Killers of the Flower Moon

I recently watched “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and I have to admit that I was quite disappointed. I’m a huge fan of Martin Scorsese, one of my favorite directors, but even the best can stumble from time to time. It seemed like “Killers of the Flower Moon” aimed to be a grandiose three-hour-plus masterpiece, but it ended up tripping over itself and failing not just its audience but also the tragic history of the Osage people, whose story it was supposed to portray. This film appeared to be a classic example of Oscar bait, leveraging Scorsese and DiCaprio’s names, and it felt like the media and the studio were working together to draw the audience into theaters. In some ways, it felt like a bait-and-switch.

The portrayal of the Osage characters in the film was disappointingly underdeveloped. What we saw in the movie were Indigenous characters depicted as helpless and fearful individuals, stripped of their agency over their wealth, land, and lives. This starkly contrasts with the historical reality of the Osage, who were known as formidable warriors. Their religious beliefs were rooted in Wah-kon-tah, the great mystery spirit or power. In historical context, it’s highly improbable that they would have passively allowed these White individuals to seize their wealth and carry out violence against them without putting up a resilient fight.

The film is excruciatingly lengthy with its runtime, dragging on and becoming unnecessarily relentless in its depiction of graphic violence and the murders of the Osage. It’s no wonder that many Native Americans are disheartened by the portrayal in this film. Indigenous actress Devery Jacobs of “Reservation Dogs” posted her ire: “Being Native, watching this movie was fucking hellfire. Imagine the worst atrocities committed against your ancestors, then having to sit thru a movie explicitly filled w/ them, w/ the only respite being 30min long scenes of murderous white guys talking about/planning the killings.” And there you have it.

Now, let’s discuss the acting. Leonardo DiCaprio, who typically delivers performances ranging from very good to outstanding, falls short in his portrayal of “Ernest Burkhart” in this film. It felt like he was embodying a painful caricature of an already poorly written character, to the point where it seemed like he might break into laughter at any moment. The quality of his performance was disappointingly low. Lily Gladstone, who grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation, took on the role of “Mollie Burkhart,” an Osage woman and the wife of Ernest Burkhart. Despite having minimal dialogue in the film, even though she was supposed to be one of the lead characters, she managed with what she had to work with. However, her performance, while acceptable, did not reach the level of an Oscar-worthy portrayal. Robert De Niro’s performance was solid, but it was reminiscent of previous characters he has played, including variations of the “William Hale” character in other films. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about his role here.

I can’t help but note how Scorsese included references to the 1921 Tulsa/Black Wall Street Massacre in this film. He seemed to be drawing a parallel between what happened to the Osage and that horrific tragedy, but they are not comparable. In Tulsa, a violent White mob killed hundreds of Black residents, burned down over 1,250 homes and businesses, and obliterated years of Black success.

In contrast, approximately 24 Osage were murdered for their oil-rich land, or “headrights.” Although the Osage people are no longer among the wealthiest Native American groups, the impact of the oil industry is still felt today, with many Osages receiving quarterly royalty payments, still known as headrights. Those who survived the 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre lost everything. So, the two tragic events are not equivalent.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” is a disheartening film because it failed to delve deeply into the lives and the harrowing trauma experienced by the Osage. It felt like that horrendous tragedy was merely used as a plot device to advance the seemingly primary storyline, which revolved around the relationship between Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) and his uncle William Hale (DeNiro).

Call Me MISS Hamilton

Have you ever heard of Mary Hamilton? Although her story may not be widely recognized today, Mary Hamilton’s triumph once garnered national attention, instantly solidifying her status as one of the civil rights heroes of her time. Ms. Hamilton graced the cover of JET Magazine and was featured in a New York Times article highlighting her Supreme Court victory. This landmark ruling declared that African Americans (Negroes at the time”, deserved the same respect and courtesy as their White counterparts.

Ms. Hamilton insisted on being addressed as “Miss” Hamilton, rather than by her first name, when testifying in court. In stark contrast, White witnesses were routinely referred to as “Miss, Mrs. and Mr.” during court proceedings. However, African Americans appearing in court were subjected to the demeaning practice of being called by their first names. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that this practice was another manifestation of racist disrespect, akin to being addressed as “girl” or “boy,” and declared it unequal treatment compared to White individuals.

Once again, Black women took a leading role in this battle for justice. If you believe that times have significantly changed since then, you would be mistaken. Many White people still engage in “familiar” behavior, as my uncle would put it, when interacting with Black individuals, failing to afford us the respect we deserve. For some, it remains excruciatingly difficult to extend any form of deference.

HISTORY OF MISS MARY HAMILTON (Thurgood Marshall Institute)

Mary Hamilton was a civil rights activist and Freedom Rider who worked with CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) as one of only two female field secretaries for the organization and the first sent to organize in the South. Prior to taking her post, it was believed that men were best suited for organizing on the ground. Ms. Hamilton would prove herself to be a remarkably effective community organizer, well-known throughout the movement for riding into small rural towns in the South and organizing non-violent protests from the ground up.

Ms. Hamilton was arrested multiple times for her organization of and participation in non-violent protests. However, her court appearance in 1963 would lead to a groundbreaking victory for African Americans within the routine nomenclature and decorum of legal proceedings at that time.

As Mary Hamilton was testifying as a witness in a case in Alabama, the prosecutor referred to Ms. Hamilton only by her first name as was the custom when addressing African Americans in a courtroom. The honorifics of Mr., Miss, or Mrs. were reserved only for Whites. Similar to using the terms “boy” or “girl” to refer to Black men and women during this era, the refusal to grant African Americans the recognition of being addressed as a gentleman or lady was a minor yet incredibly transparent device used to infuse even the shortest verbal interactions with a painful reminder that they were not equal to whites, inside or outside of the courtroom.

Recognizing this, Ms. Hamilton refused to respond to the prosecutor stating that she would answer only when addressed respectfully. The judge found her in contempt of court, fined her $50, and sentenced her to five days in jail.

“Mary, and a couple of women were arrested for picketing the movie theater which forced people of color to sit in the balcony. The Mayor came to gloat. Mary said he was a sweaty little man. “Well Mary and Rose and Brenda, how do you feel about what you got yourself into, NOW?”

Mary said (hand on hip), “Our names are MISS Hamilton, MRS. Tompkins and MRS. Jenkins. And if you don’t know how to talk to a lady, then get out of my cell! AND, this place is FILTHY, and I want it cleaned up, NOW.’ The Mayor backed out of the cell and soon, someone came to clean the place.”

Represented by LDF attorneys, Ms. Hamilton’s case would go all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in her favor, in the 1964 landmark decision, Ex parte Mary Hamilton. Ala. Sup. Ct., 7 Div. 621. The decision established that people of color are entitled to the same courtesies and honorifics as Whites.

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Blake Lively’s New Lifestyle Site

 

I did a quick drive-by on Blake Lively’s new “lifestyle” website called Preserve.us. Welp, that was a serious waste of time. I’m all for capitalism and entrepreneurship; have no issue with people getting paid. But where I draw the line is, celebrities going live with these websites (Gwyneth Paltrow and her idiotic GOOP site comes to mind) selling merchandise that is either far too expensive for the average person. Or loaded with products that can be bought at any supermarket, department store or my personal favorite, Bed, Bath and Beyond, for much less. Blake Lively’s site is full of inane ramblings, random over-used quotes, odd pictures and quite frankly a very depressing tone emanating from the home page….bizarre.

Then when you look further and go to the product prompt, there’s BBQ sauce mixed with jewelry, clothing, pillows and other items that visually, makes no damned sense. Just because you can do something, doesn’t always mean you should. I feel Ms. Lively should probably do what she does best and that’s walk red carpets, wear fabulously expensive designer clothes, cuddle up to that hunky bundle of goodness husband of hers and just be a TV and movie star. Lets face it, she’s not Kim K who can make a dollar out of 10 cents for doing nothing. But I’m sure she’ll do well selling her wares to other celebs and the wealthy who have disposable income to burn. After-all, they’re usually the ones who keep celebrity sites afloat anyway. I mean outside of a handful of star-struck fans but that’s another topic I’ll save for later.

Batsh*t Crazy…Why Narcissists Make Your Head Explode!

We all know them; we work with them,  interact with them at events, parties, numerous social gatherings, school  and yes, they’re even in our  families. The ever-present all-consuming ones who create drama…they feed off volatile situations like legendary vampires feed off human blood. They go from person to person telling tales of imaginary wrongs foisted upon them by the abundance of bad people who always mean them ill-will. And believe me, it’s always and forever someone else and never them.

They can’t keep a job because the boss, lets see — hates them, is jealous of them, less intelligent than them, less deserving of the title than them and we can’t forget the “isms”, no need to name them. Never-mind the insignificant little details that may involve tardiness, insubordination, arrogance and possible incompetence. That’s conveniently left out of the conversation because…wait for it, it’s not their fault! Shhhhhhhh….

If their relationships or marriages fall apart, of course, they’re the injured party and here comes the pity express. Need I say more. They rant, rave, pout, whine, storm out of rooms like crazy people, point fingers, foster hellish and nightmarish situations that an Academy Award winning screenwriter couldn’t possibly dream up in a thousand years. But somehow in their twisted sense of self, they will never own up to being the writer, director, editor, executive producer and star of their own melodrama or in many cases, horror film.

Oh, and lest I forget, how they can drag other people into their bizarre psychotic episodes. They can have you embroiled in conflicts that you have no knowledge of until you start receiving texts, Facebook messages, Tweets, phone calls and emails asking to explain. And your first thought is what the fuck is going on?????? Then you call them on their bullshit and out comes the righteous indignation; head explosion part deux!

 

Who am I talking about….energy vampires, malignant narcissists, self-absorbed morons, all about me jerks and batshit crazy loonies who live in a world created by them, for them and about them. No matter what, they can take a perfectly happy day and obliterate it into dust. When the meme “misery loves company” was invented, it was a person who was victimized by one of these foreboding creatures.

So people, take it  from one who knows, get these joy-sucking leeches out of your life! They serve no one but themselves and they don’t love anyone more than they love themselves. It’s evidenced by the their constant praising (of themselves) and kissing their own asses.  Oops, almost forgot, they’re smarter than everyone else on the planet and  they have no hesitation in telling you that…often. These nutters will drain the last ounce of breath out of your body and brain cells out of your head. They inherently aren’t worth what you go through to deal with them. They will never change but what they will do, is change YOU!

RUN!!!!! Your physical and emotional health depends on it!!!

Raising the Minimum Wage…Why Not?

Today I was reading where Gov. Jerry Brown backed a plan to raise California’s minimum wage to $10.00 an hour by 2016. A number of Los Angeles-area business groups criticized the legislation, saying it would unfairly burden companies. And according to the article in The Huffington Post – Los Angeles, Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, called the hike “obscene” and said it’s unrealistic to increase wages 25 percent in two years.

Well isn’t that special and of course the requisite reasoning for these businesses objections is that the legislation is done by people who don’t understand business. And they would have to pass the costs along to their customers and clientele. HOGWASH!! or BULLSHIT!!!!, you choose. California’s minimum wage is $8.00 which is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. However, states like Washington ($9.19) and Oregon ($8.95) are  higher.

Most of those who support this legislation says that the hike will add about $4000 annually to a worker’s paycheck thus with the extra money, they can infuse the local economy with much-needed revenue.  How bad can that be?

I feel the problem is not that employers aren’t able to pay employees a fair living wage, it’s that many of these multimillion dollar businesses simply don’t want to. Many of the owners are motivated by greed; they’re money-whores. They have been allowed to cruise for decades with hiring illegal immigrants, low-balling wages, paying no health insurance to many of their employees ( and this is done by keeping the employees below what would be considered full-time) and in some cases,  inciting an atmosphere of fear. Their stance, because of the over-saturation of unemployed people and illegal immigrants willing to work, is that all of their employees are expendable. If the employee puts up a fuss, then SEE YA! And the reality is that they will probably have that position filled within a few days, if that long.

I  saw a couple of months ago where the owner of the restaurant chain Mr. Chow, Michael Chow, sold his small mansion, and I’m gagging at the idea of a “small” mansion, and bought a behemoth. Michael Chow is apropos of many of these business owners and restaurateurs who are out there putting up a stink about minimum wage. And I use him as example because he comes from affluence. His father is a renown Chinese actor and his mother comes from a very wealthy family. This is why most of those business owners have no clue. They’ve never had to work for minimum wage, they’ve never had to travel for hours to and from work and they’ve never had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. They don’t have to figure out how to pay for glasses, braces, clothing, food, shelter, school supplies and college. That’s a given for them.

Many hop into their Rolls Royce Phantoms, Bentley’s, Jags and what not,  leave work and pass by their employees standing at the bus stop, and don’t even see them because they’re invisible and go home to their mansions in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, the Hollywood Hills or wherever they decide to lay their expensive hats and handbags. Unfortunately, most couldn’t care less if they tried about their employees plight.  I have seen many domestic helpers coming out of the Hollywood Hills on foot, down perilous hills, around dangerous curves all the while their employers were luxuriating at their plush, palatial estates.  You would think that knowing their helper doesn’t have a car, they could at least take them to the bus stop. Oh Hell no, what was I thinking.

According to CNBC, California is number 9 on the list of where the wealthiest 5% in the nation lives.

Percentage of millionaire households in 2011: 6.01%
Millionaire households: 750,686
Total households: 12.49 million

To me this is obscene. I don’t begrudge anyone their hard-earned success, but a lot of the wealthiest people’s success comes from family wealth and connections. It puts a person WELL ahead of the game when you have everything in place to succeed. It’s the same with housing. We have an influx of new apartment complexes going up here in Los Angeles almost every few months, but the vast majority of working people can’t afford to live there. The rent is starting in most places, anywhere from $3000, $6000 to upwards of $13,000 a month. Who are these millionaire/billionaire developers building these complexes for if it’s not for their own ilk?

Even with a minimum wage increase to $10.00 an hour, most people still have to live in undesirable neighborhoods or way out in the Valley where the apartments are cheaper, but there’s stiff competition to rent the ones in better neighborhoods. Living in the city where it’s convenient to everything…within walking and short driving distances to supermarkets, pharmacies and shopping complexes, FORGET IT, unless you have stayed put in a rent stabilized apartment for years.

It saddens me to know that we are fast becoming a nation where fiction is now becoming fact. We are moving toward the Dystopian societies of the films Elysium and Soylent Green. The gap is widening between the rich and poor and the middle class is being slowly squeezed out of the equation entirely. So I ask again,  why not raise the minimum wage to something where people can live comfortably with some semblance of dignity and respect? Well I guess raising the minimum wage would mean the wealthy just couldn’t buy another expensive toy…and we can’t have THAT, now can we?

The End of a Helluva Week! Time To CHILLAX!

 

After a week of war mongering, political posturing, death, destruction, work overload and all around joy killing discourse, I’m glad this week is O-V-E-R! Many of us have high pressure careers and stressful lives and by Thursday, we’re seriously on life support with one foot in the grave and the other one on skates. Come Friday…we’re done!  I don’t know about you, but I need a drink.

I’m tired, I’m drained, my brain is fried and all I need now is just to cut the air up full blast (in these parts, we have a freaky heat wave sucking all of your energy and oxygen after having a pleasant summer…wouldn’t you know it), a nice cool bath, some sexy music in the background and the cap popped off the bubbly; just allowing the madness to completely drain out of my body. Good times!

I hope all of my little Scoodie-oops out in the blogosphere will find your calming piece of the world and have a CHILL weekend with whomever or whatever you have in your life that brings you joy. Until next time, CHEERS!

 

 

HAPPY LABOR DAY TO ALL HARD-WORKING PEOPLE GLOBALLY!

To the global working community, have a peaceful and restful Labor Day! And remember this – people making up the “labor” have always been less valued than those individuals who are business owners, CEO’s, senior executives and various captains of industry. Without labor, life as we know it would have never come to fruition. It is time for the United States and any country who does not understand the concept of a “decent standard of living”, to step up to the plate and pay working class people a fair living wage. It is a RIGHT, not a present given only to a chosen few deemed worthy. Peace!

Where Does the Madness End? Do We Start Cutting Away Our Body Parts Out of Fear?

First of all, what I’m about to say is not any sort of anti-Angelina Jolie diatribe, don’t know the woman personally. Nor is it a biting, hard-hitting treatise on celebrity worship by society and the media. There are elements in the blog, but they’re there to make a point about common sense and allowing fear to get the best of you. So here we go….

I have definite opinions on what Angelina Jolie decided to do about the fact that she found out she was at a high risk of contracting breast as well as ovarian cancer. Though I’m not quite in agreement with the choices she made, I absolutely feel she had the right to do what she thought was best for her and her family. That being said, what is more troubling is the idea that we can somehow get these genetic tests, consult with doctors, have the surgeries (provided you can afford the entire process, including reconstruction) and all will be well in your life forever. Somehow, you’ve become cancer-proof.

WRONG! Angelina Jolie has the means to consult with the best doctors in the world. She can take off from her acting, recuperate and then get breast reconstruction. But what people fail to realize is that reconstruction is considered by most insurance companies as a cosmetic procedure and they are hard-pressed to pay for it. Then there’s the invincibility factor–have the surgery and you’ll never have to worry about cancer again. Never-mind that there are many other forms of cancer you can still be diagnosed with. And some, you may not have a family history of.

This sets many women up to have a false sense of security. And where does it end? Melissa Etheridge, who is a breast cancer survivor said on People.com and The Huffington Post that she felt (and I’m paraphrasing) Angelina’s decision was made in fear. She also felt that maybe she should have just waited for a while because she doesn’t have cancer. Innocent statement…well not to Angelina fanatics. They’ve ripped into Etheridge as if she stole something. How dare she say anything against their goddess because well, it’s Angelina Jolie.

Many of us have been personally affected by cancer, either ourselves battling the disease, a colleague, a friend or family member. Yes cancer is an extremely scary disease. Yes it does kill thousands and thousands of people everyday somewhere in the world. But there are some cancers, if caught in their early stages, that are curable and you can go on to live a long happy life. Even in the worst case scenario and you’re diagnosed with one of the hard to treat ones in its advanced stages, I am a firm believer that if it’s not your time, you’re not going anywhere.

The celebrity of Jolie has set a terrible precedence and this is why. Most people can’t afford those procedures nor do they have insurance. Nothing in life makes any one of us immune to disease, not even some high-profile celebrity. And, with all the genetic testing that is at our fingertips and some out there on the horizon, are we heading in the direction of being a society that believes in unnecessary, major surgical procedures instead of just taking a wait and see attitude if you don’t have the disease yet? What Jolie went through was indeed major surgery. Yes I understand that her mother and aunt died of the disease. I also understand that she wants to live to see her six children become adults. But what Ms. Jolie  and many of those who are contemplating  having the procedure is completely glossing over, is that at any given time, a person can leave their home and get hit by a bus, a car, have some freak accident, die of some undiagnosed illness they didn’t know they had or just simply die of natural causes. We are not designed  to live forever and no matter what you do, we have a definitive amount of time on our life clocks and when that time is up, we move on.

I am by no means saying that people don’t have a right to do with their bodies what they will, but what is extraordinarily disturbing is when women look to these celebrities, pop doctors and various other health gurus as their beacons of extended or eternal life. That misguided mindset could have them feeling as if they’re little bullet-proof superwomen, which in my opinion, is more dangerous than the diseases they’re trying to prevent.

Melissa Etheridge Calls Angelina Jolie’s Double Mastectomy A ‘Fearful’ Choice

Posted: 06/18/2013 8:48 am EDT  |  Updated: 06/18/2013 12:01 pm EDT

Angelina Jolie, Angelina Jolie Cancer, Angelina Jolie Breast Cancer, Angelina Jolie Gene Mutation, Melissa Etheridge Angelina Jolie, Melissa Etheridge Breast Cancer, Melissa Etheridge Cancer, Melissa Etheridge Disses Angelina Jolie, Celebrity News

Singer Melissa Etheridge called Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy a “fearful” choice.

At least one person doesn’t agree with Angelina Jolie’s decision to undergo a preventive double mastectomy earlier this year. Melissa Etheridge, who beat breast cancer in 2005, told the Washington Blade newspaper that Jolie — whose doctors warned her of an 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer — acted out of fear rather than bravery.

The two-time Grammy winner, 52, said she suffered from the same gene mutation that Jolie claimed to have, but that she would have reacted differently. An excerpt from her interview is below:

“I wouldn’t call it the brave choice. I actually think it’s the most fearful choice you can make when confronting anything with cancer. My belief is that cancer comes from inside you and so much of it has to do with the environment of your body. It’s the stress that will turn that gene on or not. Plenty of people have the gene mutation and everything but it never comes to cancer so I would say to anybody faced with that, that choice is way down the line on the spectrum of what you can do and to really consider the advancements we’ve made in things like nutrition and stress levels. I’ve been cancer free for nine years now and looking back, I completely understand why I got cancer. There was so much acidity in everything.”

The comments are similar to ones that Etheridge made to Shape magazine about being cancer-free. “Once I overcame breast cancer, I wasn’t afraid of anything anymore. I now have a different relationship with fear. There are only two things in our reality, love and fear. I try to make choices out of love,” she said.

When asked about Etheridge’s comments Monday while promoting his new movie, “World War Z,” Jolie’s husband, Brad Pitt, said he hadn’t yet formulated his thoughts. “I don’t know. Somebody just said that,” he told Us Weekly. “Melissa’s an old friend of mine. I’m sure we’ll talk over the phone. I don’t know what it is.”

Jolie, 38, announced her decision to undergo surgery in a candid op-ed piece for the New York Times in May. Less than two weeks later, Jolie’s aunt, Debbie Martin, died of breast cancer at age 61.

Memorial Day

Memorial day is a time to pause, reflect and remember those brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedoms.

They are our true heroes and heroines – we will never forget you. And to our military personnel still serving, you are loved, cherished and respected. May your journey be safe and come home to us soon.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

Special Award Award From The University of Southern California.

I was honored, along with my production partner in crime Henry Fayson, to receive this medal, The Commanders Award for Recognition of Excellence from the USC Army ROTC. Back in November of 2012, we filmed The USC Ranger’s Challenge in San Luis Obispo. And from that we were asked to film other challenges for the Army ROTC. It was a grueling shoot, we had to roll right along with the officer trainees in the cold, rain and mud. But it was also fascinating and brought a new perspective and respect on what it takes to be an officer in the US Army. Much love and thanks to USC, their exemplary staff and a special shout out to Col. John Kelly, 8th Brigade & Warrior Forge Commander. Hooah!