Prometheus 6

This is Keto at his new blog, Caged Lion.

Review: What are these Black Men Thinking?

A Review of What Black Men Think a film by Janks Morton

2.5 Stars out of 5

Summary: You ever watch a great TV show with frequent, annoying commercials? That's What Black Men Think in a nutshell; lots of good points interspersed with too many black conservative talking points. While this movie vigorously attacks popular myths against black men in the media, it undermines itself by perpetuating more myths and conspiracy theories. So, in effect, the film takes two steps forward, and then moves two steps backward.

The review let me know I was right not to be concerned about the ill effects of Morton's intellectual forebears. They make the same error Louis Farrakhan made in thinking you can't separate the message from the messenger. Because though it may be true, you CAN separate multiple messages from each other.

This is why mainstream America's fear of Farrakhan becoming the annointed Black leader didn't happen. Black folks were perfectly capable of separating the self-empowerment message from and theocratic recruitment spiel. And Black people are perfectly capable of separating the undermining of old mythology...

This trailer shows ordinary black men talking about issues of concern and busting myths. This is where the documentary itself shines, as Morton goes to the man and woman on the street and queries them about the state of black men and the state of Black America. These "man on the street" dialogues were undoubtedly cherry picked to make his points, but they are poignant nonetheless. To see the anguish in some of the folks' faces as they try to answer questions like 'are there more black men in college or prison' touches a part of your soul. You are witnessing people actively struggle against mental slavery and conditioning. Others, we see, have completely given in, but none of these testimonials and points of view are contrived.

Morton goes through a few myths this way, and debunks them all by writing the relevant facts on his "board of education". Morton had me going "bravo!" when, at one point, he summarizes all of the false stereotypes on his whiteboard, and succinctly ties all of them to the overall negative perception that black people, and society in general, has against black men.

Loved it.

...from the creation of a new one

For a considerable portion of the film, the camera points to the same black spokespeople that have spouted many of the stereotypes that have created a need for this documentary. If you don't know the history of some of these hacks and what some of them have said on Fox News and other places, you will probably not be as bothered (or amused) by what they say on WBMT. And though many of them say things on the film that noone could disagree with, it doesn't take long before they inevitably start spouting tired black conservative talking points.

When I first heard that there were to be black conservative and black republicans in the film, I thought Jank's motive was to show that men across the political spectrum, even the ones on the fringe, share positive views and goals for black people. Instead, it turns out that a good portion of the movie is a recruitment pitch from black conservatives/republicans.

That would be OK, if these hacks didn't use the film to spread their own mythology. What do I mean? Here are a few myths that the films actually starts:

...especially when they purveyors of said new mythology are not only well known for their hostility toward less than wealthy Black folks but provide the occasional hypocritical inspiration to dismiss them both personally

(In the film, many of the black hacks try to establish street cred by glorifying and praising Malcolm X. It was particularly amusing to see Shelby Steele choke out praise upon Malcolm X, whom he once called a "victim-sage". It must have really rubbed his programming raw to do that; and it begs the question, "to what end?")

...and professionally.

And considering this point, that black spokespeople are profiting by perpetuating negative myths about blacks, how--just how--am I supposed to take this point seriously when the likes of Armstrong Williams, John McWhorter, Shelby Steele and Michael Steele are at the lectern throughout the film? Haven't these people made a living doing just that? In Armstrong William's case we not only know that he is a sellout, but we know his selling price: 241,000 shekels of silver from Bush's Administration.

This is typical. A straightforward presentation of their position isn't possible because they have no position at all. They only seek benefit for themselves, and they are playing the Black communities' interests to get it. See this conversation if you think I'm joking.

Anyway, if you think I lifted a lot, I didn't. It is well worth the trip to Caged Lion to check the review.