There’s something about American comedians and Africa. You’re not sure whether they’re laughing at us or with us. African-Americans comedians, in particular, always return to the subject. There’s an essay in there somewhere. I swear I once saw a notice for a talk at Columbia’s Institute for African-American Studies or NYU’s Africana Studies, on this […]
Africa on Film: Madagascar
October 13, 2010 By 3 Comments
Allison Swank If you thought that a children’s film could escape the exaggerated eye roll of this cultural critic, then think again. I found the 2005 animated film Madagascar, to be as problematic as any live action adult flick – if not more – so simply for the fact that it’s promoting a “West and the […]
“There’s a Place in Brooklyn Where Black People Live, and It’s Nice”
March 4, 2010 By 1 Comment
Comedian Chris Rock speaking about Fort Greene, my neighborhood in Brooklyn–now heavily gentrified–in a new feature-length documentary, “”A Walk Through Fort Greene,” about the black arts movement there from the mid 1980s through the 90s. Word of this film coincides with an exhibition on gentrification in Fort Greene at The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan […]
