Dancing During the Storm Vol 2
Dancing During The Storm is a collection of short stories that represent people dealing with the storms of life. There are times when we have to decide are we going to lay down or fight. All of these stories tell of people who are either coming out of, in the middle of or going into a storm. In this second volume, the stories deal with justice, women’s issues and deception.
Available on Amazon
Listen to the first episode of our new season TV Talk with the Sistas as the Sistas mix it up about how African Americans are portrayed in television and movie and does it matter.
Episode 1 We Need A Hero
our 2020 issue Fill In the Gap Magazine
He wondered why his father never taught him to brush his teeth or not scratch his balls in public. Balram the main character in The White Tiger had a moment when he realized he wasn’t all he could be. It was not the typical movie from India that I watch. If cynicism was salt and the movie was popcorn, the salt would render it inedible.
But if that is your type of movie, you will love it.
This story examines the caste system with the tale of Balram who leaves his tiny village to work for an affluent family. He cherishes this way of life and his masters thinking they will take care of him forever. When they tell him he is one of the family, he really does believe it. Adarsh Gourav was so convincing as the impoverished servant, I had to look him up so see what other work he had done.
Another thing I had to do was suspend my African American beliefs so that I could appreciate how other people live. It was difficult not to measure it by my values instead of allowing the story to play out. It is one of the things I have begun to appreciate about stories from other cultures. Even so there were times I wanted him to punch them in face and run. This movie is in English, but use the subtitles because they talk fast.
I was impressed that Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico) in addition to starring in the project, also produced it. I am always about #girlpower and women being able to tell the stories they want to tell.
The other movie I enjoyed was Intouchables with Omar Sy and Francois Cluzet which was based on a true story. In this story, Cluzet plays Philippe, a quadriplegic who hires an unlikely full time caregiver, a young man, Omar Sy from the projects.
These men share their ways of life with each other. Philippe introduces Driss to classical music, opera and art. Driss teaches Philippe how to smoke weed, go to massage parlors and date. Sy is big right now because of Lupin, but this film was made in 2011, which reveals his talent has been around a while.
It is a fun movie, in French so you won’t be able to multi task while reading subtitles.
Both of these movies, The White Tiger and Intouchables are available on Netflix. They will break up the series binging with some lighthearted thought provoking movies.
In 2021 the art series with examine moments in African American history in an attempt to UNERASE our past
When Africans were kidnapped and bound into slavery, they brought many skill sets with them. One of the greatest myths was that the people came here without skills. In Colonial America, enslaved Africans began fulfilling the needs that colonist needed to be equal with Europeans. Some Africans making wigs and styling hair to help their masters keep up with the current trends. Having a nice wig, which covered bald spots in men, was often a sign of privilege.
As early as 1820 former slaves began opening businesses including those as hairstylists. Most of their clients were white people. But with the end of slavery, women of African descent began to spend time on their own hair. It opened a new market for women like Madam CJ Walker and Annie Malone, who created empires from helping African American women take care of their hair.
Malone and Walker also created a method where African American women could earn income outside their home by doing hair and selling products. They could do white people’s hair. They could do African American people’s hair. It was once said, hairstyles were created in Harlem, before they went out into the world.
Even when it it hard to see, it is still there. Some days you have to focus on it.
Season Two is here.
In episode 1 We Need A Hero, the Sistas examine some of the first shows on television featuring African Americans. These were the first representations of African Americans as workers, mothers, friends in society. They had an impact, but was it a good one?
Listen We Need A Hero
Before you know it, they are all grown and gone. Portrait Season is the opportunity to capture this moment in time so that you can remember. If you would like to book a session, email me uppcreative@yahoo.com
Dancing During The Storm is a collection of short stories that represent people dealing with the storms of life. There are times when we have to decide are we going to lay down or fight. All of these stories tell of people who are either coming out of, in the middle of or going into a storm. In this second volume, the stories deal with justice, women’s issues and deception.
Available on Amazon
UPP Creative Media 