Steven Spielberg's Ghoulish Racism in "Indiana Jones"

What I did not realize, much to the chagrin of my white friends who of course were bothered that I somehow could inhabit and emulate Ford's swashbuckler better than they could -- was that Indiana Jones was a white American nationalist avatar. Yes, he fought bad people and Nazis, but often he too looted ancient artifacts and was only doing for America what the imperial Europeans did for their nations: steal art and priceless cultural icons and works and "protect" them in their own Western museums.

blog 2023Dennis Leroy KangaleeDecember 15, 2023wavelengths

Visual Liberation: The Right & The Left. Critical Blitzes on Cinema’s Moral & Political Dilemma

Perhaps Fassbinder was right: Show the revolution onscreen you deny them the revolution in their life. Hmmm….We must show them the reason why revolution is necessary or show how radicals TRY to organize or rebel.

blog 2023Dennis Leroy KangaleeNovember 20, 2023wavelengths

Jeffrey Wright: The Invisible Man (part two)

Actually, Jeffrey Wright is not invisible at all. He’s quite conspicuous, which is what makes the cobweb he’s in is so disconcerting. We detail how, and provide eight examples of Wright’s extraordinary acting abilities that will (hopefully!) remind filmmakers who have something to say that brilliance is right there in the center of Hollywood waiting for you…and his name is Jeffrey Wright.

blog 2023Dennis Leroy KangaleeSeptember 27, 2023wavelengths

Jeffrey Wright: The Invisible Man (part one)

Jeffrey Wright never did anything to deserve his inconspicuousness. He didn’t fawn, nor offend. What he did was impress his fellow actors. So how does a talent like Jeffrey Wright get paid millions to be invisible in a movie like James Bond? How is that possible? Easy. Especially when you are being erased.

blog 2023Dennis Leroy KangaleeAugust 3, 20232023, wavelengths

Queen Cleopatra & She Had a Dream

We cannot right (or write) the wrongs of the racist West’s history while we are still enmeshed in it. For example, a slave cannot make a movie about slavery while they are still in chains. To affect change and advocate for the oppressed – is a calling.

blog 2023, blogDennis Leroy KangaleeJune 27, 20232023, wavelengths

Liz Garbus & The Assassination of Nina Simone

Garbus commits the greatest sin a non-fiction filmmaker can commit: she exploits instead of bearing witness.
She’s more interested in maligning Simone’s imagination and creative beauty and warping the Black female warrior - than she is in divulging "truth."

blog 2023Dennis Leroy KangaleeJune 9, 2023wavelengths

When Black Performers Were Exquisitely Conscious & Eloquent: EARTHA KITT

“I think here again we are afraid of individuals, and if you are an individual, you know you're sort of an outcast. It's like having talent today. Talent is no longer an asset to a person. It is now a hindrance because of the vast amount of monies that are being made by people with no talent.”

blog 2023Dennis Leroy KangaleeMay 8, 2023wavelengths, eartha kitt

The Relentless Power & Human Radicalism of Sue Coe

A work of art has to go beyond a placard. Sue Coe’s art not only believes wholeheartedly in what she is saying, she offers us artwork like a sacrificial lamb we’re afraid to touch.

blog 2023Dennis Leroy KangaleeApril 8, 2023wavelengths

Beckett Failed Better, Pryor Went Electric (pt 2)

Further connecting the Black and the Green. Both Pryor and Beckett’s writing are littered with death and suicide, sex and yearning, love and memory, and surreal interplays of the imagination and the ominousness of the law. But in both there is a marvelous hold on life that is both positive and negative, optimistic as it is pessimistic, funny as it is sad.

blog 2023Dennis Leroy KangaleeMarch 16, 2023wavelengths, richard pryor

Beckett Failed Better, Pryor Went Electric (pt 1)

Samuel Beckett and Richard Pryor: How their tragicomedy Saves and Enlightens us.

blog, blog 2023Dennis Leroy KangaleeFebruary 17, 2023wavelengths