Did you ever ask yourself Why Did I Get Married?

Over the past weekend, my husband and I went to see Tyler Perry’s new film, Why Did I Get Married?. In the movie, four couples who are old college friends go on their annual couple’s vacation to work on strengthening their marriage. At the end of the trip, they must be able to answer with full knowledge: Why Did I Get Married?. This question is easier asked than answered and as secrets are exposed, will these marriages be strong enough to endure?

Terry and Diane (Tyler Perry and Sharon Leal) initially are dealing with Diane not being able to balance work and family. Terry misses his wife and is hoping this vacation will be the chance they need to make love (and make this love work), but Diane just doesn’t get it. But instead of making love Diane makes excuses and her priorities regarding family (something Terry very much values) are exposed.

Patricia and Gavin (Janet Jackson and Malik Yoba) seemingly are the couple that has their love relationship intact and are the glue that holds all the other couples together. But when they have to confront their feelings about the death of their child, will the blame game destroy them?

Sheila (Jill Scott), a wife that will do anything to make her husband Mike (Richard T. Jones) love her the way he used to, even if it means looking like the fool. The question arises when the couple’s friend Trina (Denise Boot) and the local sheriff Troy (Lammon Rucker) enter into the picture: is this the end or the beginning?

Pam (Keesha Sharp) and Marcus (Michael Jai White) were the funniest couple of them all. Their marriage was full revenge, and plain old ghetto-fabulousness. Their biggest issue, however, was in learning how to respect and value one another-because the love never left.

Touching on realistic marriage issues such as love, honor, trust, communication and everything else you could possible imagine, Why Did I Get Married is a great movie for friends, family, and couples (married or not) to see. We can all relate to at least one of the characters, and the other characters will remind us of someone. Some scenes will bring you to tears, and others will almost make you wet yourself with laughter. Based on his stage play, Why Did I Get Married? The movie is both thumbs up a must see! And when it comes out on DVD, this is definitely a movie to add to your collection.




Now it’s Q&A Time.

Here are the questions:

1- Would you be willing to do a couple's vacation to work on YOUR marriage?

2- In an open forum, could you tell your better half EVERYTHING-just lay it on the table?

3- Is there anything that your signifigant other could do to make you divorce/breakup with him/her?

4- Have you always obeyed your vows/promises?

5- Any additional comments?

There’s the Q, now give me the A! What are your answers?

Copyright ©2007 Attica Lundy

Modern Hollywood in Blackface?

I was reading online and came across a write up about Angela Jolie and her new role as Mariane Pearl in the new film "A Mighty Heart". It seems that Ms. Pearl was Afro Cuban/Dutch ancestry, and some folks had a problem with Jolie being casted in that role.

"To portray Pearl, Jolie covered her blue/gray eyes with brown colored contacts and wore a tight, curly wig that resembles Pearl's hair style and texture." quotes the article on Atlanta's 102.5 website. They go on to talk about how the make up artist used spray on tan, and how a concern has risen regarding the "new generation of Hollywood in blackface".

Teresa Wiltz, a Washington Post staff writer has written a piece called "A Part Colored By History-Choice of White Actress For Mixed-Race Role Stirs Debate on Insensitivity" which is a stupid article, in my opinion. In that article, she quotes blogger Lauren Williams as stating "It irks me to see her in the makeup and the hair," Williams said. "Every fall, you hear about how on some college campus, white kids are having a pimps-and-hos party and painting their faces. People are ignoring that this is a very painful part of America's past."

Jolie was quoted as making the following statement: "The idea is, if you ask Mariane, because she did address that, and if you did actually want to find somebody that was her exact makeup, she's actually majority Dutch, and she's as black as she is Chinese, and she's Cuban, and she's French. So, it could have gone to many different racial backgrounds, probably, if you went technical on it. And that, you know, is a reality. At the same time, to her, the importance was the essence of her spiritually, and I think that was what mattered and I think that is a question to ask her. But no, if you break down the DNA, it's very complex."

Glamour magazine actually did a full write up on how the movie got it's start, and how Marianne feels about the role that Jolie plays. Marianne was the one who first approached Jolie, seeking a play date for their children. After meeting with the now single mom Marianne, Brad Pitt had a chance to read her book about her fallen journalist husband, Daniel Pearl, titled "A Mighty Heart", he wanted to make her story into a movie. Hense, this is how the movie was created.
Angelina Jolie as Marianne

As I stated, Washington Post's Teresa Wiltz's article was written rather well but it was a stupid article and I do not agree with the logic. Well, let me just say that I do not think that Jolie's role was "blackface". First of all, Marianne is a friend of Jolie and Pitt. He asked her if he could do this project, and she agreed. Plus, nobody says anything when Eddie Murphy portrays different race characters via way of terrific make up artist's magic. No, when he does it, it's genious! Reverse that and let a white actor be made up to portray a black character, and it's war!

People...you can't have your cake and eat it, too. As a black american, I cannot take offense to each and everything that is done in society today by non-blacks if blacks, too, do that very same thing.

An example of this is the N-Word. Yes, I'd be appauled if someone non-black said it. But at the same time, it's really unacceptable for a black to say it. It's so negative. It's repulsive. That one little word says so much. It speaks of a time when blacks were enslaved, beaten, demeaned, and killed because of skin color. It speaks of unmentionable abuse. The N-Word should bring a tear to the eyes of the ones that were branded by it! So then why does it fly so freely from the lips of browns and blacks alike? And why is it okay for some to say it and wrong for others? If we want to talk about blackface, let's not leave out the fact that blacks play white characters, too, so is that 'whiteface'?

Our society is filled with hyprocity. And that's really the point of my blog. I'm not bashing those who are out here fighting for equality and rights. I am so grateful to each and every thing that has been done for the fight for freedom, and I continue to hope that one day everyone will be on the same page in unity. Having said that, I also must state that though i'm grateful for those who are out there fighting for 'justice for all', I'd be greatly disappointed if they were at the same time using the N-Word, the B-Word towards women or the H-word (slang for the W-Word), and other's like it. Black men tend to forget what the N-word means while out on a basketball in the heat of a game, but are quick to remember it whenever it's said by the wrong 'face'. That's bull!

My question's to you are these:
1-Do you think it is offensive for Angelina Jolie to portray Marianne Pearl?
2-Is "blackface" wrong or is it simply acting?
3-Is there a difference between "blackface" and "whiteface" and if so, what is it?
There’s the Q, now give me the A! What are your answers?

Copyright ©2007 Attica Lundy