Friday, June 19, 2009

Burning Questions from the Meltingpot

It's Friday, so that means I have questions. Hopefully some of you have the answers.

1. Does everybody who cares about Meltingpot America and loves good theater and uber talented actors worship Sarah Jones? If you don't, you should start now because she is the real deal. Or as the New Yorker magazine says, she is "a multicultural mynah bird [who] lays our mongrel nation before us with gorgeous, pitch-perfect impersonations of the rarely heard or dramatized." The Meltingpot totally (hearts) Sarah Jones!

2. Can you believe I actually sat through an entire Tyler Perry movie and not once felt the need to yell or throw something at the screen? I honestly enjoyed The Family that Preys and would recommend it for a Wednesday night home alone flick. I give all credit to the stellar cast, including Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan and Taraji P. Henderson. Yes, the storyline was rather predictable, but I have to give it to Mr. Perry that he did a fair job of portraying some of the subtle nuances of intra-racial relationships between Whites and Blacks in the American south. Anybody else see this movie and have an opinion?

3. Am I the only one who didn't bother to get cable or one of those converter boxes and now is forced to watch Tyler Perry movies from the library every night?

4. Is Fat Juicy Oyster the best name ever for a blog? Don't you want to just read it because of the title? Would you guess that Fat Juicy Oyster is living my dream life? Black woman living fabulously in Spain, dating a Serb, writing about it well. Okay, the Serb boyfriend wasn't really my dream, but still...

5. Does anybody else have mixed feelings about Juneteenth Day, which is today? Does anybody know what Juneteenth Day is? From the Juneteenth website:

"Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance."

So we're supposed to celebrate the fact that the slaves in Texas had to wait an extra two years to be free? I know that's not exactly it, but I'd love someone to tell me how they celebrate this day with pride?

And that's it for now. Enjoy the weekend.

Peace!

7 comments:

Viajera said...

1. Sarah who? I don't think she's blown up in Canada as yet. So I Youtube-d it and this came up first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmaWDCH2tBg. LOL!
2. No, never seen a Tyler Perry movie. I'm too afraid I will be very angry afterwards.
3. I don't have cable either. No TV! I am FREE...to surf too much. :(
4. Yup, I love her blog and her opinionated posts.
5. June-who? I don't think it's blown up in Canada as yet. :D

Great blog.

Carleen Brice said...

I saw The Family That Preys and thought it was OK. Sanaa's character was a bit over the top, but I'm glad to see Mr. Perry branching out and very glad to see black actors getting work.

Carleen Brice said...

I liked Why Did I Get Married? better.

Lisa MB said...

1. Sounds like Sarah Jones is the new Anna Deavere Smith. I saw her one-woman show that was inspired by the (1991) L.A. riots.

2. Looking forward to seeing "Preys," but I'm waiting for it to get off the pay-per-view and onto the free section.
And another thing about his movies: Black folks are allowed to get therapy. No law against it.

4. Oysters away!

5. Good point. I was almost out of college before I even *heard* of Juneteenth. Maybe because I didn't grow up in TX or the South? The only Juneteenth I ever saw seemed more like an excuse for a party courtesy of the area black student union.

Anonymous said...

I liked Why Did I get Married too.

Juneteenth is a celebration of when the slaves received their actual freedom. It's just a tribute to the ancestors. I bet if you were a slave you would want to celebrate every time the anniversary of your TRUE freedom came around. Why would you celebrate what Lincoln did in 1863 if you weren't really freed until 1865? You would celebrate your true freedom date.

ieishah said...

damn. now i have to give your book a good review...

(trying to play it cool, but thankyouthankyouthankyou!! screaming in my flat right now. old catalan neighbors are not happy.)

Professor Tharps said...

Viajera,
Thanks! And glad to know someone else is happily living tv free. but I may be weakening...

Carleen,
I watched Why Did I get married? Not impressed. Janet Jackson's voice really bothered me.

BQ, Re: #5, I hear ya. I wonder where Juneteenth is really celebrated?

Anon,
Interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing.

Ieishah, No you don't. But of course I wouldn't mind...