“Soul on Ice” by Eldridge Cleaver is a shockingly raw memoir he wrote while incarcerated in California’s notorious Folsom State Penitentiary in October 1965. It is unapologetically Black. The book recounts his experiences as a Black man living behind bars; his strange reasoning behind admittedly becoming a serial rapist as an “insurrectionary act." Topics of his essays range from race and racism, political philosophies of Marxism, Communism, and Socialism, the War in Vietnam, oppressed people around the world, and even his obsession with white women.
Paraphrased Excerpt - “I’m perfectly aware that I'm in prison, that I'm a Negro, that I've been a rapist, and that I have a Higher Uneducation. Free-normal-educated people expect me to be more reserved and remorseful. They are thinking, "You've got your nerve! Don't you realize that you owe a debt to society?" My answer to all such thoughts lurking in their split-level heads, crouching behind their squinting bombardier eyes, is that the blood of Vietnamese peasants has paid off all my debts; that the Vietnamese people, afflicted with a rampant disease called Yankees, through their sufferings—as opposed to the "frustration" of fat-assed American geeks safe at home worrying over whether to have bacon, ham, or sausage with their grade-A eggs in the morning, while Vietnamese worry each morning whether the Yankees will gas them, burn them up, or blow away their humble pads in a hail of bombs—have canceled all my IOUs.”
I was drawn to this book as a 12-year-old girl, stealing it off my parents’ bookshelf, because of its raw format. This collection of essays lit the flame of activism inside me at an early age. This memoir led me to conclude that no person is only one thing or static but instead highly complicated, dynamic, and capable of change.
"Three words that summarize the whole history of humanity: CIVILIZATION - COLONIZATION - EXTERMINATION" - Raoul Peck
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"An “origin story” for white supremacy"
Based on works by three authors and scholars — Sven Lindqvist’s "Exterminate All the Brutes," Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s "An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States," and Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s "Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History." The Series creator, Raoul Peck, termed this documentary series an attempt to unearth what he has called an “origin story” for white supremacy. I call the intense 4-part series the unfiltered truth, the unraveling of centuries-old lies about white supremacy and colonization. Together with archival and documentary footage, rich reenactments, and animation Peck dismantles the carefully constructed image of America to reveal the foundation. America is built upon the genocide of Indigenous peoples and American Slavery.
I was raised to believe that I should question everything. As a teen, I was gifted a book called "Lies My Teacher Told Me," where my eyes were opened to how white-washed and distorted World History and American history had been and continue to be. Exterminate All the Brutes reminded me of this book, removing the rose-colored shades thru which many American history books view our past and, therefore, shape our present. In my opinion, beginning in tenth grade, Exterminate All the Brutes should be shown as part of every curriculum, especially in the United States. It's informative on history, economics, civics, and science. The past never stays in the past; once an act has occurred, it can never be undone and moving forward, it will always have an impact. History is His Story and is not mine, but this story is.
Trailers
The books that inspired the documentary
King Shaka kaSenzangakhona, also known as Shaka Zulu, was one of the greatest military leaders of all time. Many consider him a ruthless ruler who trained his troops with severe discipline and questionable methods. He is discussed, by those who study war, in the same vein as Genghis Khan. He was king of the Zulu Nation in the region now known as South Africa from 1816 to 1828. He is an unlikely king, born to his mother, Nandie, a peasant girl from a neighboring village, and his father, the crown prince, Senzangakhona ka Jama. When he took power, he revolutionized warfare in his region, easily overrunning other kingships, and unifying the nations. The mini-series takes place at the height of Shaka's reign when he encounters British traders sent there to see about the Zulu king. It also covers the rapid expansion of the Zulu state. The story is narrated primarily via flashbacks by Dr. Henry Fynn, an Irish doctor on that British convoy.
I watch Shaka Zulu every year at Easter. I like to imagine a world where he defeated the European colonizers and continued to reign in South Africa or even the whole continent. I imagine King Shaka learning to sail and use other weapons of war to defeat slaveholders around the globe. The story is one never told in American school history books. It is one of the first series distributed in the US starring a predominantly Black African cast but other than the lead actor who played Shaka, no other Black actors are listed on its IMDB page.
I assume I need no introduction.
"Don't be afraid. I'm going to give you the choice I never had."
In modern-day San Francisco, reporter Daniel Molloy interviews Louis de Pointe du Lac, who claims to be a vampire. Louis describes his human life as a wealthy plantation owner in 1791 Spanish Louisiana. Despondent following the death of his wife and unborn child, he drunkenly wanders the waterfront of New Orleans one night and is attacked by the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. And madness ensues.
Some might say since Anne Rice's vampires arrived on the scene that vampire movies are more "cheesy" romance chick flicks than horror films. And to those people, I say yeah and so? I fell in love with vampires as a child, always rooting for them to win over those who would kill them. Infatuated with life and death and eternity, Anne fed me with her rich stories and this film adaptation did not disappoint. Plus, it stars three of my favorite actors, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Antonio Banderas. "Louis, Louis, ah still winning Louis!" - Lestat
Released in April 2016, Beyoncé's visual album/film "Lemonade" is a mixed media work of art. Fusing spoken word poetry, extraordinary visuals complete with stunts, CGI, celebrity cameos, couture fashion, hidden meanings, and representations of African goddesses, Beyoncé takes us on a journey through her relationship with Jay-Z after his infidelity. Each of the 12 songs represents a phase in their return to the center, their family's reunification after forgiveness. The film culminates in the visuals for "Formation," filled with BLM (Black Lives Matter) imagery and its strong shout-out to the city of New Orleans featuring NOLA legends slain social media celebrity and rapper Messy Mya, “What happened at the New Orleans?” and royal diva Big Freedia, queen of bounce, “Bitch, I’m back by popular demand.”. Some have accused Beyoncé of exploiting New Orleans' trauma from hurricane Katrina with the visuals for "Formation," but not everyone feels that way. Some see the references made throughout "Lemonade" to her Louisiana Creole heritage and Afro-Caribbean religions, which are still prevalent in Louisiana and her native Houston, as a tribute to the resilience of the people of New Orleans and the whole African diaspora. That is what Formation's visuals are about, while the song's lyrics reflect her family's resilience and her strength in surviving infidelity, the demands of their careers, the loss of a pregnancy, and the pressures of fame.
I adore Beyoncé as an artist. The whole way she produced this masterpiece and released it was unheard of, dropping the film, the videos, and the audio album all at once. An example of Beyoncé's innovation in the release of "Formation" the day before she performed it at the 2016 Super Bowl Halftime Show, featuring a bevy of dancers dressed to commemorate the anniversary of the formation of the BPP (Black Panther Party) - a political organization founded in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale to challenge police brutality against the African American community. I fell for the fashion, the visual artistry, the poetry, the music, female empowerment, sisterhood, family, forgiveness, redemption, and reunification, and the proof found in the lyrics that love endures all things.
Available for streaming or purchase on Tidal, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. You can view each video from the visual album on YouTube.
The Last Unicorn
In the animated film "The Last Unicorn" hunters having no luck finding game, determine they are in a Unicorn's forest where all the animals a shielded from human view because of her presence. The hunters shout a warning to the Unicorn that she may be the last of her kind. With that, the story takes many adventurous turns as the Unicorn, voiced by Mia Farrow, leaves the protection of her forest in search of other unicorns. She discovers humans no longer believe in unicorns and thus only see a white horse when they look at her. All humans except for King Haggard, who wants all the unicorns in the world confined to the waters offshore of his castle. The king utilizes a magical giant red bull to keep the unicorns from leaving the confines of the ocean. The Unicorn also meets a talking butterfly, skull, cat, and tree, a magician, and a prince who falls in love with her after the magician turns her into a human woman to mask her true nature from the king, the prince's father. The animated film, done in a Japanese anime-inspired style, was released in 1982 and based on a fantasy novel by American author Peter S. Beagle, published in 1968. The film stars the voices of Mia Farrow - the Unicorn, Jeff Bridges - Prince Lir, Angela Lansbury - Mommy Fortuna, Alan Arkin - Schmendrick the magician, Christopher Lee - King Haggard, and Robert Klein - the Butterfly.
As an eight-year-old watching this when it was first released, what was not to love? It is a movie about a brave unicorn who rescues all the other unicorns from the red bull and evil King Haggard. It is still one of my favorites forty years later. I can't wait to watch it with my granddaughter.