Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Meets The Great Debaters

By Cameron Turner

My kids and I were singing along with a CD of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” when I got to thinking: what if Rudolph’s nose hadn’t been bright enough to guide Santa’s sleigh through that foggy Christmas Eve? What if it had simply been an unusual nose rather than an exceptional nose? Rudolph would probably have been doomed to a life of rejection and ridicule.

Rudolph was mocked and excluded simply because he looked different. Not only did the other reindeer “laugh and call him names” but they “never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games.” All that changed, of course, after Santa asked Rudolph to take the point position on that murky night. “Then how the reindeer loved him” as the song says.


The injustice here is that, because of bigotry and discrimination, Rudolph was forced to earn a place in the society into which he had been born. Rudolph had to perform an extraordinary act of heroism -- literally saving Christmas -- in order to be accepted by his peers. He was cool after the foggy night because he did something that benefited the system. He bailed out The Man.


Victims of exclusion and oppression are often told to prove themselves worthy of inclusion. Blacks and other so-called “minorities” know all about that.


The civil rights heroes of yesteryear often faced criticism from whites who claimed that black Americans weren’t culturally or intellectually ready for integration. This theme comes out in The Great Debaters, the extraordinary new movie about students from a small black college in Texas who soar to the national debate championships. During a verbal battle over school integration, a white student concedes that discrimination is wrong but argues that the South isn’t ready for black and white students to go to class together. Jurnee Smollett’s character beats that argument down by stating passionately, “The time for justice is always now!”


Reminds me of Martin Luther King, Jr’s famous “All, Here and Now” speech in which King declares, “We are not willing to wait 50 years for what is ours on the basis of the Constitution of the United States and the authority of God himself!”


So it was with Rudolph. Like us, he was entitled to full citizenship and the North Pole society had no moral right to exclude or deny him. As our Constitution eloquently asserts, freedom and equality are rights endowed to each of us by the Creator. They are not privileges doled out by biased power elites.



HOMELESS IN BETHLEHEM AND NEW ORLEANS

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” -- Luke 7:2


We revisit those beautiful words from the Gospel of Luke every year at Christmastime. They remind us that God’s empathy for the poor was so great that he permitted his son to enter this world homeless, literally born in a barn. Jesus’ humble birth underscores God’s expectation that we love one another as ourselves.


This Christmas, however, Luke’s comforting words take on heartbreaking irony in the Katrina-ravaged city of New Orleans. There, local and federal governments are poised to actually increase homelessness. Last Thursday the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to let the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) tear down 4,500 public housing units (aka “the projects”) to make way for new mixed-income buildings. There are supposed to be 3,200 units in these new buildings but only 900 will be designated for low-income residents. The New Orleans City Council approved a measure asking HUD to build the same number of low income homes as it plans to demolish. But HUD isn’t obligated to grant that request. Don’t hold your breath.


As the bulldozers demolish those 4,500 homes (many of which were not seriously damaged by Katrina) the residents will likely join the 12,000 homeless New Orleanians who already sleep in parks and under bridges every night. About 1/3 of these individuals work full time jobs but they can’t afford a roof and walls because rents have doubled since Katrina. Unfortunately, the HUD demolitions aren’t even the worst part of what’s about to happen in New Orleans. FEMA reportedly plans to close all of its trailer parks over the next six months. 50,000 Katrina survivors currently live in FEMA trailers.


Homelessness will expand much faster than new, permanent housing will be built and the poor, mostly black New Orleanians, will ultimately be forced to leave the city. That’s probably what some people have wanted all along.


For this to all go down at Christmas just adds insult to injury. After all, the man who was born in that barn 2,000 years ago admonished us that we will be judged by the way we treat “the least of these.”

'GREAT DEBATERS' TOPS AAFCA'S TOP 10

The African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) has selected "The Great Debaters" as its Best Picture of 2007, while "Talk to Me's" Don Cheadle and Kasi Lemons earn the group's Best Actor and Best Director honors, respectively.

Directed by Denzel Washington, "The Great Debaters" captured a majority vote by the organization comprised of African-American media professionals from across the nation.


Cheadle, notes AAFCA President Gil Robertson, IV, was particularly impressive this year with his portrayal of Ralph 'Petey' Greene in "Talk To Me."


As for the group's choice of "La Vie En Rose" actress Marion Cotillard for Best Actress, Robertson explains: "Although our organization gives specific consideration to work by artists of African descent, Ms. Cotillard's astonishing portrayal of Edith Piaf is a standout performance worthy of recognition."

AAFCA honored Ruby Dee and Chiwetel Ejiofor of "American Gangster" as Best Supporting Actress and Actor of 2007, while filmmaker Charles Burnett is recognized with the AAFCA Special Achievement Honor 2007, a year which saw the release of his seminal classic "Killer of Sheep" more than 30 years after its making.


"The year 2007 embodied a year of powerful, personal filmmaking by high-profile directors who stepped up their game to create what we believe are future classics," says AAFCA Vice President, Wilson Morales, editor of Blackfilm.com.


The African-American Film Critics Association's Top Ten Films of 2007 are as follows in order of distinction:


1. The Great Debaters
2. American Gangster
3. Talk To Me
4. Gone Baby Gone
5. No Country for Old Men
6. Michael Clayton
7. Juno
8. Sweeney Todd
9. Things We Lost in The Fire
10. There Will Be Blood

'GANGSTER' RUNS BOX OFFICE

Despite the crystal-clear DVD bootlegs of "American Gangster" that have flooded the streets of major cities in the past two weeks, enough people actually paid for a ticket to give it a No. 1 ranking at the weekend box office.

The film, starring Denzel Washington as New York drug kingpin Frank Lucas, took in $46.3 million to top Jerry Seinfeld's family cartoon "Bee Movie," which earned $39.1 million to place second.

The two pictures gave a much-needed sales jolt to a lack-luster autumn at the box office. After six-straight weekends of declining revenues, overall business rose, with the top-12 movies taking in $127.2 million, up 12 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" was No. 1 with $26.5 million.

(EUR film critic Kam Williams isn't impressed with 'Gangster.' Read his review here.)


"American Gangster" was the biggest opening ever for the film's two stars. Crowe's previous best was $34.8 million for "Gladiator," also directed by Scott, while Washington's was $29 million for "Inside Man."

"These are two great actors telling this true story of Frank Lucas," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution at Universal. "You couldn't have picked a better cast."

The following are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released later today.

1. "American Gangster," $46.3 million.
2. "Bee Movie," $39.1 million.
3. "Saw IV," $11 million.
4. "Dan in Real Life," $8.1 million.
5. "30 Days of Night," $4 million.
6. "The Game Plan," $3.85 million.
7. "Martian Child," $3.65 million.
8. "Michael Clayton," $2.9 million.
9. "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?", $2.7 million.
10. "Gone Baby Gone," $2.4 million

"AMERICAN GANGSTER" REVIEW

'American Gangster': An arresting crime epic

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

Some gangsters, like Tony Soprano, are done in by their lusty appetites. Others are stabbed in the back by former associates. A few even get nailed by the authorities. But Denzel Washington's drug kingpin in American Gangster is derailed when he deviates from his sedate fashion sense. His kingdom for a fur coat. Chinchilla, to be precise.
Gangsters are a timeless staple on the big screen. To stand out, this genre film must come up with a new twist on an old story or haunt us with indelible performances. Though it lags in the middle and is at least 15 minutes too long, Gangster is a sprawling, fascinating look into the complicated mind and operations of the head of a crime syndicate and the conflicted emotions and tenacity of a police detective on his trail.

The movie's captivating power hinges on two dead-on performances. Denzel Washington is stellar as Frank Lucas, a former driver for a black crime boss who becomes the inner-city Don Corleone.

With its epic feel and its depiction of Lucas' devotion and loyalty to his family, Gangster echoes The Godfather. Russell Crowe plays Richie Roberts, a professionally principled, but personally troubled police detective who alienates those around him, from his ex-wife (Carla Gugino) to his colleagues on the force. He is derided for being a Boy Scout after turning in a large sum of ill-gotten gains. As a cop who also is studying law, Roberts works to bring down Lucas and his empire.

Director Ridley Scott (reuniting with his Gladiator star Crowe) is back in compelling territory after his dismal attempt at light romance last year with A Good Year, which also starred Crowe.

Gangster is set in the early 1970s in and around New York City, though the saga spans continents. Lucas meticulously oversees his drug-dealing operation from the growth of poppies in Thailand to their conversion in a New York ghetto into a purer brand of heroin. While he ruthlessly builds his drug operation, Lucas also provides amply for his family, buying his mother (a wonderful Ruby Dee) a Tara-like mansion. He attends church services, then casually brutalizes those who cross him. He is all about self-control and tries to school his second in command (an always great Chiwetel Ejiofor) in the ways of his strict business ethic. Lucas breaks one of his own cardinal rules — don't look flashy, be understated — when attending a boxing match. Perhaps love motivates him to drape himself in the ostentatious chinchilla coat and hat given to him by the Puerto Rican beauty queen (Lymari Nadal) he marries. Or maybe it's hubris.

The movie, based on a true story, takes surprising twists and turns right up to its chilling ending and is probably the best gangster crime drama of the year.

American Gangster Trailer