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Anonymous

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Everything posted by Anonymous

  1. The guy who started the post wanted to know how black folks feel about a "well-meaning white guy" writing a book w/mainly black characters - something to that end. Well, if you ask a question, you'll get a bunch of different viewpoints. And for whatever reason, he felt the need to ask how ppl felt about this. Honestly, if it were me, I would have just written the dang book and called it a day. Clearly he's already written it. It's on sale now. So why ask now what black ppl think? Just see what happens. If the book is amazing, then nobody is really going to even ask whether the writer is white or not. I remember reading the first book in the Alex Cross series & I never even thought to question James Patterson's race. Shoot, I still don't know "what" he is; don't even care. I liked his book and the main character and that was the end of it. Conversely, "The Help" came out and I picked up the book and tried to read it and couldn't make it past the first two pages. And then when it became a movie and I found out that the writer was white, well let's just say I wasn't surprised to see some of the backlash. You can read my earlier post (in this thread) stating my opinion on why that happens.
  2. I must say I don't blame you one bit! These above-referenced entities/people are not charity cases. It is only reasonable that they should pay for advertising. Shoot, if I can scrape together my little nickles and dimes to pay for an ad (which I plan to do soon btw... ) then surely they can have their accountant send you a check. "I'm just sayin'."
  3. I would rather see no black faces at all than to see them nominate some bs. But my opinion doesn't matter. I don't make enough money to be relevant in that arena. Now if I was Oprah? Hmmmm, maybe I could stand stronger on my soap box. Such is the world we live in. p.s. Yes, 2011 was a shitty year for black film...hell, I can't really recall the last "good" year now that I think about it...and that's regardless of who wrote the script. We've got to do better...
  4. This is just as I suspected. She is able to portray the white characters accurately because that's who she identifies with - she wants to make sure she gets it right...Indeed it's easy to get it right because unless she has isolated herself from white family and friends, she's going to know "their" story. And I'm glad you brought up the Oscar nod. This doesn't surprise me either. Hollywood will reward black actors and actresses for staying in their places; for accepting roles that re-enforce stereotypes. For black women, they love to see us in the mammy role, or in a position with our legs up (Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball"). For black men, they love to see hoodlums and disgraces to our race (Denzel Washington in "Training Day"). Good job! Good job! This is what we've been wanting out of you. Now here's your prize. smh.
  5. I just finished reading "Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery...Arkansas Narratives, Part 7" and I was completely drawn in by this book. I didn't read it all in one sitting. Rather, I read it over the course of about four-six weeks. I read it in between other books and other projects. Sometimes I would read two passages and then have to put it down for a couple of days. Other times I would read on and on for hours. I noticed that I read slowly. I found myself stopping and imagining... The more I read the more I began to piece together a picture of what slavery and reconstruction times were like for those who were in the thick of it. Sometimes I laughed and other times I cried. Still other times I just got downright disgusted and angry and didn't even want to read further. Needless to say, this book sent me on an emotional roller coaster ride - and I'm not even sure if I'm off. I still feel a little rocky. I think everyone should read at least one of these narrative volumes. There are several out there. I kind of stumbled upon Part 7 of the Arkansas Narratives, but it worked out well and it peaked my curiosity because all of my family is from Arkansas, and that's where I was born. I found myself scouring the pages for a "master" bearing my maiden name. Aint that some mess? Like what good is it going to do me to know about the owner of my ancesters? As I neared the end of the book it hit home that I will likely never know my people's real last name...If I wanted to research this thing, all I could hope to find is the owner's name. And that kicked off a whole slew of emotions and questions...."Well what does it matter? Why should I care? What's in a name anyway? Even if I knew my people's real last name, would I feel more complete? Would I?" I don't know. So anyway, I totally got lost in this book. As you can see, I'm rambling. Whew! Mindblowing. Five stars out of Five is my vote.
  6. @ Cynique - I did see Lucas with Melody on a commercial (I want to say they sat down with Oprah), and I wondered the same thing. I will probably take my little boys to see this movie, but I do wish the filmmakers in general would get some of the other stories out there. But like Cynique mentioned, it's hard to tell many of our stories without showing the raggedy side ("ratchedness") of America. smh. As usual, we'll take what we can get. Thank you for giving us a crumb. Mmmmm, love those crumbs! Okay, let me stop. I'm in a mood today. I should just log off, go to sleep, and start over later.
  7. Hello John, At the end of the day, it's not about the color of the writer - rather, it's about whether or not the characters (all of the characters - white, black, whatever) are presented authentically. Are they believable? Are they genuine? If they are, then it's all good. If they are not, and the writer is white, then get ready to hear about it. Here's why: If the black characters are not believable and the writer is black, well then the reader would probably want that writer to review his/her history or broaden those horizons a bit. Slap on the wrist - go to your people and get your facts straight brother/sister. Tsk. Tsk. But if the black characters are not believable and the author happens to be WHITE? Well then it just gets annoying AND to be quite honest, it does feel like a set-up. (Why would someone bother to write a book about a group of people he/she knows nothing about or has no real connection to? Is the writer viewing them as some type of special project? Is it akin to writing about lions and tigers and bears? Oh my! Or does the writer simply see that our stories are AWESOME and decides to cash in?) And if that book sells big time and hits the big screen, and those "non-believable" characters are suddenly seen by the vast majority as true representatives of who black people are (or who we were during a specific time period), then we have a HUGE problem. The problem becomes this: the only people who realize that the story is a bunch of crap are those that KNOW. Who are the ones that "know"? Well, that would be the black people who lived through it (whatever "it" is) or those who were at least very close (through face to face or passing down of stories, for example) to the ones who lived through it. The rest of the world, however, will read the book or watch the movie and think, Oh wow...I learned something today about black folk. Like I said before - ANNOYING. That's how I saw "The Help." Well, actually, I didn't see it. I didn't watch the movie. And I only read the first two pages of the book. I was done after that. But I can tell you that at least two of my friends called me raving about that damn movie..."Oh you must see it! Oh it really shows how things were back in the day...blah blah blah"...Seriously? Knock it off! p.s. I think the same rules apply no matter who is writing the book. Feel free to switch around and substiute other races for "black" and "white" and see if it still doesn't make sense.
  8. Exciting stuff! Those are the types of accounts I hope to read in these narratives. Have you written any fiction books where the setting is from different time periods?
  9. Wow! I found this thread by searching "slave narratives" in the search box in the upper right corner of the discussions page. I recently started reading "Slave Narratives..." by WPA after deciding against another book I was debating on ("One Drop..." by Bliss Broyard). Once I started reading "Slave Narratives..." I was completely drawn in. The only problem is that I am always second guessing everything! So as I read the accounts of some of the ex-slaves who were seemingly enamored with their masters, I didn't want to believe it. I kept asking my husband, "Is this for real? Is this some kind of a joke? Did Uncle Ruckas (The Boondocks) write this?" I began to wonder if the reporters had bent the stories. So I came to this site to see if anyone else had discussed these narratives...and then low & behold, I found Cynique's post. Oh my gawd, what a treat! Seriously! How fortunate are you that your people shared the stories with you, and how lucky are we that you are sharing stories with us? Troy mentioned families not sharing stories all that much. That rings true in mine. And I have now become one of the guilty people who refuse to go to my own family reunion...like, what is the point? In my family nobody talks about anything except for meaningless gossip. It's ridiculous. To hear that your family has a copy of one of the narratives supplied by your own grandfather is nothing short of amazing. Wow! It places a reality to what I am reading and makes me very excited (and sad at the same time because some of this stuff is absolutely heartbreaking) to finish the collection. As I was reading your timeline and some of the things you've seen, certain names jumped out at me --- Emmitt Till, Fred Hampton, Ella, U of I (I went there and didn't even know that we had the first Black Greeks!) --- and I must have said something like "No way!!!" because my husband said, "What? What is it...tell me, you know you want to tell me..." And I said, "Okay...I just need a minute..." LOL---> I had to let everything sink it. I wasn't ready for all this insight! So after I got it together, I read your timeline to him and we were both intrigued...dare I even say "honored" that you took the time to share! Such a good day! Thank you so much, seriously. I love this site!
  10. I just finished reading "The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones" by Moses Miller. It was on the best seller list on amazon. It's about two boys who were both orphaned on the same night due to a tragic event at the hands of a crazed drug addict. Their lives go in two different directions and the main character has to embark on the fight of his life, using his talents in martial arts, to protect those that he loves. The book is fast paced with lots of action. I enjoyed the read, although there were times when I felt the descriptive language was repetitive. I found myself thinking, "If a bullet 'whizzes' past this guy's head one more time..." I also started reading it without realizing that it was the first in a series. I was so mad when the book abruptly ended that I wanted to stab something with a plastic fork. I don't do too well with sequels. I have the attention span of a gnat. Nevertheless, it was a good book filled with fight scenes, romance, and vividly interesting characters. Now that I've gotten my "fix" of drama and chaos, I'm going to try "One Drop..." by Bliss Broyard next. Someone mentioned it on this post and I read the synopsis. I think I'll give it a go. p.s. I'm also waiting for my order of "Go the F*** to Sleep" by Adam Mansbach (which was recommended on another post) so that I can get my comedy fix on.
  11. Actually, soft porn is cool, and so is Zane. I should have clarified. I was referring to some of that way out shit. Then again, I guess everybody has their own definition of "way out"...for me, way out would be rape, brutality, anything that sets the mind up to get off on predatory type of behaviors...Seriously, how long can a person watch that crap before watching isn't good enough...before they have to actually find themselves a victim? Now as far as the preachers and porn side of the discussion...I have to say that I am not surprised to find out that preachers are watching porn, cheating on their wives, and sleeping with young boys. Honestly, I don't even know why we put preachers on pedestals. In my opinion they are no different than police officers, doctors, etc. They are just people doing their job. Some folk do a good job, others, not so much. At the end of the day, regardless of what drew a person to that position, life has a way of kicking a person in his/her ass & what started off as being "important" (like pleasing God & caring for the congregation) usually fades into the background as bills & wants take over. So it's only a matter of time before even a preacher will gravitate toward doing the things that makes HIM/HER happy, as opposed to looking out for the flock, or doing "God's Work." At the end of the day, these folk are only human. We shouldn't be horrified when then "fall." When we put them on pedestals, we give them power that they don't even deserve.
  12. I feel the same way. I wonder about the people who are watching this stuff and using it as an example of what to do with a man or a woman. My mind first goes to the young people checking out this stuff on the internet. If they think *this* is what sex is supposed to be like when they finally start doing it, then I feel sorry for them. This stuff isn't real. It's just there to help somebody get off. And unfortunately, with the internet, it's so readily available that folk are getting hooked left and right. And I'm sure that like with most things, when done in excess, porn is bad for you.
  13. I might be getting a kindle too! But I'm also afraid that I may not use it. Right now I have two books that I'm trying to read on the Kindle Cloud app (on the laptop) and it's just not the same as good old fashioned turning of the pages. Plus, I keep getting a headache...not because the books are bad, but because my eyes don't like reading on the screen like that. So...I dunno how this is going to play out.
  14. THE BULLS ALL DAY LONG! D. ROSE. BEH BEH BAYYYY BEH!!! Don't make me post up my picture from last season w/the team....Okay, so maybe it was just me standing in front of the cardboard picture cut-outs of the team, but whatever! :-P Woot Woot!!!
  15. Yay! So ready for the first NBA game! Basketball is my favorite sport to watch.
  16. I agree. I think that if the sex is bad, then one (if not both) of the parties to the marriage (relationship) has disconnected. His or her mind is somewhere else. And if one person isn't into it, then how can the sex be a good experience for the other? They say "it takes two to tango" for a reason. Before you know it, both people are cheating. At the very minimum, one is cheating, and the other is comtemplating it.
  17. Carl Weber is pretty well-known. I have only read one of his books, "The First Lady," and it was a nice enough book, although for some reason I wasn't thrilled enough to seek out any others by him. That was years ago though, so maybe it is time to give some of his recent works a try.
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