So what is this month's theme?
The documentary by James Spooner called AFRO-PUNK (2003). 66 minutes long and you can watch the whole thing for free online right HERE. Check out the trailer below.
I've gotta say, this documentary was pretty interesting. It's about black people in the punk rock scene and how they struggle to maintain their identity. I didn't know very much about punk culture or punk music, so for me it was interesting to learn something different.
Although I've never been into punk (thought it was a bit too angry and I confess... "too white" little mind the fact black people invented rock) I can relate to a lot of the folks who were interviewed in the movie. Like them, I was usually the only black person in my class or maybe one out of the five or six in the entire school. I went through my own identity crisis as a teen. I shaved my head and became a vegetarian at 14, for example, lol.
I felt caught between two worlds. One which was what I thought "black" should be and the other that was "fitting in" to the white suburban kids around me. As a sophomore in high school I asked out a white boy for the first time and while relaying the experience back to my white friends one of them complained: "Why are you making this a big deal? You're not really black anyways, so who cares? I mean...it would just be like two white people going out because you don't act black." And when I just stared at him in shock he continued to tell me how otherwise we wouldn't be friends seeing how he "didn't like 'real' black people." A loaded statement to be sure, but this was coming from my FRIEND!
He didn't understand why I broke down in tears and locked myself in the bathroom for the next two hours sobbing my guts out, hahahaha, but any person of color reading this would get it and understand perfectly. And that's what Afro-Punk is about.
Afro-Punk introduced me to new music and now my newest crush, Tamar-Kali Brown. Not only is she fucking hot but she's a black rocker chick! How cool is that?!
I was at her WEBSITE last night... the girl can sing! I'm going to buy her CD because I lust her so much, lol! I love all her piercings and her hair! :D
So that's my media of the month. Hope you guys enjoyed it. If you ever get around to watching the movie or listening to Tamar-Kali Brown's music, leave a comment and tell me what you think!
Until next month...stay tuned!
