Black Men As Sympathetic Characters

I have seen two movies in less than a week, Sorry To Bother You and Equalizer 2. There will be no recaps as this is not a movie review. Suffice it to say, see both. They are really good.

What struck me most about both films, is the presence of a black male character for whom the audience roots for. In the era of #BlackLivesMatter and the death of young black men scattered throughout social media, it is not characteristic of mainstream media to showcase these men in a sympathetic light. Trayvon Martin at 15 was described as a man and portrayed as a thug. Michael Brown was portrayed in the same manner. It is notable to see young black men on screen, imperfect and yet deserving of empathy and protection. Lakeith

The character Chris Washington in Jordan Peele’s Get Out had audiences cheering for a dark-skinned black male as he fought white oppressors to free himself from a prison they had lured him into. Talk about revolutionary. In, Sorry to Bother You, the main character Cassius Green, fights selling out to “the man” and capitalistic oppression of others. In Equalizer 2, Denzel Washington’s character Robert McCall risks his life to save a young black man entangled with gangs and drugs.

The characterization of these black male characters as human, relatable, and sympathetic is an act of resistance. It is also why representation matters. We need African American creatives of all types making movies, TV shows, books, sculptures, architecture – projecting a vision of ourselves into the future. I am hoping that the works of Ryan Coogler,  Antoine Fuqua, Jordan Peele, Boots Riley, are trailblazing and not just trend.

I am finishing up Parable of the Sower  by Octavia Butler. I read recently that Ava Duvernay is bringing Butler’s Dawn, to screen. I am looking forward to a similar wave of heroic black female characters for audiences to cheer for being brought to life.

Build-A-Man Just like Build-A-Bear but Cheaper

I was over at Very Smart Brothas and ran across a post entitled, "Building the Perfect Woman." I won't go into the ridiculousness that men consider "perfect" on a woman. Suffice it to say, if it were left up to men, women would be a conglomeration of double d's, a big butt and a smile.

The post did get me to thinking about the perfect man. This topic is right on time considering the fact that me and my friend spent yesterday discussing our "lists". The "LIST" consists of the qualities we want in our future husbands.

So making a list and checking it twice. To make it fun, I'll use celebrities. Here we go (No particular order):

1. Intelligence like President Barack Obama.

2. Smile like Laz Alonso.

3. Eyes like Omar Epps.

4. Heart like Dr. Daniel Hale Williams.

5. Character: A man after God's own heart

6. Body like *inside my own head* lol Too many to choose from.

7. Enterprising like Michael Lee Chin



8. And swagger like DENZEL!!!!!

Build your man in the comments.