Call and response.
One of the things I love about the internet is that it gives ordinary people like you and me a chance to have some say, start a debate or engage a larger discourse. This video is a kind of new beginning for me in this regard.
In the many decades I've observed media originating from North America, I've noticed how more often than not the images, stories and myths that are distributed on television, in movies, in magazines and on the net are either incomplete, distorted or motivated by hostility.
I have complained for many years that most of the time you see anything about black people in media, the image is either sad, horrifying, tragic or relates to some manifestation of sociocultural dysfunction: somebody robbed a store, somebody committed a crime, somebody lost their mind, someone got killed or raped or beat down oder so.
While I have no doubt that these things do indeed take place everyday somewhere, I've often wondered about where all the other stuff I've witnessed went: when somebody started a business, somebody built something good, somebody helped, saved, encouraged or inspired somebody else. I seldom see images representing the healers, teachers, organizers, mentors or entrepreneurs like the people in my family. While I do recognize that life is hard and poverty is mean, I also recognize that there are decent people doing beautiful things every single day somewhere.
I imagine I'm interested in a more balanced view now, a kind of call-and-response, something approaching equilibrium, that yin and yang thang; this vid clip is my response to imbalanced image representation, kind of like me clearing my throat before I talk.
Today I present a rough, rub-a-dub-stylee-cut of a documentary film that I am making about immigrants (not all of whom are black people btw) who are currently living in Berlin Germany. All the people in the film I'm making are doing interesting things that have nothing to do with raping, robbing, shooting and stealing but building, helping, saving and serving. And they come from more than 200 different countries.
I've leaving all my mistakes in these video clips because I'm documenting my learning process; I learn best by doing and making mistakes.
These videos are also a bit like love letters to my people, who are in fact, all people. In this example, I've created a homage to Grace Jones and Barbara Saltmann, two people who I deeply love and respect, who have encouraged and inspired me on my journey.
Feel free to tell me what you like or don't like. Since I'm doing this for love (and not money), I'm completely open to any constructive criticism on how I can improve what I'm doing. Please do let me know; I eagerly await your response.
yours truly,
Reverend Boogaloo
