Friday, March 16, 2012

Friday Trending and Talk, Talk




No Pariah in the Rock...Yet

At this posting, the movie "Pariah" is still not scheduled in any local movie venue, but you can catch it in Memphis at the Malco Wolfchase 8 Theatre. It's anyone's guess as to why or why not, it's "just bizness" as we've come to learn about everything. Especially the movie business which is a strange mix of fickle, luck and strategic marketing that often doesn't have anything to do with what a community might want to view. Obviously this Sundance Film Festival favorite doesn't quite have the deep pockets of a Tyler "Madea"Perry film which gets wide distribution and lots of attention. I have seen more of "Madea" than I care to admit, but give Perry the credit he's do as a media power player who has employed many in the entertainment industry. However, Pariah still continues to get good reviews even though the Internet buzz is not off the chain, folks are still talking about it. Unfortunately, there's been minor talk about it in these parts but COP 24/7 will keep our ears and eyes open for any updates. In the meantime, check out the trailer embed and for more info hit up the webpage at www.pariahmovie.com 

Here's a snapshot of what we are missing. A world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the contemporary drama Pariah is the feature-length expansion of writer/director Dee Rees’ award-winning 2007 short film Pariah. Spike Lee is among the feature’s executive producers. At Sundance, cinematographer Bradford Young was honored with the [U.S. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award.

Adepero Oduye, who had earlier starred in the short film, portrays Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents Audrey and Arthur (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry, and is a good student at her local high school.

Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura (Pernell Walker), Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend. At home, her parents’ marriage is strained and there is further tension in the household whenever Alike’s development becomes a topic of discussion. Pressed by her mother into making the acquaintance of a colleague’s daughter, Bina (Aasha Davis), Alike finds Bina to be unexpectedly refreshing to socialize with.

Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.


Diversity Conferences and Conventions in the Natural State??

COP 24/7 has posted notices concerning Little Rock as the chose site for The National Association of Black and White Men Together's 2013 convention. Currently the city is the front runner for the organization but this forum has been forthright about what it takes to produce events and activities of this nature. Even though Little Rock is not seen as a "mecca" city such as the coast cities or perhaps the ATL, this city should not short change itself on its ammenities and hospitality. There's much value and resources available to any type of group seeking to have their conference or seminar. However, with all this it still takes local people power to also push such an event forward. Case in point is Equality Forum which attracts a large following but commands top notch individuals involved with its programming. Its conference's such as this and others like Creating Change that our local convention folks need to at least consider bidding or sharing our local flavor with those planning committees. Little Rock need not be passed over and seen as a destination undesirable when there are venues and outlets that could use the business or exposure. With that said, as it looks like that this city will be the choice for NABWMT in 2013, if you are interested in being apart of a community collaboration in making it a successful event. Then let's start hearing from you at nealix101@comcast.net  I'm big on Little Rock and can I suggest that you can too!


Equality Forum is a national and international LGBT civil rights organization with an educational focus. Equality Forum presents annually the largest and premier national and international LGBT civil rights summit. Equality Forum 2012 has over 30 programs, parties and special events. There is no registration fee and all panels are free. More





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