[CrimsonTide4]

http://eurweb.com/story/eur25581.cfm



An Excerpt
Often times, we as African-Americans find ourselves looking at history to gauge our progress or lack thereof. It’s true, hindsight is 20/20 and historical perspective is an adequate tool in assessing whether we’ve managed to repeat or learn from our mistakes. Yet, there are moments when we should be able to recognize an opportunity that lies ahead of us and use it to our collective advantage.

Hindsight may be 20/20, but I would submit that with good preparation, foresight might even be 20/10 and decidedly more valuable. Hindsight merely is a review of history. Foresight can decide what history ultimately will be.

In terms of Hollywood, a common complaint and refrain relates to the dearth of variety in stories being told by African-Americans or that the perception of what African-American audiences will support is extremely narrow in nature. On April 7th, African-Americans will have a tremendous opportunity to address both. I hope our ‘foresight’ is clear on this one.

On April 7, the movie Phat Girlz, starring comedienne and actress Mo’Nique opens nationwide. Ostensibly, one would assume that this movie could be another flimsy excuse to find laughs at the expense of African-Americans, when other stories could be told in its stead.

Not so fast.

The film is written and directed by African-American woman Nnegest Likké. And just in case you don’t realize how significant that fact is, in and of itself…try naming two other female African-American feature writer/directors who can get a film made and distributed within the Hollywood system in 2006.

No, try to name even one.

In truth, this movie wasn’t even ‘made’ within the Hollywood system. One of its producers, the late Bobby Newmyer (who also produced Training Day) mortgaged his own house and put up $3 million of his OWN money to help finance the film. Newmyer (who was White and Jewish) died shortly thereafter due to a heart attack. His commitment to this project cannot be questioned. The question is; will ‘we’ support this project?

‘We’ need to support this movie. We MUST support this movie. Although there are some who might say we don’t ‘need’ another comedy, understand that this comedy is both thoughtful and thought-provoking in nature; challenging the supposed standard of beauty in the United States and how these preconceived notions are just that…notions.

Phat Girlz is about celebrating the beauty of African-American women in all of the ways that Hollywood historically has refused to acknowledge or highlight. Haitian actor Jimmy Jean-Louis; a Brother fluent in five-languages plays the lead role as Mo’Nique’s Nigerian love interest. This film is significant on multiple levels and its success would have wide-ranging implications.

In debunking the myth that African-Americans will 'only' support certain types of material and even then on marginal levels; support of this film opens the door for more. That’s 'more' in terms of substance, more in terms of story and more in terms of the storytellers who are chosen to tell those stories.