There was a time when Bill Cosby was the king of comedy. With a no holds bard approach to getting the job done. Even in that realm he was able to shed light on an era with out it being exploiting in nature. He added to a genre something that was missing.
There are not enough words to describe the first time I took part in watching this film. Being that I grew up in the Cosby show era, I saw him as the father with rules and no edge. Uptown Saturday night changed that for me and showed me that he was capable of range in his character portrayals. So I dubbed this one an instant classic in the Cosby Library.
This fill also stars and is directed by Sidney Poitier, along with Harry Belefonte, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, and Calvin Lockhart. These actors were the breaking mold on the trend of Blaxploitation, although the era lasted a little longer. However with their accolades in acting and performance, it was considered a grade above by the audience. However its theme of Black Gangsters and challentens played heavy in this film, it will be forever remembered as the film cosby was more of a human being and less of the perfect father.
So without further delay. Here are some clips that you will be able to expand your Cosby knowledge on.
Uptown Saturday Night
uptown saturday night - looking for little seymour
The Follwing movie is the film that brought us such a natural. I do not know if many remember but this guy was just looking for a job. Hopped into a booth for instant photos, passed it off to Spike Lee, and the rest was History. Now that is what the American Dream is all about.
Underrating or forgetting something seems to be the norm in our society. We are more attracted to the polished shoe instead of the one that last longer or the new pair forgetting how far the old pair brought us in our journeys. We tend to seek out that which catches our eyes, therefore forgetting the prime component of quality or longevity.
With an abundance of copy cat raps, and bikinis alongside mediocre music. I think many have forgotten the messages. So allow me to remind you that their is some real out there and it will not leave those who seek understanding and vibe banging tracks at the same time.
I need to start this off with a potent turn in Hip Hop.
Kanye West 'Jesus Walks'
Jesus Walks Kanye West featuring Mase
Yes I gave you a butt load of version and remakes. I hope you enjoyed it.
I sit around my stereo awaiting you to speak to me again. It has been so long since you and I had a bonding moment. I know that you have much on your plate at this time and that you are doing some restructuring of some sort. However I have a problem coming to terms with your absence. My stereo is dusty, my CD player has transformed into some Mp3 thing, and I have to conform to the new standard to music playback. I say this to make the point that when I first heard you on the radio in 94 I could not think of anything better.
When you applied your verse in ready or not in 1996 I almost new for sure you were the women I would love to marry. I smashed old records that made no sense, my Kid N play, was not running the house party any longer. Alongside Wyclef and Praz, I new you were destined to my heart. Just like many thing, that was a heart break waiting to happen. Perhaps you will return to my stereo, and we can make up again.
It this is possible check Yes or No!
Until you do, I will sit back and vibe on the classics with my Mp3
fugees-ready or not 1996
Killing me softly - Fugees
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill-Everything is Everything
Lauryn Hill - Doo Woop
Nas feat. Lauryn hill
Lauryn Hill - Ex-Factor Video
Lauryn Hill - Lost Ones
Bob Marley with Lauryn Hill - Turn your lights down low
When you think of Kick ass Kung fu and Afros, two women come to mind,Pam Grier and Tamara Dobson. In the early 70's somewhere between 1973 and 1976 you got the thrills and the sass that was Cleopatra Jones. A slim, long legged, take no prisoners cop, that portrayed something that many attempted to emulate on the streets of NY all the way to the Bay Area.
Although we see the Blaxploitation era as something we will never plan on repeating in the arts. We must remember that it gave Black Hollywood the opportunity to work. These roles may have been lined with stereotype after stereotype, causing a delay in hollywood to give those of Afircan decent, roles that displayed range, but they displayed something that could not be replaced. A willingness to work in an art form no matter that cost. This is something that must be remembered and never forgotten.
So without further ado. I would like to present to you another fine example that came out of an era of pimp portrayals, Gangster swagger, gold teeth, and bad lines. I give you Cleopatra Jones and the clips that should not be forgotten.
Cleopatra Jones
Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold - Post-shower attack.
As many feared Tyler Perry may be closer to global success than we could have every imagined. With an all star cast, the future looks bright for Tyler Perry films. Judging from this trailer I get the feeling this may not be the film to do it, but I do feel that if he achieves the same success as his past niche market films, he can grow his production company.
There are a list of movies that I had the pleasure of watching growing up. These movies were poor in quality but big in kicks and beauty. The top three that held my attention though were done by Pam Grier. One of the more attractive actresses of her day. IT could not be denied that she was a beauty to battle. As we watch her on the L Word and feel in love with her all over again in Jackie brown. It should not be forgotten that she helped bring some sort of dignity to Black exploitation movies. A quite dignity, with beauty and grace. Except for those sloppy kungfu kicks.
However we are looking a genre of films that began of a successful showing of Sweet SweetbackBadaaaasss song. So Keep in mind much like copy cat studio gangsters, there was an influx of copy cat films, that were filmed in very low quality with the most attractive stars of color they can find that would actually do these films.
I love Pam Grier and yes I support her career, however I will always have a bad taste in my mouth for the low level films that came out of such a genre.
With out further ado. I bring you the clips of Pam Grier:
Would someone please explain to me what is going through this guys head. I seriosly try to stay away from such subject matter. However this is not an issue for me when the person is doing something as Dumb as this. I hope that he is getting paid to look like this, if Kellogg is not cutting a check I think he needs to rethink his strategy before he burns out like Superman that @$ character, before he even reaches that level.
Here is the speech that will shake the world for years to come.
I have been left speechless after sitting on my couch, and jumping off of the thing to clap loudly till my neighbors heard me from across the street. Since I live amongst many McCain Supporters I am sure now that they realize who I am voting for.
I find my self feeling an vibe filled chill run down my back every time I think of this speech. As for Oprah, Kanye west, and Mary J Blige, my world will never be the same. My confidence has reached a new level. No one can take away form me what I am. They will have to accept that I will now offer to the world who I am and with Confidence to break down all obstacles.
Oprah Referred to the king speech. Allow me to share that speech with you.
Now this will get kind of long so take your time and be patient the world is about to begin a process to a better place and one of the architects to this new world is Martin Luther King.
I have a Dream
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹
To follow more about the Obama Speech: DailyNation
There are many films that grab you attention over time and many that leaves you high and dry with the feeling that you have wasted two hours of you time. Some films stay with your so long that you are unable to forget them, and some how end up replaying certain scenes over and over again in you mind. At some point in you forget that you are your own person, and begin to emulate every aspect or at least some small part of the film. Sometime this is done in hopes that you will be able to achieve the outcome, such as one in the film. However this is not always the case. However say that to say this. Some films have such a strong impact on the watcher that it no longer is a film and become a sacred work of some sort.
One such film is 'She Hate Me', a film by often militant, but critically acclaimed director Spike Lee. A director that never passes on the opportunity to share his view on the current status of our generation. Often tapping in the the past and the future as a backdrop to his point.
A few years ago Spike did 'She Hate Me', a film that earned much attention in terms of true movie goes, but thinned out to the masses. A film that deserves a second glance, if not a permanent replay in ones home.
So what I am going to do for you today is drop in you a missing scene and a few clips in hopes that you will find yourself deep in its essence.
This video is where it is at. What Common has displayed here is beyond remarkable and Pharrell allowed us the opportunity to see him stretch his delivery. What more can I say? Nothing else needs to be said.
Wow from the top to the bottom. I can see his thoughts in this picture clearly. Mother#%$ don't take this picture. $#% you took it. If I did not want my kids so bad I would beat your @$#. Now I am not going to get laid tonight, because everyone will know who these two are. @#%^
JOHN ROCKINS UNIVERSITY has been brought into existence do to a silent demand for representation. A representation in the media of Ethnic American Films, music, books, and plays. Although this blog is not singular in a focus solely on Ethnic American art, it allows the reader to see that it fits into a full spectrum of works, across the entire industry.
With the exposure JRU's hopes to be a piece of a large pie. An integral part that can be shared at all tables involved and with all who take an interest in the art of our modern day as well as past, and leaping towards a greater future.
No longer should Americans or the America we love, have a split down the center. If in art that continues it will forever bring out the underlying mistrust, and misunderstanding that we face in reality.
I hope to bring all races together with this blog and to bring about a change within our work in the media as well as the art forms of entertainment that we love.
