Ok, so this intreview w/ Prof. Anita Hill is essential reading before/after viewing Confirmation (shoutout to the interviewer that STILL REFUSES TO SPECIFICALLY NAME BLACK WOMEN & call us "WoC"...erasure of Black women's experiences makes my ass itch & spikes my pressure).
About the film...I wasn't on board w/ Susannah Grant, a white woman, as writer & Rick Famuyiwa, a Black man, as director but Rick came thru tho. Rick's lens really conveyed the isolation/loneliness but also the spectacle/hypervisibility of the process Anita endured. Susannah definitely white feminist'd the narrative (my eyes did a lot of rolling out of my skull w/ all the plucky white women that just supported Anita privately/publicly) but her creative license provided some notable lines & quips.
As far as the acting, I feel like Kerry nailed the temperament of Anita but colorist casting strikes again b/c BITCH SIT @ Kerry looking anything like Anita. I would've chosen up & coming stunning actress Gabrielle Dennis to play young Anita (Lorraine Toussant as Anita today would make a dope movie). I have the same problem w/ Wendell Pierce as Clarence, nailed the temperament but looked nothing lIke him...also, was CT chunky fat back then??
Always glad to see Jeffrey Wright on my tv & Idk much about Angela Wright but Jennifer did a great job w/ her lines b/c it felt the script called for a "sassy Black woman" portrayl as a juxtaposition to cool cucumber Anita but Jen resisted w/ solid acting. Definitely have some research to do wrt to the entire case tho, so PLEASE DO COLLECT ME for misinformation if/when you know more!
Greg Kinnear, YOU BETTA!!...He sounded JUST LIKE BIDEN you hear me?! Lastly, really good to see my bae Zoe Lister Jones getting some work...don't yt woman feminist fail me bae, I'm rooting for you Zoe lol.
<<Mood...Poppy Okotcha in Look 1 at Ashish Fall 2016 ________________________________________
2. "BTW...I've been saying this 'people of color' moniker " In response to Reply # 1
can be highly problematic. I was on a university campus and saw this Chinese protester holding up a sign citing racial representation in prison and used 'POC' instead of black people. WTF? If we're not even gonna acknowledge the real inequalities that exist than what are we even doing in the first place? Not to mention....including any racial minority other than Blacks and (here in Canada) Natives actually drag the statistical proof DOWN in terms of over-representation. Again...WTF?
4. "i have no problem w/the castings." In response to Reply # 0
>As far as the acting, I feel like Kerry nailed the temperament >of Anita but colorist casting strikes again b/c BITCH SIT @ >Kerry looking anything like Anita.
i don't see it.
i see it w/the Zoe Saldana/Nina Simone thing largely b/c Nina spoke on colorism and so casting a light skinned woman to play her in a movie kinda undercuts Nina's speaking on colorism issues as a dark-skinned woman.
Anita's case wasn't about her color (AFAIK) so casting an actor who's a shade and a half lighter than Anita doesn't present a problem, IMO.
also, i don't agree that an actor needs to resemble the real life character they're playing. unless we're talking about a strict impersonation and i don't think that's what the producers/director were going for here.
> I >have the same problem w/ Wendell Pierce as Clarence, nailed >the temperament but looked nothing lIke him...also, was CT >chunky fat back then??
i have no problem w/Wendell's casting either. again, i don't think strict resemblance is required here.
7. "Nope, not here for excuses supporting colorist casting...It matters" In response to Reply # 4 Mon Apr-18-16 01:52 PM by no_i_cant_dance
that they go lighter when it comes to portraying dark-skinned Black women in media. I'd go further & say Thomas targeted Prof. Hill & Ms. Wright BECAUSE they are dark-skinned Black women & who would believe them? That ashy, trash ass nig nog was right af too, he knew.
<<Mood...Poppy Okotcha in Look 1 at Ashish Fall 2016 ________________________________________
6. "I like Anita's comments a whole lot" In response to Reply # 0
and it's kind of funny how much Hanky-Head Clarence's hearings reminded me of the Cosby shit AND the Holtzclaw shit at the same time. I'm glad to see that both situations were addressed here.
The colorism doesn't have to be intrinsic to the issue presented in order to be a problem. Though I'd argue it IS in this case. But it doesn't have to be anyways. The underlying problem is that there's a belief (whether right or wrong) that large demographics will empathize more with a light-skinned protaganist. That belief (or truth as it may be) needs to be challenged and put under scrutiny/critical analysis.
I also found it hard to watch because there's a sort of weak attempt at remaining ambiguous or non-biased. That just seemed problematic. You can't look at this issue from a two-sides to a story way. Doing so robs you of any genuine emotions. How can we sympathize with Thomas if he was guilty? On the other hand...if it was a hatchet job...how can we sympathize with Hill? It's one or the other and the attempt to sit on the fence (which leaned considerably towards Hill's side) just seems like a 'hedge your bets' move that prevents either side's truth coming out.
I don't know....I'm not even sure it's the filmmaker's fault. Maybe there's no way to make a movie about this.
11. "Only 2 of my Black gfs saw it & they are w/ your SO lol." In response to Reply # 9
>The colorism doesn't have to be intrinsic to the issue >presented in order to be a problem. Though I'd argue it IS in >this case. But it doesn't have to be anyways. The underlying >problem is that there's a belief (whether right or wrong) that >large demographics will empathize more with a light-skinned >protaganist. That belief (or truth as it may be) needs to be >challenged and put under scrutiny/critical analysis.
Agreed & I just looked up Prof. Ogletree, portrayed by Jeffrey Wright, & Ogletree is dark-skinned too...I LOVE Jeffrey & Kerry but I refuse w/ colorist casting lol.
>I also found it hard to watch because there's a sort of weak >attempt at remaining ambiguous or non-biased. That just >seemed problematic. You can't look at this issue from a >two-sides to a story way. Doing so robs you of any genuine >emotions. How can we sympathize with Thomas if he was guilty? > On the other hand...if it was a hatchet job...how can we >sympathize with Hill? It's one or the other and the attempt >to sit on the fence (which leaned considerably towards Hill's >side) just seems like a 'hedge your bets' move that prevents >either side's truth coming out. >
Oh, your observation is 1 I never even considered. It makes sense that the way the script was written was to provide multiple narratives...she probably was trying to be fair & balanced which is hilarious. The actual movie leaned heavily in the wasteland that is white feminist garbage. The villians were the Republican white men in the Senate & the plucky white women were just victims of circumstance & tried really hard to help!
>I don't know....I'm not even sure it's the filmmaker's fault. >Maybe there's no way to make a movie about this.
Have you or the SO seen the documentary, Anita?? I haven't seen it but after seeing this, I need a palate cleanser.
<<Mood...Poppy Okotcha in Look 1 at Ashish Fall 2016 ________________________________________
12. "Haven't seen that doc." In response to Reply # 11
I'm gonna check it out cause I've been thinking a lot about Anita last night and today.
I was only around 14 or 15 when this happened...but I loosely followed politics back then. Gotta admit....I remember supporting her but also being swayed by what I now see as manufactured claims about her putting pubic hairs in her student's assignments. To my shame....I can remember that actually working on me to some extent at the time.
It does not go unnoticed by me that Hill has not taken advantage of whatever opportunities she had to make a lot of money from this. A book, or career opportunities, or public appearances.
Atillah Moor Member since Sep 05th 2013 13825 posts
Mon Apr-18-16 05:41 PM
13. "Maybe they were both freaks? " In response to Reply # 0
Could just be character assassination but I heard today that one of CT's women is spilling all kinds of dirt about his love of threesomes and that Anita is likely in her opinion a woman scorned.
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Everything looks like Oprah kissing Harvey Weinstein these days
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