This is a video featuring - Marc Anthony Neal (MAN) interviewing Pierre & Jamyla Bennu & Rebecca Walker.
Pierre & Jamyla Bennu are a couple of film-makers. They made a great film about African American dance called Sun Moon Child.
They also made a great and quite provocative series about black barbie. They talk about how unusual it is too see a black woman in power (i.e. with gun) in the way that is depicted in the black barbie series.
Part 1- http://vimeo.com/19748484
Part 2- http://vimeo.com/20514202
(I'm not sure where part 3 is.)
There is a great section during the interview where MAN asks Pierre Bennu about why he uses social media to distribute his work. He says that it is impossible to compete with the giant oligarchs of the media. With social media you can be like the mosquito buzzing aroud but moving too fast for the big guy. You can annoy him. (He might even crash his car).
He cites Michael Jackson as an example of this. Hollywood wasn't giving any African-Americans lead roles- so Michael Jackson made his own films using a format that no one had ever taken seriously- the music video- with his music as the soundtrack.
See “Bad”. Directed by Martin Scorcesee- Best song ever.
MAN also interviews Rebecca Walker. Rebecca Walker is the daughter of Alice Walker. She lives in Maui. She writes and teaches. She is a Buddhist. She seems like a great woman.
They have a great conversation about the recent strikes in Wisconsin in the context of global political turmoil. Walker suggests that things have to break down periodically in order to reshape themselves.
Walker cites:
Dambisa Moyo, How the west Was Lost
A great book of poetry by a Russian Poet called Vera Pavlova called If there is something to desire there will be something to regret.
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, Harlem is Nowhere: A journey to the Mecca of Black America.
Walter Mosley, The Last days of Ptolemy Grey
MAN cites
Nataliey Moore, The Almighty Black P Stone Nation
Nicole R. Fleetwood, Perfomance Visuality and Blackness
Grant Farred, What’s my name: Black vernacular intellectuals
He also mentions that itunes has just released four episodes of the Nat King Cole show.
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