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http://www.thecharlottepost.com tCtie Cliarlotte ^ofit THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2006 D Section Winfred Cross February’s must-see TV goHlidsI ‘Change’ solid for Goapele Cjoapele Change It All Various producers Sony/BMG Goapele released a CD called “Closer” on a small label a few years back that got lukewarm exposure. It was what has become typical neo soul. Someone at Sony heard it, took the project and re- released it to a bigger response. Sony has given Goapele more career guidance for her second CD. “Change It AH,” She steers away from ram bling neo soul and concen trates on more traditional R&B fin today’s woiid), tech no-soul and folksy pop. Ihe mix of songs is pretty good. Goapele is no great singer - more of a song stylist. Her voice is pleasant enou^, at times even entertaining. The R&B stuff is radio friend ly, ranging from the slinky title song to a torch-like ballad ‘Battle of The Heart.” When Goapele takes a risk, that works as well. “Find Away” is politically motivated but has a hap^er, more joyous musical background. “Daiker Side Of The Moon” is certain ly the most pop offering, and she handles it like a champ. “Chrushed Out” would be typ ical hip-hop flair, but the churchy cagan lilts it out of mediocrity. I downloaded the CD fi*om iThnes and that got m6 an extra track called “Chasing.” It too takes Goapele into the pop worid, just not as effec- tivdy as “Daiker.” There is nothing that will knock you out, but more importantly, there’s nothing that should offend. That’s mere than you can say about half of what’s released these days Documentaries highlight Black History Month By Cheris F. Hexiges chensJtcxign^’ therharlottfposirom It’s Black History Month and that means the net works are gearing up to show every black docu mentary under the sun for the next 28 days. Luckily, there’s more than “Eyes On the Prize” being offered this year. (Not that there is anything wrong with this historic PBS series, but what blade person over the age of 25 hasn’t seen it at least once?) • “Negroes with Guns: Rob VTlliams and Black Power” airs Thesday. This documentary tells the sto ries of a Monroe man who dared to advocate armed resistance in the face of lynchings ri^t outside of Charlotte. In 1962, Williams' had the guts and, to some, the gall to challenge the Klan- dominated establishment in Monroe, going against the “non-violent” leader ship of the mainstream Civil Rights movement. Tblling the story are Williams’ widow Mabel, Richard Crowder, member of Monroe’s Black Guard, and Williams biographer Tim Tyson, as well as oth ers who lived this oft-for- gotten era in Civil Rights history Unoffidally, Williams is the founding father of the Black Power Movement and fled to Chiba after he was charged with kidnap- Monroe native Rob Williams is the subject of “Negroes With Guns ping. Also on PBS: • “July ‘64” (New) February 14, 10 p.m. In the summer of 1964, a three-ni^t riot erupted in two predominantly black neighborhoods in down town Rochester, N.Y., the culmination of decades of poverty, joblessness and racial discrimination. • ‘Taiiiament Funkadel- ic” (Encore Presentation by Popular Demand) February 21 (check local listings) (Jeorg^ Clinton, master mind behind the band Par liament Funkadelic, expressed the cultural aiiaiation of young African Americans, creating an alternate universe of “aliens” that brought the redemptive power of ftmk to a world sorely in need of a new point of view. • BET will air a commer cial free documentary, “Infiniti In Black,” a con versation between five artists and moderated by former film critic Elvis Mitchell. The show plays on Feb. 9 and Feb. 13. • TV Land celebrates the contributions blacks made to American and pop cul ture with a three part series called “That’s What I’m Talking About,” hosted by Wayne Brady The series started Wednesday with “Greats, Dates and Debates.” Brady moderates a discussion between Diahann Carroll, Harry Belafonte, comedian Paul Mooney and writer Tbure, The second installments air Feb. 8 and 15. If exploring black history on the small screen isn’t your thing and you want to see some history that you can reach out and touch, check out the Levine. Over at the Levine Muse um of the New South, the month begins with the opening of “Oh Freedom Over Me,” a new exhibit that chronicles Freedom Summer 1964. The opening event on Feb. 9 features a reception and panel discus sion with civil rights attor ney James Ferguson, attor ney and dvil ri^ts activist Charles Jones, executive Greensboro’s TYuth and Reconciliation Ccanmission Director Till Williams, and Duke University professor Anne-Maria Makhulu. MOVIE REVIEW ‘Something New’ with hint of taboo By Cheris F. Hodges chfnsJuxigfs&lhecliarhltfpostraii In”Something New,” filmmakers take a smart, ftmny and charming look at inter racial romance. Sanaa Lathan stars as Kenya, a straight-laced professional black woman who has everything going right except she doesn’t have that educated sexy black man to warm her ni^ts. Maybe it’s because she’s too picky and has a long list of demands in a man And Kenya has a long list of things she doesn’t do, such as blind dates. But reluctantly, she allows a co-wca-ker to hook her up. When her date turns out to be white, Kenya backs out of their meeting. Fate brings them together again when she attends the engagement party of her co-worker and admires the landscaping at the event. Brian, the landscaper, just hap>- Please see SOMETHING/2D Simon Baker and Sanaa Lathan play lovers in “Something New,” a movie that explores love and the color line in Los Angeles. Interracial romance has reading audience, too By Cheris F. Hodges chenshodfes®thfcftarlonfpost£om The movie “Something New” deals with a black woman finding love witli a white man. Thou^ this topic is new on the screen, many romance novels have been written on the subject. From authors like Eric Jerome Dickey to Lizzette Grayson Carter, interracial romance sto ries have been in between the pages of books for years. Last year, Carter released her novel “The Color line,” which is the story of a black woman, much like the lead character Carter in “Something New,” who happens to fall in love with a white man even thou^ she was looking for her own “IBM” (ideal black man). ‘T have heard women say that they would never consid er dating a white man,” Carter said ‘But I wondered what would happen if they met a white guy by happen stance.” MOVIE REVIEW ‘Annapolis’ soaks up ‘Officer.. .Gentleman’ vibe By Aisha Lide THE CH.MUjOITE POST Before you achieve, you must believe. “Annapolis” is about respect, disdpiine, honor, and hard woik. The movie’s trail er puts it aptly: “50,000 appiy. 1,200 are accepted Only the beat survive.” “Annapolis” centers around a young man Jake Huard (James Franco) aspiring to become a naval officer His entire life he wanted to be a part of the U S. Naval Acade my and his mother always told him he had what it takes to make it. Jake uses his deceased mother as inspira tion which is ironic because the movie never actually tells how the mother died or why th^ had such a close relation ship. He does all ofthis while striving for his shipbuilder "father’s love and approval throu^ an awkward relation ship. Their conversations are nonchalant. They act as if they were two strangers that just met. At the last possible mconent. Jake is admitted into the Naval Academy by the akin of his teeth because of mediocre test scores. James gets a true wake up call when he gets to Annapolis. He is already behind the other students because he does not know basic military 101; however he has the physical training down pat. His commanding officer. Lieutenant Cole (played by TVrese (ifibson) makes it dear his journey at the academy would not be a walk in the park. For the first time in film Gibson pdayed a serious dramatic role, and is quite coovincing. “Annape^s” sets Cfibson apart fix)m playboy rdes seen in “Baly Bey,” and “Four Brothers,” espedally “Baby Bey” where he came off as a weak wannabe gangster. In “Annapolis,” (Ibsen’s char acter doesn’t take any slack from students and would challenge them at any task Gibson, the stem lieu tenant, and Franco the hard- headed student, dash, which puts you in the mind set of “An -Officer and a Gentle man” Franco is a hot head who wants his chance to get back at Gibson, who he blames fca* his roommate’s suicide attempt. What better opportunity than The Brigades, a big time boxing match where students can beat on their supoiors with* out repercussions. Who ends up fitting for the title? Gib son and Franco. I must say, it’s quite the showdown PHOTO/FOCUS FEATURES Carter, who is married to a black man, admits that her book is fiction and isn’t based on any concrete research, just an idea. She found that a lot of peo ple are interested in interra cial romance. “I live in Matthews County, \firginia,” she said. “We have Matthews Maiket Days and I did a read- Pfease see NOVELS/2D A word that still stings The N Woi-d Divided We Stand Todd Larkins, director Various speakers Urbanworks Entertain ment If you are squeamish about the use of nigger, avoid “The N Word” at all costs. If you are part of the grow ing number of Americans try ing to understand the great racial divide, by all means pick up this brilliant dcxru- mentary. The film attempts to trace the origins of the word, its usage, its profuse use in rap and hip-hop lyrics and its multiethnic group accep tance. The film’s goals are lofty, but few of them are reached. Actually, that may be director Tbdd Larkins’ greatest achievement. There may be no real right or wrong rea sons to use the term, but he gives you enough to chew, to digest for you to make up your mind or even keep the opinion you have about nig ger. Various personalities express opinions on the word’s use. The most inter esting is former Dallas Cow boys star and ESPN pro foot ball analyst Michael Irvin. His analysis is very frank and upfront. 'Who knew Irvin could piece together a coher ent answer to something that didn’t deal with sports. Ice Cube, an original mem ber of NWA (Niggaz Wit Atti tudes), isn’t bothered by its use; Quincy Jones, uber pro ducer, can’t stand it. Neither does NBA champion John Salley. The film touches cai the greatest users of the term - rappers and the late Richard Pryor. Both tended to remake the word into an endearing term, but Pryor did later denounce its use. The discussion is frank, some of the images stark. There are some interesting twists and thou^ts on nig ger. There is a lot of profani ty throu^iout this film, so it may not be appropriate for small children. But everyone else should view this. It makes you appreciate intelli gent dialogue and great film making. You may not agree with what you see and hear, but you will not be able to dis miss the opinions or discus sions of such a fascinating tc^c. Ratings * aasic, Good Fair Why? No stars - A mess mmo
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 2, 2006, edition 1
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