who goes through the motions. "The Right Side of The Road" is about an African American woman who seems to question her faith in a fast-paced, unjust world. "On The Lost Boulevard" is a heartfelt tale of a homeless man attempting to stay warm on a bitter New York City night, as his mind recalls the failings of his past and how he got to this point. The story will cause some readers to pause, realizing that on any given evening this fate is reality for many. One story, "The Old Neighborhood," explores the prejudices that arise when the cultural and ethnic makeup of a residential area undergoes major shifts, sometimes with tragic results.

Pietaro's experience includes time spent as a social worker and an HIV/AIDS case manager. This is reflected in his poetry. "Outside," a short poem, cuts to the heart of anyone who has been personally affected by HIV/AIDS. A few words deliver enormous emotion. The author also captures nuances such as an unemployed man noticing another worker's photo ID tag, and recalling how he once thought his own was a nuisance until he no longer had it. Although the inner city is well represented, a few stories take place in upstate New York. A young jazz musician leaves Brooklyn for Woodstock, and a psychologist gets unexpected results from an act of kindness on Christmas Day. This is an eclectic collection that reflects the author's many experiences.

Night People and Other Tales of Working New York carries on the strong tradition of proletarian literature. The "proletariat" are the everyday workers of the world who must offer their labor as a means of sustenance. They are our neighbors, friends, and family. They are us. Leftist historian Paul Buhle contributes an informative preface that explores the long line of working class fiction. He notes that 19th century literature, at its most popular, was about working people, such as the novels of Charles Dickens. This tradition carried on into the 20th century with writers such as Richard Wright and Nelson Algren. Buhle praises John Pietaro for continuing the stories of working class folks into the new century.

Most everyone who reads this collection will relate to one or more characters and their struggles. Equally important, this book helps open eyes a little wider about our fellow human beings. It may change the way you observe people the next time you walk down a city street. A little book can do wondrous things.

Book information:
Night People and Other Tales of Working New York
By John Pietaro
2013, paperback, 121 pages, $11.67

"Reaching for the Moon": Love dares speak its name

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 11:58:00 +0000

I really liked this movie, mainly because of its unusual characters based on actual historical figures.

Directed by Brazilian Bruno Barreto, Reaching for the Moon is a biopic about Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishop (Aussie actress Miranda Otto, who played Eowyn in the Lord of the Rings series).

Treat Williams portrays another Pulitzer-winning giant of the poetry world, Robert Lowell, although he only has a cameo role. That's because this film focuses on the long-lasting affair between Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares (Brazilian actress Gloria Pires, who appeared in another biopic, 2009's look at Brazil's lefty president, Lula, The Son of Brazil). As breakthroughs in same-sex marriage continue to make headlines, this tale of a lesbian romance that began back in 1951 is especially timely.

The script by Matthew Chapman, Julie Sayres, and Carolino Kotscho, inspired by Carmen Oliveira's novel Rare and Commonplace Flowers, has several hallmarks of good writing: Lots of twists and turns the viewer doesn't see coming. Succeeding sequences serve to explain previous scenes. The film opens in New York's Central Park, but soon Bishop is on the road to Rio de Janeiro, where events conspire to keep her there for decades once she encounters Lota.

No frail lotus blossom, Lota is arguably the biopic's most interesting, original character. Throughout this two-hour feature, this viewer's opinion of her continued to evolve as her character developed. On the one hand, Lota is an out-of-the-closet lesbian in the Catholic, Portuguese-influenced, patriarchal Brazil of the 1950s. On the other, she is a charter member of the ruling class, so despite her sexual preference she is used to getting her way. After all, if wealth is our international language, then money talks, no matter your sexual orientation.

It's interesting that Lota's lesbianism is not made much of in Brazil, nor is her affair with the far more repressed, secretive Bishop. This seems true both when they are at Lota's modernist refuge in the Amazon jungle and when staying at her posh penthouse in Rio. The degree of acceptance of the screen couple's Sapphic relationship from the 1950s through the 1960s is indeed eye-opening, especially considering how they most likely would have been treated in the staid U.S.A.

Mauro Pinheiro Jr. provides lush, sumptuous cinematography of the tropics, Copacabana Beach, Sugarloaf, etc.

It's interesting to note that currently another great American writer-Glenn Greenwald, that fierce champion of civil liberties who brought Edward Snowden's revelations about NSA über-snooping to the world's attention-is an expat who has left America to live in Brazil with his male Brazilian lover. Perhaps Brazil is ahead of the supposedly "advanced" United States?

I can't tell how historically accurate this film is, but according to the movie, Bishop chafes under the rule of the military junta that overthrows the democratically elected Brazilian government in 1964. Coming from the land-owning élite, Lota's position is different, and that difference affects the way political events shape the lovers' lives.

Director Barreto helmed 1997's fact-based Four Days in September, which starred Alan Arkin as a U.S. diplomat kidnapped by the MR-8 "terrorist" group, which supported armed resistance to Brazil's brutal military dictatorship (which, by the way, tortured Brazil's current President, Dilma Rousseff, a former Marxist guerrilla, who is currently fighting against the NSA surveillance of her which Snowden revealed). Barreto also directed the popular 1976 erotic ghost comedy Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. At a screening of Reaching for the Moon in Los Angeles, he put his finger on Moon's message in his pithy introductory remarks, saying: "This is a love story."

Indeed, straight, gay, trans, or whatever, love is what inspires the poet in all of us, and makes the world and moon go round. Reaching for the Moon is an absorbing, insightful psychological drama with political overtones which won an OutFest Audience Award and is one of the year's best movies about the love that now does dare speak its name.

The new book co-authored by L.A.-based reviewer Ed Rampell, "The Hawaii Movie and Television Book," published by Honolulu's Mutual Publishing, has just been released (see: http://hawaiimtvbook.weebly.com/).

Photo: Dropbox

"The Book Thief": A child looks at fascism

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 10:59:00 +0000

I can't get enough of Geoffrey Rush. I can't get enough of Emily Watson. I can't get enough of trying to understand the people living lives under the Nazis.

"The Book Thief" is not a happy movie. It's narrated by Death, though he's a trifle friendlier than usually depicted. It's about a young girl separated from her mother by the insanity of Nazism. She goes to live with an older couple who do their best by her but can barely feed themselves. Soon after her arrival, they take on another guest with even greater problems. All four of them, and a wonderful supporting cast of German villagers, set about the business of trying to survive.

Little Liesel begins the story with the special burden of illiteracy. "Dumkoff," the other children shriek to her. But she's a scrapper and we learn early on that if anybody can survive Hitlerism, Liesel can. Books are especially symbolic to Liesel, to the movie, and to the history of Nazism, because of the book burnings.

This movie is no epic war film and not even a broad condemnation of Nazi atrocities. It's an opportunity to examine a warm microcosm of people in the fascist situation, and its wonderfully explained. The girl's face as she witnesses all the developments we witness from our movie seats, interprets her world for us. Hanging over everything and everybody is Death, which awaits all of them and all of us, and gives our lives special meaning.

The acting is as wonderful as one would expect from the great Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush. Sophie Nélisse plays Liesel as well as either of the two veterans could ask. I can't get enough of Sophie Nélisse.

There's an IATSE union bug in the last frame.

Photo: Film official site

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for "Strange Fruit"

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 12:04:00 +0000

My adoptive father, Abel Meeropol, wrote the words and music to Billie Holiday's signature song, "Strange Fruit." Abel, a high school English teacher with a passion for writing, reacted to a gruesome photograph of a lynching in late 1936, with a poem entitled "Bitter Fruit." In 1937 or 1938 he set the poem to music and changed the title. Billie Holiday did not perform it until 1939. "Strange Fruit" was the composition my father was most proud of, but one that he never lived with easily. In 1940, Abel was called before New York State's Rapp-Coudert Committee, a legislative commission attempting to root out communist teachers, and asked if the Communist Party ordered him to write the song.

Later, Billie Holiday claimed in her ghostwritten autobiography that she set Abel's poem to music. To this day you can find online references to "Strange Fruit" that attribute its words to Abel Meeropol and music to Billie Holiday. Growing up in the Meeropol household I witnessed Abel's frustration at his inability to correct this misperception.

But Abel was even more troubled by the song's eclipse. It was widely recognized in the 1940s, but in the great red scare of the 1950s, it almost disappeared from the public arena. In fact, by the time Abel died in 1986 the song had faded into relative obscurity. This was one of Abel's biggest regrets.

But the strange fruit allusion - lynched bodies hanging from trees - was one of genius. It had gotten under our culture's skin, and as time went on, it seeped out of its pores.

The song's rebirth was slow at first, recorded out of the country or at the edges of acceptability. The Jamaican group UB40 taped it in 1980. Sting performed it on an album celebrating Amnesty International's 25th anniversary in 1986, and the punk group, Siouxsie and the Banshees, followed suit in 1987. Cassandra Wilson introduced "Strange Fruit" to a new generation in her widely acclaimed debut album in 1995. In 2000, Time Magazine named it the "song of the century" and David Margolick's book, "Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday, Café Society and an Early Cry for Civil Rights," sold well. That was followed by Joel Katz's film documentary about the song, in 2002.

David Margolick wrote that although Abel wrote "Strange Fruit," he was best known for adopting my brother and me. I don't know if that was ever the case, but it certainly has not been so for the last decade. Nowadays there are more online references to Abel Meeropol as the author of "Strange Fruit," who "by the way," also adopted the sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, than to any other member of our family.

2013 has seen the Strange Fruit concept, explode. Kanye West's sampling of Nina Simone's version in his "Yeezus" CD made it an internet sensation. Almost every week I hear about new recordings, concert performances, musicals, dances and even art exhibits inspired by the song. The Nov. 20th episode of the TV series "Criminal Minds," which ironically features heroic FBI agents, was entitled "Strange Fruit." It has even been used as a verb. To "strange fruit" someone, is to do what George Zimmerman did to Trayvon Martin.

Close to 80 years after Abel wrote those 97 potent words (that's right, the entire song contains less than 100 words), the pot is in full boil. I am so thankful for Abel's brilliant creation because "Strange Fruit"'s growing power gives me hope. The pen just could be mightier than the sword after all.

Reprinted with permission from Robert Meeropol's blog.