Pariah - A Review

Last Friday, a group of friends came together to go see Pariah, a coming of age story featuring an African American lesbian teenager living in New York. It is a fabulous movie, specific to its characters and geography, but a coming of age story anyone could relate to. It was opening night for the movie and I was shocked and disappointed that the theater was not packed. In Minneapolis we have a huge GLBTQ community and we need to support films like this. But we were there and we loved it. I asked my friend Millicent if she would write a review and guest post it here. She agreed and it's great. But before you read it (below), watch the movie's trailer.








Pariah - A Review
by Millicent

Pariah was one of the best coming of age stories I have ever seen. Alike, the main character, was deeper than most teen characters are in films I’ve seen. She was tomboyish, but not overly so, like her best friend Laura. She liked alternative music, she was quiet and introspective. And she was a writer. Definitely not the stereotypical inner- city black, baby dyke.  Her butch appearance during school was different from what was inside her. I liked the duality in this 17 year old budding lesbian. She knew who she was; she was just trying to find out how to express it.

I can relate to Alike. I, too, am a Black lesbian who grew up in a big city. When I was young it was hard to just be ‘me’. I wasn’t hard enough for the fem girls, and I definitely wasn’t fem enough for the butch dykes. And reading and bike riding and going to foreign films didn’t always sit well with some of the people I knew back in the day. To be a person who thinks for yourself sometimes leaves you alone to find your own way. It takes strength to be an individual, and Alike learns this in the movie.

The movie was different in the way it chose to show where Alike’s conflict came from. Her mother was in denial, of course, but she had support from her father, her sister, and her best friend. The real battle was going on inside her. Could she have the guts to confront her mother? Could she allow herself to seek out others who had the same interests as she did without losing her best friend?  Could she find love and still be Alike? These are the issues she struggled with in the film, and unlike a lot of GLBT films that I see, she actually does something about her problems, and doesn’t die or get treated like dirt at the end. I don’t like tragedy for tragedy’s sake, and this film breaks the mold on typical ‘gay’ films.

It was great to see a rough dyke like Laura portrayed as a deeper character also. She was a good friend to Alike, and had issues with family and work. Her rugged exterior hid a softer side, and I think it was good to show mainstream audiences that these women are complex beings. What you see is not all there is. She reminded me of a lot of my friends from back home. I loved my rugged dyke girlfriends, and that tough exterior was and is often just a mask of who they really are.

Overall Pariah is a must-see for anyone wanting a coming of age story that is truthful and real. I liked it, and I may even buy a copy to add to my collection.

President Obama breaks off some Al Green!

Sing it, Mr. President! So nice to seem him having some fun. This was at the end of a fundraiser at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem. 





His speech was amazing, too.

Sh*t we say to each other

For the last few weeks a slew of videos have been passed around the internet about "shit [insert ] say," or "shit [insert] say to [insert]." Some people hate them, saying they perpetuate stereotypes. Other people love them, saying they are funny truths about what they experience and know. 

I love them. I think humor is healing and humor is a great teaching tool. White people are the butt of a lot of the jokes. I'm guessing many people never knew until watching the videos that their words or behavior is offensive. 

See for yourself:

But wait. I'm not laughing anymore. Kind of overwhelming isn't it, after watching 12 in a row. Imagine living with it. Every. Day. Or maybe you do live with it. Every. Day.

Jan. 19 update: If you want to dig into some intelligent analysis of all this, check out this post on Racialicious: Exploring the Problematic and Subversive Shit People Say [Meme-ology]

A little known quote from Dr. King about Native Americans

A little known quote from Dr. King about Native Americans

Source: Supporting South Dakota Reservations

“Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles of racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A true visionary who saw the interconnectedness among all in the fight for justice.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Holiday: Jan. 16, 2012