The Great Black Void: Gravity in Review

I remember seeing the previews for Gravity (starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) and thinking, ”How can they possibly make a feature film about an astronaut afloat in space, and keep it interesting?”  All of my doubts were put to rest in a beautiful 91 minutes of cinematic brilliance. It’s the kind of movie you have to see in a mildly uncomfortable seat, with 3D glasses tickling the bridge of your nose and the threat of a Suzy Seat Kicker behind you; this is a theatre movie. The breathtaking images of Earth are striking on the big screen, making you feel as if you’re really taking in that panorama from beyond the sky. You need a screen of that size to really appreciate just how vast the setting is--a nearly endless black sky--and the perspective of Earth as just a tiny dot amidst it all. The 3D effects coupled with first person camera angles keep you on the edge of your seat as you gasp for air along with the terrified astronauts.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Everyday we're sold a million different things to make us happy—weight loss plans and body shapers, gold chains and rap albums, university degrees and successful careers, steamy sex lives and perfect lovers, gizmos and gadgets and thingamabobs galore. How many times have you heard

A Word or Two In Defense of Black Women

I don’t know when it happened, but someone declared it open season on black women and shots are being fired with extreme prejudice. I can’t tell you the last day I went without reading or hearing some pathetically unfunny joke about black women, but I can tell you this – I’m sick of it. I am tired of Black women being the butt of jokes that belittle, demean and devalue us. It upsets me most because a lot of those jokes are being made by Black men who, if no one else, should understand the value of Black women. So “brothers,” this is my open letter to you.

 

Before writing this piece, I was tempted to say that I don`t care about Black men who hate Black women, simply because I feel that if you can`t appreciate me for what I am, beyond what stereotypes or appearances suggest, it’s really your loss. But in the case of the degradation of Black women, this is too widespread to ignore and I feel obligated to care.