Selma

I didn't realize that it's been so busy I haven't contributed to this blog in a year - I won't be off again, I promise...

I made time to get out and see "Selma" Friday night. I was disappointed when it didn't come out on Christmas Day in Chicago, and last weekend got away from me, I try to do opening weekends to make sure movies have a chance of being in the top three. The movie was well worth the wait.

"Selma" is about the advent of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This Act was recently watered down and it may be harder to demonstrate voter discrimination as a result.  The movie opens up with an older woman trying to register to vote, something we should ALL be able to do - but the registrar asks her to recite the Preamble of the Constitution.  When she was successful in doing that, he asks her to name the number of head county judges in the state of Alabama.  When she successfully does that, he asks her to name them all - but she isn't able to name them and is send home in disgrace.  The hoops they made you jump through as part of their literacy tests were ridiculous and as a result, there were very few, if any, people of color registered to vote in the south.

The challenge hasn't gone away, even though we have the Voting Rights Act in place - the recent assaults on our right to vote include making people produce a driver's license or an ID, confirming their address with a utility bill in their name,  or asking people to prove they aren't felons who were justifiably removed from the voter roles.  This is what's happening now, so believe me, the fight is not over at all. The tactics may have changed but the playbook from the post-Reconstruction Jim Crow era is still being followed.

So, Martin Luther King Jr. goes to meet the President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, to ask that a new law removing the impediments to voting be put in place.  There seems to be some great controversy
regarding how the President received the request and his supposed opposition to introducing something at that time - so take that into account as you watch the film - but the bottom line is that MLK and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and a young John Lewis and his group, the Student Non- Violent Coordinating Comittee (SNCC) joined forces to bring attention to the need for an end to Poll taxes and Literacy tests to register to vote by marching from Selma to Montgomery.

First, tissue is a requirement for viewing this film.  The first scene was hard to take, especially since I just worked to help people register to vote for the 2012 election, not just in Chicago, but in other states when they threatened not to allow people to register - like I said, it's not over! We have to remain vigilant and cannot afford to ever be complacent.

The thing that will hit you hardest is the terrorism perpetrated on the people of color in the south - the vehement opposition to the thought that anyone would dare oppose their southern traditions - the threats to jobs, the assault on humanity, the sense of entitlement and the fear that things might change.  That's still going on too - look at the recent protests regarding police brutality that have taken place in the country. It's a wonder the United States Attorney General gets any sleep at all.

I don'tknow if "Selma" will win Best Picture, although it certainly is the best movie I have seen so far in the past twelve months.  I certainly think "Glory" should win Best Original Song, it's really great. This will mark the second John Legend song I've ever purchased.

My only criticism of the movie is that it would have been more effective to introduce the name is the characters as the film opened - so that people would know who was who. They introduce the woman trying to vote, but not the group around Martin Luther King Jr., or the little girls who are killed In the church bombing, or any info on SNCC.  if you aren't already familiar with the history and the players, read "Parting The Waters" books I, II, and III - part II  deals with Selma, but they are all worth reading and give great background on the Civil Rights movement and the process.

It also would have been beneficial to release this movie before the mid-term elections, now we are looking at the after effects of a watered down Voting Rights Act, a Republican House and Republican Senate whose agenda is clear to eradicate the Affordable Care Act, make sure illegal immigrants don't receive citizenship, and dash all hopes of marriage equality - like I said, it's not over.

Why "Scandal" Is So Popular

This year people marveled that the 3^rd year season premier of “Scandal” attracted over 12 million viewers and that the show has generated twitter and viewing parties all over the country. The show is about a public relations guru and her on-going affair with the President of the United States. Stories about women who find love and sacrifice it for the greater good are nothing new – but this story seems to have captured the attention of everyone, especially women of color. If you call one while the show is on, you might get hung up on! You might still find a lot of people who have never seen it, but I doubt you can find many people who have never heard of it.

The publicity has been incredible and you've seen Kerry Washington, the actress who plays the lead character Olivia Pope go from being considered a journey woman actress to a star in her own right. The outfits she wears on the show have caused American seamstresses to turn their hands into pincushions in their haste to produce knockoff outfits overnight. The Prada calfskin tote in white and tan are the most sought after items on earth right now – there isn't a SINGLE Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus or Saks that has it in stock in the country. You can find a needle in a haystack before you'll find a white trench coat.

Well, this is only my theory, but I haven't heard anyone dispute me on it. Let me take you back in time.

It was the summer of 2011 when the world was inundated with stories about Muammar Gaddafi's “obsession” with Condelezza Rice. Some reported that he had a room peppered with pictures of her, clippings of her triumphs, a movie about her background and travels that was longer than “The Godfather”, and that he showered her with diamonds and asked her to be his queen. It turned out that much of that was overblown, the room was actually a binder, the diamonds were actually one ring, and the film was a 60 minute video tape. It doesn't matter – I said it at the time and I will repeat it – every woman should know such adulation! He called her his beautiful African princess, he said that he admired her, that he enjoyed watching her tell others what to do, and that he liked the fact that she had so much power and was so intelligent. Count the number of times somebody has told you that! If you still have fingers left, that is the answer to the question about why women are drawn to the television show “Scandal” with such cult-like devotion. The show began a few months after that revelation.

In every episode you see a woman who owns her own successful business that spends each week saving the world from public relations nightmares, all the while meeting the President in the Oval office, or a tech closet, or a secret home in Vermont for their rendez-vous! You wonder how she has the time – her clothes are impeccable, the weave is never out of place, and that handbag never even has a smudge on it. She's a woman of African descent who tells everyone what to do, they all listen to her, and when the show is over, order is restored. You can't find that level of fantasy everywhere.

So, if you're planning on asking a sister out on Thursday night, be prepared for an early evening – she may have a standing reservation at a Chicago viewing party – cause “Scandal” is one show we don't intend to miss!!!

American Hustle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me say out of the gate, this movie is a contender and I recommend it highly – but, let me add a caveat – I like David O. Russell's stories about regular people in unusual circumstances, and this movie is very good. What this movie misses is the rich character development that I have come to expect after years of being spoiled by the fabulously lush and detailed storytelling of other con artist and gangster movies I have seen in the past.

The movie is about a con-man who seems to find himself in a lot of trick bags because of the women he runs with. The movie starts by showing you how he found himself obligated to cooperate in a sting operation because his girlfriend (Amy Adams) fails to heed the cardinal rule of the con – cast the net and let the fish come to you. So, at the outset you can see that his work life is very complicated. We then meet his wife – a beautiful and dangerous idiot who keeps his homelife exciting, if not mind boggling. She brings new meaning to the phrase “ A woman should surprise her husband everyday”. That many surprises would shorten anyone's life,

Here are the lessons you will learn from this movie:

Don't hang around people who aren't that bright – life is too short to try and make sense out of non-sense!

You don't have to tell everything you know! – discretion is always going to be the better part of valor!

Give yourself the same advice you would give your best friend! – don't make decisions with your heart when only cold hard reason will do

Don't be a weak antelope! - the devil never sleeps

Get a job! - there is no such thing as a free lunch

Most importantly – do your homework! Don't take things at face value.

The movie is also about an overly ambitious FBI clerk who decides that he's going to give himself a promotion. The guy lives at home with his mother and has a girl throwing herself at him that he doesn't want anything to do with. He's trying to better himself despite the fact that his boss is trying to keep his feet on solid ground. He has a brilliant, but poorly thought out scheme. It's going to cost a fortune and there aren't enough experienced people to carry it out properly. He allows himself to fall in love with the con man's girlfriend and that's another big mistake.

The con artist's girlfriend is a conundrum. She seems pretty dedicated to this guy – he may be smart, but he reeks of smarminess – he's ugly, he's barely making ends meet, he's married -and worse of all – he's pimping her to keep his idiot wife in diamonds and furs. I wish I would!!!

Perhaps the only person you can feel sorry for is the mark in this little escapade – the mayor of a small town who dreams of revitalizing his community with a giant casino that will turn the streets to gold. He seems to have an honest motive, but like the FBI agent, he isn't sure how to do this, and he doesn't ask for help.

I would like this movie a little more if there had been more background, maybe more voiceovers – something to give me more frame of reference. The characters are fairly well developed, but you are really expecting more. I had too many questions in my mind at the end of the movie to make it #1.

Let me talk a little about the music. A good movie has actors who can tell the story wordlessly, a compelling dialogue, and music that that makes the story multi-dimensional, so I take the music part as seriously as the rest of the story. This movie has some great old songs you will be pleased to hear again - “ A Horse with No Name”, “Does Anyone Really Know What Time it Is?”, “I Saw The Light”, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”, and a Duke Ellington classic “Jeep's Blues”. Sadly, only the last song listed is on the official soundtrack. If this were my world, all soundtracks would have to include all of the songs in the movie. I've been mad about this lack of thoroughness since “Mary Poppins”.

Right now this movie is on my “best picture” list next to “12 Years A Slave” and “Gravity” but this weekend I am going to see “The Wolf of Wall Street” and I must admit “American Hustle” might get bumped down a bit, but it's still compelling – go see it.



 

 

 



12 Years A Slave

 

 

 

 

I set aside the day to see “12 Years A Slave”. The story is based on the autobiography of a man who was a free negro living in Sarasota, New York with his family twenty years before the Civil War broke out. He found himself cajoled to work in DC and was kidnapped and sold into slavery and spent twelve grueling years dealing the harsh reality of the deep south.

First of all – take the ENTIRE box of tissue with you to this movie. The theatre is going to be so quiet, all you're gonna hear is other people crying. There were about fifty of us at this screening and we all sat together. I've read “Gone With the Wind” and “Roots” and seen the movies many times each and let me tell you – those were the Disney versions of slavery. This strips away the fallacies and brings up the bright lights on the inhumanity that slavery came to represent. You will leave the movie a changed person.

While it is true that there is a beating, or a lynching in just about every single solitary scene in this movie, there are a couple of scenes that give you hope. By the way, what version of the Bible were they reading? Is there a Slave Owners abomination of the King James that I've never heard of – don't you have to wonder how people became Christians if that's what they heard day in and day out? The main character does something at one point that leaves the biggest and longest cliff hanger of all time – if you ever said “How is he going to get out of this?” in your life, you're going to say it and mean it down to your socks at one point while watching this movie. It's in the middle of the movie and you realize there is much more to tell, but you can't see how this episode will resolve.

The heart of the movie is really about the freeman sold into slavery, the female slave he meets, and the slave master. It's also about money, property, and production quotas. The female slave on the plantation regularly picks 500 pounds of cotton a day. Maybe we needed a wider wide shot, because it's hard to believe that there is 500 pounds of cotton on the plantation at all, much less enough to pick that much and more by yourself everyday. By comparison everyone else is coming up short. The line for whippings gets longer everyday because she is literally a cotton picking machine. She garners the master's favor in many ways because she can do something the others can't. He even tells his wife not to try and come between the two of them, because it's no contest.

The main character starts off in the deep south at a plantation that seems brutal enough, where he deals with wood. His master, however, seems to be relatively kind. Unfortunately, he winds up crossing a line he can't afford to cross and we all get to see how completely alone you are as a slave. There are no options available for you and maybe only one person on the whole plantation is going to help you. After his brief encounter there, he is sold to a cotton plantation down river, where you don't see anything other than brutality, beatings and lynching in every scene. At one point, he is rented out to a sugar plantation, and while sugar is the worse field to work, he does find some solace there.

The brutality and manipulation and deep seated cruelty is what will make it hard to take. You haven't seen a movie with this much brutality since “The Passion of the Christ”, and if you didn't see that, you may not be ready for this. I suggest a long leisurely dinner with friends afterwards as I had, to unwind and decompress. Don't go back into the streets right after watching this – take some time to relax and remind yourself that its a movie.

After many fits and starts, the slave is finally returned to his life. He finds that his children are grown and his wife has been patiently waiting for him all of this time. He lived out the rest of his life helping the abolitionist movement. In fact, that's why the book was written. It was an unimpeachable account of his life in the deep south. After watching that movie, looking at what has been accomplished and what remains left to be done, I think I would have left the country for Canada, but I applaud his decision to remain.

I also watched the TV One Special about the movie and the debate on how old you need ot be to see it. I think it depends on how old you were when you learned about slavery and what you learned about it. I really started learning about it in fourth grade. There were so many specials about that and the civil rights movement and the 10^th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination and the 4^th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination and the RF Kennedy assassination that we covered a lot of material. I recall that even then some people downplayed the role of slavery in building this country and its importance in an economic sense. We went to the State capital in 4^th grade and saw Abraham Lincoln's papers and recreations of the Gettysburg Address and the 2nd Inauguration speech. I think people in my class could have handled it. I'm not sure what children are being taught now about slavery and I don't see those same specials and books.

It's clear that no amount of money or time, or education can every really make up for all that our families have lost. I think that free therapy for the children of the slaves and even the children of the slave owners would be a good start. I also think that it is imperative that ALL organizations that benefited from the slave trade be rooted out and exposed. I realize that most of those organizations went out of business, but I will bet they morphed into something, because slavery was big money, and it had to go in someone's pockets. It's time we all learned the truth because the issue isn't going anywhere.



Why the Affordable Care Act is Important

When I was in college I worked for a company that offered insurance to all employees who worked 35 hours a week or more. This did not include me because I was only working 20 hours a week and I was on my parents insurance at the time. A few months later, the company decided to give the employees a stipend to buy their own single coverage health insurance and let the employees purchase dependent insurance on their own. They decided to only provide a stipend for the employee coverage because if they paid a larger stipend for employees who had dependents, this would #1 – cost more money, and #2- cause the single employees to revolt, and #3 – were concerned that it may be considered discriminatory In my opinion, it was a huge mistake – the majority of the employees didn't purchase insurance coverage at all – not even for themselves! They smoked the money up on stupid stuff. They took a chance that they could buy health insurance next month, or the month after that, or “when I really need it”. Well, this was back in the day before HMO plans, which allow pre-existing condition coverage. Most health plans were just major medical add/or medical visits and prescriptions. So, the day comes when they really need health insurance and either they have nothing in place at all or learn that their condition won't be covered at all by the plan, or they learn that the coverage they bought on their own has so much fine print and exclusions, it barely covers anything other than a hospital stay.

MEMO TO SELF – People have a hard time understanding the benefit of intangibles like health insurance unless they are in need of the coverage right then, and usually that is too late. Don't leave it up to people to buy their own insurance, it's not going to go well.

Now, you may say that those employees are grown and should be able to sink or swim on their own if that's what they decide to do. I would agree with you under normal circumstances, but unfortunately people don't act out of their best interest in some cases. Despite the copious training, the Q&A sessions, and insurance fairs that were held, only 20% of the people used that money to get coverage for themselves and/or their family members. People started leaving the company because they needed a job that offered health coverage for their family members. Employees who neglected to get coverage for themselves disengaged and checked out, literally or figuratively. They started to complain about the “skinflints” who ran the business. Why were they such tightwads that they couldn't afford to give health insurance. Employees started to see first hand why insurance was so important when they encountered health issues. If you took a Libertarian view, that's what freedom is all about. In my opinion, life is too precious to take a chance with.

Eventually, the owners sold the business to another company, and the new company resumed offering health insurance in the traditional manner. Order was restored. I see a wave of this happening in the coming months because a lot of companies do not realize how detrimental it will be to eliminate health insurance coverage or drop employee hours below a certain threshold to forestall compliance with the Affordable Care Act. I've been asked about this issue a few times, but I believe that companies that are committed to remaining in business will continue to offer full coverage insurance. While it's tempting to say I'll just pay the fine the government plans to impose ($2,000 per employee per year) if no coverage or substandard coverage are offered, or I'll just let my employees buy their own coverage. Realistically, there is more to it than just handing out some stipend checks and the phone number to the local Affordable Care Act info center or website. If you or a family member became ill without coverage, I'm pretty you'd want to do everything you could. Unfortunately, in a case where you've done nothing, there is nothing to be done.

For those people who found that their health insurance was cancelled as a result of the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, let me illuminate a fact. The point of healthcare reform was to eliminate health care plans that were substandard. If you had a plan that only covered hospitalization, and didn't cover prescriptions, emergency room visits, or therapy – your insurance plan was not going to be saved anyway. The insurance company can't make money selling a product that is no longer allowed. You shouldn't have called that health insurance anymore than SR-22 auto insurance is quality auto coverage – it's barebones coverage that is lambasted in Allstate commercials. Insurance companies have to offer standard plans that include hospitalization, doctor's visits, therapy sessions, prescriptions, and emergency room visits now. Some people saw their insurance costs increase because the standards have been raised. I don't believe those plans should come back, its time to move on to something substantial.

If you live in a progressive state like Illinois, you have the option of selecting a plan from the State of Illinois offerings and you may even be eligible for a subsidy to pay for a portion or all of the coverage. Having seen the coverage offerings, I would suggest that you take the time to choose wisely for yourself and family. You don't have to make a decision today. As long as you enroll by the end of March, you can participate. If you aren't in a progressive state, there are sure to be some protest rallies to get your state legislature to offer insurance plans that partner with the Fed to help subsidize coverage. Please get out your comfortable shoes and attend a rally. Don't miss the chance to get health insurance coverage for yourself or your family during this historic period. As the Vice President, Joe Biden said “It's a big f___ deal!”

The Jungle

I recall my high school freshman English teacher telling me about "The Jungle".  She made the story sound so fascinating that I went to the library and pulled it out that very day. It was, without a doubt, the most incredibly depressing story I had EVER read.  It was a soap opera without escape, and the hardest thing about the story was that the issues were very real and still relevant.  I think that I was the only one to take the bait and get the book in my class, and I wrote a scathing book report about it.  My English teacher laughed at me and said that she expected to see me  standing in the center of a political rally in twenty years.  I didn't wait anywhere nearly that long. 

Going to school in Hyde Park, the one thing we all knew about was the fact that the Swift family lived there and had a mansion in Kenwood that is still the envy of . They were the most well known meat packers in the United States - when you hear the name Armour Swift Eckrich, think about the fact that food comes from Chicago, that's one reason why it's so good!  We used to pass by the Swift mansion when we had a lesson about the wealthy families of Hyde Park.

The Jungle is actually a pretty quick read because there is so much tragedy in it that you are turning the pages to see when something decent is going to happen.  There are some stretches that make you want to toss the book on the ground.  There is, however, something that keeps this book close to my heart at all times - the Food and Drug Administration.  Let me toss a quick "We missed you" out to the food inspection team that was off during the government shut down.

In The Jungle, a man is getting married in Chicago and begins working in various difficult jobs for people who speak little English and have little to no education. One of the jobs was working in the meat packing industry.  The story was written at the beginning of the previous century, and was met with extreme indignation by the establishment.  Upton Sinclair was so widely denounced, he must have felt like Clinton during his time in the White House.  Eventually, Sinclair's tome of a decadent world of capitalistic degradation and oppression caused the passage of laws that would lead to a safer food supply and better working conditions.

I encourage everyone to set aside a weekend and break out the old classic.  Some of you will become vegetarians if you never read this book before, but let me caution you that one of the most dangerous outbreaks of food poisoning recently was related to cantaloupe. Maybe we just need to concentrate on making sure all of the food is fit to eat.  I'd hate to see a world where we couldn't trust anything we put in our mouths - would you?

Don't You Quit!

Reluctantly, I went to see " Gravity" on opening weekend. 

I knew the movie had spectacular special effects and was very well received, but to be honest, I don't like movies where people are abandoned - it's too depressing.  Besides, what's going to happen in a movie where there is only one person against the world - I didn't want to go - but my cousins wanted to see it - so I went with the flow.

I must say that I am glad that I listened to them - "Gravity" is a thoroughly delightful movie, and I actually am recommending that everyone see it.  The movie has an incredible message that everyone, especially in this economy and especially young people - need to hear - it's not over 'til it's over. Don't be surprised if this movie wins "Best Picture"  I liked it that much.

In "Gravity"  Sandra Bullock is an acclaimed scientist trying to carry out an experiment in space. She's one of the best and brightest, everyone else on the crew is there to support her efforts.  The only thing is  - like being on earth, you have to deal with the situation you are in, no matter how smart you are - there's something out there that trumps you.  When I was at the Palmer House, the saying was    "Everyone has a boss.." and that's true.  For us, it was the hotel guest.  For Sandra Bullock, it was space.

In the movie, Sandra Bullock is extoling the virtues of being in the peace and quiet of space, while George Clooney blathers on endlessly about past hook-ups. He was really good in the movie, but his character was everything his public persona makes him out to be - calm, in control, analytic to the point of distraction - someone who took life in space for granted.  He had his own reason for being there, and his leadership is invaluable to the scientist.

Sandra spends her odyssey trying to control her environment, and ultimately, the fight becomes too much of a struggle as she realizes that this peace and quiet that she prized isn't all it's cracked up to be.  She also realizes a bit too late that she was really focused on doing the easy stuff well.  She sees that she doesn't really know what she is doing as she tries to survive - she doesn't even know how to pray.

The great thing about this movie is that it reminds you - or in some cases shows you, that you don't need to do anything special to pray - there aren't really any secret formulas you have to utilize - a  quick "Help a sister out" has always been effective for me.  When you think of something that had never occurred to you before - something that makes you say - "oh - is that going to work, I hadn't thought of that before" - that is generally your answer.  But whatever you do - don't ever quit! Don't keep doing the same stupid thing over and over again - it didn't work the first hundred times, and doing the same thing and expecting a different result is usually a sign of insanity.  Your answer may be just around the corner if you just center yourself and ask for what you want...


When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit-

Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a fellow turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow -

You may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a faint and faltering man;

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor's cup;

And he learned too late when the night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out -

The silver tint in the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It might be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Courtesy of "Don't You Quit", an inspirational poem