Popular Culture
2020 is almost here. Popular culture has been an international reality. Many of the people in popular culture receive massive popularity and massive scorn. Popular culture is filled with controversies, unique stories, and a lot of historic events. No good fruit comes from a bad tree. Therefore, the fruit of many sections of the celebrity culture has been rotten filled with materialism, shattered lives, sexism, racism, and anti-morality (from adultery scandals, domestic abuse, and other scandals). Therefore, more people recognize this unfortunate reality. Also, people understand that not all celebrities are monolithic. Some celebrities are doing egregious, wrong actions. Some act as agents of the two party system in advancing militarism, capitalist exploitation, and conformity to the status quo. In other words, in order to get things right, people have to admit the overt crimes done by U.S. imperialism for centuries (via the acts from the Pentagon and the rest of the military industrial complex. Even Ken Burns’ documentary about the Vietnam War has documented the evil of Western imperialist actions). There are numerous celebrities who sell out for money or for the establishment. Gene Simmons (who was recently banned from FOX News because of bad conduct) has been accused by many women of sexual harassment. Not to mention, we have culture vultures in our generation too. So, I'm going to keep it real.
Many evil celebrities have been involved in sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct (which must be condemned 100 percent) for years plus decades. One example of an evil celebrity is Trump who curses people and has shown deplorable actions for years. Also, we condemn any form of music that is negative. We know that certain hip hop songs and other songs (like the person 6ix9ine who uses vulgar language and says the N word constantly and he's non-black. No one should say the N word regardless of skin color. Many sellout black people support 6ix9ine and other like-minded artists) from other genres of music promote anti-black stereotypes, degrading women (like Wack100 disrespecting people's mothers, disrespecting Afeni Shakur, and disrespecting Tupac Shakur. I have no respect for that. This is not how real men act. Some people in this generation act like cursing excessively, threatening to fight people unnecessarily, and disrespecting mothers is acting like a real man. A real man promotes truth, honor, and dignity), a distortion of relationships, violence, and other evils. Today, we witness Internet personalities like Diamond and Silk (agreeing with Trump) and DJ Akademiks (who disrespects women and blatantly has colorism and self esteem issues. He's another Gilbert Arenas. I haven't forgotten about how that coward DJ Akademiks disrespected the beautiful black singer SZA either) while we ought to reject distractions. We have to reject bad media propaganda and faux role models who claim to be positive, but curse people out excessively and advance nefarious ideologies. Outlets like TMZ make a living showing information about celebrities in an exploitative fashion. Harvey Levin and Jim Paratore created TMZ. TMZ is owned by Time Warner. Time Warner is owned by Jeff Bewkes (Chairman and CEO). Many of these multinational corporations control a large part of the mainstream media and various entertainment entities in general. Sometimes, you have to realize that many corporate leaders want profit at the expense of human dignity.
Immigrant rights are Human rights. Immigrants include black people too.
Not to mention that we should expose far right extremists like Alex Jones. I heard about Alex Jones for over 10 years. He is the person who respect the far right movement including the John Birch Society. He is unashamed in his bombastic speeches, but this hides his own insecurities (because he knows that he exaggerates, but seeks his own ego to grow). Jones supports Donald Trump (who disrespects women, minorities, immigrants, and other people who disagrees with him). That right there should tell you that Jones is wrong. Alex Jones says disrespectful words about immigrants, many black people (who disagree with him), and other people. He has supported Cliven Bundy. He spews out paranoia and made many false predictions about many events. Jones glamorizes overt white supremacist slave owners like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Many of Alex Jones' documentaries condemn police brutality, but Jones hypocritically condemns black BLM protesters opposing the police state system. Alex Jones claims to oppose eugenics, but he omits the links between radical anti-immigration and the eugenics movement (which I will expand upon in detail during the future). The researcher Chip Bartlet termed the marriage between conspiracism and populism as producerism, which he mentions: "...has a history of assuming that a proper citizen is a white male. Historically, groups scapegoated by right-wing populist movements in the US have been immigrants and people of color, especially Blacks. Attention is diverted from inherent white supremacism by using coded language to reframe racism as a concern about specific issues, such as welfare, immigration, tax, or education policies..."
I wanted to write about this issue for a long time. Mark Dice is a extreme reactionary and a notorious bigot too. He spends his time to claim to lecture progressives, but he is the one who is a reactionary that spews not only lies, but stereotypes about people which he disagrees with. On many occasions, he has videos where he interviews people in the street to mock their views and to advance his nefarious agenda. Also, he is a virulent sexist. He said the following words: "...Unless Wonder Woman can cook a good pot roast, she's no woman at all..." I thought about not wasting my time mentioning information about this coward, but I decided to do this since he is representative of many Trump supporters who abhor progressive freedom. He is known to write literature filled with paranoia and conspiratorial nonsense. One of his most evil actions is praying that the hip hop artist Lil Wayne would pass away. Now, I don't agree with Lil Wayne on many issues, but Dice is really totally reprehensible to pray for someone to pass away. I know that Talib Kweli refuted Dice before. Yes, he or Mark Dice is a notorious racist who mocks the BLM. He lies and says that the BLM wants to terrorize white people.
Frankly, the BLM is about promoting the liberation of black human beings and have done plenty of positive actions for years. So, he is a false leader and a deception in our generation. Mark Dice has said the N word and made a song mocking the lives of black people in America. He's a racist. I call evil people out by name. I call Alex Jones out. I call Donald Trump out and I call out reactionary extremists out too. I debated far right wing people for over 10 years and I won't bow down to them. I refuted extremists before. Therefore, we will continue to promote social justice without apology.
Black Lives Matter.
Vulgar media figures like Bill O'Reilly will be exposed by me in this work. I have called out names for years. Therefore, we have to use discernment to call it as we see it. We don't back down.
Many celebrities are working hard to do the right thing via sincerely helping communities, giving back via charities, and fighting for legitimate social causes (from environmental justice to racial justice) as well. For example, many celebrities have heroically knelled in protest of injustice in football games nationwide. We have to witness the complexities of life in order to understand the truths found in life. The popular culture world is a billion dollar yearly business. It just doesn’t involve movies or TV shows. It also encompasses concerts, fashion, marketing, business arrangements, interviews, corporate sponsoring, and a wide array of activities. That is why many of these people in the celebrity world are found by contracts, financial obligations, and other commitments.
To understand how the world is, we have to go deeper into why things are and how things function. We witness record financial centralization into the hands of the 1% while the poor continue to suffer. We have to realize the epidemic of homelessness in Los Angeles, and the massive economic inequality plus gentrification in New York City (which has harmed communities of the poor for a long time). There is no solution to our problems unless we help the poor and homeless human beings of America including the world. I read about the thousands of homeless people in Los Angeles alone. During the decade of the 2010’s, there is further expression of shows on Netflix and other independent, Internet based television channels. There are diverse actresses and actors from Issa Rae to Jessica Williams. These human beings have shown amazing talent and keen insights on a myriad of issues. We all want freedom and justice. Therefore, during this era of time, we must act as be shining lights in advancing the truth in an in-depth, unapologetic fashion. We want the end to the system of racism/white supremacy so justice can exist. During this year of 2018, more wisdom will show and our eyes are on the prize.
The movie about LBJ (by Rob Reiner)
The movie about LBJ has been directed by Rob Reiner. The movie was written by Joey Hartstone. It is about the complicated legacy of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. LBJ has a dual legacy of the combination of the legitimately good things that he has done and the terrible foreign policy actions that he has executed (not just involving the Vietnam War, but him supporting radically far right anti-Communist movements worldwide from Greece to other places. He explicitly supported the policies of militarism and imperialism from 1963 to 1969. One example is how Johnson supported the military intervention via Marines in the Dominican Republic back in 1965. The CIA backed the massacres of Communists in Indonesia by militarized forces back during the 1960's too). The film has dedicated actors and actresses involved in the project. The role of Lyndon Johnson is played by Woody Harrelson. Other actors and actresses involved in the movie include Richard Jenkins, Bill Pullman, Kim Allen, Michael Stahl-David, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey Donovan, Doug McKeon, C. Thomas Howell, and Michael Mosley. Rob Reiner said that as a youth, he viewed LBJ as a militarist extremist as Reiner opposed the Vietnam War back then. Later, he said that he found out more about the complex character of the late President. LBJ was a President who was vulgar and said racist comments in private, but signed some of the most powerful, important, excellent, and progressive legislation in world history.
That sums up a lot of his personality. The film heavily revolves around from the end of the Kennedy administration (via the evil JFK assassination in Dallas, Texas back in November 22, 1963) to the development of the Johnson administration. The film primarily focuses on his early years in office. Back then, Congress was heavily divided on issues of war, civil rights, the economy, a growing Vietnam War, and the role of government in general. During the beginning of his Presidency, he saw a healthy economy, steady growth, and low unemployment as inherited from the Kennedy administration. Lyndon Johnson desired to continue many of the policy proposals that JFK had. Both JFK and Johnson had similarities and differences. JFK looked at nuance on issues (JFK was more eloquent in describing his love of the arts, his endorsement of world peace via his 1963 American University speech, and his overt love of literature) while Johnson was much more aggressive to talk with his political adversaries. Johnson used his tactics of aggression to get his legislation passed while he was President. This tactic was called "The Johnson Treatment." JFK was very hesitant in committing extensive ground troops in Vietnam while Johnson accelerated military involvement in Vietnam more so than any American President.
In the days following the assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson made an address to Congress saying that "No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy's memory than the earliest possible passage of the Civil Rights Bill for which he fought so long." The grief to Kennedy’s death gave momentum to Johnson to pass civil rights legislation. This goal wasn’t easy. Dixiecrats and conservative Democrats resisted attempts to gain civil rights and voting rights legislation. LBJ formed the War on Poverty in late 1963 and spoke about it heavily by early 1964. According to Caro, it was ultimately Johnson's ability to convince Republican leader Everett Dirksen to support the bill that amassed the necessary Republican votes to overcome the filibuster in March 1964; after 75 hours of debate, the bill passed the senate by a vote of 71–2. After filibuster, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act on July 2, 1964. His Great Society agenda ultimately is Johnson’s domestic legacy. The Great Society was his proclamation to promote urban development, modern transportation, a clean environment, anti-poverty measures, health care reform, crime control, and educational reform. It was the biggest involvement of government in the lives of the people since the New Deal. I'm an economic progressive unapologetically, so I endorse the spirit of the Great Society. The Great Society cut the poverty rate in half by 1970. The problem was that the neoliberal backlash (against the legitimate Great Society programs) harmed many working class and poor communities by the late 1970's to the present.
He won re-election in 1964 and passed the Voting Rights Act too including the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965. He funded educational programs. He faced rebellions in urban communities caused by economic oppression, racism, police brutality, and other oppressive conditions. LBJ had a rivalry with Robert F. Kennedy over personality and ideology (RFK would oppose LBJ’s views on Vietnam by the late 1960’s. RFK and LBJ didn't get along. Robert F. Kennedy also was an early supporter of gun control by the late 1960's). The film LBJ looked into a man who represents social change and the contradictions of a fallible man who supported an unjust war. So, while we should be thankful of progressive legislation of the 1960's, that legislation didn’t exist by one man. It existed by the sacrifice of activists (who were black people and human beings of every color), who gave their lives in many cases, to cause those great laws to be signed in the first place. We can’t be naïve about Lyndon Baines Johnson. We should acknowledge his actions which were correct and not omit his errors (as it relates to Vietnam and other matters) either. Months from now, I will write more information about LBJ's life and legacy too.
Music videos
One of the most bizarre and overtly controversial music videos in our time is Katy Perry’s “Bon Appetit.” It shows how things go on in real life in clear sight, yet skeptics still believe that nothing out of the ordinary occurs in not only in Hollywood, but in elite circles in general. The meaning of the video is overt and very transparent. The video shows her being cooked by chefs and offered as a meal to a party of elite guests. In real life, many cakes of in the form of human beings to exist in the world. Also, many restaurants offer live people with food on them (and people pay money to eat food off live people’s bodies). Artists like Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Amanda Bynes, Kanye West, etc. have links to the music industry elites. These elites influence how they act, pay money, which parties they go to, which movies they are a part of, and in many cases who they connect with in a business fashion. Some of these folks go into Dubai and I heard stories about what goes on in Dubai too. The video “Bon Appetit” is a sick ode to cannibalism. The video shows torture, exploitation, and dehumanization. All of these things are found in society and these evils have been promoted by Western imperialists for centuries. The Maafa, the genocide of Native Americans, and the world empires basically involve torture, exploitation, and dehumanization for real. The lyrics of the song have sexual references too.
With lines like “Got me spread like a buffet”, even young children get that this song is about sexuality. Little kids shouldn't be looking at this video. Yet, the video has more messages than about sex. The producers and directors of such videos know exactly what the deal is. They use multiple messages in certainly videos in order for them to spread their messages overtly and covertly. The video has Katy Perry treated as less than human or as a piece of meat. She acts as controlled totally in the fridge. People put their hands over her. Later, she is thrown into the flour. She is grabbed and twisted by many people. Later, she is send into a pot filled with broth. Her hair is chopped off and a new persona comes about. This is her transformation in the video. Later, the people in the video consume her. People in the restaurant eat her. This is similar to real life restaurants that allow people to eat food from women’s bodies. Also, one person who does eclectic art of works of fake cakes of people has been used by Marina Abramovic (an influential and powerful performance artist). She is known to use art to discuss about the body, blood, and the physical limits of the body. Marina is friends with James Franco, worked with Jay Z, and has worked with Lady Gaga on her album Artpop. Marina’s “spirit Cooking” event was about teaching people on cooking traditional soups. She denies it has anything to do with a satanic ritual (which many far right people accuse her of doing).
She has been involved in the “Devil’s Heaven” event which was an art event where in Watermill Center in 2013 where there is a performance artist woman lying in a pool of a red substance. Another event from Marina involves a mock cannibalism. In 1972, there is a ball organized by the Rothschilds (i.e. Marie-Hélène de Rothschild held a Surrealist Ball at Château de Ferrières, one of the family’s gigantic mansions) where a human effigy has roses around it. At the conclusion of Perry’s video, she is dancing on a stripper pole and the Migos (which is a young hip hop group that readily shows mumble rap) throw money at her. Other guests are tied up and abused by sick chefs. A woman’s top is torn apart and another woman is tied up, blindfolded, and stuffed with an apple. The video ends with Katy Perry about to eat a cherry pie containing body parts of the guests. This is truly bizarre. People being used like this have nothing to do with empowerment. It is the same old corporate exploitation that has existed for a long time in the world. The video Bon Appetit represents the agenda of the mainstream music industry elites: profits and exploitation at all costs. Many people don’t like human life. We cherish human life.
Leah Remini's courageous exposure of Scientology
Right now, Leah Remini is the most famous ex-Scientologist in the world. She has courageously exposed Scientology in a creative way by giving interviews and being part of a TV series. She has allowed personal stories from many ex-Scientologists as well to be shown in public. First, an overview of Scientology must exist. Scientology is a religious cult created by L. Ron Hubbard (who lived from 1911 to 1986). Hubbard formed a program called Dianetics in order to promote his views. They claim to use E-meter and auditing in order to deal with people’s emotions. Its leader today is David Miscavige. It is based in its headquarters in Gold Base Riverside County, California. Hubbard was deeply involved in the occult. In fact, he moved into the Pasadena mansion of Jack Parsons (another occultist and Thelemite. Parsons followed the views of the OTO, which was run by Aleister Crowley. Crowley was a magician and very controversial, sick person). Parsons and Hubbard worked on the project called “Babalon Working.” This was a sex magic ritual to summon the incarnation of Babalon or the supreme Thelemite Goddess. I know this is totally bizarre and it's lunacy, but this is what people like Parsons believed in. Hubbard worked in hypnosis. Part of Scientology is trying to use auditing to get rid of bad, traumatic experiences.
Hubbard faced criminal charges throughout his life. In 1979, as a result of FBI raids during Operation Snow White, eleven senior people in the church's Guardian's Office were convicted of obstructing justice, burglary of government offices, and theft of documents and government property. Scientology teaches the erroneous view that 76 trillion years span the claims of memories. Scientology opposes psychiatry and psychology. Psychiatry rejected Hubbard's theories in the early 1950's and in 1951, Hubbard's wife Sara consulted doctors who recommended he "be committed to a private sanatorium for psychiatric observation and treatment of a mental ailment known as paranoid schizophrenia." Thereafter, Hubbard criticized psychiatry as a "barbaric and corrupt profession.” In 1978, a number of Scientologists, including L. Ron Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard (who was second in command in the organization at the time), were convicted of perpetrating what was at the time the largest incident of domestic espionage in the history of the United States, called "Operation Snow White".
This involved infiltrating, wiretapping, and stealing documents from the offices of Federal attorneys and the Internal Revenue Service. Scientologists are known to this very day to harass their critics from journalists, politicians, former Scientologists, etc. Yes, L. Ron Hubbard is known to make racist statements throughout his life. He made the following racist statement: “…The South African native is probably the one impossible person to train in the entire world — he is probably impossible by any human standard…” (L. Ron Hubbard, PAB No. 119, 1 September 1957, as published in Level 0 PABS (c.1968, The American St. Hill Organization). Scientology teaches that mankind is an immortal being (called a Thetan) not originally from this planet, and that man is trapped by matter, energy, space, and time (or represented by the acronym MEST). This is very similar to Gnosticism for Gnosticism believes that many from the spiritual world became trapped into the physical world (some Gnostics condemn the physical world). Salvation for a Scientologist comes through a process called “auditing,” whereby "engrams” (basically, memories of past pain and unconsciousness that create energy blockage) are removed.
Auditing is a lengthy process and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. When all engrams are finally removed, the Thetan can once again control MEST instead of being controlled by it. Until salvation, each Thetan is constantly reincarnated. A lot of Scientology is very similar to other doctrines. Since 1953, Scientology has deceived many, but people like Leah Remini has courageously spoke her mind. Raised as a member of the Church of Scientology from childhood, Remini left the organization in 2013 and began public criticism of Scientology. Two years later, she released Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, her memoir about her experience with Scientology and reasons for leaving it. In 2016, she followed up her memoir with an Emmy Award-winning documentary television series on the A&E network, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, to highlight other former Scientologists' experiences. This is why we can never seek infallibility in L. Ron Hubbard. We should research the facts and find the truth independent of any nefarious organization.
Jay Z's 4:44
Jay’s Z’s 4:44 was released on June of 2017. It was his thirteenth studio album. It reflected his life and his new found confessions dealing with his life. This is the first time where I issued a commentary on the album in a lengthy fashion. His album has similarities and differences to Beyoncé’s Lemonade. Nevertheless, Jay Z’s album deals with the issues of infidelity, economic empowerment, OJ Simpson, and music in general. It has been promoted by a diversity of black actors and actresses like Mahershala Ali, Lupita Nyong’o, and Danny Glover. One song is named Adnis, which is the name of Jay Z’s father. No I.D. was the famous producer of the album. Jay Z has said that he woke up one morning at 4:44 am, which gave him the inspiration to create the album. Many samples of it include funk, soul, reggae, etc. These include Stevie Wonder's "Love's in Need of Love Today", The Clark Sisters's "Ha Ya (Eternal Life)", Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free", and Nina Simone's "Four Women" and "Baltimore.” The album wants to portray a message from a nearly 50 year old grown African American man who feels the need to reflect on a life that has existed for almost a half a century. In many ways, the album is like a response to Lemonade. For example, the "You better call Becky with the good hair" line on Beyoncé's "Sorry", with Jay-Z retorting, "Leave me alone, Becky" in "Family Feud.” However, No I.D. said that to make the entire album a response to Lemonade was not the intention.
Instead, Jay-Z wanted to focus on an album "where I talk about the things that I've never talked about.” There are many messages in the album. The song “Kill Jay Z” was about him wanting to end or kill his ego. Many people have huge ego and Jay Z in that song desires to move forward in his life. The song talks about Kanye West and his rumored infidelity. The Song of OJ song is self-explanatory. It is the easiest song to know about its meaning. It is a song exposing the self-hatred and anti-Blackness displayed by OJ Simpson (and other self-haters in general). It also has a video that uses the racist anti-black caricatures that was used decades ago to expose how vicious self-hatred is. The song is a cautionary tale about how to be careful in the industry and to make sure that someone doesn’t lose their own sense of self. The song also references the concept of economic empowerment and black capitalism. “Smile” is a personal song where Jay Z talks about his mother being a lesbian. “Caught Their Eyes” is about Prince and streaming rights. The song 4:44 is a song meant to be an open apology to his wife Beyoncé.
“Family Feud” has many meanings. It discusses the separation within the culture and tensions in the black community plus at home. For example, in the African American community, there are public and private debates about fashion, the N word, respectability politics, crime, culture, reality TV shows, education, the role of government, religion, conscious issues, etc. that spread out sometimes in powerful discourse. Many people want these debates to be shown in private. Some want these discussions to be shown in public. The truth is that we must have these discussions in a progressive way, so we can organize solutions. Bam is a reggae inspired song that uses Damian Marley’s vocals (with usage of a horn and guitar). Moonlight references the films Moonlight and La La Land. It shows information about the culture. As he approaches 50 years old, Jay Z knows that he can’t have the same mentality as a 21 year old. We grow and evolve as time goes on. So, this album is an evolution of his views from a young person from Marcy's Projects in Brooklyn, NYC to an almost billion dollar worth businessman. 4:44 tells the truth about the viciousness of self-hatred, the importance of black community growth, and the importance of family. The song "Story of OJ" (which uses the N word, which I don't subscribe to. The N word is offensive because it is used to dehumanize and disrespect black people. It is used to deny the humanity of black people and it is used to advance racism and discrimination. That is why it is offensive) tries to advance the narrative that black capitalism can greatly enrich the black community as a whole, which I don’t agree because of obvious reasons. Capitalism is an economic system where a select few of human beings controls the vast majority of the means of production (involving factories, businesses, lands, transportation, other technologies, farms, etc.). The primary goal of capitalism is promoting profit and maintaining profit irrespective of other altruistic motives. There is nothing wrong with black people getting economic and political power. Yet, I don't want power at the expense of exploiting workers or harming the poor.
We know that Western capitalism has been complicit in slavery, imperialism, genocide, land thefts, various wars, economic exploitation, sexism, etc. for a long time. Black capitalism promotes the goal of black people buying our way to freedom via business alone, which is faulty as true liberation addresses the environment, health, wages, land, poverty, and other important issues.
One of the most important lessons of 4:44 is that the album gives more opportunities for people to have a discussion about important issues in our community. It is to see that in our journey, there is no shame in showing emotion, in being honest, in admitting mistakes, and to develop personal human growth. As Jay Z is not the complete cause of our problems, Jay Z (who unfortunately hasn't repudiated misogynoir, the glamorization of nihilism plus anti-black themes in some hip hop music, the N word with the -a at the end of it, and the system of capitalism) is a victim of the same system of oppression that we all are. Our lives should be more than about making money, but making our families and our black community strengthen, so black collective power can grow internationally. We are aware of the black bourgeoisie. Many black people in that class are linked to the policies of the status quo from endorsing neoliberalism to believing in poor bashing. Many invitation only groups like the Jack and Jill and the Links, Inc. are filled with black upper middle class and rich black young people. Jack and Jill of America was created in January 1938 by Marion Stubbs Thomas in Philadelphia. Also, Jay Z is not exempt from critique. We have to call out wrongdoing. Kodak Black is wrong to disrespect black women and Cardi B (who claims to be a Blood since she was 16 years old) is wrong to say that his mother's side of her hair has messed up hair (or calling black women "cockroaches"). Respecting black women is a must in our world. Jay Z is very intelligent. He knows that the system is corrupt (he knows about Secret Societies and high level political groups), but he wants to use means to possess not abolish the system. The problem with that logic is that the system deserves to end since it doesn't work to help the black collective. Jay Z must repudiate not only racism/white supremacy (which he has done). Again, he has to repudiate capitalist exploitation, misogynoir, patriarchal supremacism, and other evils promoted by some hip hop artists (and musicians of any musical genre). In order for us to see the Promised Land for real, we have to discuss, plan, and take social action in getting solutions made.
The Arrival
The movie Arrival is a science fiction drama film. It has many issues shown in it. It was directed by Denis Villeneuve. It was written by Eric Heisserer. The movie was based on the 1998 short story entitled, “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang. The movie stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker. The movie is about a linguist Louise Banks, who is enlisted by the U.S. Army to help translate communications from one of several extraterrestrial craft that have appeared across the world. She must find out why they have arrived on Earth before tensions lead into war. The movie explores the issue of communication with extraterrestrial intelligence. It has been nominated for many awards. It won the award for Best Sound Editing. The movie starts with the linguist Louise Banks’s daughter Hannah died from an early adulthood from an incurable illness. The film has 12 extraterrestrial spacecraft appear at 12 locations in the Earth. Louise and Ian contacted 2 seven limbed aliens. They call them “heptadopds.”
They research the written language. Rogue soldiers plant a bomb in the craft. China's General Shang issues an ultimatum to the aliens, demanding that they leave within 24 hours; Russia, Pakistan, and Sudan follow suit. Louise goes alone to the craft and it sends down a shuttle to transport her inside. The alien explains that they have come to help humanity, for in 3,000 years they will need humanity's help in return, and the "weapon" is their language, which opens time to allow the future to be foreseen. Louise's visions of her daughter are premonitions. The Chinese stand down. Other countries followed suit. During the evacuation of the camp, Ian expresses his love for Louise. They talk about life choices and whether he would change them if he could see the future. Louise knows that she will agree to have a child with him despite knowing their fate: that Hannah will die, and Ian will leave them after she reveals that she knew this. The movie deals with symbols. The movie shows human beings being near destruction based up on divisions.
In this brutal Hurricane season, many celebrities (and other people) have stepped up to the plate to help the victims in the Caribbean, in Florida, in Texas, and in other places of America. Involving Hurricane Harvey, J. J. Watt, Tyler Perry, Jamie Fox, Keven Hart, and others have send money and resources to help the victims. This situation of rebuilding areas is a long process. Also, celebrities have helped the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has an urgent end for bottles of water, blankets, medical supplies, electricity, and other infrastructure in order to assist human beings who live there. As for this Hurricane season, a lot of people have shown a great deal of kindness. Part of expressing that kindness involves charitable donations sent to the victims suffering throughout the continent of North America. These times continuously teach us that when one person is suffering, then we all suffer. Not to mention that many people feel alone and giving them a helping hand can make all of the difference in lifting up the spirits of our fellow human beings. We have never given up the faith either. After long years and decades, we still harbor the same Dream in our hearts. We believe in the creed of altruism and we will permanently advocate for love and justice.
The Black Panther film
One of the most anticipated films in our time has been the movie Black Panther. It will be released on February 16, 2018. It is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. For months, people have praised this movie as inspiring, historic, and filled with talented black actors and actresses. You do feel a sense of motivation to honor the project. The film is produced by Marvel Studios and it will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Ryan Coogler is the director of the movie. The screenplay was created by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole. There are many famous actors and actresses in the film. They include: Chadwick Boseman (as T’Challa or the Black Panther), Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Michael B. Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis. The plot involved the character named Black Panther or T’Challa returning home as king of Wakanda. Yet, he found out that his sovereignty is challenged by a longtime adversary in a conflict that has global consequences. As early as 1992, Wesley Snipes wanted to a Black Panther film. Today, the film will be released worldwide. The movie follows events of Captain America: Civil War afterwards. King T’Challa comes to Wakanda. He knows about two enemies conspiring to bring down the kingdom. He must team up, as the Black Panther, with CIA agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje—Wakanda's special forces—to prevent a world war.
Lupita Nyong’o plays Nakia, who is T’Challa’s former lover and an undercover operative of the Dora Milaje. The Dora Milaje is the all-female special forces of Wakanda who serve as T’Challa’s bodyguards. Danai Gurira played Okoyke. She is a strong Wakandan and a traditionalist from the Border Tribe, who is the head of the Dora Milaje. Gurira said that the fighting skills she learned playing Michonne (from the Walking Dead show, which is found in AMC) complemented the skills of Okoye, but that "there's a lot of ways that they're extremely different ... Okoye is a whole 'nother thing."
Gurira described the Dora Milaje as "more like a secret service in a sense that it’s also very much about intel. It’s not just military," with Okoye the head of intel. Regarding Okoye's stoic demeanor, Gurira said, "She can be serious, but she also has an unexpected sense of humor. She has a heart, but for her country and for her people. She’s not a person who doesn’t connect to human beings as a result of what she does." Angela Bassett plays Ramonda or T’Challa’s mother. Forest Whitaker plays Zuri or an elder statesman in Wakanda. He is the keeper of the Heart Shaped Herb. He is a spiritual, religious character. The Black Panther character is a politician and a warrior at the same time.
There is no doubt that the movie does show the cultural influence from Africa. Boseman was taught the Xhosa language by John Kani in order for him to prepare for his role in the film. The Kingdom of Wakanda hasn’t been conquered by colonialism or imperialism. Some supporters of the Afro-punk movement love the film. Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxanne Gay supported stories dealing with the Black Panther. Another World Fantasy Hugo and Nuebula Award winning novelist Nnedi Okorafor is dealing her story entitled, “Black Panther: Long Live the King” by December 2017. The movie Black Panther is historic and it shows once again the power and the intellectual strength of black people.
Celebrity Secrets
For years, there are more and more revelations of how Hollywood and the film industry functions. The modern film industry started in the 1890’s. The early period of film started from the 1890’s until the start of the sound era which is circa 1927. In 1898, there was the Robert W. Paul film called “Come Along, Do!” Paul was a British film pioneer. It featured more than one shot. It showed an elderly couple too. As Seen Through a Telescope came about in 1900. Also, by 1899, animation in movies existed. There was the 1902 short film Fun in a Bakery Shop where a lump of dough was made to smile over the course of a three frame sequence. It is no secret that modern Hollywood history is filled with movies that shows information on manipulation, mind control, the occult, and other aspects of society. Tons of researchers and authors have done serious, excellent, and yeoman's work in documenting the symbolism and the various messages found in some of the most famous movies in history. During the early 20th century, feature films grew too. Many people have talked about the secret society influence in Hollywood. It is a fact that Hollywood does have ties to Freemasonry. For example, Walt Disney was a member of the Masonic youth organization called DeMolay. Many early entertainment business leaders were Freemasons like Louis B. Mayer, Tom Mix, Darryl F. Zanuck, and Cecil B. DeMille. The Scottish Rite Masonic Temple is found on Wilshire Boulevard in Tony Hancock Park.
A former 33º Freemason, the late Rev. James Shaw exposed the doctrine and rituals of Freemasonry as having their basis in the Kabbalah. One Freemason named Manly P. Hall (who was a 33rd Degree Freemason) wrote the following words on Freemasonry:
“In Freemasonry is concealed a mystery of creation, the answer to the problem of existence, and the path the student must tread in order to join those who are really the living powers behind the thrones of modern national and international affairs.”
― Manly P. Hall, 33rd Degree Freemason
"Freemasonry is a fraternity within a fraternity - an outer organization concealing an inner brotherhood of the elect...It is necessary to establish the existence of these two separate yet independent orders, the one visible and the other invisible.
The visible society is a splendid camaraderie of free and accepted men enjoined to devote themselves to ethical, educational, fraternal, patriotic, and humanitarian concerns. The invisible society is a secret and most august fraternity whose members are dedicated to the service of the mysterious arcanum acandrum (a secret or mystery).
In each generation, only a few are accepted into the inner sanctuary of the Work."
-Manly P. Hall - Lectures on Ancient Philosophy
Albert Pike (who was another 33rd Degree Freemason) had written in Morals and Dogma promotes the falsehood that some people must not have access to the truth. He admitted that Masonry has links to the Kabbalah too. Here are his own words:
“Masonry, like all the Religions, all the Mysteries, Hermeticism and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be misled; to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it. Truth is not for those who are unworthy or unable to receive it, or would pervert it. So God Himself incapacitates many men, by color-blindness, to distinguish colors, and leads the masses away from the highest Truth, giving them the power to attain only so much of it as it is profitable to them to know.” - Morals and Dogma pages 104 and 105
"The Kabalistic doctrine was long the religion of the Sage and the Savant; because, like Freemasonry, it incessantly tends toward spiritual perfection, and the fusion of the creeds and Nationalities of Mankind. In the eyes of the Kabalist, all men are his brothers; and their relative ignorance is, to him, but a reason for instructing them. There were illustrious Kabalists among the Egyptians and Greeks, whose doctrines the Orthodox Church has accepted; and among the Arabs were many, whose wisdom was not slighted by the Mediæval Church...The Ancients, and Pythagoras himself, whose real principles have not been always understood, never meant to ascribe to numbers, that is to say, to abstract signs, any special virtue. But the Sages of Antiquity concurred in recognizing a ONE FIRST CAUSE (material or spiritual) of the existence of the Universe. Thence, UNITY became the symbol of the Supreme Deity. It was made to express, to represent God; but without attributing to the mere, number ONE any divine or supernatural virtue."
-Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma, 1871, p. 625-626
Today, it has been over 300 years since modern Freemasonry existed (in London in 1717. Freemasonry existed before 1717 too). There are links among Freemasonry with the Royal family too. For example, King George VI and The Duke of Kent have worn full Masonic regalia. King George VI (after whom the movie “King’s Speech” was inspired) was the father of Queen Elizabeth II. The Duke of Kent is Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin and the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. It is obvious that Freemasonry deals with much secrecy and it is involved with the occult. I don't follow Freemasonry because of many reasons, because it has oaths that involve death (even if it isn't to be literal), it shows deception on low level members, it calls people "Worshipful master," and its doctrines are views that I reject. Even though I don't agree with Freemasonry, I am not a fascist. So, I don't believe that Freemasons should be persecuted. People have the right to believe in whatever creed that they desire in peace. This is what democracy is all about. Likewise, I have my democratic right to disagree with Freemasonry too.
By World War I, new films came about from the racist Birth of a Nation in 1915 to others. Corporations grew in power. Films used more advanced forms of light. Film grew as an art. Cecil B. DeMille’s The Cheat in 1915 described American society.
The sound era started in 1927. The 1927 film Metropolis was ahead of its time. It described a futuristic urban dystopia where it follows the lives of Freder, the wealthy son of the city's ruler, and Maria, a poor worker, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city. It is based in 2026. The movie mentions economic inequality, corporate exploitation, and the plight of the workers. It shows a robot dancing, an inverted Pentagram, and other symbols in the film. Movies existed in China and Japan too. Sound spread. Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, and Olivia De Haviland were actors and actresses during this era from 1927 to 1959. World War II had war dramas and other films about romance too. 1941 movies like Citizen Kane revolutionized movies. It was directed by Orson Welles. The 1950’s saw McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committees investigating Hollywood during the 1950’s. Many talented actors, writers, directors, and producers were blacklisted unfairly. People have the right to be Communist or not in a free society.
Films back them dealt with the Cold War and other things. Asian films had a Golden Age. For long decades, there has always been an occult link to many Hollywood actors and actresses. One example is about Lucille Ball. She was involved in the occult, numerology, and astrology. Lucille Ball claimed that the spirit of late actress Carole Lombard came to her, advising her that her true destiny was in TV. Greta Garbo, Rudolph Valentino, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Sammy Davis Jr., Jane Mansfield, Tina Louise, Peter Sellers, and others have dabbled either in automatic writing, psychics, or other forms of the occult. Mae West, who promoted many films with sexual themes in them, admitted to using psychics. Regardless if people believe in spirit possession or the occult or not, many Hollywood people and numerous corporate leaders believe in these things even back in the day.
McCarthyism and the Red Scare harmed the democratic rights of humanity back during the 1950’s. That agenda was not only is nefarious, but it was based on one pernicious lie. That lie is that every Communist on Earth is out to get people and make a worldwide, totalitarian empire to rule the world in a brutal fashion. We know today that Communism is not monolithic. We know of the crimes of Stalin. Also, we know of the many socialists and communists who disagreed and opposed the totalitarian and vicious actions of Joseph Stalin too. Stalin even murdered communists and socialists in the USSR who opposed him. Stalin was right to oppose Hitler during World War II, but he was wrong for his actions of dictatorship being utilized in the USSR. McCarthy believed that Communists infiltrated Hollywood, the government, and other aspects of society in a plot to take over American society. He was a far right conservative who was funded by the big banking elite. As early as the 1930’s, the House Un-American Activities Committee at first first targeted Nazi sympathizers (who were evil people) and then later its target was the Communists. The Smith Act in 1940 made it illegal for anyone to teach, advocate, or encourage the destruction of the government of America via force or violence. Many American communists would be charged with violation of the Smith Act. After Roosevelt passed away, the Cold War existed. Truman and Eisenhower were ardent anti-Communists. Truman promoted a loyalty oath among federal employees that wanted to oppose Communism. During the Red Scare, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted and executed for the accusation of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union during the 1950’s. On April 22, 1954, McCarthy started the Red Scare hearings live on ABC television. The establishment supported him initially. When he targeted the military and became so anti-civil liberty, even media leaders like Edward R. Murrow opposed him (because he or McCarthy was advocating the violation of the freedom of speech and the freedom of conscience). In other words, a Communist or a non-Communist shouldn’t be violated of his or her human rights because of his or her political views.
By June 9, 1954, Joseph Welch (an army attorney) told the senator, “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?” He wanted to criticize McCarthy’s attacks against his own assistant counsel. McCarthy was censured by the United States Senate on December 2, 1954. His was reprimanded by the Senate since he had done “conduct contrary to senatorial tradition.” Many innocent Hollywood people were victims of McCarthyism. Some had their careers ruined because of a sick campaign to suppress free speech. Dalton Trumbo was a screenwriter and novelist. He wrote many screenplays like Spartacus, Exodus, and Roman Holiday. He was part of the Communist Party, USA and he was part of the Hollywood Ten. They were charged with contempt of Congress and the Hollywood 10 were blacklisted from the motion picture industry. The reason was that they refused to testify before the House of Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. Trumbo continued to fight for freedom and write screenplays via pseudonyms. He gave credit to Spartacus to 1960. Ronald Reagan was a Hollywood actor himself. By the 1950’s, he became a conservative (from being a liberal) and since that time to the day of his death, he was a dedicated anti-Communist. He worked with the FBI as a way to stop Communists in Hollywood. He was once head of the Hollywood actors’ union the Screen Actors Guild. He testified against the Hollywood Ten before the House of Un-American Activities Committee. The McCarthyite era was a dangerous time for democratic rights and human expression.
Decades ago in Hollywood, black women actresses and entertainers experienced racism and sexism. They had to go through a lot, but they still persisted to captivate humanity with their strength, intellect, beauty, and creative talent. In our age, more and more people know about the many contributions of black women. We are owed black women our lives, because black women are the mothers of the human race. From the 1940’s to the 1960’s, tons of unsung black actresses and musicians were not just in Hollywood, but in locations worldwide to show their gifts to the world. Ethel Waters was a famous singer and actress. She was in Broadway, big bands, jazz, and pop music. She was in movies too. Katherine Dunham was an innovator of black dance. She was a dancer, choreographer, author, educator, and social activist. She fought Jim Crow segregation and wanted democracy plus tolerance to be made real in the world. She lived for 96 years on this Earth from 1909 to 2006. Lena Horne performed worldwide too and broke down many barriers. She was a long time singer, dancer, actress, and civil rights activist. She appeared in television, theater, and film for over 70 years. She is a famous for singing “Stormy Weather” in a movie. By 1997, she was in the GAP commercial and she looked very young being 80 years old back then. She lived to be 92 years old. Hazel Scott fought for civil rights and was slandered by the House of Un-American Activities Committee during the McCarthy era. She left America and returned to America from Paris in 1967. She was a Trinidadian-born jazz and classical pianist and singer; she also performed as herself in several films.
In addition to Lena Horne, Scott was one of the first Afro-Caribbean women to garner respectable roles in major Hollywood pictures. She performed as herself in several features, notably I Dood It (MGM 1943), Broadway Rhythm (MGM 1944), with Lena Horne and in the otherwise all-white cast The Heat's On (Columbia 1943), Something to Shout About (Columbia 1943), and Rhapsody in Blue (Warner Bros 1945). In the 1940's, in addition to her film appearances, Scott was featured in Café Society's From Bach to Boogie-Woogie concerts in 1941 and 1943 at Carnegie Hall. She was the first African American to have their own television show, The Hazel Scott Show, which premiered on the DuMont Television Network on July 3, 1950. Sister Rosetta Sharpe promoted gospel music constantly. Pearl Bailey and Eartha Kitt sang, danced, and were in many movies. Joyce Bryant during the 1940’s and the 1950’s was a singer, actress, and she became very religious afterwards. She supported civil rights. To this very day, people send tributes about her life. She still lives in America. Before Pam Grier, before Beyoncé, before Halle Berry (who are women who made strong contributions in their own right), there was the beautiful black woman Joyce Bryant. She was the originator. Other heroic black women during that era from the 1940’s to the 1960’s (who broke down barriers and done Black Excellence for real) include: Dinah Washington, Laverne Baker, Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McRae, Leslie Uggams, Diahann Carroll, Claudia McNeil, Leontnye Price, Rudy Dee, Cecily Tyson, and so many other glorious Sisters.
The 1960’s saw a revolutionary aspect of filmmaking. There was a decline of the studio system. Yet, more African Americans started to have more representation in film, TV, and theater. Raisin in the Sun was a film that came about in the early 1960’s (which was based on the play of the same title by the late, great Sister Lorraine Hansberry) including Nothing But A Man. Films like Lilies of the Fields, Hurry Sundown, Gone are the Days, and the Learning Tree included very talented black actors and black actresses. There were social changes involving black people, women, other people of color, and other minorities. Progressive civil rights laws were passed, women rights were discussed openly in public, and other human beings protested for their rightful human rights. Dorothy Dandridge, Marilyn Monroe, and Sammy Davis Jr. were all friends. Dorothy Dnadridge publicly supported civil rights. Marilyn Monroe was a known progressive who believed in civil rights, and for equal rights. The early 1960’s saw the Kennedy years. JFK’s father had many ties to the elite. Joe Kennedy Sr. advised FDR. FDR was a 33rd Degree Freemason. Nicholas Roerich (who was a mystic) advised many in the FDR administration to place the Great Seal on the back of the dollar bill. The Great seal has the pyramid with the All Seeing Eye. Joe Kennedy Sr. was also a member of the Knights of Malta and the Pilgrim Society (which is a very powerful group). The Knights of Malta is an elite Catholic order with ties to many Western corporations back then and today. In fact, many administrations have members with ties to the Skulls and Bones, the Federal Reserve, the Pilgrim Society, the Bilderberg Group, British Royalty, etc. Joseph Kennedy stated: “If Kathleen and her husband were living, I’d be the father of the Duchess of Devonshire (first Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen) and the father-in-law of the head of all the Masons in the World...” (David E. Koskoff, Joseph P. Kennedy: A Life and Times). JFK was once heavily supported by the political establishment to be President. Later, JFK resisted many aims of that same establishment with his policies of promoting an end to loopholes in taxation, his support of the Nuclear Test Ban, his refusal to attack Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and his act to eliminate missiles from Turkey.
Also, by the late 1960’s, the Church of Satan was formed by Anton LaVey. It is no secret that many Hollywood people and elite politicians were involved in sex parties, rituals, and other activities. That has been going on for thousands of years. By this time, more of that stuff was shown out in the open in public. JFK wasn’t perfect and we know of his adulteries. Likewise, John F. Kennedy was right to oppose the CIA on many issues, to promote the civil rights bill, and to tell Israel that it should relinquish its nuclear weapons program. JFK refused to send a large amount of military forces in Vietnam, but he had military advisers involved in combat missions. He wanted to make a policy to re-evaluate what to do (and if possible send 1,000 troops home by the end of 1964 and all troops by 1965).
Recordings of Defense Secretary McNamara and Vice-President Lyndon Johnson both have accounts of JFK wanting to pull out of Vietnam after his reelection in 1964. Kennedy reinforced his stance for peace on June 10, 1963, when he delivered an important speech at American University. In 1963, President Kennedy proposed removing the oil depletion allowance, the main tax incentive for oil companies. Estimates showed that it would have cost Texas oilmen $300 million in profits each year. He also passed the Kennedy Act, a piece of legislation that especially pinched oil companies, which would have caused them to give up 15 percent of their profits on foreign investments. President John F. Kennedy’s evil assassination on November 22, 1963 proves that we must continue to promote democratic freedoms and oppose the agenda of the oligarchy which seeks not only imperialism, but the status quo.
There is a long history of the Civil Rights Movement and Hollywood. Many people in Hollywood supported civil rights back then and some didn’t. Howard Hughes was one of the most racist Hollywood producers in history. He never supported true civil rights. John Wayne overtly said that he believes in white supremacy back during the 1970’s in an interview. He was another supporter of the Vietnam War too. John Wayne was an enemy of truth and a male that I don't respect. The paradox is that Hollywood has a long history of movies showing stereotypical images of black people and even overtly racist imagery and many other people in that world also resisted racism. Also, it is important to mention that civil rights grassroots activists inspired many Hollywood stars to be more progressive not vice versa. Ultimately, the civil rights movement was headed by grassroots mostly black people (and people of other backgrounds) fighting for justice.
Harry Belafonte, Josephine Baker, Hollywood producer Frank Mankiewicz, Ruby Dee, Lean Horne, Sidney Poitier, Diahann Carroll, James Garner, Marlon Brando , Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Charlton Heston and other supported the 1963 March on Washington (which called for civil rights and equal rights for all. It had many speakers including the "I Have A Dream" speech made by the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.). In May of 1961, Heston had picketed a segregated Oklahoma City lunch counter. Heston became more conservative by the late 1960’s because of the Vietnam War and changing social realities in America. By the 1990’s, he was the leader of the NRA and became a right wing activist. Heston was right to oppose segregation, but his support of Reagan’s Presidency and other right wing positions are views that I obviously don’t agree with. It is what it is. Also, it is important to recognize the actors and actresses who stood up for the human rights of black people. Many actors, actresses, and entertainers worked overtly and behind the scenes in the Civil Rights Movement. Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Sammy Davis Jr., Dick Gregory, and other many other people gave funds, participated in protests, and had discussions in fighting for equality. Other activists like Theodore Bikel, Dorothy Dandridge, Eartha Kitt, Elizabeth Taylor, and others were visible to send support to organizations and activists in the cause of human freedom. Many of these celebrities inspire modern day Hollywood celebrities in the diverse causes of immigrant rights, opposing genocide, fighting environmental problems, and other legitimate social causes.
The production code ended by 1968, which caused more explicit films to be made in public. There was now the MPAA film rating system. By 1968 to the present, we lived in the new world. This New Hollywood saw more films dealing with explicit sexual content and more violence in public view. Movies like Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left and Dirty Harry outlined the harsh realities of society. More controversial movies would exist like Straw Dogs, A Clockwork Orange, and the French Connection. By this decade of the 1970’s, new American filmmakers emerged like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Terrence Malick, and Robert Altmin. Many directors used their personal views or creative expression in film. Blockbusters like the Godfather films, The Exorcist, Nashville, Star Wars, and Jaws came about. There were heavily used special effects. The 1970’s in world cinema saw the increase popularity of martial arts films via people like Bruce Lee with The Big Boss (1971) and 1973’s Enter the Dragon. Bruce Lee utilized his Jeet Kune do martial style in film and in his philosophical thinking. Bruce Lee was right to mention the following philosophical advice:
"...Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own..."
Vonetta McGee, Diahann Carroll, Brenda Sykes, Tamara Dobson, Judy Pace, Pam Grier, Carol Speed, and Jeanne Bell were legendary actresses of the 1970's too. Blaxploitation films were common. By the mid-1970’s, more sexual explicitly films were shown in theaters. The 1980’s saw home computers, VCR, and other devices that caused films to have an easier access to a wide audience in America plus globally. There were many action stars during this time like Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Church Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg made many highly popular films from Star Wars to Indiana Jones, ET, and to other films.
From the 1990’s to the presens, more films used special effects. There was Jurassic Park in 1993 and Titanic in 1997. During this current generation, there is more recognition of independent production companies to finance their own pictures. Disney and Pixar developed their animated film projects too. From the late 1990’s to the present, digital cinema technology became common place with DVDs and Blu-ray replacing VHS tapes. In the 21st century, documentary films rose as commercial genres. Michael Moore and others made their films. IMAX cinema grew. Denzel Washington turned down the role of Curtis Taylor, Jr. in "Dreamgirls." The role went to Jamie Foxx. Denzel also turned down the role of Detective Del Spooner in "I, Robot." The role went to Will Smith. The Matrix Revolutions and the Matrix Reloaded used live action. The Dark Knight was the first major feature film to have been at least partially shot in IMAX technology.
3-D films regained popularity too. After James Cameron's 3D film Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time, 3D films have gained increasing popularity with many other films being released in 3D, with the best critical and financial successes being in the field of feature film animation such as Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment's Despicable Me, DreamWorks Animation's How To Train Your Dragon and Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar's Toy Story 3. Avatar is also note-worthy for pioneering highly sophisticated use of motion capture technology and influencing several other films such as Rise of the Planet of the Apes. In the 21st century, many African American directors shown magnificent films from Selma to Fruuitvale Station. During the 2010’s, films that deal with superheroes or comic book have increased in popularity and financial success (especially as it relates to Marvel and DC Comics from Iron Man to the recent Justice League film).
Sansevero Chapel
One of the most bizarre and mysterious structures in the world is the Sanservero Chapel. It is found in Naples, Italy and legends surround it. It has tons of art with symbolism. Symbols reveal and conceal a diversity of meanings. The whole chapel is bizarre since it claims to promote spirituality, but it has macabre displays of human bodies. It is also filled with Masonic symbolism. It was created from the 17th century. There are many sculptures there. Some believe that the chapel has esoteric, allegorical messages. The chapel has the bizarre human images with an entire nervous system on display called “Adam and Eve.” They are referred to as “anatomical machines.” The chapel was created by Raimondo di Sangro or the Prince of Sansevero. He was an inventor and philosopher. Some people accused him of being a cruel magician who killed people in order for him to conduct his sick experiments. He was educated in a Jesuit College in Rome. By 1730, at the age of 20, he came into Naples with the title of “Prince of Sansevero.” He joined many secret societies. According to Rino Di Stefano, he joined the Rosicrucians and learned about alchemical rituals. Rino said that he was involved in alchemy. He was also head of the Neapolitan Masonic Lodge. He could speak Hebrew and Arabic. He also been accused of doing other disgusting things that I can’t mention here. So, this person was a person with a controversial life. The Catholic Church excommunicated him from the Catholic Church because of his involvement with Freemasonry. The excommunication was later revoked by Pope Benedict XIV via the influence of the di Sangro family. His chapel represented the old alchemical and Masonic views of "illumination."
In the chapel, there is the statue of the god of the Nile. He made the statue of the Veiled Christ. It was done to show Christ after crucifixion. Many of the sculptures do look very life like. Scholars believe that one statue is modeled after the Veiled woman archetype. In the veiled woman archetype, it represents wisdom, Isis, and the usage of initiation. In occult symbolism, Veiled Isis is the ultimate representation of occult mysteries where the truth is veiled to the profane until true esoteric initiation. With The Chastity on the left (representing the female principle), Disillusionment on the right (representing the male principle) and Veiled Christ in the middle (representing the “perfected man”), some believe that this esoterically represents the hermetic principles of duality to make the perfected being. The masculine and the feminine energy to form the Perfected Being is a very ancient teaching. It’s like Isis and Osiris uniting to create Horus. Raimondo di Sangro wanted to overtly show his views and intentions with his chapel. For centuries, many people didn’t know what he was doing, but this is a new generation. This is the 21st century and more people know about Raimondo di Sangro. He destroyed his scientific archives before he died. Many of his other writings were destroyed. Today, he still has mysteries to this very day.
The Post
The 2017 movie of the Post is a drama historical thriller that mentions information about one of the most important segments of American history. That segment deals with the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the press’s response to the war. The Vietnam War lasted for three decades from 1945 to 1975. Millions of Americans and Vietnamese human beings died tragically as a product of the war. Back during the 1960’s, much of the press was blatantly compliant with the many administrations’ faulty showing of what occurred (especially during LBJ’s administration). By the days of Nixon, Daniel Ellsberg courageously released the Pentagon Papers to the public which exposed how the various administrations used deception and exaggeration in promoting the unjust Vietnam War. This movie stars Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Carrie Coon, and Matthew Rhys. The film showed journalists from the Washington Post and the New York Times who published the Pentagon Papers. We live in a time where Trump is overt in his hostility towards the media, especially media figures who disagree with his abhorrent policies (like ending legitimate regulations and supporting a GOP tax law).
Therefore, this movie being released during this era of time is very ironic. It has been released since December of 2017. The movie has been praised by Time and the American Film Institute. It has been nominated by the Golden Globe Awards on six nominations which are: Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Actress – Drama for Streep, Best Actor – Drama for Hanks, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score. The movie revolve around the stories of Kay Graham (played by Streep) and Ben Bradlee (played by Hanks) and the film shows them joining forces to publishing the Pentagon Papers amidst the resistance from the Nixon administration. Back during those days, many people risked prison for releasing such information, but Ellsberg took the great step in making the truth known about the viciousness of cruel Western imperialism.
The Pentagon Papers relate to the Defense Department’s study of the Vietnam War. Ellsberg’s book entitled, “Secrets” documents the composition of this study. Also, it is important to note the initial reluctance of media organizations to release the Pentagon Papers. Even the NY Times once used a temporary restraining order to stop publication. Around the event of the Supreme Court ending the TRO and allowing publication, almost 20 newspapers nationwide printed sections of the Pentagon Papers. The White House wanted to use legal action against the Times, the Post, the Boston Globe, and the St. Louis Dispatch for releasing the information. Senator Mike Gravel read the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record. Anthony Russo risked jail time and supported Ellsberg. The film has strengths. It exposes the corruption of those in power who perpetrated the Vietnam War. It exposes the seriousness of why a free, transparent free is important to maintain in any democratic society. We want the press to be open, free, and not unduly limited in its expression. The film exposes the massive sexism back then (sexism continues today and we have the responsibility to end it). One weakness of the film was its omission of Ellsberg’s massive role in getting the Pentagon Papers released into the public. Also, the film omits some members of the press’ complicity in supporting bad policies in the Vietnam War.
Back during the 1960’s, only a few brave journalists criticized LBJ’s reckless military policies in Southeast Asia. It wasn’t until the late 1960’s when a wide spread move came about by more press people to overt criticize foreign policy. Also, we know now more about Bradlee and Graham. Katherine Graham was a lot more conservative than Phil Graham. Katharine Graham once said about the Freedom Riders, “The students will be used by extremists who want very much to see the state occupied by federal troops.” About anti-war demonstrators and civil rights activists, her opinion was that communists were working in America to create chaos. (Davis, p. 237-38). Katherine Graham in fact agreed with Johnson’s military escalation of the war during the 1960’s. She toured South Vietnam in 1965. Bradlee would go along with the LBJ line too. Many members of the Post were hawkish. The New York Times published the Pentagon Papers first. After the lawsuit from the Nixon administration, the Post published the information later. The Post at first didn’t publish them because the Post had more cordial relations with the Nixon White House. When Post’s editorial chief Phil Geyelin introduced Ellsberg to Graham and Bradlee, both of them snubbed them.
Then, Ellsberg went to Neil Sheehan and the Times. In June 1971, the Times published about three days of stories before the White House sued and the Supreme Court ordered them to temporarily stop. This caused a national discussion and the NY Times’ popularity increased rapidly. Ellsberg then sent a smaller set of papers to the Post. The Post released it and they were sued too. The Pentagon Papers (in the Gravel Edition-Volume 2, Chapter 3) has a section entitled “Phased withdrawal of US Forces, 1962-64.” There is a discussion about Defense Secretary Robert McNamara’s plan to withdraw American troops from Vietnam by 1965. It’s a long chapter, about 60 pages, and it notes that the withdrawal did not happen. But that is because the phased withdrawal was stopped in 1964 by LBJ who chose to escalate instead. In 1952 Bradlee joined the staff of the Office of U.S. Information and Educational Exchange (USIE), the embassy's propaganda unit. USIE produced films, magazines, research, speeches, and news items for use by the CIA throughout Europe. USIE (later known as USIA) also controlled the Voice of America, a means of disseminating pro-American "cultural information" worldwide.
The Pentagon Papers were ordered by McNamara. Under Bradlee's leadership, The Washington Post took on major challenges during the Nixon administration. In 1971 The New York Times and the Post successfully challenged the government over the right to publish the Pentagon Papers. One year later, Bradlee backed reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they probed the break-in at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in the Watergate Hotel. For decades, Bradlee was one of only four publicly known people who knew the true identity of press informant Deep Throat, the other three being Woodward, Bernstein, and Deep Throat himself, who later revealed himself to be Nixon's FBI associate director Mark Felt. So, the Post is a movie that ought to make people open up to research even more information about the era of Watergate and the release of the Pentagon Papers.
Bilderberg Group 2017
The Bilderberg Group for decades has a large influence in politics, business, and other aspects of the modern international system. Daniel Estulin and other scholars have done great work to document the Bilderberg’s long, controversial history. The first Bilderberg Group existed in 1954 in Oosterbeek, Netherlands by Prince Bernhard. The majority of Bilderberg members are from America, Canada, and Western Europe. Many famous members include David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel, Alan Greenspan, other heads of state, senators, European royalty, media leaders, Pentagon members, NATO leaders, etc. Some are also members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the IMF, the World Bank, the EU, and the Trilateral Commission. Some are members of the Federal Reserve, the ECB, and the Bank of England. It has only been in a few years when widespread coverage of the Bilderberg Group has existed.
The 2017 Bilderberg meeting took place in Westfields Marriot in Virginia. That is less than 50 miles from the White House. This meeting is historic as it comes during the first term of the Trump regime. Bilderberg meetings include foreign and domestic policy discussions. HR McMaster, Wilbur Ross, Chris Liddell, and Henry Kissinger attended the 2017 Bilderberg meeting. Usually, the meetings include from 120-150 people. In 2001, Denis Healey, a Bilderberg group founder and a steering committee member for 30 years, said, "To say we were striving for a one-world government is exaggerated, but not wholly unfair. Those of us in Bilderberg felt we couldn't go on forever fighting one another for nothing and killing people and rendering millions homeless. So we felt that a single community throughout the world would be a good thing." The Bilderberg Group is rather overt in recent years about their agenda. They admit that they want to promote free market capitalism and Altanticism (or building the bonds of Europe and America). They desire globalization and economic integration as scholars have documented for years and decades. According to James A. Bill, the "steering committee usually met twice a year to plan programs and to discuss the participant list."
Another important message to advance is that while we should respect false conspiracy theories (as not every event in the world is caused by a conspiracy), we should acknowledge real conspiracies. It is a fact that many political entities have done corruption throughout human history. There is constant collaboration among intelligence agencies, diplomats, military, and government officials. Drug and Arms trafficking is real. False flag operations (even exploited to promote wars) and such plans have existed from the Reichstag Fire, the Operation Northwoods, Operation Ajax, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, etc. It is important to expose not only the Bilderberg Group. We must expose Le Cercle, the American Security Council, the John Birch Society, the Heritage Foundation, and the Council for National Policy (which has heavy influence among the conservative establishment).
The Bilderberg Group is known for its undisclosed nature of its proceedings. That is why we believe in transparency and accountability in researching for the truth.
The 60th Grammy Music Awards
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 28, 2016. It took place in Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was a historic time. Many artists with amazing talent musically where there performing. It is the first time when a Grammy Awards show was held outside of Los Angeles since 2003. The host was James Corden. It was a show that was very political, because of the reality of the world that we live in. We live in an age where a current President (who disrespected McCabe’s wife, which shows Donald Trump as the coward as he is) wanted FBI leaders fired, so he wouldn’t be implicated in allegations of collusion and obstruction of justice. We have a huge amount of women legitimately standing up against sexual harassment and sexual abuse. We have tons of black people fighting against police brutality and against racism in general. So, we witness a new era of our time. Songs and people awarded during hthe Grammys deals with recordings, compositions, and artists of the time between October 1, 2016 to September 39, 2017. There are always controversies in dealing the Grammys. One disrespectful comment from Grammy awards President Neil Portnow was that he said that women must “step up” in order to achieve success in the music industry. The truth is that women have included leaders and musical geniuses for thousands of years. Women have always stepped up to the plate to express musical excellence, to produce, to do amazing performance, and to lift up the human spirits collectively. The problem is that historically many people of color and women have been ignored, downplayed, and disrespected by the Grammys. That is why many artists have boycotted the Grammys because of many heinous biases among its infrastructure. In the 2018 Grammys, only 17 of the 86 awards went to women.
The Grammy Awards had performers and members of the audience wearing white, which expressed solidarity with the victory of sexual abuse and sexual harassment. This was part of the Metoo movement. Kendrick Lamar started the show with his song “XXX” Lamar criticized jingoistic patriotism. U2 performed with him. Dave Chappelle said, “The only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America.” It is certainly a historical fact, that heroic black voices have been maligned unfairly from Dr. King to Fannie Lou Hamer. There were many multigenerational duets. There was John Legend and Tony Bennett performing. Elton John and Miley Cyrus sang on the stage. Childish Gambino and JD McCrary sang and McCracy will play young Simba in a Disney live action remake of the Lion King which will come out in 2019. Kendrick Lamar won the award for Best Rap Album. Many artists (like Brothers Osborne, Maren Morris, and Eric Church) honored the victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting (which took place on October 12, 2017) and the Manchester, England attack,which occurred on May of 2017.
Kesha’s (who was a victim of sexual assault and abuse) passionate performance of “Praying,” backed by Bebe Rexha, Cindi Lauper, Julia Michaels, Andra Day, Camila Cabello and a chorus of female vocalists all dressed in white. Introducing the performance, Janelle Monáe assured a captive audience, “We come in peace, but we mean business.” Janelle Monae called on men and women to work together to end pay inequality, discrimination, harassment, and abuses of power in the music industry. Monae said the words of Times Up meaning the abuse of power and the abuse of human beings is over. SZA performed in the Grammys, but she was snubbed when she is a greatly talented black woman. She is a neo-soul singers whose music deals with themes of romance, relationships, and life in general. Also, Jay Z didn’t win any awards despite being nominated for numerous categories. SZA performed “Broken Clocks.” Tina Turner won the Lifetime Achievement Award and rightfully so. The band Queen also received the Lifetime Achievement Award. One of the big winners of the Grammys is Bruno Mars, who is a very popular pop artist in our generation. Also, it is important to show another important point. We know what that point is. The point is that the contributions of black music must always be respected regardless. Some want to ignore and downplay black music, but black music is here to stay and it must always be cherished wholeheartedly.
Our value is not determined by a Grammy. Our value is always sacrosanct since birth as our collective black power (as black love is beautiful) is more important than token acceptance. Many celebrities (like John Legend, Cher, Snoop Dogg, Cardi B, and DJ Khaled) read for the Michael Wolff book, “Fire and Fury.” The book is about the life of Trump and his cabinet. It shows a picture of a White House filled greatly with confusion, chaos, and instability. Hillary Clinton also read from the book, which shows how the opposition of Trump is part of the Grammys. We should oppose the Trump regime vigorously. Maintaining our conviction that democratic rights must be protected is honorable. Trump has recently passed a horrendous tax bill that heavily rewarded super wealthy corporations and the 1 percent in general (via tax cuts and other giveaways). Respecting Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security is necessary too. Paul Ryan is overt in making to establish massive cuts to those three great, progressive programs under the guise of dealing with the "debt and deficit" that many Republicans contributed to growing. Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare are great means of a social safety net among middle class and working class people plus families. Before these programs existed, many Americans suffered total destitution and other economic hardships. In 1935 when Social Security was first passed, about 50% of American seniors lived in poverty. By 1966, poverty among seniors dropped to 8.6%. By 1966, only 50% of seniors had health insurance. That is why Medicare was established in order to give senior Americans the opportunity to get quality healthcare. Today, Americans over 65 years old experience poverty in less than 10 percent. In 2016, 98.6% of seniors (aged 65 or older) have health care insurance.
According to an analysis of Census date, Social Security keeps 22 million Americans out of poverty. Medicaid also helps the elderly and the poor too. Yet, Trump wants to encourage states to execute work requirements for people who need Medicaid. Many Republicans lie and call these programs "entitlements" when these social programs have specific objects, policies, and actions. Also, Americans pay into Social Security and Medicare throughout our working lives, so these programs are never "entitlements." It's our own money that we're getting back via these programs. That is why the social safety net must be strengthened not weakened. That is why some want the ceiling of the Social Security tax to be lifted, so the wealthy can contribute more to funding Social Security (helping Baby Boomers and Millennials alike). Allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower drug prices has been agreed upon by people form across the political spectrum. Some want Medicare for all, so a stronger workforce would exist and reducing health costs. America should never have 28 million people without health care. Therefore, progressive solutions are righteous and makes sense too.
Also, it is important to maintain our political independence (as it is a historical fact that leaders among the Democrats and the Republicans for years are complicit in the policies of neoliberalism, unjust wars of aggression, militarized police, the mass incarceration state, and other evils. Those in power of the one percent caused these things to happen). Therefore, all us should always fight against imperialism, xenophobia, racism, sexism, and all injustices too. Not to mention social activism should never be used as some trendy fad. Social activism must be an altruistic commitment and should be done out of sincere motivation. The Grammys is a symbol of the modern state of music and it shows that we must continue to use discernment (as we are not naïve. We know of the symbolism, the elite ties, and the corporate funding of the mainstream entertainment industry. I do commend great researchers who has shown excellent research in exposing the mechanisms of the mainstream industry for years) and fight for social justice. Our eyes are on the prize.
Conclusion
During the beginning of 2018, popular culture has massively evolved. There is a much more explosive revelations in public about those who have been caught to be involved in sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct. From Charlie Rose to Harvey Weinstein, many men have been exposed to have been outright inappropriate with women in various locations. The abusers seek power and exploit their power plus privileges in order to harm the lives of innocent human beings. The vast majority of the victims of sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct are women and girls. Therefore, in order for real equality to occur, women's autonomy and their human rights must always be respected and protected. Sexual harassment and sexual misconduct are always wrong and evil period. Many men also have been victims of these evils, so no one should be mistreated at any circumstance. We have seen since the start of the film industry, geniuses and scoundrels. There are many celebrities who are colorists or spew disrespect words. Anyone disrespecting black women is not my ally period. That is why we must always defend the human rights of black women.
We have witnessed those who have sincerely uplifted human culture and those who have degraded human beings in a sick, inappropriate fashion. This reality outlines the lesson once again that the Golden Rule is paramount and treating people with respect is a great tenet to live by comprehensively. Also, it is important to defend black women as black women suffer both racism and sexism. Now, we will continue to fight for truth and justice. We reject the bigotry and the extremism of Roy Moore. We believe in health care being a human right and we believe in the principle that Black Lives Matter.
It is important to comment on the Times Up movement during the 2018 historic Golden Globes. First, the award show was certainly inspirational. The comments made by the actresses, actors, and activists there certainly make known the truth that sexual harassment and sex-based economic inequality should end and it has no place in the world. Oprah Winfrey's speech galvanized her audience and anyone for that matter. Her speech eloquently via a story outlined the truth that women's lives matter and their stories certainly matter. Oprah shown the story of Sister Recy Taylor, who was a black woman who was a victim of rape and the racists in Alabama refusing to prosecute the 6 rapists back during the 1940's and the 1950's. Also, a black woman created the #Me Too movement which brought more awareness on this issue. Her name is Tarana Burke. For far too long, tons of women and girls have been the victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault. For a long time, many rich men (and other males of a wide spectrum of income levels) have exploited their power in Hollywood, the corporate world, and in a wide variety of occupations to abuse the rights of women, which is completely reprehensible and evil.
It is our responsibility to not only defend the rights of women, but to speak out against such evils of sexual misconduct. The victims include people of every background and of every sex too. Also, economic inequality based on sex is wrong and it should be abolished. We live in a new year and 2018 is a definitely a time where there is a continual recognition that our human rights are important to preserve and no one should be mistreated no matter their background. Not to mention that many men should realize that you don't have to be a brute to be a real man. You can be strong, gentle, discerning, and compassionate and still be a man. Equality among men and women is what we stand up wholeheartedly. Treating your neighbor as yourself not only makes sense, but it's the right thing to do. This cause is righteous and we will forever believe the principle of social equality for all.
Forever, I believe in Black Unity, Black Love, Black Power, and Pan-African unity too.
Solutions are necessary too. It is not enough to expose problems. It is our responsibility to promote and enact solutions in improving society as well. One solution is to realize that we all change be leaders. We don't have to follow one person unconditionally. We ought to always realize our potential for excellence and our power to be leaders in our own communities. Another solution is to be active in our neighborhoods and local areas in developing a way to mentor children, to clean our the environment, to promote education (I mean real education), to advance conflict resolution, to build up our economic power, to fight poverty (as a real revolutionary is always dedicated to help the poor and the working class to achieve economic justice), and to encourage humanity. Another solution is to support or join genuine organizations that are dedicated to positive, progressive change. It can be a civil rights group, a pan-African organization, an anti-war institution, or any group of people who want human liberation to be a reality. We need to research and study constantly too. Change comes by knowing exactly how the world works and be cognizant of the fact that oppression is real (and we must combat plus end it. Human beings have every right to demonstrate, to strike, to boycott, to not economically support bigoted corporations, to set up institutions, and to develop other strategies in getting justice). No change comes without struggle and a demand. If we see an injustice, we must expose it. People should be encouraged to write their own books, form their own media, to create their own blogs, and to fulfill their sense of happiness since we all have equal value. Leadership is found among both women and men. The self-determination aspect of activism must always be cultivated and grown. We aren't naive about reality either. Like the ancient Roman empire, America has military bases globally, militarized police, corruption in government, human exploitation, the masses of the people fighting for social change, imperial wars, etc.
Our problems aren't just local, so we should work in the state an federal plus international level in advancing the cause of freedom. That means that the life of an Afro-Brazilian person is as valuable of the life of a black American. International solidarity is always important. ONE GREAT ADVICE IS TO NEVER GIVE UP. NO MATTER YOUR AGE, YOUR COLOR, YOUR SEX, YOUR INCOME LEVEL, OR YOUR BACKGROUND, YOU CAN ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS AND YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO HAVE HAPPINESS, JUSTICE, AND HUMAN LIBERTY. The journey of life won't be easy, but action makes a real difference in improving our world.
We have to deal with technology, economics, politics, and people in order for us to witness the Promised Land (filled with social democratic principles of ending police brutality, believing in economic justice, and loving social justice). That means that we have the power to create our institutions via our own power. Also, it is important to develop a class analysis. Capitalist elites desire overt privatization of resources and a suppression of workers' rights. There is massive corporate exploitation of nations overseas too. Therefore, we have to defend the rights of the homeless, black people, other people of color, the poor, refugees, immigrants, the workers, women, and the oppressed. We desire justice for all to be made into a reality.
By Timothy
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