Saturday, November 06, 2010

Colored

I am old enough to remember when people referred to each other as colored. It's funny how it didn't mean very much back then and Black people weren't offended by it. I also, remember when being called colored was not a good thing, and Negro was the thing to be called. Then came Afro-American, Black and African-American. Our name changes signified change in our psyche.

No matter what we've been called we've suffered. Men and Women.

I saw the movie For Colored Girls today. If you've never read the book of poetry you should so that you hear it in your own voice and let it give you a vision of what the women in the poetry are feeling. When the book For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf was 1st published it was a voice for women who were in plain sight abused. I think if not for this voice Black women might see themselves differently than they do today. At least in their minds, if not in reality. In the past performances of this work the women do not interact. Personally I thought it was good to have them be connected in similar vein as the movie Crash.

Some reviewers will have you to believe that the story is dated and that some of the directorial choices are trite. See for yourselves and don't let others who have no reference whatsoever of some Black women's past that still exists but now covertly with subtle nuances that manage to hide the voices of Black women dealing with pain once again.

One might say that the poem and the movie paint a picture of Black men that we'd like to keep hidden not unlike our dirty laundry when company comes to visit. However, the images may offend and seem dramatic but in my opinion resonate a sickness that exists even today.

The performances in the movie were stellar. See for yourself before following a reviewer with probably no point of reference or color.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Saw the movie thought it was good and would see it again!

Keith said...

Your words were exactly on point regarding FCG. Usually I give some credence to reviewers but with this one I think they are off the mark. I saw the film myself and will definitely see it again....I thought all the performances were wonderful (including the men). No one mentions this but I think this is the first mainstream film that has given an MSM character a voice. We usually just leave it at "downlow"...

Moanerplicity said...

It IS a film worth seeing. For all its angst & anachronisms, it launches the viewer into a world of terror & testimony, heartbreak & histrionics, poetry & pathology impossible to forget. If you're a purist who knows the original work & appreciate it on the merits of its exceptional writing, the singular music of Shange's voice, its theatrical structure & enduring social message, you may be somewhat put-off by Perry's sometime melodramatic version.

That being said, it IS a HUGE step forward in comparison to anything else he's directed.


One.

Chet said...

I haven't seen the movie as of yet, but I relish the thought of seeing it soon. I have however, read the bok (many years ago) and even saw it performed on stage, but I understand that Tyler Perry has actually put a twist on it and that in itself should be entertaining and informative.

Chet said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
BronzeBuckaroo said...

Purchasing the dvd for my grandma.