Coming To Theaters: White Lies, Black Sheep - Life as a Black Rocker? Maybe

In 2006, a movie came out called "Afro-Punk". The film, by James Spooner, was toted as being a film that would explore the world of what it was like to be black in a mostly-white sub-culture such as punk and metal. The film was, as you may have guessed, slanted towards the idea that blacks were ostracized by their friends to some minor degree. It touched the idea of blacks into metal were considered by some whites to be called "Safe blacks", something I will admit I've felt from time to time in my life, but not really. I guess growing up in a major city in the 90's to today means the experince of the director and some of the people in the film would be pretty different than, say, a rural area in the 70's and 80's.

He has a new film called "White Lies, Black Sheep" and the description is as follows:

A.J.'s real name is Ajamu Talib. His dislike for his African name is the least of his problems, still it says a lot about him. Brooklyn born and bred yet outcast by his peers, his only escape was music. A.J. found freedom in rock n roll.

Tight clothes, straightened hair, popular with girls and partying every night, he is fully entrenched, in the debaucherous New York rock n roll scene. For once he feels like everyone else. Well almost.

He begins to find that his chosen community, the white rock world, only seems to run smoothly for white rockers. A series of events force him to recognize his friends both exotify him and are in denial of his blackness. Black, but not "really" black. What's a young black rocker to do?

Shot in venues capturing NYC crowds, this film features live performances from Antibalas, Moldy Peaches, Theo, The SkyScrapers and Panther.

"White Lies, Black Sheep" is one of those films where the locations and the city itself are as important as the story. Much like Taxi Driver, Wild Style, Downtown 81, or Kids, "White Lies" is sure to be used as a reference point, establishing for future generations just what New York was like, back in early second millennium.

My thoughts? I think everything I just said is going to apply here.

The most annoying thing about being a black metal head or black punk (whatever I choose to do at the time) hasn't been from my fellow group of outcasts, but from other blacks. Ask any black person who is into a sub-culture; blacks tend to be insanely conservative and their hatred of outcasts, even in a major city, rival those of people in redneck areas. Its annoying, frustrating, and really, that's where I've seen the most problems in my life.

People in the metal and punk world tend to not care what someone is. In the end, we're all part of the same group of outcasts. Will punks make fun of emo-kids? Yes. Will emo-kids make fun of goths? Yeah. Does anyone give a shit about race? Only the skinheads, and there aren't a lot of those.

I do recommend giving the film a chance. Hey, $5? I don't mind! It could be good!

Where & When
Sedgwick Theater
7137 Germantown Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19119
August 22, 2009
7PM
$5

The ONLY Good Thing to Come out Of "Bender's Game"

Kathy McCarty - Rocketship



"Futurama: Bender's Game"... bad film, but this song basically saved it.

Look for a full review soon.

Finally Watched "Red Dawn"

So with all the references and seemingly talk about this 1984 film, I decided to pick it up since I saw a new copy for $6. With the seemingly huge impact it had (The U.S. Military called the capture of Saddam "Operation Red Dawn"), and the idea of the U.S. being invaded by a foreign nation... I thought it was an awesome concept.

The movie... the movie left a lot to be desired.

Admittedly, on my part, it most likely because I had fairly high expectations.

The film uses an overall "less-is-more" technique in a few areas. The setting of the film is Kansas and the movie seems more like a bunch of guys going into the woods to make a film, using a few abandoned blocks in a small town to create the idea of a Soviet state, and a ton of explosions lying around. I was having a hard time imagining an actual Soviet Invasion since the full extent of what I saw was a small detention camp, 4 blocks of a town, and a bunch of tanks.

Then again, I'm being fairly picky. The film is less about the invasion and the conflicts and story surrounding it and more about what American's, normal everyday Americans would do in a situation where they were the rebelling army against their imposers for the first time in over 100 years. Granted, 2 of them have survival and hunting tactics, but it still works well. The idea of seeing a group of 10 -12 teenagers rebel against a massive army, losing more and more people along the way, their families, their homes... it's fairly deep stuff.

The problem, though, is that in the end it was less about telling an interesting story that revolved around developing these characters and more about the actual violence. It's worth noting that this film was made in 1984 when the MPAA finally came out with the PG-13 film rating. Because of this, the film may have been in a sort of limbo where either film maker of the studio wanted to get either a PG or R rating. So we get a film that was considered one of the bloodiest at it's time while trying to mix a sense of realism in the characters and how they would function.

But to say there was none to little character development would be wrong. There is some, but not much. One example is when the troop picks up two girls who were put into hiding. Their transformation into members of the group is never actually explained, and their history and path is shrouded in too much secrecy for you to connect with. One of the main characters goes from being scared, to drinking deers blood, to being one of the strongest of the group. His transformation isn't fully explored, but the information we get works and make sense. With so much going on, I can understand the need to cut out certain parts.

There is, though, a lot of the film that works well. The initial 25 minutes of the film, where we see the Soviets paratroopers land and invade Kansas, the getaway by the band of high schoolers, and heading to the shop for ammunition and food while all they know and love is being destroyed... eventually arriving in the woods and creating their new order. It was nothing short of great to watch it and the fact that the rest of the film only had small highlights harmed it in my eyes.

Some other choice parts? The emotional exchange between the father and two brothers at the detention camp, watching them come back to the occupied town, and the meeting of the Soviet leader to his men when he declares the Wolverines are to be hunted were great scenes. They took on the idea, the concept, and the emotion's that one would expect during World War III.
If anything, the overt patriotism was lost on me. I found it cheaply used in the film because, as I've stated before, the film barely gave you an idea of the full scope of what was going on. The interaction between other freedom fighters was minimum, same with those who were captured. Admittedly, again, I have to take into account that this film was released in 1984 when American was in the middle of another "Red Scare" and this film would have been, in a sense, a call to arms or a somber reminder that freedom isn't free.

I'm going to give this film a 3 out of 5 skulls. In the end, the film doesn't entirely disappoint. The ending left a bit to be desired because I didn't feel the film build up to it, but the your left with a feeling of wonder and intrigue about both the plot and what you would do if you were put into a similar situation. Would you be able to hunt and kill your own food? Would you be able to take another life if it meant surviving? The film is worth the price of admission, but don't put your hopes to high.

Trailer for New Movie About BUSH!

Oliver Stone's W Teaser Trailer
by ThePlaylist

Greatest. Film. EVER!

OK, not quite, but this trailer has me psyched! Should be good!