9 year old Makes Oscar History.. Foxx, Jackson, Washington Dissed by Academy

9 Year Old Black Actress Quvenzhané Wallis Makes History

Today  9-year-old Black actress Quvenzhané Wallis makes history…She’s the youngest actress in history to be nominated for Best Actress Oscar..

A lot of talk about Django has resulted in many people overlooking the movie  Beast of the Southern Wild.. For those who say they want something that is more heartfelt and intellectually more challenging,  this is the film for you.. For those who say they wanna see a flick that is more reflective of reality, then this is the film for you.. Congratulations are in order to the film’s star Quvenzhané Wallis…

Wallis will be going up against Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook ), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) and Naomi Watts (The Impossible) for the coveted accolade.

Given all the contentious conversations we’ve had in recent weeks about movies like Django and Lincoln, I would hope folks would use some of that energy and bring attention to Wallis and Beats of the Southern Wild.. If not this flick then what flick?

As for Django, those who disliked the movie need to fret not, all of its Black actors were snubbed.. No Oscars for Jamie Foxx, Sam Jackson and Kerry Washington.. Christopher Shultz was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Django was nominated for Best Picture..It’ll go head to head with Beast of the Southern Wild, Lincoln , Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables among others

HKR: Roundtable Discussion on Black Media Images, Django and Beyond

Here’s pt1  of  Hard Knock Radio round table discussion on Black media images, Django and beyond…We covered an array of topics ranging from the historical breakdowns and distortions about in the institution of slavery as found in movies like Lincoln and Django and what that means when such misinformation is presented to the larger society..

We also talked about the types of efforts used when marketing movies and culture in general and why we can never afford to simply say ‘It’s Just a Movie’… We talked about the impact of landmark films like Sankofa, Roots, Superfly, Spook Who sat by the Door, Spartacus,  and the Legend of Nigger Charlie

We also talked about the impact movies are having on students since several of our guests teach courses on, film, media and Black images..

Lastly we focused on the efforts many are undertaking right now to bring forth new images  and challenge nagging stereotypes… Our guests include.. Historian and Professor William Jelani Cobb…. SF State Professor Dawn Elissa-Fischer,  Film maker Idris Hassan, Sean Kennedy of Good News Oakland and Scholar activist Duane Deterville of the Maroon Artists Collective..

You can peep the HKR show ..by clicking the Link Below… We will post up pt 2 tomorrow.. The entire discussion will air on Free Speech TV in a couple of weeks.

Here’s part 2 lf our round table

Django and House Negroes ..Is there a little Uncle Ruckus in All of Us?

This man who was featured in the hit movie Django was so attached to the comforts and privileges afforded him that he was willing to fight harder than his master to maintain the status quo.

Maybe it was comfort in drinking the good liquor or being the HNIC…But he was riding hard against anything and anyone that might undue what he found comfortable..

Many of us laughed or reacted in disgust, with the general sentiment being we would never behave the way good ole Stephan did..We would never stand in the way of freedom.. We would never fight hard like this man to keep a system of oppression alive and well or so we say..

How is our enthusiastic and oftentimes ride or die, vehement support of individuals and institutions that carry out policies resulting in genocide and literal enslavement of people both here and abroad any different than the support demonstrated by this man who rode hard for Candyland?

How far removed from that reality are we really? In 2012 like or not, at the end of the day, especially when we look things from a global perspective, maybe there’s a bit of Stephan aka Uncle Ruckus in us all. We want Stephan to shed his master and Candyland while we stick with Iphones, expensive  basketball shoes, fancy clothes made from sweatshops, imperialistic politicians the list goes on..