Movie Review: Hidden Colors 3 a smash hit must see!

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

The ground breaking documentary series, Hidden Colors, debuted its’ 3^rd installment (Hidden Colors 3: The Rules of Racism) last night (6/26/2014) in select theaters across the country. Hidden Colors 3 was a masterful production, and I consider it to be mandatory viewing. I fervently believe that our youth need to see this, and its’ prior series. The historical information revealed through dates/times, legislations, public policies, and the unique perspectives of the interviewees brings everything full circle.

Tariq Nasheed is the director of the documentary. The actors/participants in the film include: Tariq Nasheed, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, Carol Anderson, Nas, George Fraser, Paul Mooney, d**k Gregory, Dr. Phil Valentine, David Banner, Dr. Kaba Kamene, Dr. Umar Johnson, Shahrazad Ali, Joy Degruy, and Khalil Gibran Muhammad.

George Fraser’s confident Godfather demeanor and delivery of iron clad approaches to business resonated with me.

I also loved that they presented facts.  Many times we fall into the trap of ideological debate with various demographics of American society.  However, facts are irrefutable.  The only way to shut a person down in a debate is with: dates, events, and laws.  Remember the phrase, ” you can have your own opinion but not your own facts”.

They debunked historical, and racial myths of African Americans in the United States with surgical precision. I recommend getting a pen and paper when watching the documentary, because they reveal the specific names, laws, and court cases that have been hidden and concealed, but were the tools to the subjugation of Africans in America. They even illuminated the topic of organ harvesting of African Americans, in which I did a write up on a few months ago on: www.blacktimetravel.com.

I really offer my kudos for this production because after all the history and perspective, they dedicated a whole segment on solutions. Many times intellectuals, scholars, and historians wax poetic on our origin and legacy. I have no problem with that, but we have to become solution oriented in thought and philosophy while simultaneously embracing our cultural heritage. The key theme in the solutions is, African Americans need to unite economically, place high importance on education, obtain resources and capital, and a whole lot more.

I won’t go any further into detail to avoid spoiling the experience for you. I encourage you to buy this series and watch it with your man, woman, husband, wife, children, friends, and others.

I remember my mother sitting my brother and me down as a family to watch, Eyes on the Prize, in 1987 when I was in elementary school. I didn’t understand everything at the time, but I was able to understand much of what the series was conveying. The documentary made me ask my mother a ton of questions, and being a African American History school teacher, she eagerly obliged.  My eyes started opening at a very young age about society, race, history, and where I fit.

I feel Hidden Colors in its’ own right, is the Eyes on the Prize of the millennium. I think it’s imperative that our youth watch this, because history and particularly African American history has been removed from school curriculums, and the mediums that are responsible for communicating our heritage is being strategically censored from the annals of American History. It’s one thing to know where you are, but understanding how and why you arrived in the present is tantamount.

I’ll also add that the Avalon Theater in Washington, DC was packed to the maximum, and the film ended with a loud round of applause from the movie goers.

I don’t know what Siskel and Ebert would give this film, but I know that Malcolm and Garvey give this TWO THUMBS UP! Add this to your library.

Purchase Hidden Colors 3: http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Colors-The-Rules-Racism/dp/B00L5Y8GJC/ref=sr_1_1/188-6221691-0807119?ie=UTF8&qid=1403866775&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+colors+3

Wolf of Wall-street: 7.5 Afros out of 10

I had the opportunity to watch the Wolf of Wall-street.  This movie wasn’t a hit because of the cinematography, I think the intrigue resides in the fact that this was all based on a true story.

I think most Americans are aware of the decadent excesses of the rich, the bad habits, carte blanche access, and over the top indulgences.  This movie fit that bill lock and key.  I wouldn’t recommend this for anybody under 18, despite how raunchy our cultural norm has degraded into sheer debauchery.

Sex, drugs, money, greed, power, and ego are the central tenets of this film.  Leonardo DiCaprio did an excellent performance.   I think he really embodied the character that the director was trying to illustrate.  Many messages can be taken home about this lifestyle as cautionary tales, like: watch the company you keep, avoid drugs, always do the right thing, fidelity and honesty is key for successful marriages, know who you’re marrying and why you’re marrying them, and pride always comes before the fall.

For DiCaprio’s character to arise from the valley to the  peak and plunge further below his starting point is a riveting plot.

This makes you ask, What profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul?