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Subversive Book Club: Black Panthers Speak

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Title: Black Panthers Speak
Author(s): Phillip S. Foner. Includes writings by all your favorite Panthers: Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, Fred Hampton, Angela Davis, and Stokely Carmichael, amongst others.
Year: 1995
Pages: 328
Good Guys: Black Panthers and some of their vanilla comrades who fought beside them in the black struggle
Bad Guys: Oppressive, White AmeriKKKA: Police, businesses, the entire U.S. Government (particularly the most rotten pigs, the FBI), and average, apathetic, ignorant citizens
My Rating: A-

Why Subversive?:
I suppose it is “strange” for a white, suburban kid to walk around, clutching a book of militant black politics demonizing the wahhitte man and all his evils. But, then again I am a “strange” guy. So, why did I read this gem of incendiary material? Well, two main reasons: 1) I’m chiefly a propagandist, if anything. Without a doubt the Panthers are accountable for some truly outstanding propaganda. They are completely biased, unabashedly, may I add and write for their side/interests. The point of their works is not to offer you a fair look at how our society works or how certain events went down. Ohh no, they share their perspective of what it is like to be a free-thinking black revolutinary in an extremely racist and violent country that does not value them as human beings. If one were to read “objective” newspapers of the day they would not have the same reaction. The media was never fair to the Panthers, because they served and still serve the government. So, the Panthers fought the mainstream propaganda with their own propaganda and successfully did so. Crucial events such as the Chicago Conspiracy trial, Huey P. Newton’s manslaughter charge, the brutal murder of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark at the hands of Chicago Police with connection to the FBI are discussed extensively. 2) This book has helped me better understand how fucked up our nation was and still is and how ignorant, we white Americans are. Of course, by reading this or anything else, it does not immediately make me an expert on race relations and I certainly can not say I understand what it was or still is like to be a minority in the US of A. But, it does offer me an awareness of the American Nightmare for blacks, minorities, revolutionaries, and especially black revolutionaries (longer sentences than white revolutionaries). If the Weathermen were black they would all have been imprisoned. For those that doubt the sinister nature of our government, please look through the lens of the black experience in America. If you are privileged and white, then you will not be able to relate to it, but you will have a better understanding of how our vicious, racist system works.
I’m not saying I agree with all the Panthers’ tactics, but this subversive book at least demonstrates how positive and successful the Panthers were in their individual communities. They were a national organization and in each of their many chapters, they had schools, free breakfast for children programs, free medical clinics, and drug rehabilitation for poverty-stricken blacks. Unfortunately, history textbooks and other media outlets place too much emphasis on the violent conflicts and militancy of the Party and not as much focus on their positive, survival programs. Don’t get me wrong, the militancy was an important factor, after all their name was the “Black Panther Party for Self-Defense” and these were clearly violent times with extreme Police Brutality. In the following video, Co-founder, Bobby Seale details the Party’s Ten Point Program/Platform:

If you like this subversive book and/or want to learn more about the Black Panthers, the Black Struggle, or racist white scumfucks, then I recommend the following:

Soul On Ice By: Eldridge Cleaver
Seize the Time By: Bobby Seale
The Autobiography of Malcolm X As Told To Alex Healy
Malcolm X Speaks
Live From Death Row By: Mumia Abu-Jamal

Seen above are Co-Founders, Bobby Seale, Chairman (left) and Huey P. Newton, Minister of Defense (right). Very badass.

Chris

Entertainment, Femmes, Films, reviews

Zach Galifianakis Review

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Comedian: Zach Galifianakis
Location: UMASS Lowell, Campus Rec Center
Date: September 4, 2009
Grade: C+

Here’s Why: Well, unlike about 80-90% of the people in the audience (it was a rather large crowd of anticipating college students) I knew of Zach and his work before his breakthrough success in this summer’s comedy blockbuster,The Hangover. With that being said, my knowledge of his routine was quite minimal. I heard someone describe his act as “awkward comedy” and I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, the show was a bit plagued by poor audio. I’m not sure whether it was the university’s PA system or Zach’s ill-oratory skills. I tend to think the former, but either way people in the back (including me) put forth a valiant effort to comprehend what the comic was articulating. At various points in the show, kids shouted “FIX THE MIC! WE CAN’T HEAR YOU!” Zach merely shouted back and challenged the young men to come up front and confront him about it. This altercation between the funny man and the audience was a recurring episode throughout the evening. He simply employed the mishap as part of his show; a mitigated version of a Hicksian technique. Much of the show was Zach, as he usually performs, on the piano making bizarre, almost absurd, sometimes offensive one-liners. This was followed by brief, impromptu interviews with audience members (all college kids, mostly Lowell students) in which he poked fun at their majors or occupations. Here’s one jab that stood out to me: paraphrasing:
Zach: What year are you?
Girl (innocently): I’m in Sophomore
Zach: Yeah, I was in a Sophomore once too
The show ended with a projected video of Zach’s spoof of Whacko Jacko’s “Man In the Mirror,” which ended with our friend gaining a nice set of breasts!
Haha! Well, overall I thought it was decent; I thought it would have been better though. Some audience members, however, left right in the middle of the show, so I guess they detested it. Perhaps, he is better on recording. I’ll check it out sometime.

Chris

Art, Entertainment, Films, rant, reviews

Ben’s Summer Movie Round Up

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In order of when I saw them…oh, and spoiler alert.

“Star Trek” – 8

Great effects, acting, and, for the most part, writing. Good balance of honoring the franchise’s past and updating it. And take it from me, who’s pretty unfamiliar with the franchise: you don’t need to be a hardcore fan to enjoy this movie.

Two quibbles: Nero’s revenge story is a little too similar to Khan’s. I know this is *supposed* to be unoriginal but come on. Also…how is beaming Kirk and Sulu in mid-air ANY different from getting Spock’s mom?

“Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” – 7

The kids are much better at acting this time around. The effects are great as always. The script does a decent job condensing the infamously long book to the bare essentials. But the movie also has three big, er, “conditions,” all having to do with the writing.

1) Unoriginality: Again, I know it’s a sequel, but come on. I liked the “Chosen One Destined to Destroy the Devil” story better when it was the story of Hercules, Jesus, The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, “Star Wars,” “The Matrix,” and every superhero ever. At least the chosen one, Harry is much more likable than he is in the books since they cut out just enough Live Journal teen angst to make him sympathetic instead of irritating.

2) Laziness: Magic is already the ultimate deus ex machina, but a room that turns into whatever you need it to be? Good luck potion that Harry idiotically finishes in one chug? Come on.

3) Totally contrived romantic tension: Alright, I can handle Ron and Hermoine. They didn’t even hug at the end of the second movie, remember? But when the *Hell* did Harry and Ginny start liking each other like that? Not “Chamber of Secrets,” that’s for sure. Well hey, Harry *is* the Messiah, so throw him a girl by story’s end. If Ron can score with Matt Hurton’s girl by chewing scenery and whining, it’s only fair the chosen one gets to spoon his best friend’s sister.

“(500) Days of Summer” – 10

It’s everything DeCarlo hypes it up to be and then some.  And fortunately, the movie has much more going for it than the brief, barely-noticeable inclusion of a Black Lips song.  All K.L.Y.A.M. readers got here by searching “Black Lips,” right?

But seriously now…out of the three movies I saw this summer this was the most emotionally powerful…and this is coming from someone who teared up when I first read of Dumbledore’s death.  The hero, Tom, may be a little selfish and idealistic, but that doesn’t stop us from feeling sorry for him when the girl of his dreams doesn’t exactly return the favor.  But we also laugh with him at the happier moments of the journey.  As for the title character…she’s a better villain than Nero, Voldemort, and Draco Malfoy put together.

Another big perk is the storytelling method.  The film takes a cue from Tarantino and puts the 500-day plot in shuffle mode.  It’s striking, watching an awkward visit to Ikea only to flash back to a much more fun time, with the same people, at the same place.  Tom’s surreal fantasies illustrate his emotions, from the pure bliss of the Hall and Oates number to the tragedy of the foreign art film.  The montage of supporting characters’ definitions of love illustrates the movie’s heart-breaking thesis: that when a couple has two different definitions, it won’t work out.

Crime, Entertainment, Films, Politics, reviews

Film Review: Inglourious Basterds!!!

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Title: Inglourious Basterds
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl, Til Schweiger, and Mike Myers
Length: 153 Minutes
Rating: R
Year: 2009
IMDb Rating: 8.7/10 (#35 in the Top 250, very impressive)
My Rating: A

Here’s why: Continue reading Film Review: Inglourious Basterds!!! →

Entertainment, Femmes, Films, Music, reviews

Film Review: 500 Days of Summer

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Title: 500 Days of Summer
Year: 2009
Director: Marc Webb
Writer: Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel
Length: 95 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.6/10 (105 in the top 250)
My Rating: 9.4/10: A

Here’s Why:
Finally, I can walk away from a film and NOT feel like “well, that was ok, but it wasn’t worth paying X amount of dollars and a couple of hours of my time to go see it.” A sad commentary on the current state of cinema indeed. Instead, with 500 Days we have the perfect romantic comedy, not a love story. The movie UNchronologically shows us various days in Tom’s (Levitt) emotional journey with the object of his obsession, the gorgeous and seemingly unattainable Summer (Deschanel). The flick is unique because it employs many bizarre, but original tactics to convey plot, humor, and a message. These include a black and white video of characters being interviewed on what “love” means to them, a rarely effective break out into song and dance to symbolize overwhelming euphoria, a split screen contrasting expectations and reality, amongst others. In the theater seated around me was a shockingly unhip crowd for such a hip show. No Offense! But, it was mostly old folks and pre-pubescent gals. Typically, not of the hipster persuasion. It was hilarious though, as I entered the room, one of the geezers whispered to me “chick flick.” I suppose. But, then again I will refute that. This film, like Juno perhaps appeals to the femmes more than the dudes, because they deal with romance and not action, violence, sports, or gross out humor. But it is unfair to label such as “chick flicks,” because they have far more meaning and integrity than most movies that fall under that umbrella. I actually think girls really need to see this because it remains very true to life by accurately displaying how they drive us guys completely crazy with their mind games! And at that token, men and boys alike should find comfort and humor in relating with the male lead and his troubles. Overall, a fantastic masterpiece, with truly colorful, believable characters, witty, laugh out loud comedy, endearing story, and very appropriate soundtrack: Smiths, Black Lips, Kickass!!!
GO SEE IT NOW!!!

Chris

Books, Culture Jamming, Entertainment, Femmes, Films, Politics, rant, reviews, Uncategorized

Book Club Review: Catcher

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Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
Year: 1951
Pages: 214

Review:”If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” Arguably the greatest opening line to any novel. Well, Holden, if you do want to know the truth, we DO want to hear about it! In fact, for nearly 60 years our grandparents, parents, older siblings, and us have adored it. Why? What makes this novel so special? Well, Salinger masterfully captures an adolescent’s concern, fears, desires and instead of coming off as an adult attempting to represent this mentality of a teenager, he literally writes in the damn lingo of a buzzcock. Goddamit! As far as I’m concerned Salinger ain’t telling the story, it’s Holden who’s’ running the show. It’s his book entirely. Holden has become the Pied Piper for a whole slew of lonesome cowboys: Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle, The Perks of Being a Wallflower’s Charlie, and that cute radical nerd fellow from Kids Like You & Me. In short, he’s a middle finger to the establishment or a haphazard, misanthropic messiah, trying to save everyone only if he can save himself… and all.

Why Subversive?: Catcher has the unfortunate privilege (how’s that for an oxymoron?!) of already being subversive before you even read one word. It’s subversive simply for it’s reputation of consistently being a victim of Banned Books Lists and Censorship Nazis. Apparently heavy drinking and cussing some naughty words is worse than trying to commit suicide, murder your father, and fuck your mother as we witness with Shakespeare. Also, since some weirdos decide to assassinate (or attempt) public figures (John Lennon and Ronald Reagan) after or while reading the book, doesn’t mean shit! Look at the millions that didn’t grab their guns! Why focus on the select few? Not that Reagan would have been a great loss, but Hinckley’s motives were hardly in the vein of Leon Czolgosz: impressing Jodie Foster. Really?! haha. And you can calm down I’m not advocating political assassination, I just think Leon had much better, humane reasons. Anyway, I’ve digressed into this tornado of off topic subjects. Simply, Catcher challenges the reader to question authority and reject social norms.

Questions to Ponder (or leave a comment to!): What will become of Holden Caulfield? or What became of him?
What ever happened to Jane Gallagher? Is she in any way related to the awful comedian of the same name?
Why was Holden placed in a mental institution? How did this ALL transpire?
Any others?

Grade: A+ My all time favorite!

Chris

Entertainment, Films, reviews

Film Review: Funny People

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Title: Funny People
Year: 2009
Director: Judd Apatow
Writer: Judd Apatow
Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman
IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
My Rating: C
NOTE: 7s on IMDB are like 8s or Bs, because the currently highest rated film, The Shawshank Redemption, is 9.2. So, this movie geek’s rating is slightly lower than the movie geeks’ rating over at IMDb.

SPOILERS!: DON’T READ, IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN FILM YET!

Plot: Old yeller, bitter comedian, George Simmons (Adam Sandler) is suffering from a terminal illness and is simultaneously still in love with the woman he cheated on over a decade ago, whom has moved on and his married with children. He enlists a young, up start comedian, Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) as his personal assistant and joke writer. Simmons becomes closer to the people in his life, now that he is losing his life, until he learns that the illness has faded and he will be fine for now. Simmons comes to the conclusion that he can’t fix the issues in his life and have everything he wants. The film closes with Ira and him happily working on promising comedy.
NOTE: not full plot, go to other sites or wikipedia for a better description haha.

My Opinion: It was a decent flick, but I’d advise y’all to rent it, watch it on demand, or you can go through your illegal means of acquiring it, I don’t care. But, I’d say it’s not worth paying the ludicrous amount of money it is for movie tickets these days. I went in (based on the trailer) thinking this would be in the same vain of other Apatow flicks like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, which greatly combined comedy and drama. With there being mostly memorable comedy, with some drama carefully calculated into the recipe. But, instead it was mostly drama. I only laughed out loud a few times, not enough for a “comedy.” In fact, my cousin went as far to state it should have been called “Serious People” ahah. Also, the movie was way too long. Wayyy too long. 146 minutes is dragging on. On the other hand, the acting was good, the characters were fairly well developed and the comedy that was there was funny, particularly Jason Schwartzman’s character.

Chris