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Alice (2022)
Today’s episode of MTMW was inspired by the real events of Mae Louise Walls Mills family who were victims of peonage and not freed until 1963. Keke Palmer’s character, Alice, runs away from an existence that is deeply entrenched in 1800s customs and practices, and into a new century where black people are no longer chattel. She questions what freedom really means to her in this new world she’s walked into and how she’s going to obtain it for the family she left back on the plantation. Join the conversation! Share your thoughts in the comments below or in our Facebook group!
Video Review Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikr-GsGRadU

Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/162792258578547/

COMMENTS

circa 3:20 some articles concerning the millers
the article the director saw , dated january 6th , 2006
https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=129007&page=1
a people article
https://people.com/archive/the-last-slaves-of-mississippi-vol-67-no-12/
a reference on the African American Literary Book Club
https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=1830&type=status

3:23 I searched, in certain legal quarters, Peonage is when a free person is being financially enslaved as opposed to slavery when a person is legally enslaved. I concur to you Nike, slavery is slavery. The need to not use the word peonage comes from nonblack plus some blacks in the usa trying to create distinction in the relationship between blacks side nonblacks before and after the war between the states. For example: a black man's father before the war between the states was legally enslaved, or a slave, which was immoral; but after the war you are a peon , as a free person being taken advantage of by your fellow citizens. Now even though your father worked on mr blanc's plantation before the war and you are working on mr blanc's plantation after the war. The legal scenario of the two is important in legal settings even though the functionality of enslavement to another is purely the same. Remember, nonviolence demands power through the rule of law. 

3:59 peonage is not illegal for convicted criminals still. and remember, have all 50 states acted in line to the federal government? thus the Walls Mills family in the 1960s scenario.

7:16 krysten ver linden also wrote it 

7:58 also freedom in fiscal capitalism is about ownership. One must be free in the mind but, financially, owners are the most free in fiscal capitalism. And, all to often black people do not own for all our various employments, whether respected or disrespected

9:47 I love your statement, she goes from dressing like harriet tubman to foxy brown. Is Alice in her revenge story, the antithesis of Solomon Northrup sitting in the carriage near his white savior as patsy yell out his name and faint.

11:11 great question, is it horror? is it time travel? ... I think the definitions, plural,  of horror or time travelling stories are numerous enough to say yes to both questions, depending on the definition chosen. Maybe with adjectives , historical horror or conditional time travel, many others besides you or me can come on board?

ARTICLES

Sisters: We Were Modern-Day Slaves
ByABC News
January 6, 2006, 12:42 PM
• 5 min read

Dec. 20, 2003 -- As Mae Miller tells it, she spent her youth in Mississippi as a slave, "picking cotton, pulling corn, picking peas, picking butter beans, picking string beans, digging potatoes. Whatever it was, that's what you did for no money at all."

Miller and her sister Annie's tale of bondage ended in the '60s — not the 1860s, when slaves officially were freed after the Civil War, but the 1960s.

Their story, which ABCNEWS has not confirmed independently, is not unheard of. Justice Department records tell of prosecutions, well into the 20th century, of whites who continued to keep blacks in "involuntary servitude," coercing them with threats on their lives, exploiting their ignorance of life and the laws beyond the plantation where they were born.

‘Don’t Run Away — They’ll Kill Us’

The sisters say that's how it happened them. They were born in the 1930s and '40s into a world where their father, Cain Wall, now believed to be 105 years old, had already been forced into slave labor.

"It was so bad, I ran away" at age 9, Annie Miller told ABCNEWS' Nightline. "But they told my brother they better come get me. I ran to a place even worse than where I were. But the people told my brothers, they go, 'You better go get her.' They came [and] got me and they brought me back.

"So, I thought Dad could do something about that," she said. "You know, I told him, said, 'I'm gonna run away again.' He said, 'Baby, don't run away. They'll kill us.' So, I didn't try it no more."

The Millers' story came to light recently when Mae Miller walked into a workshop on the issue of slave reparations run by Antoinette Harrell-Miller, a genealogist.

"She said, 'I have to tell you my story. My dad is 104. He's still living. He has some stories that he can tell you when we were still held in slavery,' " Harrell-Miller recalled.At first, Harrell-Miller needed some convincing, but, "When I looked at the living conditions of the family, I understood very clearly how it's possible for people to live like that. Driving down to the deltas of Mississippi, looking at the house that they lived in, it was hard to believe that people would live in houses like that."

Now she not only believes the story, she has become something of a guardian angel in Mae Miller's life. The Miller sisters and their father, hospitalized for the past several months after suffering a heart attack — have joined a class action lawsuit in Chicago seeking reparations for the 35 million African-Americans who are descendants of slaves.

Ron Walters, a political scientist who's an advocate for slavery reparations, also believes the Miller sisters' story.

"I believe it because it is plausible," Walters said. "One of the things I think we know is that these letters [archived early in the 20th century by the NAACP] tell us that in a lot of these places, that they were kept in bondage or semi-bondage conditions in the 20th century — [in] out-of-the way places, certainly where the law authorities didn't pay much attention to what was going on."

‘Reckon It Had to Be Slavery’

Class action suits are always stronger when the plaintiffs include someone whose personal experience dramatically illustrates the wrong that's been done. It does not get more dramatic than the story the Miller sisters told about life as slaves in Mississippi.

"It's the worst I ever heard of, so I don't know what you name it," Annie Miller said. "It was very terrible. So, I reckon it had to be slavery for it to be as bad as it were."

"They beat us," Mae Miller said. "They didn't feed us. We had to go drink water out of the creek. We ate like hogs. We didn't eat like dogs because they do bring a dog to a certain place to feed dogs. We couldn't have that."

Mae Miller said she didn't run away because, "What could you run to?"

Annie Miller was frightened to discuss the experience her family left behind 42 years ago.

"They said, 'You better not tell because we'll kill 'em, kill all of you, you n----rs,'" Annie Miller said. "Why would you want to tell anybody that you was raped over and all that kind of mess? You don't tell. Who would you want to tell? I don't want to tell you. I don't want to tell nobody."

"We thought everybody was in the same predicament," Mae Miller said. "We didn't know everybody wasn't living the same life that we were living. We thought this was just for the black folks.

"I feel like my whole life has been taken," she said. "You know, they did so much to us."

ABCNEWS' John Donvan contributed to this report.

Article link
https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=129007&page=1

The Last Slaves of Mississippi?
By Bob Meadows
Updated March 26, 2007 12:00 PM

With every step into the overgrown thicket, Mae Miller’s breathing becomes more labored. “My heart is beating so fast,” she says. “I can’t believe I’m back here.” It’s not the unsteady footing in this field in Gillsburg, Miss., that’s giving her pause; it’s the memories. Some 50 years ago, Miller says she and her parents, Cain and Lela Wall, and her six siblings were held like slaves on this land and surrounding farms. “We been though pure-D hell,” she says today. “I mean hell right here on earth.”

The story that Miller, 63, and her relatives tell is a sepia-toned nightmare straight out of the Old South. For years, she says, the family was forced to pick cotton, clean house and milk cows—all without being paid—under threat of whippings, rape and even death. They say they were passed from white family to white family, their condition never improving, until finally, hope that life would ever get better was nearly lost. Technically, the Walls were victims of “peonage,” an illegal practice that flourished in the rural South after slavery was abolished in 1865 and lasted, in isolated cases like theirs, until as recently as the 1960s. Under peonage, blacks were forced to work off debts, real or imagined, with free labor under the same types of violent coercion as slavery. In contrast with the more common arrangement known as sharecropping, peons weren’t paid and couldn’t move from the land without permission. “White people had the power to hold blacks down, and they weren’t afraid to use it—and they were brutal,” says Pete Daniel, a historian at the Smithsonian Institution and an expert on peonage.

By the 1940s, according to records in the National Archives, only rare cases of long-term peonage survived, mostly in rural areas and small towns. That places the Wall family—who say they lived in drafty shacks with grass-filled pallets for beds on white-owned farms until 1961—among a tiny minority. The family’s story might not be known at all if it weren’t for the work of a New Jersey lawyer, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann. In 2001 she began a national effort to claim reparations from corporations that long ago profited from slavery. She scoured the country for descendants of slaves and learned about the Wall family from Louisiana genealogist Antoinette Harrell. Farmer-Paellmann still marvels that the end of slavery had made no practical difference in their lives, even after the advent of TV and jet travel. “They didn’t know blacks were free, that’s what’s so incredible about their story,” says Farmer-Paellmann. “They thought freedom was for whites only.”

Mostly out of fear, but also of shame, Mae Miller says she never breathed a word of her family’s history, even to her own children, until 2001. Mae’s father, Cain Wall Sr., she says, was born into peonage in St. Helena Parish, La. Census records place the date around 1902, though the family says he is even older. Now in frail health and bed-bound, he married when he was 17 (his wife died in 1984) and by the mid-1930s, the family says, was living across the Mississippi border in Gillsburg, working the fields for white families who lived near each other or attended the same church—the Walls (a common name in the region), the McDaniels and, mostly, the Gordons.

While blacks in nearby towns like Liberty, Miss., attended school, owned businesses and protested Jim Crow laws that denied them civil rights, life in the countryside was a very different matter. The Walls had no electricity, phone or radio. Trips to town, to visit relatives, even to church, were forbidden. Once during World War II, according to the family, Cain Sr. escaped from the Gordon farm. Within two hours he was picked up by two white men; they said they were taking him to a military recruiting station in Jackson, but immediately returned him to the farm. The Amite County school district, where Gillsburg sits, records the six oldest children being enrolled in the fall of 1951—but none of them recall going at that time. “I went to school for a little while in the seventh grade, but I was a lot older than all the other students,” Mae says. “I couldn’t read or write.”

Meals were whatever they could catch—rabbits, birds, fish—and the white family’s leftovers. Beatings with whips or even chains were common, they say, for slacking off or talking back. “The whip would wrap around your body and knock you down,” says Mae’s sister Annie, 67. Mae remembers her father once being beaten so badly that she and her siblings climbed on his fallen body to protect him.

The most crippling violence began when Mae was about 5. She vividly remembers the morning she and her mother went to the Gordon home to clean it. They were met by two men—faces she recognized. One tugged on Mae’s long hair, she recalls. She tried to hide in her mother’s skirt, but he grabbed her and pushed her to the floor. Both she and her mother were raped that morning. “I remember a white woman there saying, ‘Oh no, not her, she’s just a yearling,'” Mae says. “But they just kept on and on.” Mae says her mother begged the men to spare her daughter, and a white women cleaned her up after the attack. That was the first of numerous times she was raped, she says. “They told me, ‘If you go down there and tell Ol’ Cain, we will kill him before the morning.’ I knew there wasn’t anyone who could help me.”

All these years later, it’s impossible to prove Mae’s recollections. There is no legal documentation of the atrocities she describes. “Back then, we did what we had to do to live,” says Mae. “We thought everyone was in the same fix.” When contacted today, a member of the Gordon family has vastly different recollections of that era. Durwood Gordon, 63, a retired propane truck driver now living in McComb, Miss., recalls the family worked for his uncle Willie, a dairy farmer who died in the ’50s, and cousin William Gordon, who was 84 when he died in 1991. “I just remember [Cain Sr.] was a jolly type, smiling every time I saw him,” says Durwood, who was younger than 12 when the Walls worked there. To him, the rape charge is unbelievable. “No way, knowing my uncle the way I do,” Durwood says. “I knew him to be good people, good folks, Christian.”

The Walls finally found freedom in 1961, while working for another family in Kentwood, La. Mae, about 18, refused one morning to clean the house. After the owner threatened to kill her, she ran away. “I don’t know what got into me,” she says. “I remember thinking they’re just going to have to kill me today, because I’m not doing this anymore.” The furious white farmer kicked her whole family off his land.

Not knowing where else to go, most of the Walls stayed near Kentwood. Mae got her first paying job, working in a restaurant for a white lady. “I kept waiting for her to be mean, but she treated me well,” she says. But her past left scars she couldn’t run from. Around 1963, she married Wallace Miller, a construction worker, and wanted to start a family. But a doctor told her that her reproductive system had been damaged, likely from the rapes. Devastated, Mae eventually adopted four children.

Well into her 30s, Mae went back to school and learned to read and write. She became a glass-cutter in the 1970s, a job she held for 20 years. “I started out at a dollar an hour but it seemed like a million to me,” she says with a smile. After her house burned down in 1995 and an injury prevented her from working, she was homeless until 2003. But Mae began cleaning houses and rebounded: With the help of a real estate agent whose office she cleaned, she bought her current house with no money down.

Mae finally broke the family’s silence in 2001 when she attended what she thought was a public lecture on black history. In fact, the church meeting was about the slavery reparations campaign. Incredibly, it was only then that the family learned their life on the white-owned farms had been illegal. “I couldn’t believe it. How could somebody do that to another person?” wonders Mae, her voice bitter. In 2003 they joined a suit that is slowly moving through U.S. District Court in Illinois. But for Mae, the distant possibility of winning compensation for her family’s struggle is only one reason to share her history. “I’m really just glad this story is out there,” she says. “It might bring some shame to the family, but it’s not a big dark secret anymore. It’s out there, and it’s not hounding me anymore.”

Article link 
https://people.com/archive/the-last-slaves-of-mississippi-vol-67-no-12/
 

Black American Millionaires

My comments in the post

@Delano black people with money have existed in the usa when it was colonies of the british empire. Black people with money are not more profitable than white people with money but have slowly grown , without enslaving or murdering other peoples for their land. 

The question is, is the goal of the black community ins the usa to have communal strength or to be a collection of individuals? 

@Delano for the record, I am not opposing the Black community in the USA , not the world or another country but the USA , being a set of individuals. But the only problem is, a community of individuals can't then ask/demand for collective or communal strength. 

@Delano well, I said ask/demand. The point is not about weakness or strength but strategy. 

I think history shows from frederick Douglass to today, the Black community in the usa is led by leaders who want to be nonviolent or positively integrate to nonblacks. They guided the black community in the usa to be a community of individuals. the problem is, most black people in the usa did and do not want that and moreover, have not handled what that means. 

@ProfD one question, can you describe what a liberated black people in the usa look like? I am not refuting your statement, about what will not influence liberation for black people in the usa, but how do you define said liberation? Note I am not asking about the process or the path, I am asking about how you define the end.

@Delano yes, the old saying, strong people lead themselves... history proves that isn't a lie but isn't the truth either. 

A person can lead themselves and be strong and not help their own community, especially in the usa. I think many black people have been strong in the usa post war between the states, they have led themselves to individual profit. Now does that mean the black community has improved since the war between the states, well...

@ProfD I quote you

  Quote

Independently capable of generating  and sustaining wealth in all realms (mental, physical and spiritual). 

 

Complete autonomy and self-sufficiency in all areas of human activity. 

If that is the destination, I will firmly say that can't happen in the usa for the black community, can it? complete autonomy or self sufficiency, in the usa for the black community demands black people control natural resources and have the militaristic means to defend said resources. Can that actually happen in the usa ? In another country, especially a black one, meaning has mostly black people in it, possibilities exist. but in the usa, this can't happen right? 

I may comprehend you wrong, but I don't see that level of autonomy of self sufficiency for the black community in the usa. where am I miscomprehending you?

@Mel Hopkins the black community in the usa has changed right? it has gone through multiple phases since the end of the war between the states right? the modern black community has more members with a multiphenotypical background, has more members from a recent immigration standpoint, these factors are huge. the black community in the usa in the 1960s didn't have so many recent immigrants from the islands/africa/asia/south america/europe as today. and the black community circa 1865 was the most monolithic culturally/financially/heritagewise than ever after. I think the demography of the black community has changed alot in a relative short time. And I want to add having friends who came as children to the usa from places in africa, clan members who saw how black people immigrating from the caribbean were treated in the black community in the early 1900s , that the black community in the usa was forced to accept alot of new members without its want, to be blunt. Look at the white community in the usa. Even though white jews or catholics have been in the usa from the 13 colonies era, it took a very long time for the white protestants to truly embrace white jews or white catholics. Whereas in the black community, the impotency of the black community meant new black folk from latin america, from africa, from asia, had no communal restriction from Black DOSers anywhere near what white protestants gave white jews or catholics. So I concur about new ways but the black community in the usa hasn't had time to settle as a community since the war between the states and that can be problematic when you are trying to organize. 

@ProfD yes, and you answered perfectly, My reply is not a condemnation of your answer, which you seem to suggest. TO a country like Nigeria or Jamaica I have nothing to say about your definition of the goal. BUT, the USA is not Nigeria or Jamaica. 

I am not dissecting your definition. I am not debating if it can be applied. I am debating one thing, if it can be applied in the usa. . I think it is fair to ask can that destination be achieved in a country like the usa that is not only black people. What about the native american? based on how you define the goal for black people in the usa, if the native american wants the same freedom and whites want the same freedom <which of course they do > then all of these peoples can't have the same goal in one space. I am not talking about process but the ability of the usa as a multiracial society to provide freedoms for all its races. 

I argue, the usa can't allow all races to have freedom as you define freedom for the black community. That isn't an insult to your point merely a continuation of discussion

I apologize, if I poorly move on to my centerpoint of discussion

@Mel Hopkins I again, communicate poorly, my point isn't that strong people lead themselves. I agree partially to @Delano because, one can thrive and their community not thrive. I think the black community in the usa is exhibit A of a community where individuals thrive but the community rottens. from the end of the war between the states to today, it can be argued, black individuals have thrived as presidents/supreme court jusitces, billionaires, millionaires, but the black communities black churches/historical black colleges, negro leagues, institutions are clearly less than in the past, the nation of islam as well..., every single black organization gets weaker over time in the usa not stronger. so... the strong individuals, if you judge strength by financial success or position in government,  are leading themselves, but that is not making a great black community in the usa. 

I communicated very poorly again, I have learned through personal experience , that no heritage ever dies, it becomes small somestimes, sometimes it becomes really large, but it never dies completely. My point is that the black community in the usa since the war between the states has never been able to settle itself and thus through white negative influence <reconstruction/kkk/jim crow/big city governments during white flight> or constant new groups of black people coming in everywhere <from jamaica/haiti/trinidad/nigeria/ghana/south africa/various places in europe/various places in south america/ various places in asia> the black community in the past or now doesn't have enough time to find a center, cause new black groups or new white negative influences are always coming. The DOSers dislike of so many Black modern immigrant groups, or vice versa,  is my proof. 

@Mel Hopkinsisntitutions are the symbols of a communities strength. 

As a computer engineer I have experience with peer to peer networks, peer to peer networks by default are individual collections. They are very loose and while they can create in a quick amount of time utility their great weakness is the lack of a center. Which is the symbol of community. 

Black is a phenotypical race, not an ancestry race, like german american, but you are correct in population numbers. it is racially fair to compare to black americans to white americans but ok. 

Mel I comprehend the strategy you refer to. Maybe you think I don't. You or @Delano I don't think comprehend my point. I think the black community in the usa at the time of the war between the states was being led by black leaders to be what it is now. That was why Frederick Douglass pushed for black integration to whites. You speak of enslaved africans but frederick douglass despised the back to africa movement or even black people leaving the usa. His viewpoint is what you consider modern.  I think if you back track my comments in this group they will confirm I have said this many times. but the end result of that, can not deliver a collective freedom for a majority of black people in the usa. And I must add, black communities in different countries have different situations. the usa is not the place for the kind of communalism that many black people in the usa clearly want or need. I am not knocking your stated strategy but I am opposing the idea that said strategy is an improvement as much as an eventuality based on the history of the black community.

gg

Down in the delta film review from movies that move we 

EVOLVE isn't aiming to be a large agency. Osaka's agent, Stuart Duguid, who also left IMG for Evolve, said the company may only take on one or two other athletes. Duguid explained the business is mostly about "building Naomi’s business from $50 million a year to $150 million a year."

ARTICLE

https://sports.yahoo.com/naomi-osaka-to-launch-her-own-sports-agency-in-latest-barrier-breaking-move-150154335.html

UNCONFIRMED

Of the top 100 athletes only two are women.

First is NAomi Osaka and second is Serena Williams

Top 100 Highest-Paid Athletes in the World 2022 – Sportico.com

NOPE trailer, my thoughts, article

MY THOUGHTS
ok... What did i see... the main characters, kaaluya and keke palmer live in some western usa area, black cowboy heritage ok.. this is a financially base area. From a simple glance this is the intercontinental railroad movie, black horse riders, an asian with a cowboy hat on  so that is the human side... what is unnatural three things: a cloud that is very thick, and is being influenced. Dust clouds exists but they don't come absent a slow growth of dust. So a thick cloud on a sunny day at ground level at speed absent dust around is unnatural. Next is a body lifting from the ground straight into space. This reminds me of a film with julianne moore about a woman who is trying to remember her child and creatures foreign to earth actually control humanity and use it for experiments. In the film's case to see if the love of a child occurs before or after a child exits the womb. In the film whenever anyone became a threat the aliens lifted them into the sky like they are on a string. functionally a specific while potent  gravitional field is being generated. In my mind maybe a neutron array. but the kind of device to house such a system, right now escapes me. Last is the two fingered fist of a creature under a blanket/cloth/cover bumping fist to a human being. ... A sense of surveillance and a robotic system is present. ... so putting all these things I saw together... I think what we have here is humanity is under the control of creatures, whose descendency is unknown, maybe they are ancient pre humanity , like the guyver , or they are truly extraterrestrial. These creatures are looking for another creature, maybe it is related to them , maybe it is not , but it is also not human. And I think it travels by a cloud... in my mind I think of cowboys and aliens a little as well.  A story where the influence of the alien is one and done, no Nope 2 and Nope the return or Nope Nope. 

ARTICLE
'Nope': Jordan Peele explains meaning behind his mysterious new movie's title

LAS VEGAS – Jordan Peele is doling out a few more details about his cryptic new thriller. 

The comedian-turned-filmmaker behind "Get Out" and "Us" returns to multiplexes this summer with "Nope" (in theaters July 22), a sci-fi/horror flick starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun.

After premiering a terrifying teaser during this year's Super Bowl, Peele gave convention-goers at CinemaCon a clearer look at what's in store with the debut of the movie's first full-length trailer Wednesday.

Given that it won't be released to the public for "several more weeks," Peele asked the room full of theater owners and journalists to keep the trailer's secrets to themselves. But it's safe to say the new footage earned raves on social media, with people calling it "super cool," "ominous and creepy," and that Kaluuya and Palmer – playing scheming siblings who train horses – are "absolute stars." 

Introducing the trailer, Peele said he wants to "retain some mystery" around "Nope," whose plot fans have feverishly tried to decipher online.

"Some (theories) get kind of close," while others "are nonsense," Peele said. But he would allow that it's "definitely a ride," describing it as a movie for "the person who thinks they don't like horror movies." 

As for the film's monosyllabic title, Peele explained that it was inspired by the reactions he hopes "Nope" elicits. 

"I love titles that reflect what the audience is thinking and feeling in the theater," he said. "Especially Black audiences: We love horror, but there's a skepticism, like, 'You're not gonna scare me, right?' I'm personally going to thrive on the times I hear 'Nope!' in our theater (when the film is released)." 

Peele, who won the best original screenplay Oscar for "Get Out" in 2018, said he sees it as his "privilege and responsibility to try and make new films and tell original stories.

"Until someone tells me I can't, my plan is to bring these new ideas and new dreams and new nightmares to the big screen." 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/04/27/nope-jordan-peele-trailer-cinemacon/9561322002/

I enjoy Danny Glover in age of dragons
Anyone else a fan of the old syfy channel original movies , age of dragons is my favorite and not merely cause danny glover is having the time of his life, but cause, it isn't trying to sell anything more than the fun of this little story

I Ask this cause when people talk about tyler perry's movie studios and the movie studio the black women is making and them not being utilized I remind people someone has to pay for the movies to be made in these studios and a lot of movie making is small budget films, with little chance of making their money back.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_Dragons

I quote JohnRys Davies about another syfy channel original film
You understand we're not comparing ... Dragon Storm with Lord of the Rings. Stephen directed this in god knows how many days – I think it was only like 21 days. It's a low-budget, rapidly made, and rather delightful little sci-fi squib

LIST of scifi channel original films
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sci_Fi_Pictures_original_films

The following is spike lee's list of films to watch, he provide to his students. 
How many have you seen? What are your favorites? 
I reply below

I saw: Rashomon<one of my favorite kurosawa>, Yojimbo, Ran, Rear Window<jimmy stewart>, Vertigo<the woman who loves jimmy stewart when she dresses as the love interest>, North by Northwest<stuntwork>, Bonnie and Clyde<>, Ace in the hole<one of my favorite newspaper movies, kirk douglass is great:)>, Bridge on the river kwai<a great period piece, a little untrue but...>, lawrence of arabia<what happened to lawrence in that turkish officer's camp>, On the waterfront<I could had been a contender>, La Strada <anthony quinn:)>, godfather I and II, PAtton <george c scott is his character actor best>, MAd MAx I And II<I am surprised for this entry, but the action is lovely, and the fiction is a genre starter, how many apocalyptic movies is merely mad max, the Night rider!!!>, The battle of algiers <this is what river kwai isn't, much rawer>, The Last Detail <very few films deal with the military police like this film, honest end too, very honest>, West Side Story <Anita, stick with your own kind, if only the world heard her>, The Train <Jon VOigt and Eric Roberts, the end is a painting, the film is very visual, you feel the environment>, The Maltese Falcon <The stuff dreams are made of>, The treasure of sierra madre <this is one of my favorite films and in terms of mineral movies, put this next to there will be blood and they both ring very true>, MArathon man <Not a fan , but the performances are strong>, Boyz in the hood <the first film he placed that has a majority black cast, wouldn't be my first choice and I am not a fan of the film but ok, for me, daughters of the dust has to be near first as a mandatory, I think ceddo as well from sembene, but ok again>, Black Orpheus <it is a film in portuguese , and in brasil it is not as well known, though the soundtrack reverberated all over the world, white man wrote it but it is a fantasy film, and that is underrated>Raging bull <not a fan, but loved the performance by the brother who played sugar ray robinson>, apocalypto <still one of the most honest films about indigenous people in the american continent and the coming doom of their world at the hands of immigrants>, casablanca <here's looking at you kid, campy at some level, nice romance>, thief<like rollerball, this movie was ahead of its time, the thief character and the environment is just never before seen and immitated after>, cooley high <the third majority black cast on his list, a comedy, Many black people in the usa love comedy, I am neutral>, I Am cuba <who is betty:) it is in spanish, the shot for the revolutionary procession, taken without breaking from that distance is magic>, one flew over the cuckoo's nest<a 70's classic, the look inside insane asylums is blunt and honest>, district 9 <south african, but white not black... it will make you think a little of alien nation but a twist in that it deals with an extra challenge of immigration but in a way you may not expect>, in the heat of the night <some honesty, the detective story is the best part, at the end, both cops are united as cops which in itself is interesting>, white heat <I saw it but I have forgotten>, to kill a mockingbird <when you see brock peters in this compared to the pawn broker it is revealing to his greatness as a thespian>, chinatown <how many ships can you buy? what is it you want you don't already have?.. the answer is magic>, Black Rain <it is rare japan is viewed from this angle in a hollywood film, reminds you of japanese films, dealing with law enforcement>, singing in the rain <lovely dance numbers, and the female lead was in her first film i think >, PAths of glory <one of my personal favorite military movies, wonder if das boot is in this, paths of glory is still blunt in a way few military films are>, spartacus <I'll tell him who his father was, that voice:) >, Dr STrangelove <its a screwball parady on war movies that is quietly serious, that is the pary that makes it a rare gem, it is trying to be funny, but it is also trying to be serious>,  kung fu hustle <when helen of troy screams:) you will know what I mean if you saw this film>, Close encounters of the third kind <open hand, tilt hand, close hand, open hand, tilt hand>, empire of the sun <not a fan of this film , but a rare appearance of japanese>, Cool hand luke <the chain gang sheriff in this film has become a standard parody character, the penal system in the usa is dirty though and this film does reflect some of it and also the connection many have in it, as they are poor or desperate or destitute>, badlands <Like a baby between silence of the lambs and bonny and clyde, the end is shocking at some level, makes perfect sense in the usa, but also alittle shocking in some ways>, the wizard of oz <funny it came out the same year as gone with the wind and harvey and a host of others.. was adud until t.v showed it to families, judy garland's voice, magic>, an american in paris <the dance routines, lovely>, lust for life <I oppose this film as an artist, I have nothing against van gogh but I oppose this film and it is brilliant, the performances, the honesty about artists loneliness, frictions with other artists, but I oppose this film >... my final assessment is no daughters of the dust. No Ceddo. No Oscar Micheaux. Wow! Spike, no micheaux. "Body and Soul" is a must for black cinema. "City of Joy" can get a shout, love om puri. his choices but I say ahh, I think he gave some directors too much or repeated too much. No horror in there. Where is "eyes without a face" or "diabolique" I think "Mississippi MAssala" deserves a shout. but hmmm 
https://likewise.com/list/Spike-Lees-Watch-List-The-Greatest-Films-Ever-Made-5c4788b29d2f4319981925af

March 31st 2022, the last day of Women's History Month in the year 2022

In a segment on Metrofocus, Gloria Browne Marshall, author of the book "She Took Justice" spoke about many things. Her key point is also the main theme of the book, the role of Black women in the USA as agents of litigious behavior. The word litigious was originally a slur. The idea being one who goes to court with an unhealthy passion. I think Black women in the USA see litigious behavior as mandatory for the non-violent while positively active progression in the Black community in the USA or for each Black individual in the USA. 
I restate, Black women see in the legal code in the USA an empowerment against non-blacks but also against men. It is not that the law in the USA is perfect or a complete work. The law in the USA has in its elements, a lack of allowed collective bias that exists in many legal codes. That lack of a collective bias gives room for the individual to grow. 
The historical proof to my assertion is the role of Black women in non violent movements in the Black community in the USA from the end of the war between the states to the time this prose was written. Black christian churches or groups, the national association for the advancement of colored people, the garvey movement, the historical black colleges movement financially supported by white religious groups, the Negro league, the Black Panthers for self defense. Black women historically make up a majority of said groups administrative members or members in whole. 
I recall a Black woman from texas, her Black clan still own their house from the late 1800s,  stated a story from past generations. In the tale, the matriarch of the family, told two nephews to leave for Chicago. The nephews wanted to enact violence upon the whites who have never stopped harassing this black clan for this house or land. The local white community successfully obtained most of the land or homes from said Black clans black neighbors. But, even though before during or after the nephews were sent north, whites harassed the Black clan, the female leaders of said clan always fight in the courts. They don't accept violent measures. 
Litigious behavior from Black women is not meant to demand fairness or guarantee justice. The litigious behavior is about the self. It is the collective concept from a majority of Black women, an unproven point on my part, that nonviolent response only has one true battleground and that is courts. why? Sometimes one does not have money. Sometimes one does not have the ability to leave. The Black community in the USA is, common in history, financially impotent or culturally locked. Sequentially, absent use of arms which do cost money, what way can one battle for their rights? the courts. 
Black men or women in the USA want betterment for the Black community in the USA or beyond. But Nat Turner to the DC Snipers show many examples of Black male ideas of betterment involve a use of violence that most Black men desire or accept, even if they do not exhibit, while most Black women oppose, in the USA. 
You have to believe in the rule of law. Most Black men clearly do not. Black women do not think the Statian law is structured or utilized efficiently, or fairly, but they hold onto the idea that the USA's system of law at its core has human equality in it. That quality can not save all from a punch or bullet or violence, but said quality offers someone who may be alone, may be fiscally poor, maybe abused a pathway to overcome violence, without being violent. The USA law does not make winds stop fires or produce blades to cut ropes or adjust minds to Black enemies whether they be non black or not. But the USA law has a strength in its elemental philosophy , while slow or requiring long term patience beyond any individuals time to live, that can outmuscle the rule of might or money or violence all through a firmness of belief that any human can have in any condition. 
Black women, a phenotypical gender group, are the heart of the USA's mythos. Black women have guided all other women, to the Native American woman's benefit whose male partner has been mostly killed, or against the White woman whose actions show a desire to replace her male counterpart while not desire any equality across the board. And while white men battling with arms created the USA, its existence as a functional multiracial community is born from Black women's litigious behavior. 
To Black men in the USA, we have always had a hard time accepting the leadership of Black women. The evidence is ever present. From Black churches after the war between the states opposing Black women as pastors. To administrations of many organizations from Black churches to the nation of islam to the national association for the advancement of colored people to historical black colleges to the Black panthers for self defense, having very few publicly touted Black female leaders while Black women made up a majority of their administrations or did a majority of their logistic work. Black men , sadly perhaps a majority, desire the domination the white man has over the white woman. All I Can say is to not change your heart. IF you want violence, make it. Black history whether in the USA or Haiti or Mexico or Brazil or Venezuela or Guyana or Nigeria or Ethiopia or India or Indonesia or Philippines or Australia in the most recent centuries is full of whites from there or somewhere abusing blacks. But, Black women in the USA and through the USA to the global Black community show a determination to prove the Black community can thrive everywhere absent the rebuttal of violence that men in general favor. Do not get in Black women's way. Help them even if the best way is to leave. 

MetroFocus: April 28, 2021
https://www.pbs.org/video/metrofocus-april-28-2021-umxxzv/

Roughly a decade ago, Civil Rights Attorney and John Jay College of Criminal Justice Professor Gloria Browne-Marshall started work on what would become “She Took Justice: The Black Woman, Law, and Power -- 1619 to 1969.” The book reveals the courage Black women have demonstrated in the face of overwhelming racial prejudice and gender oppression. She joins us to discuss these true American heroes.

She Took Justice from Gloria J Browne-Marshall
The Black Woman, Law, and Power – 1619 to 1969
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/she-took-justice

her twitter
https://twitter.com/GBrowneMarshall/

Khabarla HAriya is a newspaper in India, run completely by women. But the women are not parsi which literally means persian or from the time of this writing, Iran. They are Dalits, who are considered one of the lowest caste, along with Siddi's. What do you have to comprehend about Asia. The indigenous people of India/Pakistan/all the parts of former Siam which was a chinese tributary state, current Philippines or Indonesia are all Black. Black defined as a skin of a dark brown. But like North Africa, said countries in asia  have been dominated by whites of Asia or Europe, for centuries. Sequentially, most of the people in power in places like Egypt or India are not indigenous to those countries. In egypt, most fiscally wealthy egyptians are actually eastern european descended, from the mamluks. While most fiscally wealthy Indians are of Iranian descent. 
In India, people in the USA commonly called Black are called Dark or Dallit or Siddi or similar. In asia Black is considered representing Black people of Africa. But not all Black people are African. The eskimo is indigenous but not Black. The Seminoles, a collection of indigenous groups, are indigenous like the Eskimo, but they are Black. 
The video linked below speaks for itself. But the points to take is the idea of litigious behavior, non-violent behavior as vital to the growth of Black women, especially against male aggression, primarily from Black men.  India is a nuclear powered country. A fiscally wealthy country. Its people's are Black. Its leadership is white, ala Egypt or South Africa. So consider this when you think on the persistence of Black women when they speak on Black men's behavior.

their website
https://khabarlahariya.org/?msclkid=65565c22af0411ec85bbc88e5fdec258

their youtube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbvNC1RcIdlM2Kzn-QnjFng

I shared Harriet Washington's book before but I will share it again

Medical Aparthied
The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/medical-apartheid

her twitter
https://twitter.com/haw95

Bill Maher referred to men in general , or his the polls he cited refer to men in general, but I offer a question. 
To black men in any relationship, married or girlfriended, do you lust for your significant other?
I did not say  like or love. I said lust. Offline I asked Black men, who are not strangers, in various places. Do you want to make love to your wife? I should had asked, do you want to fuck, but that style is not common to my offline speech. 
And the question is, do you want to fuck? 
Making love is beautiful, erotic, pleasurable. While lust is clearly carnal, a thing of the body, it has its own purity or power. 
Now you may ask, what does male lust toward women matter in the context of women's empowerment. I say a lot. As women group, individually or collectively, men need to learn to do in majority what we have not been guided by past male generations or in media we own to do. Desire strong women. How many people see porn movie's entitled, gangbang ass blasters 16? From porn to music videos to many films, males are not presented or guided to desire a strong woman. Strength defined as independent from males or others in general. The independent woman is a difficulty, the independent woman is a challenge, the independent woman is mentally deranged. The woman you lust for is a living toy, a mechanical servant, an affordable commodity. 
I have always viewed lust as partly about what you like to touch. From Black women berating black men in the home for their illegal activity while making money to Black women trying to be reporters while their communities starting with their husbands deem them antagonistic to the order of the world, Black men have to embrace the beauty of Black female independence. But that independence is not leading to a world where men are needed for money or opportunity. That independence is leading to a world where men are needed for three things with no attachments made of rings or papers or religion or clothing or money or bank accounts but supported by patience. The three things are love, liking, lust. 

“Hey Chris, I won’t be at the Academy Awards, and I won’t be watching,” she said in the video. “But I can’t think of a better man to do the job at hand this year than you, my friend.”
I shared Jada Pinkett's quote cause I recall a video of Chris Rock's response to Pinkett at the Oscars. No I have not watched any Oscars in my life and yes, this past weekend as well. I recall Rock replied in a video saying "we don't want you here"
My point is, Pinkett didn't focus on anything but the academy awards but Rock's reply was very personal. His words, and I didn't hear his whole joke, suggests the majority at the Oscars at that time were jubilant Pinkett didn't come or dismissive of the Film Academy's inequality or lack of quality. 
He replied violently to a litigious argument. Later Will Smith replied violently to him after aiding in a mock to his wife with laughter. All Jada Pinkett did was show disapproval to Rock's joke, she never got up and made any physical gesture, which as one woman noted, is against the law. 
My point is the dissonance between Black Women's litigious culture and Black Men's violent culture.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/oscars/chris-rock-had-a-history-of-making-jokes-about-jada-pinkett-smith-before-will-smith-s-oscars-slap/ar-AAVAO6I?ocid=uxbndlbing&msclkid=a6abdb91aef211ecaf4f89bfe0a9dc5c

Question, do Blacks need to care about non Black viewpoints?
When one is litigious, one cares about the nature of the court of law. The court of law is a place of opinion. This is why, law enforcers who commit crimes or illegalities can get leaner sentences from the same judge who placed an uncommon or harsher penalty on a first time offender who is Black. 
One of the big contentious points between the Black genders is the consideration of the non Black. The non violent culture Black women brew demands a respect to the consideration of the non black , a potential enemy or stranger. The violent culture Black men desire, though do not brew as a group <at least functionally>, is by default unconcerned to considerations of the non black, regardless to whether enemy or stranger. 
My point, Black people will be completely free when we don't care about the opinions of the non Black. But, on the road to that freedom , which will occur one day as it existed in the past, Black people must be delicate in how we consider the opinion of our actions in or out of our village.   
https://ibw21.org/commentary/smith-and-rock-sent-a-horrible-message-to-the-world-about-us/?feed_id=319&_unique_id=62422642a9af7&fbclid=IwAR2x-Ia9-OneOAsRJmMwlA6_mgRjkKvlxj0GqrKsLxOm1KkdZyBUcxTw9LY

Spin Bowlers

Snake Blossom
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MOVIES THAT MOVE WE with Nike Ma and Nicole Decandas , discuss Alien vs Predaotr

My thoughts with time indexes as I listened

circa 3:47
Its funny, Black people in terms of film have an interesting relationship with the room in the house of fantasy called science fiction.
When I think of Body and Soul, Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, black people are more interested in dream fiction, which is in fantasy, more than science fiction.

circa 4:06
As I ponder Nichelle Nichols I realize in cheap retrospect what many Black people see, what MArtin Luther King jr. saw, and what I don't like. 
Nichelle Nichols in star trek, the original series, is interesting cause she is so lauded by Black people, including me, yet the production is in many ways something between anti-black or not pro black.
To be blunt, Black people in the USA love Nichelle Nichols as Uhura because as a thespian or the character itself, she represents what they want. The Black Individual in the USA doesn't need or exclusively want a star ship designed by black people, populaced by black officers, in Black interstellar law enforcement agency or governmental union. 
The Black people in the USA are content with Black people living happy, or respected aside non Blacks in a ship not designed by blacks, in a ship mostly populated by non blacks, in a non black interstellar organization or law enforcment organization. 
It is not that Black people in the USA do not want the black designed ship, with the black crew , with the black interstellar organization, but they are content to live as individuals without it, hoping or knowing it will happen one day. 
I don't like that, but that is the potency of Nichelle Nichols as Uhura

circa 4:32
The terms science fiction or fantasy have commonly accepted definitions but are in no way bounded to the common definitions. 
I define for this section fantasy as any film that involves the unreal, so aliens/monsters/psycopaths any unreal character, including faux biographcal characters is fantasy. 
Musicals I define as films where exhibitions of songs are inacted by thespians in the film on more than one occasion, thus seven brides for seven brothers <which I never saw, but I recall the title>, Purple Rain, west side story are musicals. The fifth element, footloose, the color purple, ray are not musicals based on my definition.
I will not speak for Nike, but when I say major production in USA cinema, I refer to volume of money spent on the film. Blackwood, Black financed cinema in the usa, is historically in comparison to Hollywood,white financed cinema in the USA, lower budget. But I do not concur with comparing Black cinema to white cinema financially in the usa. The distinction of Black cinema in the usa is it is historically with the leanest finances, thus expensive fantastic productions are not possible. Thus why Dream Fiction is so popular in Black Cinema: Body and Soul, Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, Ceddo , Emitai
In the USA no high budget Hollywood film involving what is commonly called science fiction had a black female lead before sanaa lathan. Dionna Ross was in a high budget film , but the WIZ is commonly considered a musical or fantasy film, not science fiction, in the USA.
Oddly enough, the journey of Dorothy is a dream journey which is historically interesting with the prevalence of dream fiction in Black cinema.

circa 5:38 
Nicole asked a historical question. She asked, I paraphrase her, Black people are usually cast in Hollywood, note I define hollywood as white financed cinema in the USA, in dramatic or comedy roles but to what extent are Black thespians comfortable or the Black audience comfortable with Science fiction? 
I recall Eddie Murphy saying he turned down who framed roger rabbit based on the screenplay he received or pitch he got, and he didn't buy it. The white actor, bob hoskins, who played the role Murphy let go ,oddly enough to my themes, was in a movie in 1986 called Mona Lisa, which is a dream fiction film. 
So Eddie Murphy's admitted career choices show Black thespians have doubts. I add, Denzel Washington turned down Seven, which Morgan Freeman did. Sequentially, "the nutty professor" or "doctor dolittle" from Murphy or "the little things" from Washington. 
In defense to Murphy or Denzel, I read screenplays. And if you ever read the original screenplay of 1986 legend, by Hjortsberg  ,  you will realize how what thespians are originally pitched can be far away from what is finally produced. 
Now, why does that matter? To Nicole's point, Black Thespians based on the two examples I gave maintain the Black labor mentality in the USA. The Black labor mentality is based on the fact that Black people rarely are the owners, thus our employment is never secure and must be merited. Sequentially, as a thespian, mistakes are costly in a career. Sequentially, Black Thespians don't take the risks that early scripts present themselves to be.
As for the Black audience, the Black audience was always ready, but only recently had the money.

circa 6:51
Nike spoke on Black Panther and how a question existed in media. The question was: if people, I will define people as ticket buyers to films, was ready for an all black cast superhero film, I define ready as willing to buy tickets? 
The reality is , consumers are always artistically ready, but not always financially able. I restate, Black people always wanted to see Black people in everything. But Black people didn't have the money, nor did the non black ticket buyers show the willingness to buy a ticket for an all black high budget film in the past. 
But past the year 2020 when Blacks in: Africa,Europe, the Americas, Asia are all financially potent, let alone capable, they have the money to buy the tickets. 
And, non Black ticket buyers past the year 2020 are willing to buy an all Black cast. 

Circa 7:52
Nike states Hollywood, I defined it earlier, does not feel non blacks are willing to pay a ticket to see Black leads today. I concur. But I will say in the fantasy film realm, especially, that some Black creators haven't helped. 
From Poitier in the film "The Longships" <oh the Black Moor:) forgive me> to  Sayles, a white director, "Brother from another planet" starring Jellyroll Morton to Wesley SNipes as Blade, Black thespians have taken fantasy roles seriously.
But from "Cleopatra Jones" to "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" to "Fat Albert" to "MEtero Man" Black creators or thespians have played fantasy roles in a comedic way that hurts the role. 
To be blunt, fantasy can easily become comedy, as it is easy to laugh at the unreal. To many examples of Black thespians making a fantasy role comedic exists. 
And that is why Sanaa LAthan's heroine in Alien vs PRedator is a great role. She is Black, she is a woman, the film is a hollywood high budget, but she isn't comedic. While she still offers the full range of emotions through the character's scenes, from funny, to sexy, to brave, to afraid, to legendary.

circa 8:42 
Nicole makes the point, I restate her, Black money has finally reached a point where it can influence larger fields in the film universe.
The 1970s Hollywood films involving or starring Black thespians, commonly called Blaxploitation, was reflected on greater Black revenue in theaters as well as white ticket buyers willingness to buy said hollywood films with black thespians. How many white women know the Shaft song? 

circa 10:39
They , Nike side Nicole, speak on Sanaa Lathan's preparation, and how they felt she forced some of her lines. Sanaa was inexperienced in the genre. When you look at Sigourney Weaver in Aliens as compared to Alien you see what having one of these in the belt means. But they do make a great comparison between LAthan in "Alien vs PRedator" in comparison to Angela Bassett in "What's love got to do with it". 
My only issue is I would had compared Sanaa LAthan in "Alien Vs PRedator" to Angela BAssett in "Strange Days" . Yes, Ralph Fiennes was the lead thespian but Angela Bassett was totally convincing as the single mom black security driver who has a unrequited love to a man who earned her respect and is going through his own internal chaos while los angeles is going through a potential phenotypical war, and the man in question happens to be white.
I argue it will be nice to see if Angela BAssett was called for Alien vs PRedator and did any casting tests.

circa 12:10 
Nicole side Nike go over Sanaa Lathan in films like "Disappearing Acts" or "Brown Sugar"

circa 12:25
Everyone wish Nicole Decandis a happy BESOONED BIRTHDAY!!! seven days from the time of this post

circa 13:31 
They talked about the Alien or PRedator franchise and whether the story for Alien vs PRedator helped Sanna LAthan. 
I saw all the Predator films or the ALien films 1 to 3 before this film. 
It is a standalone, it refers to either film franchises but doesn't own either. It is standalone and even alludes, in location,  to the legendary story "who goes there" more commonly known in the film world as the "the thing from another world" or "the thing"

circa 15:52
I want to merely repeat what Nike stated about a film I will not type out in name, but say it is the supposed sequel to Alien vs PRedator. 
It didn't need to happen. 
Those who know about an annihilation, that is a clue , know what I am talking about. How can all that is good be killed in a sequel?  It makes wrath of khan look magical.

circa 16:04
I don't rate or star films, enjoy Nike or Nicole's rating.
My review is, if you are looking for a fun action film ride, Alien vs Predator is a fun ride. If you are a hardcore

Alien or PRedator fan that wants the details followed, this movie isn't for you. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EZcgCyq8B0

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Movies That Move We

Why can't these articles ever start with the name of the individual. It is always,a black woman, a black man, her name is Tammy Williams. They mentioned Tyler perry's name but she is a black woman.
Second, the article clearly states she was given fina outright at the moment. doesn't own these studios outright at the moment. I am not certain if tyler perry owns his outright.
Third, I went to Tyler PErry Studios website < https://tylerperrystudios.com/ > and I noticed key variances between his studios website and those of Warner Bros. < https://www.wbstudiotour.com/ >  or Universal Studioes < https://www.universalstudios.com/ > 
Tyler perry studios website is pitching their studio to be a place for films to be made. Warner Bros is pitching their studio like a museum, or tourist attraction. Universal pitches their studio as a complete package: movies/theme parks/services.
Tyler PErry studios is new, but I see an interesting financial reality compared to its elders. Tyler PErry studios isn't old enough or been the venue for enough films to warrant the warner bros approach, and time is a mandatory factor in that. But, universal's approach doesn't require time but investment. Universal studios have movies to show. Theme parks from movie studios require movies from the movie studio to be popular enough. 
Thus Tyler perry studios needs to be a place where films are made. 
Why does all this talk about tyler perry studios matter in conjunction to Tammy Williams studio. Both studios seem technologically capable from the outside. But, both lack a high quantity of films being made. Now some will way , quantity is better than quality but I oppose that view. IF you look at any globally known film industry based in a particular geograph, from Bollywood or other woods of India, Hong Kong Cinema, French Cinema, Hollywood based in the california, they all have one thing in common. At least one period of time with prolific creation, where many movies are not known to the world, but gems of global cinema arrived.
The lesson is, if these Black georgian woods want to grow, they need to have someone willing to spend as much money on the film studios as on films themselves. 
And that leads to my main point. Tammy Williams side Tyler PErry need someone to equal their money in studio infrastructure in making films.  Comprehending, that making films in high quantity is by default a financially losing enterprise, sequentially, if Tammy Williams or Tyler PErry or either of their financial friends can only invest in surety then neither studio will reach their elders potency in triple their lifetime.

ARTICLE
MOVE OVER TYLER PERRY! A BLACK WOMAN WILL OWN A $135 MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PRODUCTION STUDIO IN ATLANTA
by Yolanda Baruch

A Black woman is now a majority owner of a new multi-million dollar Film/Television studio in Atlanta, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports.

Tammy Williams has over 25 years of experience in the Film/Television industry. She has written and produced a plethora of projects such as films, biographies, documentaries, entertainment, and network news, according to her biography on IMDB.

Williams owned her first digital production company called Tammy’Dele Film in 2016 and is now the first Black woman to own a $135 million studio and post-production facility space in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Williams and her business partner Gary Guidry, an investor and CEO of G-Square Events and Black Promoters Collective, founded Cinema South Studios.

“We’ve been patient,” she said. “This has not been an overnight thing, this vision for us,” Williams has worked towards making her dream a reality for 12 years. 

They will begin to break ground in March for Cinema South Studios located north of Fayette County.  

The studio will occupy 60 acres and intends to have eleven soundstages, a back-lot, a prop house, a wardrobe rental facility, and a lighting grip rental house. The production facility will include a transportation company and an office building to house a theater and post-production facilities, reports AJC. 

Williams aims to have two soundstages operable by the first quarter of 2023. 

“The demand for soundstages is happening globally, and the ownership rarely looks like us, let alone an African American woman,” said Guidry said in an official release, reports AJC. “When I choose to invest, I evaluate the need of the business and the ownership. Investing in Tammy Williams and her team of professionals convinced me that buying the land in Fayetteville, GA.”

Cinema South will serve as the umbrella for Williams’ production company, Tammy’Dele Films. It will host the education section of Tammy’DeleFilms Workshops and Cinema South Film Academy, where she will conduct job training seminars. 

Currently, Tyler Perry Studios in Georgia is the largest film production studio in the United States, and established Perry as the first African-American to outright own a major film production studio.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/a-black-woman-will-own-a-multi-million-production-studio-in-atlanta/

SOURCE ARTICLE
https://www.ajc.com/neighborhoods/fayette/new-film-and-tv-studio-coming-to-north-fayette-county/57T3ROTTVJAMFEDJXW535EECPY/

Mel Hopkins < https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/18-mel-hopkins/ >  said on the post < https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/8495-what-do-you-want-out-of-life/ >
  Mel Hopkins said:
To know what purpose the human species serves. It appears every other species are caretakers of this planet - and accomplishes their role in the ecosystem. I'd like to know the human's purpose.  

Click and drag to move

MY REPLY

the purpose of the human species in relation to earth is like all other children of earth, to live on earth. 

The great problem with humans is the idea that earth can be killed by humans, it can't. If all the nuclear bombs went off and tons of pollution was made, the earth will not die. Many children of earth will die, but not the earth. The earth, like any lifeform, will heal itself. IT will take the earth a while but it will eventually. 
 

The history of films converted from books , proves everything in the article linked after the following prose is correct  
1. Millions of scripts or books have been created. As the article suggest most people in film production read screenplays/scripts , not books, for potential projects. Sequentially, screenplays are vetted more harshly. But, moreover, most successful movies are based on media to be read<books/short stories/comic books[reading images]> not viewed in motion<screenplays/scripts>. Gone with the wind/arthur conan doyle works/harry potter/hammet's detectives/stephen king works/edgar allen poe works/all religious characters/ the twilight series/the marvel or dc universes/chitty chitty bang bang <I just wanted to type that> / or et cetera dominate the list of most potent finacial films. Most of the financially potent movies come from media that does not have a moving image outside the mind of the reader. 
Yes, Star Wars, John Wick, Seven Samurai or its versions, titanic , or et cetera all prove standalone screenplays can make tons of money. But, overall I think the global film industry shows books are toe to toe with screenplays in profitable films, and thus with the larger perentage of potentials as screenplays, it is an advantage to books in rate. 
But, so many books exists, being the book chosen has its own set of rules that make it more of a challenge to be chosen , even if once chosen you have a better chance of selection.
2. Premise does matter, I said it a trillion times. A film is not as long as a written work. Even a short story at times can be in the mind quite long. SEquentially, while Ulysses, about the domestic life in Dublin, can work as a book, as a film, its premise is a challenge and converting the linguitiscal freedom of book world into film is always a challenge once film became governed with codes. Thus, few adaptions of this historically well regarded book have been made while others were chosen.
I can add Aucassin and Nicolette, of the troubadour era in mediterranean europe. It was transcribed to text as it was originally sung. It moves faster than the average film at times, but the erratic premise of it at times, think a romance between royals turns into something wilder than a screwball comedy while raunchier than hardcore bondage porn then back nto a royal romance, make it very difficult to turn into a film . And make something like Beowulf, an epic poem not as fast or raunchy or romantic but more simple while straightforward chosen over it. Beowulf is one of many "rise and fall of a king" tales. 
3. Book sales don't matter- yes, "the ninth gate" comes from a book called "el club dumas" which is originally in spanish from reverte. Shrek or Pitch perfect were once books. So, a book doesn't need to be a financialy juggernaut or a financial juggernaut in the anglophone book world like Harry potter to be selected for modulation into film. 
4. Characters are critical- when you look at the two film adaptions of the short story, Farewell to the master, you see this point proven well alongside the power of character over special effects. In the first adaption the attache/servant to the master is skeptical to humanity and ends the story, unassured  but with a slight hope. While the master is unknown in its truest power and offers a threat in frightful ignorance to humanity. While in the second adaption, the attache/servant to the master is a common laborer unconcerned to humanity and ends the story a hero who believes in humanity with the smallest of convincing to human merit. While the master performs the most grandiose feats but is thwarted in a way unbefitting the master , unknowingly.  The original short story allowed for the film adaptions to have space to be, but the choice of characterizations is exhibit A. 
5. Author involvement and loyalty to book form- Ende extremely disliked the film adaption of Die unendliche Geschichte <the reason being that book wasn't created as a children's book as the film adaption suggests>. Stepehn King extremely disliked the film adaption of the shining from kubrick <King opposed that Kubrick made the characterizations or settings are other enough to not be considered the same or similar to the book> . And I can see the point from Ende or King. The adults are making the nothing, and the lone child to save all fantasy is being influenced by adults/his father to not believe. The evil , unimaginative evil ,in adults is missing in the film. The fear induced by the grandeur of imagination, ala the details of the ivory tower or the decaying emptiness of the land of the southern oracle's fading voice is absent in the film. The journey of an alcoholic /depressed/not successful author by truly magical or negative forces in this isolated place with a strong wife or gifted child doesn't exist in the film. 
And yet, who can forget the wonder of the dreamlike depictions of the ivory tower or the southern oracle. Yes, it wasn't as frightful. It was depicted more safely , more gentle, as a Grimm fairy tale depicting the older unfiltered christian fables. But children loved it and the former children still do. 
Who can forget the psychological unwrapping of jack nicholson's jack torrance. Who boldly stated he was empowered going into this isolated empty hotel with his squeeky voiced unoffensive tall wife or disquieted introverted child. The fear the audience felt watching ths little family degrade into thier pure selves in a large prison: an angry violent uncaring man, a frightened unfriended woman, a child deep in his own mind, frightened and still frightens viewers.
6. The relationship between producer or author is key-  A bronx tale was started as a one man play, the thespian in it was offered by many producers to turn it into a film. He rejected them cause he wanted to play a specific role in any film adaption. Robet DeNiro accepted his condition and the film became highly successful. The two worked together , with deniro a producer or actor while palminteri was a screenwriter or actor. Both men are italian americans, new yorkers. But DeNiro knew what it took to make a film and that led the project. But he knew to delete what worked from the one man play was dysfunctional and needed palminteri.
In parallel, the movie international velvet. a screenplay sequel to a film, national velvet,  originally based on a one and done book. Was written and directed by one person. But the original author of the book, bagnold, elizabeth taylor who played the lead character, bagnold's daughter who illustrated the original book, the first films: direcotr/producer/screenplay writer were all alive in 1978. The writer + director of international velvet didn't include any of them in the production. My proof is Taylor didn't reprise her role from the original blockbuster film. her third film role and first starring role. 
I end with the relation between producer or prior creators is key. They are not dumb, they may be able to provide insight to the project you may miss. On the other hand, the producer needs to know the now. The fact that international velvet came out during star wars and after american graffiti proves the producer was not in touch with the trends.
7. Socal media in film production- to make greater connections authors can be known online not just intimately in private and that can aid in comprehending their stories plus the audience about their stories. When you look at how disney handled the star wars universe, it is clear, disney never intended the last trilogy to gain new audience members, the last trilogy was meant for the hardcore star wars fans, while the standalone films and streaming shows, like Rogue 1 or the Mandolorian were meant to get new fans and sate the encyclopedic hardcore fans. 

Article
https://www.janefriedman.com/what-kind-of-book-translates-well-to-screen/

All were asked to the following article in the group Movies That Move We < https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqYM90UgloorX_NbqqZRCfw >  

Is there a film you would add to this list? Is there a film that you think shouldn’t be on this list? Name them and tell us why!

ARTICLE BEGIN

Five films that could never come out in 2022
OPINION: These movies aged like cottage cheese left out in the sun.
Dustin Seibert Jan 21, 2022
Being a Gen X-er/elder millennial all but demands that we scrutinize the media from our formative years.

Unlike our Baby Boomer parents, who don’t really care as much about evolving social propriety, we tend to have an almost visceral response to the stuff we enjoyed in the 1980s and 1990s that didn’t age well. Presumably, it’s happened to us all: We watch the digital version of a film we used to wear out on VHS, or we stream a jam we used to own on cassette, only to clutch our teeth and let out an “Eeeeeeee.”
Below are several of those films that elicit such a response. In some cases, it’s one scene or plotline; in one case, you can just throw the entire film away. Note that this list is far from exhaustive and doesn’t include films in which the offensiveness is intended. (see: Blazing Saddles)

Purple Rain (1984)
My favorite terrible movie of all time. I’ve seen Purple Rain more times than I can count over the last 38 years since my mama’s massive Prince fandom circumvented any concerns about her kid watching R-rated content.
But it was as an adult that I realized no one involved in the making of this film gave even a tincture of a damn about women. From The Kid’s interminable petulance (and ultimate violence) toward Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero) to tricking her into jumping topless in “Lake Minnetonka” to the marginalization of Wendy (Wendy Melvoin) and Lisa (Lisa Coleman) until it benefited The Kid, Albert Magnoli’s musical drama is steeped in Olympic-level misogyny.

The worst scene, however, is when Morris (Morris Day) is confronted with one of his “sexies,” whom Jerome (Jerome Benton) picks up and tosses in a dumpster. Twitter would be on fire if, say, Bruno Mars made a movie pulling this s— in 2022.

The Best Man (1999)
Perhaps not as egregious as the other films on this list, but The Best Man delves into the Madonna-whore complex and what constitutes a “good” man, and, I think, inadvertently hoists up outmoded ideas.
The core conflict lies in a semi-fictional book that Harper (Taye Diggs) wrote based on his quartet of homies. Professional athlete and recovering man-whore Lance (Morris Chestnut) learns just before the wedding that fiancé Mia (Monica Calhoun) smashed Harper back in college while he was cheating on her left, right and sideways and is ready to blow the whole wedding to pieces over it. Because God forbid a woman demonstrates some sexual agency before she hangs it up.

Shelby (Melissa De Sousa) is a one-note shrew of a girlfriend, and while the first film did well with Candy, the stripper with a heart of gold (Regina Hall) linking with the pusillanimous “good guy” Murch (Harold Perrineau), they throw the goodwill of that plotline out the window in the sequel, The Best Man Holiday, when Murch jeopardizes their marriage after receiving a video of Candy living her best sexual life before they met. Meanwhile, the capricious “bad guy” Quentin (Terrence Howard) is the only character living out their truth in either film.

The Best Man isn’t exactly unrealistic in its core depictions, but the original would light up social media if it were released in 2022.

Love Jones (1997)

Perhaps the most divisive film on this list (read: you might get cut amid debates), the entirety of Love Jones isn’t terribly problematic, and I appreciate the way it handles the complicated nuances of marriage via Isaiah Washington’s character.

But one sequence is a no-go: Larenz Tate’s Darius Lovehall shows up at the house of Nina Mosley (Nia Long) only because he jacked Nina’s address from a check she writes at the record store. And Darius’ girl, Sheila (Bernadette L. Clarke), who works at the record store, allows it.

The film presents it as a noble whatever-it-takes romantic gesture. But it screams “stalker,” and the 2022 version of Nina would’ve likely tased Darius in the nuts and called the cops.

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)

Both of Jim Carrey’s star-making Ace Ventura films wouldn’t fly in the Age of Twitter—the first movie is rife with homophobia. But the sequel features a plotline involving a fictional indigenous African tribe whose customs are played for laughs in contrast to Ace’s western sensibilities. Any African stereotype you’d imagine white Westerners harbor is probably in the film.

Tommy Davidson portrays tribe member “Tiny Warrior,” speaking no actual words in lieu of animal noises meant to portray him as less human, more rabid rodent. That the film has the distinction of being America’s first exposure to the lovely Sophie Okonedo doesn’t absolve it of its sins.

Soul Man (1986)
The apotheosis of obsolete filmmaking, the most offensive thing about this film isn’t the fact that the protagonist Mark Watson (C. Thomas Howell) complains about tuition and fees at Harvard Law School totaling just over $10,000 (which will probably buy you one textbook and a sandwich in 2022).

It’s that the entire conceit of the film involves a white man exploiting affirmative-action scholarship benefits by enrolling in and attending the school in blackface. Considering we’ve had a blackface reckoning in recent years that even caught up the beloved prime minister of Canada and that we’re forced to have the same god—m conversation with white folks every Halloween, Soul Man wouldn’t have made it past a first script draft in 2022.  

Apparently, the film was even controversial when it dropped in the mid-1980s. But social media was decades away from being a thing, so it wasn’t around to prevent Soul Man from becoming a commercial success.

BONUS: Every black film that exploited LGBTQ+ people
It would probably blow the mind of your average 20-year-old to see how reckless Hollywood was with the LGBTQ+ community a couple of decades ago. Film and television were full of either latent or blatant examples of rank homophobia.

A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) featured Wayman (Corwin Hawkins), a gay Black man who existed only to be demeaned by Keenan Ivory Wayans’ Shame. The entire talky twist of The Crying Game (1992) involves the “reveal” of the deceitful trans woman.

Also, figure every film and television show involving a dude dressing up as a large, “unattractive” Black woman is predicated on some degree of transphobia. I’m looking at you, Wanda and Sheneneh.

ARTICLE END

A QUICK THOUGHT TO THE ARTICLE

It start with a lot of negative bias to those in certain age ranges, while supposes support to women from the physical violence or subjegation of men. It also has a large amount of cultural negative bias. Remember, race is any form of classification/rank/ordering from phenotype to gender to age to cultural beliefs to geography to releigion to religion to... you comprehend.

MY THOUGHTS TO EACH FILM IN THE LIST

Purple Rain is interesting. I remember hearing, a video recording of Prince, speak on a real event where a member of his team threw Vanity/Denise into his pool, and when I heard that story I thought of this scene. In the context of the article, it opens up alot in terms of the level of mysogyny. 
But, the greater issue is misogyny. I saw a halftime show in which Purple Rain was chanted by many people who clearly were in the ambiance of the artist formerly known as Prince as well as their thoughts of loving ones whose spirits have flown, which the song alludes too. 
Suggesting that this movie can not be seen, for a scene of abuse toward a woman from a man, is discounting how many people heard that song through the movie. Is it a wareranted sacrifice, I wonder? 
As for Prince's characters mimicry of his father's abuse, that is actually the stories point. Prince's character was evolving in a film. Like bobba Fett from being the lone man killer that many of the characters fans demand or want to the killer who has gained from priceless experience a level of growth that in all living things, takes time.
The question is, does Prince's characters modulation not warrant to be seen? Is the argument from the philosophy the article writer espouses that the modern audience can not handle watching the change in a character, they can only accept witnessing the final result? 

I only saw a few scenes of the Best Man. I admit, I have little liking or patience to these black group film dramas. To those who enjoy that style of art it is entertaining but for me, I can't stomach it long as a genre. 
I do know of the basic plot though. I don't see how the movie will be banned for portraying characters that share traits with many living people, in the same way, purple rain does to. 
But that leads to another question, is this about presenting fantasy humans? I rephrase, is this movement of cancelling culture to only allow one cultural mold? if so, how can art be deemed in it free to express all culture?

Love Jones scenario is like in the Best Man. Stalking is human, is it denied by not showing it in a film? and by not showing it is art improved.

I never saw any Ace Ventura film, so I admit, I can have it expunged as I am not a fan of jim carrey's comedy for the most part in general, yes I never saw Dumb and dumb series as well.
But to the theme, people who dislike homosexuals is not new nor will go away throughout all humanity. And, though few to no movies offer the reverse insult, many black people don't think positively of white communities.

I want to speak about Rae Dawn Chong and James Earl Jones, when it comes to the film "Soul Man". Rae Dawn Chong contends the film isn't negatively biased. And this goes to the penultimate issue. In the end, who determines how another is meant to see the world/humanity/life?
This battle over what art should be viewed from the times when non white europeans were disallowed under white european domination or in the complex multiracial landscape of the usa, with each tribe trying to make one cultural perspective dominant, shows the dysfunction of the attempt. No culture ever truly dies, it at the most diminished becomes a private culture, but cultures never die.
Spike Lee and the impotent N.A.A.C.P. made this film a battleground but the issue of black owned film production or black people in the mechanics of the industry had no words from said people except one day it will happen or beg whites. Rae Dawn Chong was right, it was all talk. Talk for media points. 

A bonus, Al SHarpton who I do not usually concur too explained the idea behind the self righteous non violent movement, brilliantly. I paraphrase him. The non violent mantra is not merely about stopping those who utilize violence against you but not allowing yourself to utilize violence. This paraphrasing is the entire idea behind the bonus section in the article.
But, that is self righteous. To tell someone to hold themselves to a cultural view, regardless of anything is not only self rightoeus but goes back to the entire flaw of the cancel culture strategem or similar cultural blocks from the past from one community to another. 
WHy don't black parents speak of Nat Turner or Jean Jacques Dessalines? what did either do wrong that does not warrant mention? they acted violently against those who were violent towards them? 
Their actions have been cancelled by many black people long before cancel culture, but has that improved the collective lot of the black community, has it changed the lot of the white community ? the answer is no.

NAME THE FILMS I WILL ADD? NAME THE FILMS THAT SHOULDN'T BE ON THIS LIST?  
None and All. I will paraphrase a white jewish female writer: art can not be the battleground for culture. 
I know she is right. Not seeing an action, does not delete an action. On the other hand, seeing an action does not embolden an action. 
The whole concept of not showing certain arts based on the messages in them, is based on the idea that it will influence culture. But is that true? 
I use two scenarios in human history as my proof they do not.
The Sars-Cov-2 era in NYC, specifically, when the city had a near total shut down of activity. 
During that time in New York City, the advertised freethinking capitol in the United States of America, the levels of abuse from men to women, from adult male children to their senior female parents , rose by a huge percent. Was said increase of a certain activity based on a film? was said increase based on a music video or video game? 
What does the first scenario prove? That misogyny's source is not media. When people were forced into their homes side their supposed loving ones they got more violent, not less. In particular men showed a increased dislike toward the women they live with, being forced to be next to them. IS media the source of the misogyny... or is it how we humans build or maintain relationships? The last point being, can not showing an action in media help to yield better relationships. I say no.

The second scenario is media by people of color, people of color defined as non white europeans, in the age of white european imperial power. MEaning from the 1400s to the end of world war two < which began the first phase in the era of white statian imperial power, commonly called the cold war >
In the white european imperial power age people of color, made art that was often chastized, or burned, or blockaded from the view of people of color themselves, but they made it. This artwork didn't free people of color or stop white european power. But it was symbols of another culture than the one in power. 
What does the second scenario prove? art doesn't change the alignments in humanity. It comes from the soul, and can inpsire humans, but can not deflect bullets, can not make laws. And it is bullets and laws that dictate the alignment of humans in humanity.

Sequentially, I add no film to this and think all films should not be present in it. The list is dysfunctional.
I am not a NAzi, I have no desire to be white or german or aryan. But I think the night marches are beautiful from the nazis. The premise of waging cultural war through art is suggesting, the human individual or collective can be so moved by art that it dictates who they are or who they want to be. I oppose that viewpoint. I think history proves my opposition correct. 

Article U.R.L.
https://thegrio.com/2022/01/21/five-films-that-could-never-come-out-in-2022/

Movies that Move WE- Selma 

MY COMMENT

odd that this year, MLK jr day is the same time as Marcus Garvey's birthday.. I think the contrast between marcus garvey's long term vision as opposed to the long term vision of MLKjr or his predecessors, WEB DUbois when young or earlier Frederick DOuglass , concerning the relationship of blacks in the americas americas  to whites  in the americas.

Now to the video...
6:40 yes, MLK jr was not a fool about being an advocate . He knew it wasn't financially grand nor had a great chance of true success. But, the identity of a christian baptist preacher was important to regaling. 
8:04 yes, black businesses had a huge role in financing the civil rights movement of the 1960s, I wonder if they got their money's worth
9:01 black christian women have always been the backbone or the administration or communal arrangement of the black church.
9:32 My home had people who were at the march on washington. I concur to Nicole, having people who were in the home who experienced the history is key, but only truly matters if they convey it
11:10 yes Nicole , the disconnect is the communities fault. Every community in the usa, from the embattled native american to the afghanistani's from the iraq war have to teach who they are to their children and all who fail to get the proper results
14:14 good point, Nike, the illusion that the past is so far from the present. Like the racial is so far from the post racial
15:35 good dialog, Nicole/Nike about the progression of black history in the usa and how the black community has changed very fast while also very irratically for various reasons
16:47 You two offer the question many have asked before and many will ask after... how did the black community not maintain a highly serious collective tone from circa 1850 to circa 2022 ? 
19:47 Nicole, urgency from whom? How many black people, who are in elected office, are millionaires, feel the sense for urgency seriously? they all will say urgency is needed. but, how many truly feel that?
26:41 MLK jr is a legendary speaker, funny how Malcolm is also the son of a preacher man
27:55 the last speech from mlk jr in harlem was at the riverside church, which has the largest carillon in the world
https://www.democracynow.org/2022/1/17/mlk_day_special_2022#:~:text=We play his “Beyond Vietnam” speech%2C which he,Copy may not be in its final form. 
where do we go from here
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/where-do-we-go-here
29:35 yes, but history books in mass education generally soften history. Histories details are by default, not a quick thing. Histories details, show how jews helped the naziz. How hong kong was the epicenter of domination by the united kingdom over the entirety of china. Histories details, show the good or supposed innocent are not that good or innocent, how the bad or supposed hellish are not that sinful or devious.

In conclusion, you two made a lovely dialog, but I will suggest you made one potent absence. All to often, black people say, what are we not doing? but answer in your own way, what do we need to do?
I know a number of black men who went to the million man march and the reality is, black men showed up to what the black organizers had planned, but the black organizers had no plan whatsoever? Black men came from around the usa to be guided with functionality or purpose not words or chastizement.
I will give an example, if a million black men came together, and asked me what to do. I can suggest, make a credit union. Each man who is here put a dollar into a collection and give each man a vote over how the money is used. Is it a brilliant plan? no. It is very simple. but it is function/purpose. It isn't a "do good fellas" speech.
What do you two black women want black people to do specifically, name one thing?   

A last point, Haile Sellasie offered land before his ousting by the communist party of ethiopia , only a third of it was given by the communist government of ethiopia , but it went to rastafarians, who grabbed the opportunity. I am doing research to see how the black people of HArlem Selassie had originally offered the land did not know, reject it or failed interest while black people from jamaica jumped on it. The town is called Shashamane. 

My favorite Sidney Poitier films, and soundtracks

Paris Blues

The Long SHips
https://ok.ru/video/724620479028

Buck and the PReacher trailer

Nonqonqo from a warm december

Soundtracks to note
Buck and the Preacher theme, stil the baddest western theme song you ever heard, hands  down

Paris Blues

my after thoughts
May his spirit fly high. An unquestioned legend of cinema. An ambassador to the miscegenist/nonviolent/meritocratist culture that is the symbol of the black elite in the usa for 150 years and counting. .... I will not lie about my feelings/thoughts to his career in majority as a thespian/sex symbol. They are not as positive as many other black people. But, I am a unashamed fan of Paris Blues<the soundtrack of that movie , man underrated classic, duke ellington/louis armstrong/billy strayhorn/aaron bridgers/ and the original book story would had made it even bigger , always feel bad for poitier/carroll/newman/woodward , they had a gem if the money didn't get involved>;the long ships <I love that story>  ; buck and the preacher<that somehow many black people who supposedly love poitier  have never seen >;a warm december <my personal favorite in terms of romance movies from him>... I want to add something I researched recently, I never realized how many films poitier directed, stir crazy was made for 10 million and made 100 million, I argue poitier warranted more films to direct. well enough of my needless banter, i hope poitier died with a smile, i know he had many who loved him.

ART title: Sidney Poitier
Artist: Shaytan666
https://www.deviantart.com/shaytan666/art/Sidney-Poitier-287966796

FROM : MAd SKillz < skillzva on facebook>  

I may get crucified for this but its how I feel.(just jokes) I grew up in a similar situation...no father tho. And I NEVER IN MY LIFE seen a woman with this many morals. EVERRR BRUH. Being that poor and having those kind of morals never made sense to me. Black Jesus brought yall good luck? You made James take him down. James finds 5k? You make him give it back. They wanted yo ass to star in a PAID Vita Brite commercial? You didnt do it cuz it had alcohol in it. James going to the pool hall cuz yall bout to get evicted? You made him put the pool stick back. They pass JJ up to the 12th grade? You made him go back to the 11th. Preacher wanted to take James on the road to do the "Im healed" scam? You made him stay home. The projects were not the villain of this show. FLORIDA WAS. YOU WERE THE BIGGEST HATER ON TELEVISION. check my story for the proof.

MY REPLY

Where do I begin? 
Lets start with his points and he made many. 
I will iterate the points
POINTS
1) he grew up similar to the scenario in good times, and he mentioned no father specificially.
2) he never knew a woman with this many morals
3) being fiscal bottom and having high morals never made sense. 
4) the projects, the white system, wasn't the criminal, Florida, the specific moralled black matriarch was

MY THOUGHTS TO EAH POINT
1)If I ask the average person in the usa today, who are the richest people in the usa as a group, what is their phenotype. They will say, most fiscally rich people are white, a label referring to their average skin tone , which does merge into the mulatto range, ala passing. The next question is, how do they get their money? Most will say the truth, inheritance, their forebears had money and gave it to them. 
Now, if I ask most people, why are black people poor? Most will say, Black people don't know how to play the game. Black people are lazy. Black people need to improve themselves, learn to strive more. Few will say the simple truth, Black people have no one to inherit money from. The next question is why? And this goes to history. 
One of the problems with the black community in media, is that our poverty is rarely comprehended as simple as it needs to be. Two cultural institutions in the usa didn't allow for black inheritance. First was slavery, second was jim crow. Slavery predates the usa, which is another truth I find most in the usa don't seem to comprehend. Slavery is from the european colonial era but it survived in tact , unblemished, after the creation of the articles of confederation or the constitution, thus why most free blacks fought against the usa in its earliest wars. Slavery ended with the thirteeth amendments and the destruction of the southern states, and the desire of the northern states to eliminate the financial competition with a slave based society utilizing industrial tools.  But after a very short respite <solid seven years > called reconstruction commonly, Jim Crow was born from the dead carcass of slavery and continued the goal of denying inheritance to black people. 
That is why the black community in the usa is fiscally poor. Jim crow ended , in my assessment, in the 1980s. So from before the usa was founded till the 1980s, Black people were in majority <yes, exceptions always exist in life but they are not stnadards or pathways or rules> denied inheritance. The projects themselves were never meant for black people. If you know the history of the projects, they were meant for poor working whites to have a place in an urban setting to refind their fiscal bearings, starting in the 1950s. White flight from big cities and continual movement to big cities by non whites made the white city governments change course and offer projects as dens for people not white mostly to congregate in the city. A eternal source of cheap labor and fiscally poor people. Whereas projects in the 1950s had storefronts, the latter ones did away with that and just became housing. 
Did you know that when the vietnam war ended, vietnam had hundreds of thousands of orphans from usa soldiers and vietnamese women living in orphanges? now, why does this matter? 
It connects to slavery/jim crow, and relationships between child bearers. Slavery plus Jim crow denied inheritance for black people. The primary tool was violence. but a secondary tool was separation. To be blunt, during slavery black people were not married in majority. Black women were property of the master. the master, to use crude language, tapped that ass , more than the property of the white man she called her black husband. So since the community of the usa is from the european imperial era, for most of the history of the usa or what preceded it , black children have not had either parent. I am not saying that to reject anyone's emotions, but to bring a historical reality to black people's narrative around child raising which rarely admits reality about our community in the usa. Jim crow is what rebuilt the south and spurred the usa industrial machine. That is another historical fact that goes absent. Jim crow was powered by black men in prison on false charges. These men were given sentences meant to be for life, for the purpose of rebuilding the usa. The 13th amendment says slavery can still exist in prisons so white people in power ushered black people, specifically black men, into prisons. 
I was raised by both my parents who are still together and loving, through many challenges. And my family is upper poor, not the fiscal bottom. 
But, white or black filmmakers push two narratives, for different reasons that are lies. The narratives are: black people's poverty is a modern thing not from a lack of inheritance over centuries, the black family unit has its members to blame for its history of fissure.
Good times, written by whites, uniquely has a loving black father, who died because of Amos disagreement with the studios. But his death fits the truth, the environment for the black community which has been engineered by whites over centuries has successfully hindered black people, is not meant to, has hindered. And, the black people who traveled to the north to escape being burned alive and possibly find work, found fewer fires up north but less fiscal potential. But whether in the south or north the reason is a lack of inheritance, not lazyness or anything else.

2)+3) I must combine. His comments prove how many black people either do not know the history of black people in the usa or have a false interpretation of it.
The Club Women was a group of black christian women who believed that if black people educated themselves and showed utmost manner that will overcome white violence. The sit-ins was based on a similar principle. This was black people saying I will go into a story where a sign outside says for people like me to NOT ENTER. The result is obvious, you enter a place where you are told by its owners for you not to come, you get your ass beat. Hell, most people know about romeo or juliet but what do you think the capulets and the mantagues were like? What is funny about the usa and the sit-ins and the club women is how , in human history it is so common for groups of people to ban others. In northern ireland they have many places where catholics can't go and protestants can't go. 
So, When he says he didn't know any woman with this many morals, I will not deny his statement. But it proves he didn't know enough older black people who could tell him of many who did such things. Remember, non violence isn't merely about the white man not being violent to blacks but it is about blacks not being violent ourselves even when faced with reason to be. 
Most black leaders, including MLK jr, never prescribed to such extreme views of non violence personally. but, the black community in the usa from the time of reconstruction has a long history of it. 
Now is, Florida a caricature? of course she is. BUT, she reflects the truth of the black community from the end of the war between the states to the 1970s. I know that some black people who were land owners told relatives to not fight whites and sent them away. I do not concur to the idea of fighting wars with morals, but that was and is a residual from slavery and jim crow. 
And that comes to his dysfunctional allusion. Black people were not merely poor during slavery or jim crow, we were impotent. Fiscal poverty is one thing, but when one is fiscally poor PLUS under constant assault. It changes ow you view things. Again, I can tell you I know of black people off line who were alive in decades past and admitted that every black women in their town was raped by whites. every black woman. 
When your community is under assault , and under watch for any action that is deemed illegal /criminal/amoral, it can teach you to desire morality not for god but for self. if you can't stop your wife from being raped, your child from being spat at, yourself, from being put in prison, and you don't have arms, you don't have resources, you don't have a community enabled, then following a higher moral code can be deciphered as your only defense. 
Again, Florida is a caricature, but what she represents is truth. Any one's Esther Rolle's character's age knew that the system will destroy any black person it finds doing a simple crime. My great proof of that is the rockefeller laws, initiated in the 1970s. In NYC, white men could sell cocaine in mountainfulls and get lesser to no sentence that black men selling a bag of marijuana. That is why Florida feared crime, feared illegality. IT wasn't cause she feared or opposed money. But what if? What if the white man knew? what if the white man discovered? Just remember, the chicago police department went into fred hamptons house and murdered him, absent any crime. In that kind of environment, you are so keen to risk? 
Some, yes, but Florida is not that big a caricature. She is, but not that big a caricature based on the black community in the usa. 
The problem with black or white filmmakers is black goodness is touted as religious, spiritual, never historical, never based on life.
The goodness isn't about christianity , it is about a fear of the system treating you unfairly, which it will, which it proved over centuries it will do and is still doing. Movies from all sort of directorso or writers make is religious, and that is the flaw. Florida is scared. She has been scared her entire life and will die scared. 
In the great Daughters of the Dust, the gullah live in those spare island lands, surrounded by bayou and absent any infrastructure, but will rather that than live exposed to whites. That is fear. The people of Tracadie in nova scotia, survived cause they lived so far away , in a wilderness, they were free from assault, whether they committed an illegality or not, and that is why Florida feared in her urban project surrounded by whites, in the heart of the white kingdom. 
His point is to invalidate her fears by suggesting her morality is based on morals, but her morals are based on fear. 

4)LAstly, his final thought. The criminal wasn't the white system , it is the black moralled matriarch. 
Of course he is wrong, he admitted he is joking. But, I will defend his hypothesis with a little fortune telling. Slavery plus Jim crow denied black inheritance. But, after jim crow, I will call it the rainbow era, Black people in the usa have acquired and started to inherit fiscal wealth. Florida's fears was suitable in the days where black people were denied by white people the ability to  inherit fiscal wealth. But, when one is wealthy, one must take risks, and though most risks fail in fiscal capitalism , some will succeed. 
The black community isn't potent. My proof is simple. Name me one city with a financial growth in the usa, where over half the cities fiscal quality/industry is owned by blacks? I will help you, you can't find one. So, Black people are not in some place of suitability yet. But, it will happen eventually. That is why whites blockaded black inheritance. when one inherits, money is different. 
Back to movies, hollywood hasn't found a way to approvingly display multiracial wealth. We all know in modernity, black millionaires or billionaires exists in the usa. But, hollywood usually places fiscally wealthy black characters in fiscally white characters roles. The problem storytelling wise is simple. Being rich is being rich but in different communities, the collective path to being rich matters. The black fiscal elite, live as gluttonous as the white, but they have subtle variances and hollywood or independent film, has not found a set of films to visualize that difference. In the show atlanta, the black rich are ugly, but mirrors of white rich and that is not exactly true. As F Scott fitzgerald said, the wicked rich, I concur to that, but they have variances. My proof is fiscally rich white jews in film. in films, fiscally rich white jews are as corrupt as other fiscally rich white people but their is anuance to their design which shows, the other. 
Films have yet , black or white made, to solidify the other aspect to the black fiscal rich which is clear to see, but not such a great selling point

IN CONCLUSION, history is important, but also challenging. The challenge in history is when it forces you to look at scenarios you can't control or undo that are not merely negative, but have a lasting communal impact. The nonviolent community , based in the black church, near 170 years ago, rejected violence, rejected a mass movement away, rejected a foscused movement in the usa. The nonviolent movement had three main strategies. No violence against whites, a focus on individual liberty to black people wherever we live, a responsibility on black individuals or the black community to maintain the nonviolent stance while moving ever upward in the fiscal or governmental halls in the usa. 
Today is the result of that plan in the usa. it didn't fit all black people, it wans't meant to. It had casualty, though all black paths were and will have casualties. But, in the same way, Florida is chided while Mrs. Huxtable is beloved, the modern reality has meant a cultural precipice has been reached that isn't defined by either woman or their larger media spaces. Neither is an enemy, but neither reflect a black community that can finally , in peace, inherit.

Someone ask me: what will the novels of the future be if all the protagonists do everything online? You wouldn‘t have the romcoms with Julia Roberts meeting Hugh Grant in a bookshop…

He originally asked me but i feel the question is good for all to answer

My answer is in sections: epistlary fiction/subordinate characters/the modern readership-viewership-listenership

Epistles are merely letters and online communication, whether people want to admit it or not are letters. Human beings are accustomed to epistlary work. Many segments of the bible are letters. Books of letters , linear or alinear temporally, were a fiscally profitable genre in various times in the white european literary industry<said industry includes the usa or australia>. Historically, precedence exist for financial viability of or customer desire to epistlary fiction.

Modern customers of fiction love the visual,they love visual description, pseudo realism, fantastical visions. At the core of epistle is the letters are not bound to give all details, to explain all events. Writers can choose that path of creation but it isn't mandatory. Sequentially, why many writers use letters as tools for a specific purpose in a non epistlary work. But, if all the protagonists and I add antagonists use letters, then for action , descriptive action, you need subordinate characters. not supporting but subordinate. to be blunt, you need robots, you need characters that can not act alone or are extensions of the protagonists or antagonists but individual enough to have a physical identity one can write about. In parallel, think of a doctor that performs surgery remotely. The doctor actions are in the same way as writing a letter, the machine that translates the doctors motions/words/typing into action on the patient, while it does not act absent impetus from the doctor is had individual elements. its programming/its energy/its maintenance/ its environment all can have a positive or negative influence on itself that can lead to scenarios many will call drama or definitely action. But they are not protagonists or antagonists.

Customers matter, they always have and always will. Art has no bounds. Many people today apply their opinions as rules of art but the truth is, art has no ruleset to it. In parallel, making money with art is where all the judgements have value and where many artists or readers , do not speak enough of their purpose in their judgements. to that end, the modern readership , as the questioner stated individually had problems with epistlary fiction. But the reason is complex.... Most human beings are not online nor do they have money. But to the humans who have money, many are online, many are multilingual. The buyers are used to reading epistlaries every day, tweet streams, facebook streams, instagram comment streams are all epistlaries. not written by a steven king or jk rowling, but a sequence of unknown strangers, but the readers are used to reading epistlaries full of drama.

I conclude with a question, based on what was said, what kind of work epistlary can bridge what the customers do every day, with fictional characters? In the film world you already see movies that use message screens in the films. Like any style, when it doesn't have many financially successful examples, the judgement passion in literary or art circles is silent cause they have nothing to base a judgement on. So, it is an open multilog financially, like writing modern epistles with online messages.

Now, what say you all?

Kinematic self-replication in reconfigurable organisms

Kinematic self-replication in reconfigurable organisms
 View ORCID ProfileSam Kriegman,  View ORCID ProfileDouglas Blackiston,  View ORCID ProfileMichael Levin, and Josh Bongard
aAllen Discovery Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155;
bWyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115;
cDepartment of Computer Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405

PNAS December 7, 2021 118 (49) e2112672118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2112672118
Edited by Terrence J. Sejnowski, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, and approved October 22, 2021 (received for review July 9, 2021)

Significance
Almost all organisms replicate by growing and then shedding offspring. Some molecules also replicate, but by moving rather than growing: They find and combine building blocks into self-copies. Here we show that clusters of cells, if freed from a developing organism, can similarly find and combine loose cells into clusters that look and move like they do, and that this ability does not have to be specifically evolved or introduced by genetic manipulation. Finally, we show that artificial intelligence can design clusters that replicate better, and perform useful work as they do so. This suggests that future technologies may, with little outside guidance, become more useful as they spread, and that life harbors surprising behaviors just below the surface, waiting to be uncovered.

Abstract
All living systems perpetuate themselves via growth in or on the body, followed by splitting, budding, or birth. We find that synthetic multicellular assemblies can also replicate kinematically by moving and compressing dissociated cells in their environment into functional self-copies. This form of perpetuation, previously unseen in any organism, arises spontaneously over days rather than evolving over millennia. We also show how artificial intelligence methods can design assemblies that postpone loss of replicative ability and perform useful work as a side effect of replication. This suggests other unique and useful phenotypes can be rapidly reached from wild-type organisms without selection or genetic engineering, thereby broadening our understanding of the conditions under which replication arises, phenotypic plasticity, and how useful replicative machines may be realized.

Like the other necessary abilities life must possess to survive, replication has evolved into many diverse forms: fission, budding, fragmentation, spore formation, vegetative propagation, parthenogenesis, sexual reproduction, hermaphroditism, and viral propagation. These diverse processes however share a common property: all involve growth within or on the body of the organism. In contrast, a non–growth-based form of self-replication dominates at the subcellular level: molecular machines assemble material in their external environment into functional self-copies directly, or in concert with other machines. Such kinematic replication has never been observed at higher levels of biological organization, nor was it known whether multicellular systems were even capable of it.

Despite this lack, organisms do possess deep reservoirs of adaptive potential at all levels of organization, allowing for manual or automated interventions that deflect development toward biological forms and functions different from wild type (1), including the growth and maintenance of organs independent of their host organism (2⇓–4), or unlocking regenerative capacity (5⇓–7). Design, if framed as morphological reconfiguration, can reposition biological tissues or redirect self-organizing processes to new stable forms without recourse to genomic editing or transgenes (8). Recent work has shown that individual, genetically unmodified prospective skin (9) and heart muscle (10) cells, when removed from their native embryonic microenvironments and reassembled, can organize into stable forms and behaviors not exhibited by the organism from which the cells were taken, at any point in its natural life cycle. We show here that if cells are similarly liberated, compressed, and placed among more dissociated cells that serve as feedstock, they can exhibit kinematic self-replication, a behavior not only absent from the donating organism but from every other known plant or animal. Furthermore, replication does not evolve in response to selection pressures, but arises spontaneously over 5 d given appropriate initial and environmental conditions.
 

Results
Pluripotent stem cells were collected from the animal pole of Xenopus laevis embryos (SI Appendix, Fig. S1A), raised for 24 h in 14 °C mild saline solution. These excised cells, if left together as an animal cap (11) (SI Appendix, Fig. S1 A and or brought back in contact after dissociation (12) (SI Appendix, Fig. S1 C and D), naturally adhere and differentiate into a spheroid of epidermis covered by ciliated epithelium (13, 14) over 5 d (9) (SI Appendix, section S1 and Fig. 1A). The resulting wild-type reconfigurable organisms move using multiciliated cells present along their surface (which generate flow through the coordinated beating of hair-like projections) and typically follow helical trajectories through an aqueous solution for a period of 10 to 14 d before shedding cells and deteriorating as their maternally provided energy stores are depleted.

Fig. 1.
Spontaneous kinematic self-replication. (A) Stem cells are removed from early-stage frog blastula, dissociated, and placed in a saline solution, where they cohere into spheres containing ∼3,000 cells. The spheres develop cilia on their outer surfaces after 3 d. When the resulting mature swarm is placed amid ∼60,000 dissociated stem cells in a 60-mm-diameter circular dish (B), their collective motion pushes some cells together into piles (C and D), which, if sufficiently large (at least 50 cells), develop into ciliated offspring (E) themselves capable of swimming, and, if provided additional dissociated stem cells (F), build additional offspring. In short, progenitors (p) build offspring (o), which then become progenitors. This process can be disrupted by withholding additional dissociated cells. Under these, the currently best known environmental conditions, the system naturally self-replicates for a maximum of two rounds before halting. The probability of halting (α) or replicating( 1 − α) depends on a temperature range suitable for frog embryos, the concentration of dissociated cells, the number and stochastic behavior of the mature organisms, the viscosity of the solution, the geometry of the dish’s surface, and the possibility of contamination. (Scale bars, 500 μm.)

Previous studies reported spontaneous aggregation of artificial particles by groups of wild-type self-organizing (9) and artificial intelligence (AI)–designed (10) reconfigurable organisms: the particles were gathered and compressed as a side effect of their movement. Here, kinematic self-replication was achieved by replacing the synthetic particles in the arena with dissociated X. laevis stem cells as follows.

When 12 wild-type reconfigurable organisms are placed in a Petri dish amid dissociated stem cells (Fig. 1B), their combined movement reaggregates some of the dissociated cells into piles (Fig. 1 C and D). Piled cells adhere, compact, and over 5 d, develop into more ciliated spheroids (Fig. 1E) also capable of self-propelled movement. These offspring are then separated from their progenitor spheroids and placed in a new Petri dish containing additional dissociated stem cells (Fig. 1F). There, offspring spheroids build further piles, which mature into a new generation of motile spheroids (Movie S1).

In four of five independent trials using densities of 25 to 150 cells/mm2, wild-type reconfigurable organisms kinematically self-replicated only one generation. In the fifth trial, two generations were achieved. Each successive generation, the size and number of offspring decreased until offspring were too small to develop into self-motile organisms, and replication halted.

To determine if offspring were indeed built by the kinematics of progenitor organisms rather than just fluid dynamics and self-assembly, the dissociated stem cells were observed alone without the progenitors. With no progenitor organisms present, no offspring self-assembled at any of the stem cell concentrations tested (SI Appendix, Fig. S2E).

Kinematic Self-Replication.
Given their rapid loss of replicative ability, reconfigurable organisms can be viewed as autonomous but partially functioning machines potentially amenable to improvement. Autonomous machines that replicate kinematically by combining raw materials into independent functional self-copies have long been known to be theoretically possible (15). Since then, kinematic replicators have been of use for reasoning about abiogenesis, but they have also been of engineering interest: If physical replicators could be designed to perform useful work as a side effect of replication, and sufficient building material were discoverable or provided, the replicators would be collectively capable of exponential utility over time, with only a small initial investment in progenitor machine design, manufacture, and deployment. To that end, computational (16⇓–18), mechanical (19), and robotic (20⇓⇓–23) self-replicators have been built, but to date, all are made from artificial materials and are manually designed. Kinematic self-replication may also, in contrast to growth-based biological forms of reproduction, offer many options for automated improvement due to its unique reliance on self-movement. If progenitor machines could be automatically designed, it may become possible to automatically improve machine replication fidelity (24), increase or alter the utility performed as a side effect of replication, allow replication to feed on more atomic materials (25), control replication speed and spread, and extend the number of replication cycles before the system suffers a loss of replicative ability. We introduce an AI method here that can indeed extend replication cycles by designing the shape of the progenitor reconfigurable organisms.

Amplifying Kinematic Self-Replication.
Determining sufficient conditions for self-replication requires substantial effort and resources. Each round of replication takes 1 wk, and regular media changes are required to minimize contamination. Thus, an evolutionary algorithm was developed and combined with a physics simulator to seek conditions likely to yield increased self-replication, measured as the number of rounds of replication achieved before halting, in the simulator. Progenitor shape was chosen as the condition to be varied, as previous work demonstrated that shapes of simulated organisms can be evolved in silico to produce locomotion in cardiac tissue–driven reconfigurable organisms (10), or enhanced synthetic particle aggregation by cilia-driven reconfigurable organisms (9).

Simulations indicated that some body shapes amplified pile size and replication rounds, while others damped or halted self-replication. Some but not all geometries were better than the spheroids. The most performant geometry discovered by the evolutionary algorithm in silico and manufacturable in vivo was a semitorus (Fig. 2A). When 12 semitoroidal progenitor organisms were constructed and placed in an arena filled with densities of 61 to 91 dissociated stem cells/mm2, they exhibited the same enhanced piling behavior in vivo observed in silico (Fig. 2B). The offspring produced by the progenitor spheroids (Fig. 2C) were significantly smaller than those produced by the progenitor semitoroids (Fig. 2D), although both progenitor groups produced spheroid offspring. Controlling for dissociated cell density, the diameter of offspring produced by progenitor spheroids was increased 149% by the progenitor semitoroids (P < 0.05) (Fig. 2E). The replication rounds achieved by progenitor spheroids (mean = 1.2 ± 0.4 SD, max of 2 shown in Fig. 2F) was increased 250% by the progenitor semitoroids (mean = 3 ± 0.8 SD, max of four shown in Fig. 2G) (P < 0.05). The only trial using semitoroids that reproduced less than three rounds was terminated early due to fungal contamination. Across the five trials with wild-type progenitor spheroids and the three trials with AI-designed progenitor semitoroids, the size of the first generation of offspring correlated with the total number of generations achieved (ρ = 0.93; P < 0.001).

Fig. 2.

Amplifying kinematic self-replication. Due to surface tension, reconfigurable organisms naturally develop into ciliated spheroids, but they can be sculpted into nonspheroidal morphologies manually during development to realize more complex body shapes. Progenitor shapes were evolved in silico to maximize the number of self-replication rounds before halting. (A) Shapes often converge to an asymmetrical semitoroid (C-shape; pink) with a single narrow mouth in which dissociated cells (green) can be captured, transported, and aggregated. This evolved shape was fabricated and released in vivo (B), recapitulating the behavior observed in silico (A). Offspring built by wild-type spheroids (C) were smaller than those built by the semitoroids (D), regardless of the size and aspect ratios of the spheroids, and across different concentrations of dissociated cells (E). The maximum of two rounds of self-replication achieved by the spheroids (F) was extended by the semitoroids to a maximum of four rounds (G). (Scale bars, 500 μm.)

Given the observation that larger spheroids yielded more replication rounds, another, simpler route to increasing self-replication seemed possible: increasing the density of dissociated cells. However, Fig. 2E shows that spheroid offspring size does not appreciably increase even when tripling density from 50 to 150 cells/mm2 in the presence of sphere progenitors.

The semitoroidal design was found in silico using an evolutionary algorithm (Fig. 3A). First, 16 progenitor shapes are randomly generated. For each shape, nine simulated organisms with that shape are evaluated within a simulated Petri dish (Fig. 3E). If the swarm creates piles large enough to mature into offspring, the simulated offspring are transferred to a fresh dish (Fig. 3F), and the process continues (Fig. 3G). When self-replication halts, the shape is assigned a performance score computed as the number of filial generations achieved. Higher-performing progenitor shapes are copied, mutated, and replace shapes in the population with poorer performance. Each of the newly created progenitor shapes is expanded into a swarm, simulated, and scored (Fig. 3C). The algorithm terminates after a fixed amount of computational effort has been expended, and the shape that produced the most replication rounds is extracted (Fig. 3D). A total of 49 independent optimization trials were conducted, yielding 49 high-performing progenitor shapes (Fig. 3H) that, in silico, produce larger offspring (P < 0.0001) and more replication rounds (P < 0.0001) than simulated wild-type spheroids (SI Appendix, Fig. S6).

Fig. 3.
Evolving self-replication. (A) An evolutionary algorithm, starting with random swarms, evolves swarms with increasing self-replicative ability. (FG = number of filial generations achieved by a given swarm. The fractional part denotes how close the swarm got to achieving another replication round.) The most successful lineage in this evolutionary trial originated from a spheroid that built piles no larger than 74% of the size threshold required to self-replicate (B). A descendent swarm composed of nine flexible tori (C) contained two members that built one pile large enough to self-replicate (two arrows), which, alone, built piles no larger than 51% of the threshold. A descendent of the toroid swarm, a swarm of semitori (D), contained six members (E) that collectively built three piles large enough to mature into offspring (F). One of those offspring built a pile large enough to mature into a second generation offspring (G). An additional 48 independent evolutionary trials (H) evolved self-replicative swarms with diverse progenitor shapes.

Conditions other than progenitor shape can be optimized to improve self-replication. To that end, the algorithm was modified to evolve terrain shape rather than progenitor shape to amplify self-replication in silico for wild-type spheroid progenitors. Terrain was shaped by the inclusion of reconfigurable walls that, once positioned along the bottom surface of the simulated dish, constrain the stochastic movement of organisms along more predictable trajectories within predefined limits. Starting with randomly generated terrains, the algorithm evolved terrains that, in silico, increased the number of replication rounds achieved by the wild-type spheroid progenitors compared to their performance on a flat surface (P < 0.0001) (SI Appendix, Figs. S7 and S8).

The algorithm not only can amplify kinematic self-replication in a given environment but can also bestow this capability on swarms otherwise incapable of achieving it in adverse environments. In a cluttered environment, the wild-type progenitors cannot move enough to self-replicate. However, the algorithm discovered progenitor shapes with ventral surfaces that elevated the simulated organisms above the clutter while maintaining frontal plane curvatures that facilitated pile making and the achieving of self-replication (SI Appendix, Fig. S9).

In contrast to other known forms of biological reproduction, kinematic self-replication allows for the opportunity to significantly enlarge and miniaturize offspring each generation. This was observed in vivo (Fig. 1C) and in silico (SI Appendix, Fig. S10). This suggests that swarms may be automatically designed in future to produce offspring of diverse size, shape, and useful behaviors beyond simply more self-replication.

Exponential Utility.
von Neumann’s original self-replicating machine (15) was capable in theory of not just building a functional self-copy but also other machines as a side effect of the replicative process. If these tangential machines performed useful work, the entire system was capable of exponential utility. As long as sufficient feedstock was available, only a small expenditure of energy and manufacture was required to build the first replicative machine. To estimate whether the self-replicating reconfigurable organisms introduced here may be capable of exponential utility, we created a computational model using known features of the physical semitoroids to forecast their potential rate of increase in utility. It is assumed that progenitor machines will be placed in semistructured environments, sufficient feedstock will be within reach, and random action of the swarm will be sufficient to result in useful work. Given these requirements, the task of microcircuit assembly was chosen (Fig. 4A). Although current circuit assembly systems are fast, efficient, and reliable, in situ repair or assembly of simple electronics in hostile or remote environments is currently impossible using traditional robots, rendering this a use case worthy of investigation. The simulated environment contains microscale power supplies (26), light emitters (27), and disconnected flexible adhesive wires (28) (SI Appendix, Fig. S11). Random action by swarm members can inadvertently move wires and close a circuit between a power supply and a light emitter (Fig. 4A), considered here as useful work. The environment is also assumed to contain dissociated stem cells, such that offspring organisms may be built in parallel with circuit assembly. If any offspring are built, they are divided into two groups and moved into two new dishes with more electronic components and stem cells (Fig. 4 B and C). If no offspring are built, the process terminates (Fig. 4D). In this model, utility increases quadratically over time (Fig. 4E).

Fig. 4.
Forecasting utility. (A) A swarm of self-replicating semitoroidal organisms (gray) was placed inside a partially completed circuit (black) containing two power sources (red dots), four light emitters (circled X; black when OFF, red when ON), and disconnected flexible adhesive wires (black lines). Dissociated stem cells (not pictured), if pushed into piles, develop into offspring (irregularly shaped gray masses). Dissociated cells are replaced every 3.5 s. After 17.5 s of self-replication and circuit building within a single dish, the progenitors are discarded, and all first through fourth filial generation offspring are divided into two equal-sized groups and placed into two new dishes, each containing a partially completed circuit (B and C). If only one offspring is built, one dish is seeded with it. If no offspring are built, bifurcation halts. This process results in an unbalanced binary tree (D). The red edges denote circuits in which at least one light emitter was switched on by closing a circuit from power source to light emitter (OFF/ON inset). The gray edges denote circuits in which no light emitters were switched on. The number of lights switched on increased quadratically with time (E). This differs from k nonreplicative robots that can switch lights on in k Petri dishes per unit of time, resulting in a line with slope k (e.g., a single robot arm could switch on all four lights in its dish at every unit of time [dotted line in E]). With sufficient time, the self-replicative swarm can achieve higher utility than the nonreplicative swarm for any arbitrarily large value of k.

Superlinear utility here depends on a superlinearly increasing supply of dissociated stem cells. This may be more achievable than mining artificial materials for nonbiological robot replicators given that a single female X. laevis can produce thousands of eggs daily, with each embryo containing ∼3,000 cells for dissociation, and X. laevis itself is capable of reproduction and thereby superlinearly increasing egg production. Reconfigurable organisms are thus constructed from a renewable material source which requires less invasive component sourcing than other existing self-motile biological machines (29, 30). The quadratic increase in utility predicted by the model in Fig. 4 may not be achievable when in situ circuit assembly and repair matures and the model can be tested empirically. But, as long as the components are small enough in weight and size to be moved, an acceptable temperature range is maintained, sufficient components have already been created and deployed and are nontoxic, and self-replication is maintained, the system will produce superlinear increases in utility. This can be contrasted with nonreplicative robot technology for the same task, which would require superlinear investments in robot construction, deployment, and maintenance to realize superlinear utility.
 

Discussion
The ability of genetically unmodified cells to be reconfigured into kinematic self-replicators, a behavior previously unobserved in plants or animals, and the fact that this unique replicative strategy arises spontaneously rather than evolving by specific selection, further exemplifies the developmental plasticity available in biological design (1⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓–8). Although kinematic self-replication has not been observed in extant cellular life forms, it may have been essential in the origin of life. The amyloid world hypothesis (31), for instance, posits that self-assembling peptides were the first molecular entity capable of self-replication, and would thus represent the earliest stage in the evolution of life, predating even the RNA world. Unlike self-replicating RNAs which template themselves during replicative events, amyloid monomers can form seeds which produce a variety of amyloid polymorphs, yielding either larger or smaller “offspring” depending on peptide availability, kinematics, and thermodynamic conditions. This variation is similar to modern-day prions, where self-propagating misfolded proteins are capable of forming aggregates of multiple sizes and polymorphisms (32). Although reconfigurable organisms are not a model for origin of life research, which strives to describe the first information unit capable of self-replication, they may shed light on its necessary and sufficient initial conditions.

Traditional machine self-replication is assumed to require a constructor, a copier, a controller, and a blueprint to describe all three (15). However, there are no clear morphological or genetic components in the organisms described here that map onto these distinct structures. The concept of control in reconfigurable organisms is further muddied by their lack of nervous systems and genetically modified behavior. This suggests that reconfigurable organisms may in future contribute to understanding how self-amplifying processes can emerge spontaneously, in new ways and in new forms, in abiotic, cellular, or biohybrid machines, and how macroevolution may proceed if based on kinematic rather than growth-based replication.

Today, several global challenges are increasing superlinearly in spatial extent (33), intensity (34), and frequency (35), demanding technological solutions with corresponding rates of spread, adaptability, and efficacy. Kinematic self-replication may provide a means to deploy a small amount of biotechnology that rapidly grows in utility, but which is designed to be maximally controllable (36) via AI-designed replicators. Even if the behaviors exhibited by reconfigurable organisms are currently rudimentary, such as those shown in past (10) and this current work, AI design methods have been shown to be capable of exploiting this flexibility to exaggerate these behaviors and, in future, possibly guide them toward more useful forms.

Materials and Methods
Manual Construction of Reconfigurable Organisms.
Wild-type reconfigurable organisms were constructed manually from amphibian X. laevis epidermal progenitor cells using methods described previously (9). Briefly, fertilized Xenopus eggs were cultured for 24 h at 14 °C [Nieuwkoop and Faber stage 10 (37)] in 0.1× Marc’s Modified Rings (MMR), pH 7.8, after which the animal cap of the embryo was removed with surgical forceps (Dumont, 11241-30 #4) and transferred to 1% agarose–coated Petri dish containing 0.75× MMR. Under these conditions, the tissue heals over the course of 1 h and differentiates into a ciliated spheroid capable of locomotion after 4 d of incubation at 14 °C. Water exchanges were done three times weekly, and the organisms were moved to fresh 1% agarose–coated Petri dishes containing 0.75× MMR and 5 ng/µL gentamicin (ThermoFisher Scientific, 15710072) until ready for experimental use.

For nonspheroid designs, morphology was shaped via microcautery and microsurgery (SI Appendix, Fig. S1 E–H). The initial production of these organisms began using the methods described above; however, after 24 h at 14 °C, the spheroids were subjected to 3 h of compression with a force of 2.62 mg/mm2. This compression results in a mild flattening of the developing tissue, producing a disk that is more amenable to shaping because it is less likely to rotate out of plane. Following compression, the organisms were cultured for an additional 24 h at 14 °C, after which final shaping was performed. Shaping was accomplished using a MC-2010 micro cautery instrument with 13-μm wire electrodes (Protech International Inc., MC-2010, 13-Y1 wire tip cautery electrode) in combination with a hand sharpened pair of surgical forceps. Each organism was shaped by first subtracting tissue to make a coarse morphology, then by fine sculpting to remove any cellular debris. After 1 h of healing, the morphology became stable for the remainder of the organism's lifespan. Following shaping, individuals were moved to fresh 1% agarose–coated Petri dishes containing 0.75× MMR and 5 ng/µL gentamicin and cultured until ready for experimental use.

All animal use was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and Tufts University Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine under protocol No. M2020-35.

Dissociated Stem Cells.
Dissociated cell layers for all self-replication experiments were obtained from the same starting material as the manually constructed reconfigurable organisms: X. laevis embryos 24 h of age (raised 14 °C). Similar to the manual construction of reconfigurable organisms, the animal cap of each embryo was explanted, and the rest of the tissue was discarded. Excised tissue was then moved via transfer pipette to a fresh 1% agarose–coated Petri dish containing a calcium- and magnesium-free dissociation medium (50.3 mM NaCl, 0.7 mM KCl, 9.2 mM Na2HPO4, 0.9 mM KH2PO4, 2.4 mM NaHCO3, 1.0 mM edetic acid, pH 7.3) and allowed to sit for 5 min. The pigmented outer ectoderm layer does not break down in this solution and was gently separated from the underlying stem cells with surgical forceps and discarded. The remaining tissues were agitated with manual flow from a pipetman until fully dissociated.

Material from 30 embryos were combined into a pool of cells (progenitor organisms are made from the same material, taken from a single embryo, and are composed of ∼3,000 cells), which was then collected and transferred to a sterile Eppendorf tube containing 1 mL 0.75× MMR. This solution was further mixed via manual pipetting up and down an additional five times, creating a final stem cell suspension. Using a clean transfer pipette, this solution was moved to a new 1% agarose–coated Petri dish containing 0.75× MMR. The speed and angle of the suspension deposition determined the concentration of the cells in the dish, and this concentration was quantified by imaging five random areas in the arena, then counting and averaging the number of cells per sq. mm. Cells were allowed to settle for 2 min before beginning kinematic self-replication experiments.

Conditions for Kinematic Self-Replication.
All experiments were initiated by distributing a stem cell suspension into a 1% agarose–coated 60- × 15-mm Petri dish filled with 15 mL 0.75× MMR, as described above in the preceding paragraph. Dishes were placed on the stage of a stereo microscope equipped with an eyepiece-mounted camera allowing for still photographs and timelapse imaging across the duration of the experiment. Cell suspensions were allowed to settle for 2 min, after which an image was captured of the center of the arena for cell density quantification. Following the initial setup, 12 adult organisms were placed in the center of the area among the dissociated cells via transfer pipette. All experiments were performed with adult reconfigured organisms aged 5 to 6 d at 14 °C, as this time point was previously found to represent the middle of their lifespan, and provides a standard movement rate (9).

Combinations of progenitors and dissociated stem cells were allowed to interact overnight (20-h total trial length) at 20 °C, and once the progenitors were placed in the arena, the Petri dishes were not moved or manipulated in any way to avoid disturbing the dissociated cell distribution. Imaging lights were also turned off for the duration of each generation of self-replication, as the heat generated by the light source was found to induce mild convection currents in the solution. Following completion of a generation, dishes were immediately imaged under the stereo microscope and then moved to a Nikon SMZ-1500 microscope with substage illumination for offspring size quantification. All aggregated stem cell tissue, now compacted as individual spheroids, were then pipetted to the center of the dish, and offspring size was calculated by measuring the diameter of each spheroid in the dish.

Upon completion of self-replication, adult organisms were returned to their original dishes, and their spheroid offspring were moved to a fresh 1% agarose–coated Petri dish containing 0.75× MMR and 5 ng/µL gentamicin. Each dish is washed as often as necessary to remove any remaining loose stem cells. The offspring were then cultured 14 °C for 5 to 6 d to verify the mobility and viability of the following generation. Where applicable, further rounds of replication proceed exactly as the first: 12 individuals (the largest individuals are chosen in successive generations) are placed among feeder cells, allowed to self-replicate for 20 h, and then offspring are quantified and separated for culture.

Evolving Swarms In Silico.
An evolutionary algorithm (38) was used to evolve simulated swarms with better self-replication, and for exhibiting diverse ways of doing so. Each independent trial starts with its own unique set of 16 initially random, genetically encoded replicator shapes. Each encoding is evaluated by prompting it to generate its shape, that shape is copied eight times, the resulting nine-progenitor swarm is simulated, and the amount (if any) of self-replication is recorded. The process is repeated 15 times with each of the remaining encodings. Each of the 16 encodings is then copied, randomly modified, and the swarm it generates is simulated. A 33rd random encoding is added to the expanded population to inject genetic novelty into the population, and its swarm is also simulated and scored. Encodings are then evaluated in pairs: if one encodes a swarm more self-replicative and evolutionarily younger than that encoded by the other, the latter encoding is deleted. Giving a selective advantage to younger swarms in this way maintains diversity in the population. Pairwise competitions continue until the population is reduced back to 16 encodings. This process of random variation, simulation, and selection is repeated for 48 h of wall-clock time on eight NVIDIA Tesla V100s.

Generating Initial Swarms In Silico.
Each replicator shape was encoded as a generative neural network (39) that places voxels at some positions within an empty volume of fixed size. The largest contiguous collection of voxels output by the network was taken to be the shape of the replicator. Randomly modifying the edges or nodes in the network modifies the shape it generates.

Simulating Replication.
Reconfigurable organisms and dissociated stem cells were simulated as elastic voxels using a version of a voxel-based soft-body simulator (40) modified to run on highly parallelized (GPU-based) computing platforms (SI Appendix, Fig. S5). Interactions between two voxels are modeled as deformations of an Euler–Bernoulli beam (translational and rotational stiffness). Collisions between voxels and the bottom of the Petri dish are resolved by Hookean springs (translational stiffness). The height of the aqueous solution, and the walls of the Petri dish, were modeled as soft boundaries that repel voxels penetrating predefined bounds with an opposite force proportional to the squared penetration (SI Appendix, section S2.1). The aggregate metachronal wave force produced by patches of cilia was modeled as an impulse force against each surface voxel, pointing in any direction in the horizontal (x,y) plane. The vertical (z) moments and forces of a simulated organism’s voxels were locked in plane to better approximate the behavior of the physical organisms which maintained constant dorsoventral orientation. The dissociated stem cells were simulated by adhesive voxel singletons with neutral buoyancy, and were free to be moved and rotated in three-dimensional space. When two adhesive voxels collided with each other, they bonded. Compaction and spherification, observed in vivo, is modeled in simulated piles of stem cells by stochastically detaching voxels around the surface of a pile, applying forces pulling them inward toward the center of the pile. Voxels were simulated with material properties manually tuned to allow for the largest stable time step of numerical integration. All other parameters of the model were estimated from biology according to SI Appendix, Table S1. At the start of each simulation, the simulated dish is seeded with the nine progenitors and 1,262 dissociated stem cells. After 3 s of simulation time, the progenitors and any piles with 108 or fewer voxels are deleted. Any piles with more than 108 voxels (incipient offspring; Fig. 3E) are then given an additional 0.5 s to compact and spherify. Empty space in the dish is then replenished with dissociated stem cells. The offspring are matured by adding random cilia forces on their surface voxels (Fig. 3F), after which they are simulated for another 3 s. This process continues until no piles greater than 108 voxels are achieved (Fig. 3G).

Measuring Self-Replication In Silico.
The self-replicative ability of a swarm was taken to be the following:
f=s/p+g,
where g is the total number of filial generations achieved, s is the size of the largest pile, in voxels, at the end of an evaluation period of 3.5 s (16,366 time steps with step size 2.14 × 10−4 s), and p is the pile size threshold required for a pile to develop into an organism. If s is greater than p, a new filial generation begins; otherwise, the simulation terminates. A conservative threshold of p = 108, two-thirds the size of the simulated wild-type spheroids, was selected such that relatively few randomly generated shapes achieved g > 0 (SI Appendix, section S2.2). Such overly conservative estimates can compensate for inaccuracies in other simulated parameters.

Statistical Hypothesis Testing.
The diameters of the 10 largest physical offspring (generation 1) built by wild-type organisms across five independent trial, and across different cell concentrations (gray points, Fig. 2E) were compared to the diameters of those built by the semitoroidal organisms in three independent trials (pink points, Fig. 2E). The diameters of all offspring were normalized by dividing by the cell concentration at which they were built. Comparing offspring size in this way is a conservative test since the volumetric difference between two spheres is eight times as large as their diametric difference. A Mann–Whitney U test was performed with a sample of eight independent measurements: the average offspring diameter within the eight independent trials (three trials with progenitor semitoroids, five trials with progenitor spheroids). The null hypothesis is that the average size of the semitoroid’s offspring (normalized by cell concentration) was no different from the average size of wild-type spheroids’ offspring (P = 0.037). Controlling for false discovery rate (41), this null hypothesis can be rejected at the 0.05 level of significance (SI Appendix, section S4.1).

Wild-type organisms produced just a single filial generation in four of the five independent trials. The only trial to produce two generations of offspring was the one with the highest cell concentration tested (150 cells/mm2). The first of three independent trials using the semitoroidal organisms resulted in two filial generations at 61 cells/mm2 but was then halted because the organisms all contracted a motility-compromising fungal infection. In the second and third trials using semitoroids, additional precautions were taken to avoid fungal infections. Three successive generations of offspring were produced at 61 cells/mm2; four successive generations of offspring were produced at 91 cells/mm2. A Mann–Whitney U test was performed. The null hypothesis is that the number of generations of self-replication achieved by the semitoroids (2, 3, and 4 g) was no greater than the number of generations produced by the wild-type spheroids (1, 1, 1, 1, and 2 g) (P = 0.019). Controlling for false discovery rate, the null hypothesis is rejected at the 0.05 level of significance (SI Appendix, section S4.2).

A Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient of 0.9322 (P = 0.00074) holds between the number of generations achieved and the aggregate size of the 10 largest first generation offspring.

Forecasting Utility.
Three kinds of microelectronic components that adhere permanently upon collision were added to the simulation: light emitters, batteries, and wire (Fig. 4A). Each component contains vertically stacked and insulated conductors which maintain connectability under translational and rotational movement in plane (SI Appendix, Fig. S11 C–E). As a side effect of movement, reconfigurable organisms will randomly push together microelectronics modules present in the dish (SI Appendix, section S5.1). If a light emitter connects by an unbroken circuit of wire to a battery, the light emitter switches on permanently (as indicated by a red circled X in Fig. 4 and SI Appendix, Fig. S11).

The swarm builds piles, which, if large enough, develop into offspring, and the dissociated cells are replenished every 3.5 s. Piles under the size threshold are removed to make way for fresh dissociated cells. Because we are interested in estimating utility rather than self-replication, progenitors are left in the dish and continue building additional offspring alongside their former offspring for another four, 3.5-s periods. After 17.5 s of simulation time, the number of light emitters connected to a power supply was recorded, the progenitors were removed, and all offspring were extracted. The offspring were then split equally into two new simulated Petri dishes, each with a new partially completed circuit (SI Appendix, section S5.2). Self-replication and circuit building begin afresh in these two dishes, again for 17.5 s. This is the start of a binary simulation tree (Fig. 4D) in which each simulation begets at most two simulation branches, each containing one-half of the produced offspring of their root simulation. If only a single offspring is created by a swarm after 17.5 s, then only one new simulation branch is started. If no offspring were built, then that branch of the binary simulation tree terminates.

After 50 simulation bifurcations, 5,024 light emitters were switched on. Symbolic regression (42) was used to find the degree of a polynomial function that best explains the cumulative number of lights switched on. Regression found that utility increases quadratically with time, as estimates found by symbolic regression all converged toward the quadratic curve derived by ordinary least squares: 2.7x2 − 43x + 182.4, where x is the number of simulation bifurcations (R2 = 0.9988).

Data Availability
Source code is available in the GitHub repository (https://github.com/skriegman/kinematically_replicating_organisms). All other data are included in the manuscript and/or supporting information.

Acknowledgments
We thank the Vermont Advanced Computing Core for providing high-performance computing resources. This research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under Cooperative Agreement No. HR0011-180200022, the Allen Discovery Program through The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group (12171), the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Vermont, the Vice Provost for Research at Tufts University, and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University.

Footnotes
↵1S.K. and D.B. contributed equally to this work.

↵2To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: josh.bongard@uvm.edu.
Accepted October 8, 2021.
Author contributions: S.K., D.B., and J.B. designed research; S.K. and D.B. performed research; S.K. and D.B. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; S.K., D.B., M.L., and J.B. analyzed data; and S.K., D.B., M.L., and J.B. wrote the paper.

The authors declare no competing interest.

This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

See online for related content such as Commentaries.

This article contains supporting information online at https://www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.2112672118/-/DCSupplemental.

Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.
This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND).

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< https://reachmd.com/programs/spotlight-chronic-kidney-disease-type-2-diabetes/addressing-drivers-of-progression-to-prevent-chronic-kidney-disease-in-patients-with-t2d/11741/?utm_source=rmd23&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=11740&autoplay=1&origin=b3f210faee82c3dfb4d35d4d51b0cb4e>
Microtechnology-based methods for organoid models
Vanessa Velasco et al., Microsystems & Nanoengineering, 2020
< https://www.nature.com/articles/s41378-020-00185-3?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Microsystems_%26_Nanoengineering_TrendMD_1 > 
Isolating "Uncultivable" Microorganisms in Pure Culture in a Simulated Natural Environment
T. Kaeberlein et al., Science, 2002
< https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1070633?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=TrendMD_1  > 
Cyclin A2 Plays a Critical Role in Proliferation of Lymphoid Progenitors
Kohno, Blood, 2011
< https://ashpublications.org/blood/article/118/21/914/83214/Cyclin-A2-Plays-a-Critical-Role-in-Proliferation?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Blood_TrendMD_1 > 

ARTICLE

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/49/e2112672118

PASSING BY MOVIES THAT MOVE WE

MY THOUGHTS

2:14 Many people I know have said the topic of passing is heavy but I don't see it that way. Yella people pass cause they are phenotypically closer to white. The real issue for me is the one drop rules great dysfunction in the usa. The one drop rule favored white european purity. 
6:56 great personal story from Nicole Candace about passing in her bloodline. The key issue is just because one isn't white does that mean one isn't black. 
9:02 Carol Channing was not black. I don't care what anybody say. She was Yella. It is time for Black folk to use Yella as an official label. 
11:43 Yes, Harlem at a time was somewhat of a bubble, not completely. But Colored women, Black or Yella, still try to protect colored children by not admitting the culture they live in. 
13:24 In the same way Irene's husband and IRene have disagreement about their association to the usa, has that difference of opinion on the USA  between black women side men still exists? even if it isn't advertised. 
17:00 good point in how these two women deemed black are both unhappy in either situation. 
19:25 well, I think an open secret in the room is how yella women have a long history of being abused, by black men who want a trophy wife and white men who want a woman to abuse or own. 
21:59 all our names, funny , Nicole
22:44 My Little Nig by THomas G Key in 1845 Signal of Liberty poetry section < https://aadl.org/signalofliberty/SL_18450303-p1-02 >  Here is "My Little Nig" reused in the book Clotel by William Wells Brown < https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/161/clotel-or-the-presidents-daughter/2842/chapter-11-the-parson-poet/ >  Signal of america was an abolitionists newspaper < https://aadl.org/papers/signalofliberty>
25:15 PReach Nike, Negras are not blancos but the idea of being latino in the usa is predominated by what are called mestizos in latin america. 
27:13 Nicole, I will love to know what black women think on yella/white skinned women choosing the blackest black man so to speak? 
28:29 The director, geniously or in the spirit of larson, realized the two women are in a trap as individuals and they both are dealing with realizing their uncomforts. The story destroys the tragic mullattess
35:22 Clare is releaved when she is amongst black people cause she has spent years worried at every gesture, while Irene has yearned for more than her comfortable life.
38:43 interesting, the director maintained that query. I offer a question. Imagine being two women , who are phenotypically white, as children, alone among a midst of black children. It will pull both female children together. My point is, when people are pushed into proximity to each other against all others, it creates a closeness to each other that may not lead to intercourse but comes as praise or adoration.
43:39 Interesting Nicole, I think Larson was trying to get away from the tragic mulatto , but you are saying the director pushed the tragic position.  HAHA! PAssing 2!:) I know the title for PAssing 3, it is PAssing 3 the grands Great point by Nicole
45:30 Like the book, the movie ends on the cliffhanger , like a who dunnit detective novel, all we need now is the stuff dreams are made of:) 
46:40 I agree, a sense of total failure, exists, but it isn't merely the lies, it is the bad marriages, it is the country. Two men who don't know their wives good enough. Children who don't know their parents.  Look at the RHinelander trial, that LArson admitted knowing about < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinelander_v._Rhinelander > 
49:20 Nicole makes an interesting point, to out Clare is to out himself , specifically, to injure his social standing. Some white men will not associate with clare's husband if they found out. 
51:24 Yes, there was a time where the black community in nyc in particular had the wealth and had a cultural desire to be considered upstanding. Most black people lived in the southern states and were dirt poor.  Well, that harlem is gone, and the architecture of harlem was meant for whites, rich whites, so harlem itself in some way was passing. The polo grounds was meant to play polo, not baseball, like the ny giants or ny yankees that played there. So, harlem's architecture was meant to be for wealthy whites. but black people got harlem cause rich whites went away.
55:36 good point about the reality in another time Nicole, it works for all things. Ala the people of Hong Kong and their britishness.

Video Link- if embedding fails
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0DnBaH5KDo

IN AMENDMENT
CLotel more information : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotel

A lasting thought was about the label Karen. Do we need to use the label Irene for Yella black women that like to be uppity? OR use the label Clare for Yella black women that want to be blackity black?
 

The Library of Congress will no longer use “aliens” and “illegal aliens” as categories.
 
Original article by By Walker Caplan
November 15, 2021, 2:20pm

At a regular meeting of their Policy and Standards Division, the Library of Congress confirmed it will replace the cataloging subject headings “Aliens” and “Illegal aliens” with the terms “Noncitizens” and “Illegal immigration.”

This decision comes after a long conflict between advocacy groups of the changes and elected officials representing populaces that didn't want the change. In 2014, students and librarians at Dartmouth, submitted a formal request to the Library of Congress for the “Illegal aliens” catalog heading to be revised to “Undocumented immigrants.” The Library of Congress announced that they would not change the heading; subsequently other librarians, including the American Library Association, continued to petition the Library of Congress to revise the heading.

The Library of Congress agreed to replace the subject headings in 2016—but a group of elected officials in Congress following their voting populace, added a provision to an appropriations bill that required the library to keep the “Aliens” and “Illegal aliens” headings.

"as expeditiously as possible. ...This update better reflects common terminology and respects library users and library workers from all backgrounds,” said ALA president Patty Wong in a statement responding to the change. “It also reflects the core value of social justice for ALA members, who have been at the vanguard of this change for years.”

MY THOUGHTS

I think patty wong is incorrect at a level. She says the terms: noncitizen or illegal immigrant are in line with common terminology but that is not true. If you go through legal papers from the states or the federal government it is clear, the most common terms historically are "aliens" or "illegal aliens". I am not suggesting they are sensitive terms, or unthreatening terms, but they are the common terms. In the same way colored or negro or blacks were the common terms for the often called african or afro american or black american in modern usa. She also is wrong. No terms respects all people. The people who didn't want the term changed are not being upheld by this terminology change. One of the great flaws in modernity, meaning the now, is the idea that a certain is better for all people even when it clearly is against the wishes of a segment of all people. And, utilizing another term isn't a negative or positive, but, when we lie and suggest it is common instead of radical, it is a dysfunctional act in the goal for better discourse.
 
ARTICLE LINK
https://lithub.com/the-library-of-congress-will-no-longer-use-aliens-and-illegal-aliens-as-categories/ 

Nobel winner Orhan Pamuk is under investigation for insulting modern Turkey’s founder—in a novel.
 
Original article By Walker Caplan
November 16, 2021, 12:48pm
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk is being investigated by the government of Turkey.

Earlier this year, Pamuk was investigated on criminal charges of insulting the Turkish flag and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, in his latest book. Nights of Plague, a historical novel about a plague epidemic on a fictional Ottoman island, features a character—Major Kamil—who was read by the prosecutor as a parody of Atatürk. Pamuk and his publishing house denied the allegations, and the case ended in non-prosecution due to lack of evidence.

But the lawyer who made the initial complaint—Tarcan Ülük—appealed the case, and now, the investigation has been reopened. If Pamuk is found guilty under Law 1816 of the Turkish Penal Code, he could receive a sentence of up to three years in prison.

In 2005, Pamuk had to go to court after he told a Swiss newspaper that around one million Armenians were killed on Turkish territory in the early twentieth century. In 2020, the Turkish government jailed at least 25 writers and public intellectuals for their writings—the third-highest number of writers and public intellectuals jailed globally by one country that year.

“Pamuk’s writing has had a profound impact on the literary world, yet his reputation for having courageous and uncompromising politics has made him a target of the Turkish government’s ongoing and systematic effort to silence dissident voices,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, director of free expression at risk programs at PEN America, in a statement. “[The reopening of the investigation] points to the overall climate of repression against writers in Turkey and demonstrates how the legal system enables appalling authoritarian restrictions on free expression and creativity.” 

MY THOUGHTS

Artist's are all alike in at least one way, where they live may or may not be comfortable to what they create. But, a question arises. Is Pamuk Turkish? Now many will say, of course, he is. But I argue, like many who were raised in schools that mirror the culture of the white western european christian community, he has a mental rearing that reflects a non turkish culture and there lies the problem. The culture of the majority where an artists live need not be the culture of the artists, but the artists judgements of that larger culture warrant reprimand. When sojourner truth wrote about the essence of freedom, was she writing something indicative to the white majority of the time? no. Does this mean I oppose her writings? no. But I comprehend the risks any artists take when they have a stance that many in their geographic proximity oppose. And if you take the risks then you have to be ready to handle a potential burning. The USA loves to use the imperial demand through filtered reconnaissance, in this case pen america, and it is sickening. Turkey is not the usa, legally. And, Pamuk knows this. Is he writing with respect to Turkish law, or not? Should turkish law reflect the legal code of the usa? I say no.

ARTICLE LINK
https://lithub.com/nobel-winner-orhan-pamuk-is-under-investigation-for-insulting-modern-turkeys-founder-in-a-novel/

THE BLOOMINGDALE STORY: READ THE NEVER-BEFORE PUBLISHED PATRICIA HIGHSMITH DRAFT THAT WOULD BECOME CAROL (THE PRICE OF SALT)
A rare gem from Highsmith's newly released diaries and notebooks, with annotations from the author and her editor.
NOVEMBER 16, 2021 BY PATRICIA HIGHSMITH
VIA LIVERIGHT PUBLISHING

This draft of “The Bloomingdale Story” was written by Patricia Highsmith in 1948. It would later be expanded and significantly reworked before being published as the novel The Price of Salt, later titled Carol. The draft is included in the newly released book, Patricia Highsmith: Her Diaries and Notebooks, 1941 – 1995, published by Liveright Publishing, which has made it available here. Notes presented in the right margin were made by Highsmith upon revisiting her notebooks at a later date, accompanied by explanatory notes from her longtime editor, Anna von Planta.

READ THE COMPLETE DRAFT IN THE ARTICLE LINK

ARTICLE LINK
https://crimereads.com/patricia-highsmith-bloomingdale-story-draft-carol-price-of-salt/

Fragment of lost 12th-century epic poem found in another book’s binding
Scholars knew the work about Guillaume d’Orange and the bloody siege of his city existed, but until now believed it had been lost completely

Alison Flood
Thu 18 Nov 2021 07.32 EST

Guillaume kills a giant in an illumination from 13th and 14th century manuscripts of the 'Chanson de Guillaume d'Orange.' Photograph: Granger Historical Picture Archive/Alamy

A fragment from a 12th-century French poem previously believed to have been lost forever has been found by an academic in Oxford’s Bodleian Library.

Dr Tamara Atkin from Queen Mary University of London was researching the reuse of books during the 16th century when she came across the fragment from the hitherto lost Siège d’Orange in the binding of a book published in 1528. Parchment and paper were expensive at the time, and unwanted manuscripts and books were frequently recycled.

Scholars had believed the poem, which comes from a cycle of chansons de geste – epic narrative poems – about Guillaume d’Orange, existed, but there had previously been no physical evidence that this was true. The fragment only runs to 47 lines, but it proves the existence of a poem thought to have been completely lost.

The poem is set in the ninth century, during the reign of Louis the Pious, Charlemagne’s son and heir. Atkin said that while it is believed to have been composed in the late 12th century, the fragment itself is from a copy made in England in the late 13th century.

A fragment from the Siege d’Orange. Photograph: Tamara Atkin/Bodleian Libraries

“Il li demande coment se contient il? / Mauuoisement li quiens Bertram ad dit / Tun frere n’ad ne pain ne ble ne vin / Garison nule dont il puisse garir / Mais ke de sang li lessai plein Bacin,” runs an early section of the fragment, which Philip Bennett, an expert on Guillaume d’Orange from the University of Edinburgh, has translated as: “He asks him, ‘How goes it with him?’ / ‘Badly,’ said Count Bertram. / ‘Your brother has neither bread nor corn nor wine; / He has no supplies with which to save himself, / Except for one basinful of blood, which I left him.’”

The quoted lines come as Bertram begs the king for help relieving the siege of Orange, a city in the Rhône Valley, describing the dire siege conditions. “In later parts of the fragment we hear him berating the queen (at one point he even calls her ‘pute russe’ or ‘red-headed whore’), who has objected to her husband leading a relieving army south,” said Atkin.

Atkin also found a parchment fragment from Béroul’s Roman de Tristan, telling part of the story of Tristan and Iseult, in the same book. The 12th-century poem is one of the earliest versions of the medieval romance, and until now the only evidence of its existence had been an incomplete 13th-century manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The fragment found by Atkin differs “significantly” from the manuscript, and shows the poem was circulated more widely than had previously been thought.

“When you find manuscript waste in a 16th-century book, it tends to be in Latin, and it’s almost always something theological or philosophical, and from the point of view of modern-day literary scholarship, perhaps not that interesting. But the fragments in this book were different,” said Atkin. “They were in French, they were in verse, and in one of the fragments the name Iseult immediately jumped out. I’m not a French scholar, and I realised I was going to need to bring in some collaborators. From there, it’s just been really fun and exciting.”

She approached academics from the universities of Bristol, Edinburgh and British Columbia to help. “I knew it was something important,” said JR Mattison, a French-manuscript specialist from the University of British Columbia who helped to identify the Tristan and Iseult fragment. “This piece of the poem comes from a significant moment when Iseult speaks with her husband King Mark. This fragment expands our knowledge of the poem’s audiences and its changing meaning over time and contributes a new perspective on how Tristan legends moved across Europe.”

Bennett said there had been “no physical trace” of the Siège d’Orange poem before. “There is much evidence from other chansons de geste that a poem about the siege Guillaume d’Orange suffered in his newly conquered city must have once existed,” he said. “The discovery of the fragment we now have fills an important gap in the poetic biography of the epic hero. This is a most exciting addition to the corpus of medieval French epic poetry.”

The team will now work to discover more about when and where the fragments were copied, and how they came to be bound in the 1528 book. “That manuscripts were made at all reflects the value once placed on the texts they contain. But manuscripts that were dismembered and reused as waste were no longer valued as texts. Their only value was as a material commodity – parchment – that could be used to reinforce the binding of another book. The manuscripts containing these French poems were probably recycled because the texts were considered old-fashioned and the language outdated,” said Atkin.

“It’s fantastically exciting to discover something that’s been lost all this time, but I do think it is also worth simultaneously holding the thought that actually, the only reason these fragments have survived is because at some point, someone thought the manuscripts in which they appeared were not valuable as anything other than waste. There’s a sort of lovely tension in that, I think.”

ARTICLE LINK
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/nov/18/fragment-of-lost-12th-century-epic-poem-found-in-another-books-binding 

WHY SHOULD CHILDREN READ DARK BOOKS?
Katie Moench Nov 12, 2021

Scary books made to give readers the chills may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of “children’s literature.” Horror, whether it be books, shows, or movies, is often thought of as a more adult genre, especially when it depicts violent situations of terrifying outcomes. Death, dismemberment, and masked men with sharp, stabbing knives aren’t exactly the stuff of bedtime stories, and no parent could be blamed for wondering if their kid will never sleep again after reading ghost stories. But even though darker subject material may not be the most common type of children’s book, it can play an important role in the emotional development of young readers.

When children encounter new situations in books, whether scary or not, it gives them a chance to think through how they would handle such things, as well as experience new emotions from a safe and hypothetical place. As children’s author Cavan Scott puts it in his workshops on juvenile horror, “the world is a scary place.” By giving children scary books, Scott argues, young readers can be “pushed to the edge of their comfort zone,” but still get a resolution at the end. Since books for younger readers tend to end at least somewhat happily, children get the experience of being scared, but aren’t necessarily exposed to the more ambiguous endings dark books for adults might contain. If kids are not allowed to read anything frightening or shocking, then they won’t be able to develop the coping skills they’ll need when scary situations arise in their lives.

In addition to allowing children to develop skills for navigating difficult situations, scary stories can also warn young readers about dangerous situations. Even now, I can still remember moments where my favorite charcters in childhood books were put in danger, and how they reacted. Though it’s not healthy to be fearful all the time, books can impart important lessons, from the dangers of getting too close to wild animals to the need to be cautious around strangers. Kids can also think about, and discuss with the adults in their lives,how to stay safe and what kinds of choices they would make in such situations.

And, of course, dark reads can appeal to young readers simply because kids, like adults, like them. Children, in my experience, are their own best judges when it comes to what they find interesting to read and how difficult of stories they can handle. Many otherwise reluctant readers might love the Goosebumps or Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series, precisely because they are full of exciting and nerve racking characters and events, and reading these kinds of books can set children up as lifelong lovers of horror. When kids find books that engage them and that they enjoy, they are more likely to view themselves as readers and to feel like they have a place in the world of books.

No matter how much we might wish otherwise, children, like all humans, experience fear. We are programmed to fear new experiences and unknown things, and even if worries about monsters under the bed or shadows lurking in the dark might seem silly to grown-ups, to children they are very real dangers. Additionally, situations like starting at a new school, dealing with a divorce or death in a family, or moving to a new house can all bring up feelings of anxiety or even dread for kids learning to work through the emotions surrounding such events.

Whatever our age, books, and stories give us the opportunity to process situations outside of ourselves and to draw inspiration and comfort from how others have coped with similar, scary situations. While an adult might not immediately see the connection between being the new kid at school and a book about a kid who hunts ghosts, for a young reader, it’s an opportunity to see someone their age being brave. Just as the best horror novels play on our realistic fears, dark reads for kids can help them emotionally explore frightening situations through the safety of a book. Plus, kids might find they really connect with darker reads, and it can help set them on the path to being engaged and lifelong readers! If you’re looking for dark reads for the kids in your life, hand them some of the books below.

USE THE ARTICLE LINK BELOW TO VIEW THE ENTRIES SUGGESTED

ARTICLE LINK
https://bookriot.com/why-should-children-read-dark-books/ 

REFERRAL LINK
https://kobowritinglife.com/2021/11/19/book-bans-the-national-book-awards-and-a-lost-poem-fragment-this-week-in-book-news/ 
 

I quote Variety: 
By backing #Oppenheimer, Universal is making a bet that the right director can still get audiences excited to visit cinemas for original content. The film, which isn’t due in theaters until 2023, will need to defy the odds to become commercially successful

The article

Why Christopher Nolan’s $100 Million WWII Drama ‘Oppenheimer’ Could Be the Last of Its Kind

By Rebecca Rubin < https://variety.com/author/rebecca-rubin/ >  

Christopher Nolan’s next movie “Oppenheimer,” a $100 million-budgeted historical drama about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb, could be considered one of an endangered species.

These days, it’s rare for traditional studios to pump nine figures into a film that isn’t inspired by popular toys, novels or comic books. Even before COVID-19 upended the moviegoing landscape, audiences had been gravitating toward superheroes and science-fiction spectacles — and not much else. That reality has made it increasingly difficult for Hollywood to justify the economics of greenlighting expensive movies that aren’t based on existing intellectual property. They’re a bigger risk, not only in recouping investments for studios, but also in generating profits, spawning sequels and leveraging consumer product riches. No matter how well people receive Nolan’s film, it’s unlikely J. Robert Oppenheimer’s face will adorn t-shirts or lunch boxes.

By backing “Oppenheimer,” Universal Pictures is making a bold bet that the right director can still get audiences excited to visit cinemas for original content. The film, which isn’t due in theaters until 2023, will need to defy the odds to become commercially successful. On top of its $100 million production budget, the studio will need to spend $100 million more to properly promote the film to global audiences. Because Nolan’s contract guarantees he receives first-dollar gross — an increasingly uncommon perk that grants the filmmaker a percentage of ticket sales — it will take $50 million to $60 million more to achieve profitability than it would take another film of similar scope. Consequently, insiders at rival studios estimate “Oppenheimer” will need to generate at least $400 million at the global box office in order to turn a profit.

That box office benchmark is one that Nolan’s films haven’t had trouble clearing in the past decade, with the exception of “Tenet,” which opened in theaters at a time when COVID-19 vaccines were still months away. And despite the circumstances, the Warner Bros. cerebral thriller — starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson — managed to collect $363 million worldwide. “Tenet” cost more than $200 million, making it nearly impossible to turn a profit in those conditions. When it comes to Nolan’s other original properties, 2010’s “Inception” grossed $836 million globally, 2014’s “Interstellar” made $701 million globally and 2017’s “Dunkirk” collected $526 million globally. In other words, Nolan is a filmmaker with an enviable box office track record.

Those who closely follow the industry point out that “Oppenheimer” won’t be the kind of gripping mind-benders that audiences have come to expect from Nolan, such as “Inception” or “Memento.” Instead, it’s a historical drama that’s firmly rooted in fact and physics. Unlike “Dunkirk,” which captures the heroism of British forces during the early days of World War II, “Oppenheimer” tells a darker story, one that exists in the moral murk of the past and is not only divisive, but firmly American. That could limit interest overseas, where Nolan’s films tend to make the bulk of their revenues.

None of this means people in the movie theater business are betting against Nolan. The reason that Universal’s chairwoman Donna Langley made it her mission to court Nolan after his relationship with Warner Bros. grew strained is that he’s one of the few directors who can take a bold swing and rake in hundreds of millions at the box office. It’s especially valuable at a time when Hollywood appears to be scraping the bottom of the barrel for IP that can be spun into cinematic gold. Case in point: There are (real) movies in the works based on the card game Uno, the crunchy snack Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and the invention of Viagra. Because not every project can be derived from Marvel, Star Wars, James Bond, Jurassic World and Fast & Furious, studios are turning to filmmakers with unique perspectives who can launch a film based on their name alone. Privately, other Hollywood players have voiced their desire to see “Oppenheimer” succeed because it would encourage studio executives and financiers to take more chances on new ideas.

“[Nolan] is a unique talent with a very loyal fanbase. If you were to say someone else was doing a period piece about J. Robert Oppenheimer, I would say it would be difficult to get made,” says producer Peter Newman, the head of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts’ MBA/MFA program. “Here, you know you’re going to get something different and original.”

There aren’t many filmmakers who are given the opportunity to create movies around new and unfamiliar ideas at that budget level, at least, not at traditional studios. (In a sign of changing times, Steven Spielberg, once a streaming service skeptic, forged a partnership for his company Amblin to produce new feature films yearly for Netflix.) When they work, in the case of Quentin Tarantino’s ode to 1960s showbiz “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” the studio and filmmakers alike can reap the benefits. Sony shelled out roughly $90 million to produce “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie and grossed $375 million at the global box office. When they flop, like Ridley Scott’s big-budget period piece “The Last Duel,” starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Adam Driver, or Roland Emmerich’s $100 million-budgeted war drama “Midway,” the losses can be ruinous.

Filmmakers like Jordan Peele and Judd Apatow have a similar ability to churn out hits, but their movies don’t cost nearly as much to make. Recent would-be blockbusters or adult-targeted movies with sizable budgets, such as Michael Bay’s “6 Underground,” Aaron Sorkin’s “Trial of the Chicago 7,” David Fincher’s “Mank” and “Red Notice” starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, were set up by or sold to Netflix. The streamer, as well as its competitors, doesn’t report box office grosses and relies on luring subscribers with fresh content, so it’s impossible to know what kind of financial impact those movies had. 

Nolan could have easily sold “Oppenheimer” to a streaming service, which would have guaranteed him a massive payday without being subjected to the scrutiny of box office reporting. But he’s a big supporter of the big-screen experience and the struggling film exhibition industry.

Since “Oppenheimer” isn’t expected to debut in theaters until summer 2023, plenty could change in the movie theater business by then — for better or worse. There’s a chance it could launch in an environment that’s even more hostile to tentpoles that aren’t of the comic book ilk. Or, moviegoers could be ready to look beyond the constant drip of Batman, Superman and Spider-Man adventures and watch something that doesn’t involve grown men in tights.

With an original property, marketing executives have to familiarize audiences with the property while also enticing them to watch the story in theaters. In the case of “Oppenheimer,” Universal has to make people aware that Nolan has a new movie and convince them they simply must watch the story behind the Manhattan Project on the big screen. Nolan is assembling an A-list ensemble — Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr. — around Cillian Murphy (who is playing J. Robert Oppenheimer) to elevate the movie’s profile.

Another challenge will be reaching its target demographic of adult crowds. They may be more eager to go to the movies two years from now, but while COVID-19 is still lingering, the age group has been most hesitant to visit their local cinemas.

“There used to be at least one level of uncertainty in how movies perform: execution dependent,” Newman says. “Now, it’s not only execution dependent, it’s pandemic dependent. It takes over a year to make a movie like this, and nobody knows what the health situation will be [at the time it comes out].”

MY THOUGHTS

If I am honest, I think this movie dies hard. When M Night Shamala did Lady In The Water or Last Airbender, it sounds a lot like Oppenheimer from Christopher Nolan. A director with a set of fans who expect a certain kind of narrative in a film and who will not be happy of the course change. The article says directors like Nolan can be banked on money but admitted, the failures of big budget films, like Ridley scott's , The Last Duel, or similar are examples to show it doesn't work and has many recent examples of failures.
The one name the article doesn't mention is clint eastwood. It refers to Jordan Peele or Judd Apatow but to be blunt, Clint Eastwood is the quiet king of the low budget hit machine, starting decades ago. And to that end is where I think directors like ridley scott/christopher nolan/shamala all made the mistake. The reality is, big budget movies from the usa need to be the providence of comics/superheroes/fast and the furious/toys. The article didn't even mention Villaneuve, who did the Bladerunner sequel and Dune and in both cases, you can argue for failure financially. 

It is an art directing a low budget picture , it demands the director stop all the bells and whistles and simply tell a good story and pick wise actors to present their characters as compelling within the framework of said story. Nolan will get paid regardless, but I expect this film will be an end and I don't think it is a problem. 

I end with a simple truth. No one is stopping original ideas from being made into films. if viewerships or audiences are too stupid or too manipulated to give movies a chance beyond metacritic scores and various judgements of others, then the audience or viewership is the problem.

POST SCRIPT

The point they made about Netflix's films is very poignant. Who can know a streaming service has success with a film? is it number of streamers growth? If quantity of streamers, people who paid for a subscription, doesn't elevate then how is a film on a streaming service financially profitable, outside stock price speculation 

The HArder They Fall
 

MEdia That Moves We

Black Daddies

some of my thoughts

My Media that moves we commentary

the film was influenced by all the genre's of western films in the usa, from the john wayne era to the spaghetti western  to the black films like posse or buck and the preacher

That is the brilliance of the film, it in the end is an entertainment , not a documentary or historical film. 

Nike, you precancelled , canceled westerns:)

YEah, Multiple review shows of this film have I Think missed one key point. if you want to make a film a certain way, own a film studio. At some point you have to reject the level of complaint to how the story is told. Own a studio and you can do what you want ?

and let's be honest, revenge is a constant theme of westerns of all sorts, denzel's magnificent seven differed from kurosawa's seven samurai or  brenner/mcqueen magnificent seven, where the gunfighters are trying to redeem themselves in a quiet little place. 

yes, they trained with their doubles so they could have a more john wickian fight choreography

I give my entertainment ranking a 10, I was entertained , love the womens fight:) in terms of black westerns , it is a high percentage, 7 or 8. I think posse or buck and the preacher are better as films. In terms of westerns in general , from the black and white silent black westerns and et cetera to now, 7 . In terms of historical quality in western films... a five. 
  

My Black Daddies commentary

Was jill scott offered the role? did jill scott reject it?

blacker than buck and the preacher... I don't know, it is clearly up there

the usa has a long history of film superstar collabs in westerns, this films joins that very long list

white zombia was a financial play, legosi reportedly was paid a lot for that film, and it was clearly designed to play on the fandom of "monster movies" the cultural aspects of white zombie is clearly negative but the reason it was made was purely financial

do you guys think disney has written the entire phase 4 already, or at least all the parts?

Do you think a cartoon of a fiscally impoverished family from a dying black town, can be made by a high profile company like disney?

What about danny glover get production money to direct his toussaint louverture movie if he does this?

if lethal weapon 5 makes money does another Beverly hills cop happen?

What about the detective jumps from a spacex ship to virgin galactic ship to solve a cryptocurrency theft

This was for entertainment, in the spirit of westerns movies in the usa. never real history, always an entertainment