Entries in Reviews (1)
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.
------------------------
Content of Review:
- What I Liked
- Beef #1
- Beef #2
------------------------
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.
______________________________________________________________________________________
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