Review: What are these Black Men Thinking?
A Review of What Black Men Think a film by Janks Morton
2.5 Stars out of 5
Summary: You ever watch a great TV show with frequent, annoying commercials? That's What Black Men Think in a nutshell; lots of good points interspersed with too many black conservative talking points. While this movie vigorously attacks popular myths against black men in the media, it undermines itself by perpetuating more myths and conspiracy theories. So, in effect, the film takes two steps forward, and then moves two steps backward.
homepage of the film
Update: Janks Morton has been featured on C-Span's Q&A.
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Content of Review:
- What I Liked
- Beef #1
- Beef #2
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Review:
If you cut out half of WBMT, it would be a nice 45 minute movie with all of the positive impact, and none of its serious problems. As it is, WBMT, a movie about debunking black stereotypes, actually pushes a few harmful myths. It also taints itself by leaving out legitimate black voices in favor of the fringe of black thought. Very disappointing, since I have eagerly awaited this film for months, since seeing the trailer:
Finally, I thought, a documentary in the vein of Getting it Wrong, one which imploded the modern racial myths of black people, and reveals a look how the (black) man on the street sees many compelling issues.
What I liked
This trailer shows ordinary black men talking about issues of concern and busting myths. This is where the documentary itself shines, as Morton goes to the man and woman on the street and queries them about the state of black men and the state of Black America. These "man on the street" dialogues were undoubtedly cherry picked to make his points, but they are poignant nonetheless. To see the anguish in some of the folks' faces as they try to answer questions like 'are there more black men in college or prison' touches a part of your soul. You are witnessing people actively struggle against mental slavery and conditioning. Others, we see, have completely given in, but none of these testimonials and points of view are contrived.
Morton goes through a few myths this way, and debunks them all by writing the relevant facts on his "board of education". Morton had me going "bravo!" when, at one point, he summarizes all of the false stereotypes on his whiteboard, and succinctly ties all of them to the overall negative perception that black people, and society in general, has against black men.
Loved it.
Another bravo moment is after a montage of minstrels and black men in drag. Morton dead pans the camera and opines,
OK we get it. A black man dressed as an overweight black woman in drag is funny. How many more movies do you think you'd have to make in order to prove that point? And with the status of black mens' images today, as tainted, tarnished and maligned as our images are today. The next time one of those scripts come across your desk, calling for you to wear a dress--burn it.
There are also a couple of good poetry sequences, one by Tsion "The Wordsmith" (pronounced "zion"), and the other by Taalam Acey:
Beef #1
So where and when does the film go wrong? This occurs the moment the camera turns away from the common man and solid facts.
For a considerable portion of the film, the camera points to the same black spokespeople that have spouted many of the stereotypes that have created a need for this documentary. If you don't know the history of some of these hacks and what some of them have said on Fox News and other places, you will probably not be as bothered (or amused) by what they say on WBMT. And though many of them say things on the film that noone could disagree with, it doesn't take long before they inevitably start spouting tired black conservative talking points.
(In the film, many of the black hacks try to establish street cred by glorifying and praising Malcolm X. It was particularly amusing to see Shelby Steele choke out praise upon Malcolm X, whom he once called a "victim-sage". It must have really rubbed his programming raw to do that; and it begs the question, "to what end?")
When I first heard that there were to be black conservatives and black republicans in the film, I thought Morton's motive was to show that men across the political spectrum, even the ones on the fringe, share positive views and goals for black people. Instead, it turns out that a good portion of the movie is a recruitment pitch from black conservatives/republicans.
That would be OK, if these hacks didn't use the film to spread their own mythology. What do I mean? Here are a few myths perpetuated in the film:
Myth #1: The NAACP started, perpetuates and profits from the "Blacks/Jail" Myth. The biggest unsubstantiated claim the film makes, after it debunks the "more black men in jail than college" myth, is that the NAACP spreads this lie. Here, Morton noticeably drops his fact checking methodology and delves into pure speculation. According to him, the NAACP is a major source and beneficiary of the "jail/college" myth. Apparently this organization profits from spreading the myth.
Huh? Where's the evidence? There is none given.
No wonder Julian Bond, or any NAACP representative, is absent from the DVD.
A priceless scene in the movie is Morton standing in front of his white board, with a convoluted diagram full of arrows, and flying dollars signs. This diagram purports to show the web of links between the NAACP, the Public, the Media, the Government, the Justice Policy Institute, and others in perpetuating the "Jail vs. College" myth. But as Morton rails against these groups, without any solid facts or evidence, he comes off like a raving conspiracy theorist.
And considering this point, that black spokespeople are profiting by perpetuating negative myths about blacks, how--just how--am I supposed to take this point seriously when the likes of Armstrong Williams, John McWhorter, Shelby Steele and Michael Steele are at the lectern throughout the film? Haven't these people made a living doing just that? In Armstrong William's case we not only know that he is a sellout, but we know his selling price: 241,000 shekels of silver from Bush's Administration.
Myth #2: Blacks are declining in educational achievements. Amazing in a film that shoots down the "jail/college" myth, but in railing against hip hop culture and other woes, a few of the black conservative spokespeople actually trot this myth out. It also fits within the narrative that blacks have declined morally and culturally since 1964, a narrative the film spends a while building up.
But in fact, since the 60s, blacks have been improving in educational achievements and continue to do so. I point you to Getting It Wrong. Statistics on high school achievement, college graduation, and even national exam scores, show that black academic achievement has been on an unstalled, steady, upward trend.
Myth #3: American racism is irrelevant and blacks are too angry. Do I even have to disprove this one? A quote from Shelby Steele from the film:
You will run into discrimination. Though I can tell you as someone who grew up in segregation. You've got to hunt it out now, because it's not there on any level it once was.
How can Shelby Steele use his experience as a credit, when every black person over 50 grew up with segregation? Many of us under 50 have grown up with a type of de facto segregation, though it is not as harsh as the 60s. I think it's amusing to try to tell those of us who have to put up with racism and racist attitudes that we're actively hunting for the discrimination we experience.
I won't tell you any of the other quotes from the cavalcade of black conservatives, but I can tell you this segment of the film was hard to watch. What I don't get is why can't black conservatives both acknowledge the prevalence of racism and preach a strong work ethic? Why does it have to be one or the other?
Myth #4: Blacks consider those who are academically and materially successful as "acting white". Again, strange that the same film that would prove that blacks overwhelmingly choose education and favor college, would try to push the idea that such success is met in the black community with scorn. Juan Williams, among others, tries to push this myth. And McWhorter actually says:
You can say just the syllables "tu pac", in a room full of very smart, poised black people, 30 and under, and there will be a hush as if you said "God".
Are you kidding me, McWhorter? Is this what I purchased this DVD for, to be subjected to even more black myths? To hear McWhorter tell me that I hold the name of 2Pac above that of God?
Lines like McWhorter's dismantle piece by piece the positive aspects of the film, until we are back where we started: inundated with a pile of lies and distortions. Only the pantheon of myths have been replaced by a set of new ones from the black conservatives and republicans.
Beef #2
My second major beef with the film are the absent voices. Forget Sharpton, and Jackson for a moment. In the DC metro Area, there are hundreds of black voices that have a high degree of legitimacy in the black community. Some have been given legitimacy through the vote, as there are dozens of black elected leaders in this location. Others earned their legitimacy through selfless work attending to those in need.
Where are these voices?
I have to assume that they were left out by design.
In DC, of all places, voices from the true-blue black activist are absent from the film. I don't mean the wave-a-banner-for-the-cameras activist. I'm talking about the in-the-trenches, selfless black activist that participates or leads unheralded work in the black community. There are dozens of such people and organizations in DC, both religious and secular. I've worked in DC with such selfless people in programs that feed the homeless, mentor and tutor the most at risk black youth, among other things. These are the type of people who are too busy to write books, and not affluent enough to have fancy suits and nice, clean offices.
And Morton couldn't find any to voice an opinion for the movie? I find that hard to believe.
For all of their flaws, where are the voices of the Urban League? After Morton accuses the NAACP of starting the "black males in jail/college" myth, and profiting from it, I understand why the NAACP didn't show up. But where is the Urban League, an organization that has done a lot of good in DC? Where are the 100 Black Men, among other smaller activist organizations?
He was on Howard's Campus. Where are the activist organizations, fraternities, sororities, and intellectuals from that campus?
Between DC and Maryland, you have got some of the most prosperous counties of black folks in the country, who have elected scores of black people to office. And the only active political figure interviewed was Michael Steele, who black voters soundly reject? It's not like the congresspeople were away in Washington and couldn't be reached. Why not get Eleanor Norton Holmes behind the microphone?
Conclusion: Morton makes some good points, but any positive value in the film is sucked out by the black conservatives. Hopefully in this next installment of this film, Morton can leave out the black conservative hackery, and create a work that most of the black community can get behind, not just the fringe of black thought.
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Excerpt: From the back of the DVD:
Free Your Mind…
In the most provocative Black film of the year, Janks Morton presents a searing examination of the role that myths, stereotypes and misrepresentations have played in the decimation of modern era black relationships, and how the symbiotic relationship between government, the media and black leadership perpetuates misinformation to further marginalize the role of black men in society.
Since the triumphs of the civil rights legislations of the early 1960's havoc and decimation has been wreaked on the Black family with a specific devastation on the Black man. With negative imagery of the media, the failed policy of the great society and the modern era black leadership abandoning tenets that historically held the community together, a new form of mental slavery has perpetuated an undeclared civil war in the Black Community…..
Shizi
22 Comments
Reader Comments (22)
I just ready your post on What Black Men Think and I could not agree with you more. It should have been called what Conservative Black Men Think.... The only thing that was somewhat objective was stats on college-aged black men. Anytime you get Project 21 and Sehlby Steele and Armstrong Williams in one documentary, you know what will come out of it: The NAACP, Jessie Jackson and Al sharpton are assisting in hurting America. But they never talk about what they themselves are doing to improve the plight of black people in this country. I applaud Morton's efforts, but one must question how much he put into putting this together without getting different perspectives from other great black minds like Cornell West, Joe Madison and others in the struggle......
wow. long review. wish it were shorter but, you had to say what you needed to say. i have to be honest, i didn't get through the whole thing...
but, from what i read, i'm very glad you saw this movie with an open eye.
dude had good intentions when making this film, maybe.
but more important than his intention is the outcome.
if people see this movie, and still take what is said at face value...they missed the point...and we can only laugh then pray for them.
the trick about distration is that in it is some truth.
NS: I also applaud Morton's effort. I want him to make another movie, like he implies he will in the film. Hopefully he will use some of our constructive feedback to make it more inclusive and truly less partison.
Jolli: I appreciate your feedback. I added sections to make it a little more readable, but you are right, it is too long.
Good intentions? I have doubts about that. He uses, as you say, the common man and solid (positive) facts to try to pull people in, then hits them for the most part with black conservative boilerplate. It's more deceptive marketing than good intentions.
I typically let a lot of the conversations navigate themselves, but I'm seeing a convergance among some, in their perceptions of my effort and intent. Your presumptions are slightly off. A quick snapshot of one correspnondance...I sincerely reached out to them all...and with some of the other persons you assert may have lent more credibility to the project, I was rejeccted on MULTIPLE occassions.
From: Janks Morton [mailto:JanksMorton@verizon.net]
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 8:06 AM
To: Cornel R. West
Subject: Interview Inquiry
Dear Janks,
Thank you for your email -- I will pass it on to Dr. West today. My best,
Mary Ann
Dear Janks,
I spoke with Dr. West and unfortunately, due to a very heavy schedule, he will be unable to conduct an interview. He has asked that I send you his deepest regrets and very best wishes. My best,
Mary Ann
Dear Janks,
I spoke with Dr. West and unfortunately, due to a very heavy schedule, he will be unable to conduct an interview. He has asked that I send you his deepest regrets and very best wishes. My best,
Mary Ann
JanksMorton@verizon.net]
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 9:56 AM
To: maryannr@Princeton.EDU
Subject: FW: Interview Inquiry
Hello Mr. Morton (I will assume this is you),
Thank you for answering some of the raised concerns. As I said above, I applaud what you have done.
I have no doubt there are people who turned you down, like Dr. West. I think that there are many non-celebrity intellectuals that could have done just as well as those luminaries, and balanced out the black conservatives.
Also, I was troubled at the allegations you have made towards the NAACP. I have been disillusioned as have many black people at the performance of that organization, but what you have said lacked the thinnest piece of evidence. (one coversheet of a slide presentation does not count).
Thanks,
Shizi
I think YOU miss the point of the criticism, Mr. Morton. You didn't have to interview a single "luminary" to make the point that incorrect information is being spread about Black folks. Your first trailer made that point as well as your whole documentary did.
Better, in fact.
The complaints you see here are that, other than that specific point, you promote positions that have already been heard and rejected, and your 'luminaries' have no credibility outside Black Conservative circles...which has ALSO already been rejected. And you presented people who spread the very falsehoods you complain about.
Proving you were rejected by Cornel West doesn't address the problems we see with your message at all.
http://www.justicepolicy.org/reports/pr_naacp.pdf
It wasn't my slide.
And while the story is (specifically the money trail) a little more involved and complicated to explain/and still be entertaining, I chose that presentation style again, to explain the correlation between government, media and leadership. Because you and contributors at this blog are more versed and informed, the approach would seem simplistic and redundant, and perhaps biased.
I'll leave contact information for each of the men who declined and the correspondance associated over the following days, and as this whole dialogue is advanced.
Julian Bond
Job Title: Distinguished Adjunct Professor in Residence
Company: NAACP
Bus: (202) 865-6221
Bus2: (202) 244-1213
Categories: WBMT
11/14/2007 8:31 AM (Meeting Held) Field ID/Status - Declined
changed from "" to "WBMT"
also I have not put into the public spotlight via radio and television the reasons for their non-participation, and with your permission,I will make this blog privy to the details, conversations and rationale behind, why they declined, and why I ended up with less notables on the "other" side".
Simplistic, redundant and biased is "You can say just the syllables "tu pac", in a room full of very smart, poised black people, 30 and under, and there will be a hush as if you said 'God'."
Then there was Mychal Massie's recent endorsement of slavery.
There is good reason people are hoping to hear from other people entirely. Again, you had a good message and by setting up people who the community (for documentable, historic reasons) doesn't believe and respect as the face of your efforts you've reduced the impact of your documentary considerably.
I (this is me personally) believe you know the Black community at large rejects the conclusions of Shelby Steele, Thomas Sowell, etc. To me, it looks like the entire project was a vehicle for this cadre of Black Conservatives.
JM,
Whatever you would like to present, I would be willing to post.
P6:
this man is allowed to spread his views as he sees fit.
the point, i think, of his film was to encourage folks to investigate matters for themselves. the rest of the film was filler and bullshit.
if his understanding is different from yours, i encourage you to make your own film.
if you chose not to make a film, i respect that.
in the same sense, you cannot expect someone else to make a film that depicts your stances IF they do not agree with your stances.
I wonder if his Mother named him janks
and if she did, i also wonder why
and what exactly a janks is
I saw the film and got an opportunity to interview Janks. I like to think of myself as a moderate Democrat and have actively worked to get Dems elected and Janks and I differ in political philosophies. I thought the film was fantastic. I did not feel that the film was all that right leaning. It had its moments where some of Jank's inner libertarian sliped out, but for the most part it was about having a better vision of ourselves as African American men. What I liked most about the film is that it comes from a different point of view than most films. It was not your standard "we need to come together to fight white oppression" film. It was instead a film about improving our own neighborhoods, families, and lives for ourselves. It is a much needed message. Having spoken with Janks, what he talks most about is that when you reach beyond political philosophies and ask African American men of any stripe what they care about, they say the same things. To focus so heavily on the political leanings of the men in the film and not on the message is to miss the point.
Black men who speak English properly, don't like hip hop, and value their education, are viewed as sell outs...It always comes back to that. This is not a myth, but rather something I experience on an almost daily basis from family members playfully calling me "white boy." This is something I've encountered even from other blacks at University. I and others are working to change this, but it is one of the big problems of our community. I am not conservative, but liberal. I love African, African American/European, and Afro Carribean history and cultures and I've travelled from Brazil to Ghana, Tanzania, and elsewhere only to notice that this one thing is a big problem for the advancement of all the descendents of Africa. We have divided ourselves on every level. A black man who speaks this way as opposed to that is trying to be white, and different from another. A black man from the south is different from one in the north. One who likes Tupac is diametrically opposed to one who likes Biggie. A black man from Africa or Brazil is different from a black man from Los Angeles. No other people have been so thouroughly divided and conquered as we have, and it pains me everyday. Whenever a black man is on tv committing a crime in America, those same stereotypes "that they're useless, violent, uneducated, etc." are applied when people are looking at or dealing with Africans or conflicts between African nations! Yet we sit here and imagine that we are all different. Will we ever be united in the face of our shared challenge to make the world stop treating us as if it's a miracle when we have something to contribute? Anyway, though I apologize for my rant, I just felt the need to express that this is not a myth, but a sad reality reflected worldwide.
I am a Black Conservative Republican. There should be no shame in having this point of view. The Black Community needs new voices to lead us away from the handout mentality that Black Liberal Democrats feed us. In order for us to create a new direction, we are going to need a new foundation. Take an honest look at Conservative thought. Traditional family values, traditional hard work ethics, "do for yourself" mentality, all need to be reintroduced or we will not see a change in our situation. If we keep seeing our smart Black men as acting White or as sellouts, then we are doomed to the same behavior while expecting things to change. It won't work.
So,BCR, where was your voice when major republican candidates shunned the debates at Morgan State? When conservatives and republicans insult and degrade our community?
Being Black and CR simultaneously means leaving your dignity, pride, and manhood at the door. Otherwise, one would have to get up and leave the minute conservatives and republicans trotted out their southern strategy-like tactics.
I have even seen recently a black conservative praising american chattel slavery in an op ed. (shaking my head)
BCR voices are nothing new. They've been around for a while, and the black community has never fallen for these folks that we never see on the ground, and we never see decrying the white conservative racist hand that supports them.
You have obviously not looked at real conservative values. Scandal after scandal after scandal, and you still believe those motherhood and apple pie lines.
Also, I know plenty of smart black folks, but I don't know any who openly admit to being republican or supporting white conservative ideology.
This is about Black people, Black directon, and a new Black idealogy. If you don't think there is any room for debate, that there are no problems worth looking at differently, then you must have all the answers. Tell me how the BLD's of the world are going to make our communities economically stronger, our children wiser, and our political power more vibrant. Believing that another Black man or woman with a different point of view than yours has White "handlers" is the only thing that belittles my dignity and pride.
What's so new about black conservatism?
There is room for debate, but honest debate is the only type I have time for. No kum-bye-yah for BS.
And I am not a democrat; on some issues I guess you could call me a liberal.
I am definitely a black partisan, though. And when I am doing service in our black community, and talking with my brothers and sisters about new solutions, for some reason those black mouthpieces of white conservatism are absent.
I call black conservatives mouthpieces precisely because there is no original thought that I have seen from them, only parroting of self-hating talking points (see the McWhorter quote above); and because they are so comprimised, they never speak out when their white colleagues impugn the integrity of black people.
For you personally, I don't know. Maybe you do call to task your white conservative colleagues when they tell lies about your people. Maybe you do work in the community. All I know is that is very rare for black people to be loyal to their community and loyal to overtly racist white republicans and white conservatives at the same time.
But if after Katrina, Jena, Miami, and other anti-black incidences in the last 6 years, you still think republicans hold the key to black salvation you are either drunk on koolaid, or a white troll.
What we see here are three things.
1. A populist rejection of black opinion which suggests that it only exists as a white handout. IE the assertion, without proof, that there is no such thing as an organic black conservative idea.
2. An assumption that only a collective, community-based, and single-minded approach is capable of solving any problem African Americans have.
3. Ad hominem attacks on certain messengers which assert, without proof, that there is some psychological dysfunction involved when blacks are criticized.
Why?