This Sunday Janks Morton will be on C-SPAN's Q and A. Though some of his sponsors give me the creeps I'll still be buying a copy.
In 2005, according to the Census Bureau, there were 864,000 black men in college. According to Justice Department statistics, there were 802,000 in federal and state prisons and jails, "even with the old heads holding on," Morton says.
Between the ages of 18 and 24, however, black men in college outnumber those incarcerated by 4 to 1.
Still, the idea that the reverse is true stems from an image that has been perpetuated, Morton says, by the government, the media and the black leadership, whoever they are.
So you ask him to ask the white men sitting behind him at the restaurant.
"I'm not worried about them," he says. "My point is I'm worried about us and what we think about ourselves."
A Filmmaker's Attempt To Peel Off the Labels
'What Black Men Think' Tackles Stereotypes
By DeNeen L. Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 4, 2007; C01
Quick. Pop quiz. And no cheating. No Googling. No calling the NAACP. [P6: I'm not sure calling them would help anyway]
Are there more black men in college or in jail?
Janks Morton, a new movie director, is willing to bet you got the wrong answer. You who have been fed negative images of black men for so many years.
Although he thinks the very nature of the question is an "abomination," he wonders: Would that same question be asked so often of any other race in America? The very premise of the question, he says, leads to faulty science. But the question is insidious, like the images that have seeped into the public psyche so deep that many black people themselves don't get the answer right.
To prove his point, Morton poses the question while sitting at a table in Busboys and Poets restaurant seven hours before his movie, "What Black Men Think," premieres in the District.
He turns to three black men at a table behind him.
"Quick question: Are there more black men in college or in jail?"
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When do you think the DVD
When do you think the DVD will go on sale?
It's at Amazon.com already.
It's at Amazon.com already.
http://wbmt.wordpress.com/purchase-the-dvd/
Thanks for the thumbs up, P6
Heading on over to amazon right now.
I purchased it last week and
I purchased it last week and got it in a few days. Hopefully we can screen it at a study group. I've been holding back opening it, so that I can get my first impressions with a group.
The trailers were impressive, and though I don't like alot of his interviewees, I do admire his attempt to make it reflective of various viewpoints with seemingly similar goals.
What Black Men Think
Some of Morton's sponsors give me more than the creeps! His slogan: "It's Not Just A Book, It's A Movement" bothers me even more.
He has, literally, linked
He has, literally, linked every book by every sell-out I can think of off the top of my head. If his documentary comes correct, that's okay. Which means I probably should have bought it this morning so I can pass judgement. To be honest, I got the Doctor Strange animated movie because I really need a break. And I still have one and a half books on class and race to finish.
So whoever sees it first and reviews it, let me know. I'll link it if you got a blog or post it here if you don't.
Be afraid
be very afraid....
I don't see anything scary
I don't see anything scary in your advertisers. They've been considered, exposed and dismissed.
Still, as I said, if the documentary comes correct, it doesn't matter. And if it doesn't that will be noted as well.
Strange Message
If Mr. Morton actually posted that message why would he warn us to be afraid? Does he know or believe something about you or us that we don't know about ourselves? Is there some ju-ju that these folks can lay on us through a dvd that will cause us to come around to their point of view? I was interested in buying the film because I thought he had something important to say.
I just became convinced that
I just became convinced that was him, and I am about to unendorse the thing.
Morton's Warning
Morton's warning, in my opinion, had the classic tone of a confirmed kool-aid drinker. If the intent of his film is to expose the distortions and lies that have attained a near franchse-like status about black men then I will support him. If, however, he wants to use the film to persuade me that folks like Jesse Lee Patterson deserve my serious consideration or that their perfervid spiels contain great truths that will cause me to come around then I will take a pass on the movie. This saddens me because I like to support this kind of initiative but there are limits to my tolerance.
ptcruiser, After you listen
ptcruiser,
After you listen to that ‘interview’, the intent of this project becomes crystal clear.
Key portion from WaPo
Key portion from WaPo article:
The film includes interviews with intellectuals and others, including journalist Earl Ofari Hutchinson, activist Jesse Lee Peterson, author Shelby Steele, columnist Darryl James, scholar John McWhorter, actor Joseph C. Phillips, journalist Juan Williams, author Steve Perry, professor Alvin Poussaint, columnist Armstrong Williams, former lieutenant governor of Maryland Michael Steele, professor Kellina Craig-Henderson and commentator Mychal Massie.
Though many of those interviewed have been called conservative, Morton says he tried to talk with people across the political spectrum.
The very fact that this
The very fact that this guy dishonestly markets this movie as an examination of mainstream black thought is proof positive that I have nothing to fear from him, or this movie. These people and their message has been pushed hard by a sympathetic media for 27 years, from the beginning of the Reagan administration, and has yet to gain much traction among actual black people.
The funny thing
I purposely ignored those interviews so as to approach the movie with an open mind. I wouldn't have gone back to listen to them (I choked on the first one, though) if it weren't for that little message up there.
Well,The money is spent, so
Well,
The money is spent, so I will watch with crossed fingers, and give a review on my blog. I will try to pull in some brothers and sisters and get their reaction as well.
The trailer with all those black conservatives bothered me, but his very first trailer came so correct (the one with the black guys holding up signs), that I gave him the benefit of the doubt, assuming that he was just trying to demonstrate that even black conservertives and the rest of us can agree that those egregious stereotypes are false.
Thet he's appearing on
Thet he's appearing on C-SPAN's Q and A is significant. That means he's working an Cato-level connect. Also speaks to his intended audience. I get the feeling the standard abandonment of the broke folks will be the ultimate message.