http://variety.com/2014/film/news/david-oyelowo-to-star-with-lupita-nyongo-in-americanah-exclusive-1201377306/

Having already secured a Golden Globe nomination for his work in “Selma,” David Oyelowo is looking to set up his future slate.

Sources tell Variety that Oyelowo is set to co-star with Lupita Nyong’o in the indie drama “Americanah.”

Based on the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel, the story follows a pair of young Nigerian immigrants who face a lifetime of struggle while their relationship endures.

Brad Pitt is producing through his Plan B production banner along with Nyong’o and Andrea Calderwood. Plan B produced “Selma,” and after having such a good experience working with them, Oyelowo jumped at the opportunity to board another project they were producing.

The film is now looking to attach a writer and director, with no production start date set yet.

Oyelowo has a busy end of the year, with “Interstellar,” “Selma” and “A Most Violent Year” all bowing in the last month. He is expected to be in the Oscars conversation for his performance in “Selma,” and he can be seen next in the indie “Captive” opposite Kate Mara.

the past 2-3 years.
i can't say i was a fan initially, but he's been on his grind.
he appears to be the new go-to black dude for "black guy with gravitas in the background" - kind of like the new don cheadle.

---
www.ikirejones.com
FW16: After Migration.

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

did "Half of a yellow sun" premier in the US? Seems like it just
came & went w/o a blip. Or was it straight to video?

i saw it on the innanets like a true nigerian.
what'd you think of it?

I hadn't read the book so i couldn't compare.
decent film, imo. but not anything i need to see twice.

---
www.ikirejones.com
FW16: After Migration.

really want to see the movie to see if the book was done justice
Plus Chiwetel.
Nuff said.

here for dis.

i didn't read the book and was fine with it though
but book readers werent happy

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

but from what i've heard i'm apprehensive. it only had a limited release here & i didn't want to go out of my way to find a screening of something mediocre.

i'll probably get around to it eventually

since I wasn't impressed with the excerpt of Americanah at the end of my copy of HOAYS

here for dis.

.

but i might be sentimentally involved.
the story of the movie is the story of my parent's generation

we (on the biafran side) lost alot of people in that war and growing up it was barely talked about. my maternal grandfather died after the war mostly from wasting away in despair (his property was forcefully taken by the government and reassigned to people who sided with the nigerian side). my dad got a bullet in the knee. more than a million died in that war and growing up in nigeria it was never mentioned in our textbooks. even today there are many people in nigeria who believe that biafra should not be discussed.

keeping that in mind, i probably did not watch it with the clinical detachment that would allow me to pick the movie apart. i am glad it exists and the emotional connection probably contributed to my enjoyment of it. i am proud of all the people involved in making that movie.

did you read the book first though?

no way that flick was worthy of the praise the book got

)))--####---###--(((

bunda
<-.-> ^_^ \^0^/
get busy living, or get busy dying.

I've read the book but yet to see the film, thus my asking. where online did you see it? I cant find it anywhere (for free at least.. lol)


>i saw it on the innanets like a true nigerian.
>what'd you think of it?
>
>I hadn't read the book so i couldn't compare.
>decent film, imo. but not anything i need to see twice.

sorry

---
www.ikirejones.com
FW16: After Migration.

Starz was showing it for awhile, so whatever version of on demand/streaming they use would probably have it.

Not that I'd recommend paying for it. Or even watching it for free.

Fun is the new gritty

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/halfofayellowsun

She was too skinny and light. Anika Noni Rose was prettier than Kainnee (sp) was supposed to be. Other than that, I really enjoyed it. It's on DVD now.

She thought it was a romanticization of being the side joint. As a married woman, she couldn't ride for that. Anyone else get that feeling from the book?


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

>She thought it was a romanticization of being the side joint.
> As a married woman, she couldn't ride for that. Anyone else
>get that feeling from the book?
>
>
>**********
>"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then
>they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson
>
>http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

.
http://perspectivesudans.blogspot.com/
i myself would never want to be god,or even like god.Because god got all these human beings on this planet and i most certainly would not want to be responsible for them, or even have the disgrace that i made them.

the chutzpah of being the side joint bothered me at first
but it was love
and you'd think a mistress would be a little humbled and quieted and compromising (but why tho? he's the one cheating, not her.)

homegirl was like NOPE

so i applaud that

but the character was super hypocritical and never truly owned up to her part in their separation (which made the fact that she was being a stubborn ass mule even harder to swallow)

if it was purely circumstantial (he moved and she couldnt find him or something), i'd appreciate the ballsy-ness more


she kinda looked like an asshole.

lol if reg sees this response he's going to have a field day


i dunno we're kind of trained to have these conventions and protocols and roles so it was great to see she wasn't with that when the rubber hit the road

she was down with it when it was paying her way and taking her around the world tho. lol

*************************************
like.me
http://tinyurl.com/3z8486u

"if the children are not initiated into the village they will burn it down just to feel its warmth." - african proverb

i hope lupita plans on gaining for the role

*************************************
like.me
http://tinyurl.com/3z8486u

"if the children are not initiated into the village they will burn it down just to feel its warmth." - african proverb

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

Why do women always have to be likable? I enjoyed the characters complexity.

especially when it comes to books--it's like authors have to make the protagonists likeable or so hated you want to read for their demise

*************************************
like.me
http://tinyurl.com/3z8486u

"if the children are not initiated into the village they will burn it down just to feel its warmth." - african proverb

not sure if lupita can play unlikeable though lol


~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

>but the character was super hypocritical and never truly owned
>up to her part in their separation (which made the fact that
>she was being a stubborn ass mule even harder to swallow)
>
>if it was purely circumstantial (he moved and she couldnt find
>him or something), i'd appreciate the ballsy-ness more
>
>
>she kinda looked like an asshole.

My problem with the book is that it could just be on some real shit about how we are all hypocritical in our own way when it comes to culture/perception...but there seemed to be this undercurrent of co-signing her ultimately snobby behavior like it was cool because she's confident, pretty & smart.

Someone (was it here?) said it was like if the HBO show Girls had added her as the Nigerian member of the crew which I thought was a perfect comparison. On that show despite the trust fund kids acting like assholes all throughout the shows runtime in the post episode commentary Leah Dunham NEVER addresses it, she just re-interates ust how tough they fucking have it trying to find themselves, lol.

It's similar to the Americanah; I get the impression that the author doesn't realize how much of an asshole her character really is and it just leads to you reading a very well written book about someone you would avoid in real life...but you're supposed to like and sympathize with her anyway?

i hope thats not most peoples goal in writing a book


does it really matter?

for all my fans who keep my name in their mouth: http://i.imgur.com/v2xNOpS.jpg

The problem is that she would have three pages complaining about how women in a hair salon hate her because she's bougie and how fucked up that is, then spend a page complaining about how their fried chicken smells, LOL. My brain stayed in 'Nigga please' mode even though the book tried to sell me that this snobby ass motherfucker was just misunderstood.

> My brain stayed in
>'Nigga please' mode

.
http://perspectivesudans.blogspot.com/
i myself would never want to be god,or even like god.Because god got all these human beings on this planet and i most certainly would not want to be responsible for them, or even have the disgrace that i made them.

>i hope thats not most peoples goal in writing a book
>
>
>does it really matter?
>
>for all my fans who keep my name in their mouth:
>http://i.imgur.com/v2xNOpS.jpg


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

that draws people in and makes them be a fly on the wall in the world s/he is creating

this whole i wanna like everyone i see/read abt/watch mentality

i dunno...but thats just me i get off on negativity


does it really matter?

for all my fans who keep my name in their mouth: http://i.imgur.com/v2xNOpS.jpg

plus i think Adichie left a lot of room to criticize. there's no way she thought Ifemelu was perfect

but there wasn't alot of self introspection/explanation but there really doesn't have to be

*************************************
like.me
http://tinyurl.com/3z8486u

"if the children are not initiated into the village they will burn it down just to feel its warmth." - african proverb

Maybe her dude would realize that she was kind of an asshole particularly considering the circumstances towards the end of the novel and her demanding of his time.

Maybe one of the numerous characters they kept introducing and dropping towards the end of the novel would give he a reality check.

Maybe (and I was hoping for this) it would turn into a horror novel where she's getting chased by zombies and she gotta stay holed up in that hair salon she hated and realized that she's just as much of a fresh off the boat immigrant as she is.


>plus i think Adichie left a lot of room to criticize. there's
>no way she thought Ifemelu was perfect
>
>but there wasn't alot of self introspection/explanation but
>there really doesn't have to be

especially since HE was the one doing dirt

and the white dude neither because of the fetishism aspect

no one was checking them dudes either so i guess she was pretty authentic. they get to live unchecked, so does she. EVEN STEVENS.

*************************************
like.me
http://tinyurl.com/3z8486u

"if the children are not initiated into the village they will burn it down just to feel its warmth." - african proverb

>especially since HE was the one doing dirt
>
>and the white dude neither because of the fetishism aspect

and ain't she even cheat on rich white dude thus giving him his cumuppance

>no one was checking them dudes either so i guess she was
>pretty authentic. they get to live unchecked, so does she.
>EVEN STEVENS.


I SEE YOU TRYING TO GENDERWARZ IT UP TARA. Y'all females (c)'west coast gangster misogynist' can have your own asshole characters too.

>i hope thats not most peoples goal in writing a book



'ism
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

nothing in her life or experiences made me want to know more...she came across flat & detached. I really wanted to delve into Obinze's story a lot more. Ifemelu didn't make me feel anything.

i was going to mention that she was sounding like a Girls character

Oh i think i will like this movie
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

A lot of my friends were really bothered by it. I thought Kosi was wack and I rooted for Ifemelu. I'm terrible

What I hated was her cursory discussion of African American culture, especially the part where she claimed that Ifem didn't like soul food. I was like you didn't like any of it? It seemed like bs cause West African food is quite similar to soul food. Also, she kept conflating white American culture with African American culture throughout the book. I felt myself cringing several times. Danticat has done a better job of identifying the distinction.

>What I hated was her cursory discussion of African American
>culture, especially the part where she claimed that Ifem
>didn't like soul food. I was like you didn't like any of it?
>It seemed like bs cause West African food is quite similar to
>soul food. Also, she kept conflating white American culture
>with African American culture throughout the book. I felt
>myself cringing several times. Danticat has done a better job
>of identifying the distinction.


which wouldnt surprise me cause its not like africans in the u.s tend to dive into af.am culture
but i was bothered by the fact that instead of just writing a book that acknowledges this
she tried to write a book... well americannah
so i kept having the raised brow
especially cause she was describing my trajectory in the u.s, somewhat
but her reality just didnt seem real at all.
i dont know anyone who's life... well shit
you know what im trying to say

.
http://perspectivesudans.blogspot.com/
i myself would never want to be god,or even like god.Because god got all these human beings on this planet and i most certainly would not want to be responsible for them, or even have the disgrace that i made them.

still waiting on my exhaustive history of the biafrian war


does it really matter?

for all my fans who keep my name in their mouth: http://i.imgur.com/v2xNOpS.jpg

>still waiting on my exhaustive history of the biafrian war

At this point, that might prove a futile task.

Seems every notable writer has a personal bias about that war, so you'd hardly get an accurate accessment.

Hate to say it but, our best best on getting the "true story" might come from the colonizers

>>still waiting on my exhaustive history of the biafrian war
>
>At this point, that might prove a futile task.
Not really. Newspaper articles, opinion and film reels still exist that documented the war as it unfolded right to the bitter end.

>Seems every notable writer has a personal bias about that
>war, so you'd hardly get an accurate accessment.
True but you can say that about any war or historical event for that matter. What exactly qualifies as an "accurate" assessment? How many sides are there to the 9/11 story? or the American revolution? The Cold War? You get my drift. History is always debated.

Bin can learn about it same as he can with anything else i.e. read up on as many varied accounts as he can. At the very least he'll be knowledgable about it.

HISTORICAL
This one's by a British journalist who covered the war on the ground. This was his first book but you might him for fiction like "Day of the Jackal". The Brits were not too pleased with this book because he did not shy away from revealing British complicity in the war:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Biafra-Story-Making-African/dp/1844155234

PERSONAL
This one is by Chinua Achebe who was involved in the Biafran movement at a high level. This book caused a bit of a shit storm in Nigeria when he dropped it because he tossed political correctness out the window and wrote his mind. It was raw and he passed away before he could forced to recant any parts of it.
http://www.amazon.com/There-Was-Country-Personal-History/dp/1594204829/ref=pd_sim_b_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KQM1TQGA4S92Y6GVQ00

If you look on Amazon, there's at least a dozen books to pick from.

Ughhh, I'm going to try to be happy though.

_______________________________
Maintain chill at all times.

here for dis.

America has imported more warlord theocracy from Afghanistan than it has exported democracy.

But maybe that was just with Lupita starring...

I picked this book up a couple weeks ago at B&N. Saw some talk bubble up recently b/c the author was going hard against trans women :/

>I picked this book up a couple weeks ago at B&N. Saw some talk
>bubble up recently b/c the author was going hard against trans
>women :/

Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira’s series adaptation of the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel “Americanah” is no longer moving ahead as planned at HBO Max after Nyong’o was forced to exit the series, Variety has learned exclusively.

“Americanah” was originally meant to start shooting earlier this year, but the production dates were pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, Nyong’o then had to drop out as it conflicted with other projects on her schedule.

The show originally received a 10-episode straight-to-series order at the streamer last year. Both Nyong’o and Gurira were to serve as executive producers on the show, with Nyong’o starring and Gurira writing and serving as showrunner.


A long time passion project of Nyong’o’s, she had previously planned to adapt the novel into a film in which she would star alongside David Oyelowo. She revealed in 2018 that the plans had changed to adapt it into a series instead.

Related Stories

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Along with Nyong’o, the series was set to star Uzo Aduba, Corey Hawkins, Zackary Momoh, and Tireni Oyenusi. It tells the story of Ifemelu (Nyong’o), a young, beautiful, self-assured woman raised in Nigeria, who as a teenager falls in love with her classmate Obinze (Momoh). Living in a military-ruled country, they each depart for the west, with Ifemelu heading for America, where, despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple for the first time with what it means to be black. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous undocumented life in London.

This is the latest in a growing list of shows that have been scrapped due to the pandemic. Others are the Netflix shows “The Society” and “I Am Not Okay With This,” while the fourth season of “GLOW” was also recently scrapped. Elsewhere, Showtime pulled the plug on a second season of “On Becoming a God in Central Florida.” Other examples include the ABC drama “Stumptown,” which had its second season renewal reversed at the broadcaster in September.
America has imported more warlord theocracy from Afghanistan than it has exported democracy.

The book is good, Half of a Yellow Sun is by far my favorite, but Lupita is such an amazing actress and they could've turned this into a great miniseries. Maybe not 10 episodes, but 6 hour long eps would be dope

if it still happens (which I hope it does).

I like Lupita a lot, but there are still so many other Black actresses (both Hollywood and Nollywood) in need of shine that could do Ifemelu major justice.

I didn't like Thandie in Half Of A Yellow Sun, but I was probably always going to be biased about that adaptation bc I'm not crazy about the book either.

I really liked Americanah tho, and I def find myself excited to see how they approach this. I'd love to see at least a couple Nollywood faces in there too lol

https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/15/14910900/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-transgender-women-comments-apology

Is it really problematic to acknowledge there are differences between being born a woman and trans women?



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

it is not required for you to agree when an oppressed person or group says someone harmed them

you are not the arbiter.

d

"But rest assured, in my luxurious house built on the backs of people darker than me, I am sipping fine scotch and scoffing at how stupid you are." - bshelly

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

"But rest assured, in my luxurious house built on the backs of people darker than me, I am sipping fine scotch and scoffing at how stupid you are." - bshelly

You can choose not to, and that's fine, but other women have every right to speak on that.

>it is not required for you to agree when an oppressed person
>or group says someone harmed them

"while trans women face tremendous oppression and must be supported, we should also be able to acknowledge real differences between transgender women and women who are not transgender, without suggesting that one experience is more important or valid than the other."

If she's not simply speaking the obvious, I'd really like to know how she isn't. If we need the truth to be spoken in a manipulative way in order to influence people in a certain direction (or if the truth just shouldn't be spoken at all), maybe that should be acknowledged in itself.

~
~
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Days like this I miss Sha Mecca

https://www.facebook.com/chimamandaadichie/photos/a.469824145943.278768.40389960943/10154893542340944/?type=3&theater

and then read the responses to her statement and ask yourself who is being more thoughtful about the topic. SMH.




**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I agree with her overall point, but she says 1 problematic thing in the explanation (and of course, that's what her detractors are hanging on).

Here's what I agree with most:

"I think the impulse to say that trans women are women just like women born female are women comes from a need to make trans issues mainstream. Because by making them mainstream, we might reduce the many oppressions they experience.

But it feels disingenuous to me. The intent is a good one but the strategy feels untrue. Diversity does not have to mean division.

Because we can oppose violence against trans women while also acknowledging differences. Because we should be able to acknowledge differences while also being supportive. Because we do not have to insist, in the name of being supportive, that everything is the same. Because we run the risk of reducing gender to a single, essentialist thing."


^^ That's brilliantly put
Where it gets dicey is where she's saying trans women experienced male privilege while they lived as men. Her detractors are saying she's wrong because they were never men and were always women. But her detractors are on some BS, because that's not what the point is about. The point is how they were perceived and treated by the world around them. Her detractors could have a point if they'd take their heads out of their asses and actually respond to what she's saying.
That said, my contention here would be that "male privilege" often has a lot to do with appearing or exuding tradional maleness. People born male who aren't completely cis and have trouble hiding it, often find themselves in a space where they experience oppression from the same entities that bestow privilege to cis males. It's a little more nuanced than "you're male so you have male privilege." Both she and her detractors are being too simplistic with regard to this particular point... but naturally so, since the male perspective is somewhat automatically devalued in such discussions these days.

~
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Days like this I miss Sha Mecca

It was a very heated discussion but I stand by my contention that yeah there are black male privileges. Those privileges aren't nearly anywhere as advantageous as White Male Privileges and Black Male Privileges may not on balance outweigh the black male disadvantages but that doesn't mean they don't exist even if its just, for example, that white people are less likely to fuck with you in some instances because they are physically afraid of you (and it also doesn't mean all black men enjoy the same privileges).

The irony here is that in all other instances (and including in this very discussion) people would say that you can't tell an oppressed people that you know their experience and you should defer to them when they tell you about their experience.

Except for here where a black woman is being argued down for saying that people who were born men don't experience the world the same way as a woman because they've experience male privilege; an experience that a cis woman would never experience. Imagine another scenario where anyone not a woman can tell a woman what it means to be a woman?!? We've come full circle in an Orwellian way when we have reached the point that rich Trump-supporting Caitlyn Jenner gets to define what being a woman is to an African Woman.

"Her detractors are saying she's wrong because they were never men and were always women"

Here is the paradox of this statement. A person born as a man is in no position to define what it means to be born a woman (and vice versa). And not even other ally women are in a position to tell a woman she is wrong to say a trans woman doesn't know what it means to be born a woman because ally women don't know what it means to be born a man.

If you take a step back and look at it is silly to think that this is all a matter of finding the right labels to solve the problem. Black people do it every generation going from Negro to Colored to Black to African American to whatever is next as if finding the right label will somehow alleviate the problems black people face in any regard. But I that can easily be a whole nother post.

I bring up labels to say that it seems it would be more important to look at what she actually said and mean than to try and force her to use certain terminology.

The internet always fines the dumbest ways to discuss these complex issues.



>I agree with her overall point, but she says 1 problematic
>thing in the explanation (and of course, that's what her
>detractors are hanging on).
>
>Here's what I agree with most:
>
>"I think the impulse to say that trans women are women just
>like women born female are women comes from a need to make
>trans issues mainstream. Because by making them mainstream, we
>might reduce the many oppressions they experience.
>
>But it feels disingenuous to me. The intent is a good one but
>the strategy feels untrue. Diversity does not have to mean
>division.
>
>Because we can oppose violence against trans women while also
>acknowledging differences. Because we should be able to
>acknowledge differences while also being supportive. Because
>we do not have to insist, in the name of being supportive,
>that everything is the same. Because we run the risk of
>reducing gender to a single, essentialist thing."
>
>
>^^ That's brilliantly put
>Where it gets dicey is where she's saying trans women
>experienced male privilege while they lived as men. Her
>detractors are saying she's wrong because they were never men
>and were always women. But her detractors are on some BS,
>because that's not what the point is about. The point is how
>they were perceived and treated by the world around them. Her
>detractors could have a point if they'd take their heads out
>of their asses and actually respond to what she's saying.
>That said, my contention here would be that "male privilege"
>often has a lot to do with appearing or exuding tradional
>maleness. People born male who aren't completely cis and have
>trouble hiding it, often find themselves in a space where they
>experience oppression from the same entities that bestow
>privilege to cis males. It's a little more nuanced than
>"you're male so you have male privilege." Both she and her
>detractors are being too simplistic with regard to this
>particular point... but naturally so, since the male
>perspective is somewhat automatically devalued in such
>discussions these days.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

>it is not required for you to agree when an oppressed person
>or group says someone harmed them

Seems like you are saying I AM required to agree with them since it is not for me to determine.

>you are not the arbiter.


I am confused. Am I not the arbiter or am I not required to agree? Which is it?






>
>d
>
>"But rest assured, in my luxurious house built on the backs of
>people darker than me, I am sipping fine scotch and scoffing
>at how stupid you are." - bshelly


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

>https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/15/14910900/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-transgender-women-comments-apology
>
>Is it really problematic to acknowledge there are differences
>between being born a woman and trans women?


I remember this. And for people to say she's wrong for saying "trans women are trans women" is just absurd.

~
~
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Days like this I miss Sha Mecca