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Pariah – Movie Review



 

Pariah (n):  A social outcast

The movie Pariah is the story of a 17-year-old Brooklyn teenager dealing with her sexuality.  Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay) has accepted that she is a lesbian but her religious mother and otherwise occupied father refuse to acknowledge the truth for different reasons.

The writing and directing by Dee Rees is a blueprint for effective storytelling.  The characters are multi layered, the dialogue sings (some profanity) and the actors are superb.  The character Alike embodies all the teenage angst we all experienced.  The audience is a witness to this young woman trying to find where she fits in the world.

Pariah premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 and was released earlier this year to limited screens.  This film didn’t get much marketing so the masses may have missed it.  However, if you appreciate quality writing, excellent acting (Kim Wayans is outstanding) and an engaging story, I highly recommend this movie.

Favorite quote from the movie:  Alike reading a poem that encompasses the overall theme.

Heartbreak opens onto the sunrise for even breaking is opening and I am broken, I am open. Broken into the new life without pushing in, open to the possibilities within, pushing out. See the love shine in through my cracks? See the light shine out through me? I am broken, I am open, I am broken open. See the love light shining through me, shining through my cracks, through the gaps. My spirit takes journey, my spirit takes flight, could not have risen otherwise and I am not running, I am choosing. Running is not a choice from the breaking. Breaking is freeing, broken is freedom. I am not broken, I am free. 

 

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Sitting in the Passenger Seat – A Parenting Moment

 

Princess got her driver’s license.  Exciting times, right?  My girl is growing  up and completing another milestone on the way to adulthood.  I am a proud parent.  I am also terrified.

Maybe terrified is too strong a word.  I feel some discomfort.  Yes, that’s it.  I feel uneasy.  Yesterday, I let her drive to the store by herself.  My stomach was churning but I turned over the keys anyway.  She has to learn to be comfortable driving solo.  The only way to do that is to just do it.  She’s gone to driving school and I’ve ridden with her several times.  She is a good driver although an inexperienced one.  I trust her to be careful.  But I am a parent and I still worry.

Here is something I’ve realized.  It gets harder to keep your kids safe as they get older.  When they are babies straight through the elementary years, you know exactly where they are.  The majority of the time they are with you.  You decided where they go, what they do and who they do it with.

Teenagers don’t need, or frankly even want to, do everything with their parents.  It’s a constant tug of war.  They desire more freedom and good parents gradually let them fly solo and make their own decisions.  But with that comes a lost of parental control.  You have to trust that the values you’ve instilled will actually stick.  You have to trust that your child will make more good choices than bad.  You pray that a higher power protects them from harm.

Then you let go.  And sit in the passenger seat while your kid drives.

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Sorry to Disappoint You, But I’m Not an Angry Black Woman | Clutch Magazine

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/07/sorry-to-disappoint-you-but-im-not-an-angry-black-woman/

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I Know It’s Been a Minute………

I know, I know.  You may have noticed that I haven’t posted any new contact in a couple of weeks.  Like it tends to do, life got in the way.  I am going through some major transitions right now but I think I have a handle on things.  At least temporarily.  New posts will return next week to include my crisis in courage, a new parenting moment and musical look back.

Stay tuned.

Enjoy your weekend and take care.

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Cover Feedback

 

I’m working on a new short story.

Synopsis:  What happens when your greatest achievement occurred in high school?  Twenty something Rodney Aces faces a cross-road when someone from his past makes him question the choices he has made.  Will he continue to drift through life or make a change?

What do you think of this cover?

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LeBron James wins his first title, and it wont be his last – Grantland

Congratulations to the Miami Heat!  I’m not a LeBron fan but the man played his ass off and deserved the win.

LeBron James wins his first title, and it wont be his last – Grantland.