This was my very first time attending an African-centred screening. Yemanja will be hosting many more screenings and I will make the effort to attend as many as I can.
The turnout for this screening was good considering the weather (the weather was atrocious; ice and then the subsequent rain made it so unappealing for people to leave their homes). The energy at Yemanja was delightful. I felt right at home amongst like-minded individuals who not only wanted to know more, but also provided solutions to some of the problems in the African diaspora. I honestly have to say that I am really glad to see young individuals (such as myself), attend these screenings and I'm glad I'm keeping in touch with them as well.
The film
The film was about 2 hours and 30 minutes long. Below I've listed just some of the important points raised in this film:
- The pineal gland and melanin.
- African presence in Europe; Moors, Ivory Bangle Lady.
- African presence in Asia; The Dravidians (Untouchables) of India, Natives of Japan.
- African presence in Australia and the Pacific; Tasmanian genocide, Melanesia.
- African presence in South America; Southern Mexico, Olmec statues.
- Christmas; St. Nicholas, Jesus, black Madonna with child.
- Healthcare; AIDS hoax, chem-trails, crack epidemic.
- The prison industrial complex; mass incarceration of black men and boys.
- Economics; Black Wall Street - Tulsa OK riots.
- Solutions.
The movie really goes into much deeper detail in some of the points I've listed.
The trailer
After the film, there was a debate/Q&A about the points raised in the film and what could have been done to improve the film.
A number of brothers and sisters believed that the film left out cultural and spiritual aspects of Africans. However, during the debate it was mentioned that the film goes by the assumption that many of us haven't lost our spirituality and culture and that it's still within us. This can be awakened by our self discovery.
I believe that the talk of melanin in the film and how that allows melanated individuals to have access to a different energy, somewhat taps into our spiritual side.
Other good points raised in the debate was that economic togetherness isn't the only solution to our problems. And while I agree with that, the movie demonstrated that our own economy will serve as a foundation for a solution to our problems. With our own economy, we can become self-sufficient. Furthermore, our own economy will also enable us to buy ourselves power, therefore giving us more political influence, enabling us to solve many different problems that occur within our community. This economics-power-cascade was well demonstrated in this movie.
Other points raised was that this movie concentrated too much on African Americans. Where are our Black British directors, authors and scholars? Well for one, we have Black History Studies!
I honestly believe that many of the issues raised in this film is somewhat relevant to black people all over the globe. Furthermore, this movie is American, so it isn't surprising that there was very little focus on black people outside of the North American continent. However, Brother Kwende of Yemanja and Brother Mark of BHS mentioned that there are many UK-based directors, authors, scholars and artists who are concerned by the plight of African Diasporans.
This movie, as said by Brother Mark, scratched the surface of many important events that are happening or have happened within the African diaspora. The film couldn't tell us everything we needed to know about our history because it can't be summarised in a 2hr and 30min movie.
I myself raised the issue of a lack of discussion in the film about the Arab involvement in slavery, colonisation etc and their impact on the African Diaspora. As a Southern Sudanese, Arab influence in Northern and Eastern Africa is extremely relevant to me.
My point was met with a lot of praise which meant a lot to me. My point also ensued in further talk about the Arabisation of Northern and Eastern Africa.
I'm truly glad Yemanja and BHS are around. Without them, I really doubt people would have been able to get easy access to information related to black history. I will make use of both Yemanja and BHS to further supplement my learning about black history.
I left the evening knowing more and wanting to know even more. Even right now, I feel the urge to watch HC2 again. The DVD can be purchased here.
No comments:
Post a Comment