..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

October 29, 2004

Anonymous E-Mail

SICK & TIRED
by Anonymous

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm tired of so-called African American movies skinnin' and grinnin', shucking and jiving, and just flat out cooning. I'm tired of the first weekend club encouraging us to get out and support God-awful movies.

I'm tired of seeing the same actors and actresses, over and over again. I'm tired of calling Queen Latifah-Queen Latifah, I don't feel she deserves that title anymore, so we should call her Dana Owens, because Queen Latifah made songs like U-N-I-T-Y, Who you calling a bitch?, Ladies First, and Latifah's Had It Up to Here-hell, I've had it up to here. Dana Owens has made or produced films like Bringing Down The House, Cookout, and Taxi. The Queen was a strong, proud, black woman... Dana is cooning, and has somehow sold her soul.

I'm tired of movies that use the letter "z" at the end of the title, instead of the letter "s"--- too many to list. I'm tired of leading women in our "filmz" having to be "light skinneded" to be considered beautiful, as if dark skinned women aren't gorgeous. Or if you are dark you can only play crack heads, prostitutes, or Africans.

I'm mad that Halle Berry won an Oscar before Cicely Tyson, Angela Basset, Ruby Dee, Mary Alice, Lynn Whitfield, Debbie Morgan, Margaret Avery, and Alfre Woodard.

I'm mad that Cuba won before Morgan Freeman, Sam Jackson, Adolph Ceasar, Howard Rollins, Clarence Williams III, Ossie Davis, Delroy Lindo and Laurence Fishburne. I'm mad Michael Clarke Duncan got nominated for that sellout performance, I'm mad Cheadle didn't get nominated for Mouse, Djimon Honsou didn't get nominated for Amistad, Jeffrey Wright didn't get nominated for Basquiat.

I'm tired of black men taking off their shirts, licking their lips, and wearing more make-up then our women. I'm tired of people calling themselves actors, who clearly can't act like they're asleep.

I'm tired of lazy actors, actors who don't bother to really do the accent, actors whose speech patterns are the same in every movie, actors who walk the same in every movie. I'm extremely tired of actresses who move there head when they speak, the old "head-nod" actors.

I'm tired of simple scripts...we are not simple people but all we have out there are simple movies, with simple actors, simple directors, simple casting directors, and simple producers.

I'm tired of celebrating mediocrity!!! I'm tired of hip-hop artists taking jobs from actors, who have worked hard to earn their degrees, or who have just plain busted there asses working the theatre circuit only to find out that P-Diddy was the best actor for the job. So let's break down the Oscars. Let's start with the women: Hattie Mcdaniel for Gone With The Wind, as the house servant, Whoopie Goldberg in Ghost, the sassy psychic, and Halle Berry for Monster's Ball. A single mother who falls for the great white racist white man WHO PUT HER HUSBAND AND FATHER OF HER CHILD TO DEATH.

Now the men, Sidney Poitier in Lillies of The Field... he builds a church for white nuns. Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire, the wise ass football player that could dance (and that brother know he can cry), and Denzel in Training Day, as the crooked cop. It's unfortunate that he didn't win for Malcolm or Hurricane.

There are actors I enjoy watching, like the obvious: Denzel, Fishburne, Cheadle, Morgan, Jeffrey, Wesley, Samuel, Delroy, Ossie, Clarence, Glover, and Ving. I also enjoy, Djimon Hounsou, Idris Elba, Isaiah Washington, Harry Lennix, Wendell Pierce, Mykelti Williams, Gabriel Casseus, Mos Def, Larenz Tate, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Richard T. Jones, Russell Hornsby and Anthony Mackie. The actresses I obviously like are: Debbie Morgan, Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard, Ruby Dee, Mary Alice, Lynn Whitfield, Phylicia Rashad, Regina Taylor, and Loretta Devine. I also enjoy: Kerry Washington, Marianne Jean Baptist, Aunjanue Ellis, Nicole Ari Parker, N'bushe Wright, Regina King, Regina Hall, Kimberly Elise, Thandie Newton, Khandi Alexander, Lisa Gaye Hamilton, and Viola Davis. Please find out who these people are.

 I just want to see good stories told, with great artists, and it doesn't necessarily have to be a drama. I like to laugh, but there is a big difference between laughing with a movie and laughing at the movie. So can we please stop making these Beauty Shops and Barber Shops, and Hair Shows, Friday After Next, and Babies Daddies, and Cookouts, and Soul Planes, Bringing Down The House, and Gang of Roses, Three Strikes, White Chicks, and any and every cooning, shuckin' and jivin' movie? Because once upon a time, that was all that was available to our actors, but now I feel there are other beautiful stories to be told. Let's stop disrespecting our ancestors, and artists who came before us, and let's feed our children better stories, because we're supposed to be so much better. I believe we are. So we'll see if our people will go out and support a good story this weekend, and that story is Ray, and hopefully it will be number one at the box office, and Hollywood will once and for all realize that the people want good films.
       
Sincerely,
Black Man, Husband, Father, Uncle, Cousin, Nephew, Son,Brother, Teacher, Lover, Artist, Writer, Actor, Producer, Director, Poet, Warrior, and one who watches films.

I apologize for the incorrect grammar, but these words came straight from my heart.

- Anonymous