Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success
January 2005
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success For ... By ... IN ... The Student We Trust
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success
January 2005
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” ~Charles Darwin
[ INGREDIENTS ]
[ MIND THOUGHTS ]
[ MIND THOUGHTS ] .......................................1 Prime [ COVER ART ].................................................2 Phil Simpson [ FUNKY FRESH ] ...........................................2 Mock Rock [ POETICS ] ......................................................2 Why I am IN Love With Librarians Internal Mingle Superheroes [ VERBATIM ]..................................................4 Matt Blondell Devon Harris Chris Rob [ UNDER THE NEEDLE ]...............................8 T.I. Marvin Gaye [ BRAIN FOOD ]...............................................9 A Fine Balance [ FLICKS ]........................................................10 Hotel Rwanda The Life Aquatic The Woodsman
[ Who is FOKUS ] F.O.K.U.S. was established in the summer of 2003 by Alma Davila-Toro, Atiba Edwards and Allison Lasky to create a community for artists of all disciplines that constantly strives to give the student artists various platforms to display their talent.
Do you remember growing up and they always told you “sharing is caring” or something along those lines? Well are you sharing? Don’t lie to me, ‘cause I will call your momma. You know you have something inside of you that can be placed under the arts umbrella. The arts include music, film, dance, graphic arts, poetry, fashion, etc. So why don’t you share it with the world and submit some work to be featured in the FOKUS monthly magazine. By getting your work done and out there is truly the only way to keep that creative fire burning within and improving your works. If you bottle it up and never show it to anyone then how do you know what you should consider changing? What is working good and what is the most effective? Puffy launched his ‘Vote or Die’ campaign so why shouldn’t my ‘Create or Die’ movement work? Nevermind- answered it myself. Instead we have started the ‘Creativity is King’ movement. Tune into the movement by supporting and joining FOKUS. -Prime
[ Generals Of The Movement] - Alma Davila-Toro, founding publisher - Atiba Edwards, founding publisher - Alison Lasky, founding publisher - Prime
[ Contributors ]
- Khepra Akanke
- Senesi Blake - Tiffani Commander - Nikki Faison-Miller - Lev Grossman-Spivack - A. Mari - Lisa Wang - Jillian Webb -1-
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success
[ COVER ART ]
January 2005
[ POETICS ] .:LA ÑAPA:.
The credit for the cover goes to Phil Simpson. Go and check more samples at http://wwwpersonal.umich.edu/~simpsonp/ .
[ FUNKY FRESH ] .: 7Athletic Movement :.
In Dominican Spanish la ñapa refers to "the
Mock Rock is a light-hearted talent and
variety show featuring current varsity athletes. All the proceeds raised are donated to Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan Hospital. Participating Teams Include: Ice Hockey, Football, Men's Basketball, Field Hockey, Volleyball, Wrestling, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Golf, Softball, Women's Crew, Men/Women's Lacrosse, Men's Track & Field, Men's Gymnastics, Women's Gymnastics, and the Michigan Marching Band. Judges Include: Olympians Elise Ray, Peter Vanderkay, Michael Phelps, Dan Ketchum and UM Football players including Pierre Woods. This is definitely a show you do not want to miss out on. Come out and show your support for a good cause and as always, GO BLUE!!! Tuesday, January 11, 2005 Michigan Theater @ 7:30PM Tickets go on sale Tuesday Jan. 4th, 2005 at the UM Athletic Ticket Office. You can also contact mockrock2005@umich.edu to order tickets.
little extra" added on at the end. Just when you thought you'd gotten all that you would get, along comes your ñapa, like a baker's dozen, with one more kiss, one more pastelito, one more mango at the mercado. Librarians are the greatest. In my next life, I want to come back and be one of them!
Why I Am in Love with Librarians ~julia alvarez
I love how they know things only to pass them on, how they fade into the faux-wood-paneled walls of the reference room, their faces hidden between the covers of books, how they look up only to help you: What is the capital of Afghanistan? How do the Maori bury their dead? Who invented Barbie? How many were murdered in Guatemala in '84? -- every query worthy of their attention, any questioner taken seriously, curiosity the only requirement. I love how they listen, their lined faces opening, their eyes already elsewhere: scanning a plain for the lights of a distant city, hunting for bodies in the highlands, searching the web for Barbie -their minds like those flocks of little birds in winter -2-
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success swooping over a landscape, looking, looking. And always when they get back to you, that sweet smile on their faces, pride and deep affection for what can be known, as if Barbie's invention or the tally of the massacred could save you, could save the world! And who knows if Stalin or Hitler had spent their youth in the library, history might be rewritten, re-catalogued by librarians? Curiosity sends us out to a world both larger and smaller than what we know and believe in with a passion for finding an answer or at least understanding our questions. That road is paved with librarians, bushwhackers, scouts with string through the labyrinths of information, helpers who disappear the moment you reach your destination. for Joy Pile” source: amcult 213 CP
Internal Mingle ~Lisa Wang
Some people inside my body married
The late night ceremony was celibate and flowery The dancing and festivity left me wearied Like the parades down by the Bowery. Flashes of light while Cognac overflows I stay up to watch the clamorous party Hearing discussions of poetry and prose mingling and sipping their glasses of Bacardi. Soon there’s a pause among the guests, The maid of honor proposes a toast For happiness, wealth and all the rest From here and there and coast to coast. Despite these words, the happiness ended. my body was left undefended.
Superheroes ~Lev Grossman-Spivack lev@bu.edu
Superheroes
Superheroes from ancient pasts…I call to you. I call to you superheroes.
January 2005
Superheroes from ancient pasts relapse into mishaps centerfolded into three pieces, prostituted rhythms, categorized thought in this tick tock world of “I’m late for my interview. We move faster and faster, getting everywhere with more speed and less ease, stripped of the right to stroll we must get there, get there, get there…and when we finally get “there,” it has become somewhere else and you ask yourself, “that’s strange, I could’ve sworn I read those directions right on mapquest!” But would you, could you, ever invest in a journey with a destination of a punctuation mark other than the triple-fixed illusive, slippery-sliding dot dot dot to be continued every new second of the next sun ray spilling its warmth on this earth gaining energy with every rotation movement causing motion monumentally motivated to map footsteps across bookshelves of storied eyes of televised memories playing only on your personal station called Self, the mind, the heart, the sensory perception of investing in the dissonant assonance of harmonic flat five reflected life looking back at you in pond water glistening at night from street lights posing the question to your searching eyes: where shall I go tonight, tomorrow, where shall my pitter-patter take me the rest of my life? Will I fall back into tradition, the comfort of belief that allows one to sleep assuredly as mother reads stories and fairy tales to innocent bedtime ears, OR will I strive to know, to walk alone with the complete stability that I am in good company? Rubbing alcohol will never disinfect my vision of the unkown into which I must follow the flow of my life force. To wash away the stain of Truth it to live a as a messy slob in an Armani suit, leather shoes, slick hair, and the physical illusion of clarity, of purpose, of success; the stain sings melodies in the most beautiful silence ever sung. Reverberating vocal chords crafting sonar reality reflected off brick walls, potholes, and metal machines. I am the sounds the city makes at night when hearts beat slow under the cover of darkness that blankets the perceived reality but releases the subconscious Truth that whispers in your ears during days at
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success desk jobs typing telegraphs to ancient past mishaps of failure to take the bull by the horn, grab your balls and just jump. I am the sound of the trees telling stories of their own genocide, with the strength to continue to reach for the sunrays because I am life. I am the sound of whispering winds rustling green leaves, supporting the wings of eagles that sore underneath my weightless foundation of faith. Superheroes from ancient pasts, I shake violently, your shoulders, wake up, wake up, its time to save the day because the reward for saving today is tomorrow. You mustn’t forget that dreams will kidnap you from reality and hide you from your duty to your own life. To exist is a worthless endeavor, but to live is the struggle to swim upstream in search of the next wave intent on breaking your back, and loving every ache and pain the day after the journey. Superheroes from ancient pasts, when will you realize that past, present, and future is all right now, all the time. When will you know this fact and dust off your cape and cowl to rescue your purpose. I see you in front of me, do you know who you are?
[ VERBATIM ] .: Contrast Not Color :.
The following is an interview that was conducted to one of the founding members, Matt Blondell. You can check their site, www.whiteboy.com, for men’s and women’s clothing and various accessories.
FOKUS: Introduce yourself to the readers. Matt Blondell: Atiba, first of all I would like to thank you for the interview. Hopefully I won’t embarrass myself too much. My name is Matt
January 2005
Blondell and I am a partner and the marketing director for WHITEBOY clothing. F: What is your art? M: Wow... Art is subjective. My art could be interpreted as the creative process from concept to production. I work with our creative team to design and produce all of the elements that go into WHITEBOY and present them to the public. F: Where do you draw your inspiration from? M: Everything that I come into contact with. Inspiration can come from anything. Music, the street, urban and sub-urban culture, people and anything that stimulates the senses. F: Explain how and why WHITEBOY clothing line was started? Matt: WHITEBOY was formed by a group of four partners. Jimmy Blondell, Joe Shortal, Mark Jacobs and myself. We started the line because of a belief we had in the concept. To break down stereotypes and provide a lifestyle based clothing company that would have a massive impact on people. FOKUS: Why did you settle on WHITEBOY as the name? Matt: Many reasons. For one, we look at the positive...always. The term "WHITEBOY" was given out as a term of endearment. You can hear "WHITEBOY" everywhere. From rap music, rock, film, TV, sports and out on the streets. Collectively, we wanted to showcase the name through all the elements that I listed above. To take a word and make it a lifestyle. F: In your mission statement you say WHITEBOY is all about "living hard, staying true, no hate and contrast not color." Explain that and what it means. M: Live hard. This is to take yourself to the limit in all that you do. Life is short and by living it as hard as you can, you will get the most from it. Stay True. So many people change according to where they are or who they are trying to impress. We believe in being exactly who you are. Express what you feel and bring who you really are to all the situations that you encounter.
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success Never compromise you beliefs and flavor. Not Hate - simple. Hate is ignorant and deplorable. It is fear based emotion that has caused violence, pain and oppression since the beginning of time. By education, humor and not taking ones self so serious we can get past the hate and find a common ground. WHITEBOY is all about the love and respect of everyone. Hate is something that we deplore and are doing our best to erase. Contrast Not Color. Our lifestyle is for everyone. Contrast to me is your individuality and personal style. That is what we look at. We have never looked at anyone for anything other than who they are and how they are living. F: Describe how you got to your current position. You can go as far back as needed M: Simple, I am one of the partners and am best suited to handle this aspect of WHITEBOY.
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sponsorship. All you got to do is send and email, meet us and tell us what you are all about. Anyone can get sponsored by WHITEBOY. F: Describe some of the obstacles and difficulties that you and WHITEBOY encountered from the initial launch to present day. Matt: Too many to list. Business can always be obstacle laden. Usually production issues, finance and deadlines. The fashion industry moves on a dime and you gotta be able to roll on a seconds notice. F: What can you tell aspiring clothing designers? M: Believe in yourself and listen to your gut. Everyone in the world is a critic or an expert. Believe in what you are doing and stay true to yourself.
F: The Cock seems to be in many of your designs. Can you elaborate on why this is? M: Very simple. It is a cool design and it has a F: You have worked with many "stars", from Paris Hilton, Snoop, Tommy Lee to my man Don double meaning. Cheadle. Did you ever imagine yourself being F: Who came up with the idea of adding FAYA involved in something like this? M: We are so happy to be embraced by all that on the back of the clothing? M: It was a group consensus. To not take wear our clothing. Anyone that wears ourselves too seriously and have a sense of WHITEBOY is a star. Some of these people are humor. We love to keep it light and still incredible at what they do in music, film and maintain our edge. life. We always had hoped for the response that we have been given from the Hollywood F: Shoppers have the option to add Fuck All Community and are very gracious for it. Y’All (FAYA) on the back, why FAYA? What is Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves. We have never lost the "fan' aspect of who we are. the message you are hoping to get across? M:Nothing that deep. Be yourself and if From Chester Bennington, Tommy Lee, Snoop and to many others to list, it is always a gift to someone has a problem with it....... FAYA. hang with these people. In addition, Don Cheadle is one of the kindest, most gracious guys I have ever met. What a great, great human being! He does so much for the community, the arts and his fans. Our photo shoot with Don was one of the best days we have had. We are all crossing our fingers for him this year at the Academy Awards! He is the man! F: How do you go about selecting the people you sponsor? M: We always look for brand champions. People who promote our lifestyle and live the life are always considered for
F: To back track on "contrast not color." Do you feel that a person's color is still a major issue in today’s society but it has been downplayed somewhat so people don't focus on it?
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success M: Very heavy question. Unfortunately, some people can only see skin deep. People who live like that miss so much in life. There is so much that we can all learn from each other to make progress in eliminating that. We think it is a non-issue what color you are. We hope that it shouldn¹t even be an issue, the more we make it an issue, the more it perpetuates this problem. I look forward to the day that it doesn¹t exist. It is almost 2005!
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F: What are your plans for the future, both short-term and long-term? D: Short term: Helping build the G.O.O.D. Music label with Kanye West and starting to broaden into other fields. Long term: Own my own Belgian waffle chain... F: What has influenced your talents? D: I’ve been working with Kanye and John for years now so that definitely influences my ideas but my DJing brings in an element of making people move that a lot of other producers and writers don’t have. I travel all over the world too and in different places there are very different uses of sound. Hearing and seeing those alternative uses and sources influences what I do too.
F: What role does/can the education system play in showing the world "contrast not color?" M: Education is the key. We have to get educated and cultured. It has to come from schools, family, media, film and fashion to name a few. We can all help in this process. That is one of the things we are F: What keeps you going? trying to do. D: I’ve seen people go from being broke-asses F: What does this quote from "I Have a Dream" to multi-millionaires doing this music thing. mean to you "I have a dream that one day on F: How long have you been involved in music? the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will D: I’ve been DJing for 8 years and producing and writing songs for about 4 years. be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." F: How did you get started? M: Martin Luther King is on of the greatest D: I started DJing at UPenn in 96'. That evolved human beings that ever lived. His words and to being on radio which evolved into making the way he lived changed the world forever. beats and the relationships. That evolved into I think he saw us all as brothers and sisters. producing and the cirlce I run with now. Why wouldn¹t we sit with each other? All of us... together. FOKUS: What would be your message to encourage the arts in students and individuals; FOKUS: Any last thoughts, messages or things the appreciation, exploration and display of you want to say to everyone? their talents? Matt Blondell: Stay True, live hard and it's all DeVon: Be honest with yourself. Make sure you about contrast not color! really have a talent people besides your friends want to hear/see/read. Once you've .: Circles and Circles :. established that proactively seek to move We got the chance to grab an interview further everyday. Be innovative. Network. And from DeVon Harris in between his crazy don’t stop. The people I know who have sessions in the studio and on the grind. succeeded in arts generally spent years and years grinding. FOKUS: Introduce yourself to the readers. DeVon: I'm DeVon "Devo Springsting" Harris. F: What are some of your credits in the music industry that people may not have known, such F: What is your art? D: I'm a producer/songwriter and I DJ for John as production or guest work or ghost work? D: I've recorded songs with Kanye West, John Legend as well as at clubs. Legend, ODB, Lil' Mo, The Last Poets, Consequence and more as well as composed F: Where do you get your inspiration from? music for MTV and a Sunkist commercial. I just D: I get inspired by just hearing cool sounds signed a production deal with Kanye so you and messages. should start hearing my name a lot more soon.
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success FOKUS: Any last thoughts, messages or things you want to say to everyone? DeVon Harris: Yeah, cop that John legend album "Get Lifted!" It is hot music plus I need that publishing!
.: Don’t Ever Stop :. Chris Rob can work magic when it comes to music. We picked his brain after he started to wrap up the touring dates. FOKUS: Introduce yourself to the readers. Chris: My name is Chris Rob. I am a vocalist, pianist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from Chicago. I currently reside in New York, and in addition to focusing on my solo artist career, I'm also touring as a sideman with John Legend, and most recently, Meshell N'degeocello. Virgo.
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Cube and Rakim. Then I feel people who see something and speak on it, especially comedians. Richard Pryor, Dave Chapelle, Sam Kinison. They influence me as much as musicians do. F: What keeps you going? Chris Rob: This industry is a crazy industry; only the strong survive for real. So I do everything I need to do to release. On the spiritual tip, I meditate, exercise and pray daily, and read things that offer insight to better living. On the "non-spiritual" tip, I do what I feel like doing, but in moderation, and I don't worry about people who judge my "bad habits". I just tell 'em, "ya mama." I'm also blessed to have my actual brother in the industry too. He's the funniest comedian/actor in the world, named Craig Robinson. We encourage each other through a lot of things.
F: What is your art? CR: I love songwriting. I've been doing it since I was like six years old. No hits yet though. Don't hate! I'm also a producer, so I get to bring in some of my favorite musicians in the studio, and bring my ideas to life.
FOKUS: How long have you been involved in music? CR: I've been playing and singing since I was I was four years old; my parents are both musicians. My brother is too. My sister sings. My whole entire family, cousins, uncles, and all that sing or play like one or two instruments at F: Where do you get your inspirations from? least. My mother's the craziest though. She can CR: Moment to moment life experiences. I rip a piano, or organ!! I started playing in can hear a song about all the crazy stuff in life, church at nine, jazz clubs at fourteen and but I'm selective. Women are mad inspirational touring when I was like eighteen. It's been a as well. They all have a little something unique minute. about them, and I love that. Especially when they ain't crazy. F: What would be your message to encourage the arts in students and individuals; the F: What are your plans for the future, both appreciation, exploration and displaying their short term and long term? talents? CR: Right now I'm working on a couple of CR: Don't ever stop!! You weren't given talent projects to follow up my first one, The Official to stop using it, and you weren't given dreams Bootleg of Chris Rob, Vol. 1, which is available not to pursue them. Make a sincere effort to go online (www.cdbaby.com), and in rotation on and meet your idols and get advice. Sneak in independent radio stations in over eighty back doors, jump the velvet rope, act like you countries. One of the projects is another work at the venue; you have to get as close as underground joint, and the other is going to be you can to those people to get some info about released through a major label. Can't say more how you relate to that person. Don't sweat than that right now. them though they're human just like you. And don't get arrested!! Just enjoy the second or F: What has influenced your talents? moment you get, and move on. You never CR: Anytime an artist is different, I'm know what can happen. I ended up on stage influenced. I love people that embrace their with a lot of people doing that stuff. own unique talents and ideas; they encourage me to be bolder with my own. Musicians like F: What are some of your credits in the music Miles, Prince, Outkast, Meshell, Slum Village, industry that people may not have known, such Coltrane, Steely Dan, Donny Hathaway, Ice as production or guest work or ghost work?
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success CR: My experiences in the industry have been more on the live tip. I've played on stage with Stevie Wonder, Prince and the N.P.G., Ashford and Simpson, Slum Village, Common, Faith Evans, The SugarHill Gang, Roberta Flack, Roy Hargrove, Bilal, El Debarge, Maya Azucena, Pete Rock and Cl Smooth...and so on. As a solo artist I've opened up for Kanye West, Jill Scott, Pevin Everitt, Anthony Hamilton, Cee-lo, and John has given me opening slots on the tour. I'm newer to the session work since I'm newer to New York, but I've worked in the studio with Swizz Beatz, Kanye, Fabolous, and Queen Lauryn Hill. But none of those joints have dropped yet!! Can I get paid too please? Lauryn took me to another level though. F: Any last thoughts, messages or things you want to say to everyone? Chris Rob: Go visit my website and say what's up (www.chrisrobobline.com). Live life, follow your dreams; every now and then dance real hard, love real hard; but most of all, let God show you the way. Enjoy every single moment of your life like it could be your last. And be peace.
[ UNDER THE NEEDLE ] T.I. Urban Legend 15 / 20 Now Playing
;:T.I. Sticks To the Script:;
When I first heard “Bring ‘em out”, the first thing that came to mind (besides his obvious fascination with Jay-Z) was “OK, here’s another keyboard beat from T.I.” But I thought the single was going to tank. Obviously not, and I was similarly wrong about the rest of the album. Although almost the whole album is made on the one instrument, the beats are so catchy and infectious that I didn’t even care. Almost every track will have you bobbing your
January 2005
head as you’re walking into your discussion 10 minutes late. The content is, um, “standard fare”, meaning: 1. Haters are fought/shot at, 2. Every girl is taken….especially yours, and 3. The war on drugs won’t end anytime soon, but if you look past this, T.I. shows a lot of lyrical skill on this album. There are lines that will make you appreciate his creativity (“If the trap was the ocean or the sea/You could consider me and ‘em the killer whales or the great whites.”) and a lot that will make nod your head because it’s SO true (“Your disc ain’t sh*t unless the clique ride to it”). The hooks on the album are very catchy too; showing that T.I. isn’t stupid; he knows how to make a sellable album. T.I. is a hustler’s rapper, and the hooks on this album seem to show that T.I. makes music as another hustle. This disc is kind of a lot of the same thing, but it’s all catchy. Not a classic, but a good listen every once in a while. Highlights: “Freak Though” feat. Pharrell: T.I. speaks about finally finding the girl for him. But the girl’s been through his whole clique – maybe even the city of Atlanta. The Neptunes beat is hot too. “Limelight” feat. PSC and Big Kuntry: This posse track is on some pimp sh*t and is basically a cool out song. “Countdown”: The David Banner track is a hot a** party song. Lowlights: “Get Ya Sh*t Together”: Lil’ Kim has her most pointless appearance since she performed ‘Magic Stick’ on the BET Awards and 50 Cent played her. Otherwise it’s straight. ~Senesi Blake
Understanding the Numbers 0 / 20 – Waste of space, time and whatever it is on 5 / 20 – Tolerate once but anything more may hurt 10 / 20 – Average. Squinting may help somewhat 15 / 20 – Good. Not a solid picture but close 20 / 20 – Solid. Not enough faults to knock its picture
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success
Marvin Gaye The Very Best of Marvin Gaye 20 / 20 Now Playing A collection of tracks are spread over two discs that contain most of Marvin Gaye’s hitsare you convinced that you need to get it yet? You have a great song selection on this disc, a rich high quality sound and endless emotion that Gaye poured into his works. This is an album you need in your collection or you ain’t saying nothing about how great a taste in music you have. I don’t care if it was before your time or after your time; you need to listen to this album. Two rare tracks, “Where Are We Going?” and “His Eye Is On The Sparrow,” help polish off this musical gem. Current state of mind and your opinions on the world got you down- Marvin is your man. His music, such as “What’s Going On?,” is timeless in its message. The one time drummer for Smokey Robinson covers a strong range of topics on this album alone. Everyone should realize that he was one of the most influential artists of all times. By having complete artistic control over his music, he reinvented himself and had no labels to stop him. After you finish listening to this album, go out and get some more by Marvin and then Al Green. Slowly ease into the Motown generation. ~Atiba Edwards
January 2005
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is the
interwoven story of four Indians during a time of great political unrest in their country. The four main characters are Ishvar, Omprakash, Dina Dilal, and Maneck. Ishvar and Omprakash are uncle and nephew who dare to betray their society’s caste system. They become tailors and move out of their poor village to the city in the hopes of becoming wealthy. Dina Dilal comes from a well-to-do family but chose to marry someone who was not as well-to-do. When her husband dies early in their marriage she decides not to remarry and has to find ways to support herself. Maneck is a young and naive student whose family is also well-todo. When four characters end up living together in Dina’s home they all learn a lesson about human beings. Each person learns about human suffering, pain, love, and friendship. This is a wonderful story of how people often separate themselves because of prejudices but given the chance to truly get to know each other they find that there are few differences in each other. Everyone has dreams, hopes, and aspirations of love and success. These four people become friends in spite of their differences and learn that people are just people and should be judged by their individual differences. ~Khepra Akanke
[ SCREEN ‘EM ] Hotel Rwanda 20 / 20 Now Playing
[ BRAIN FOOD ] A Fine Balance By Rohinton Mistry
“If people see this footage, they will say, ‘Oh my God! That’s horrible!’ and go on eating their dinner.” ~ Jack (Joaquin Phoenix)
This line underscores the essence of the plot
of Hotel Rwanda; which recants the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a manager of a
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success
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five-star hotel who risked his life to save hundreds of Tutsi refugees genocide (however, this genocide was never publicly called so by UN officials [more on this later]).
Caucasian people living in the midst of the war. This is a very important movie and sadly such a label may limit its success at the box-office. Hotel Rwanda is a must see movie that; look for a national release this Friday.
At the start of Rwanda, Paul is dedicated to two things; his job at the Hotel Mille Collines and his family. As the movie develops Paul develops as well. He eventually develops to the point where he feels it’s his job to save the lives of the hundreds of refugees that he allows to stay at the hotel. Actor Don Cheadle delivers an award-worthy performance in his portrayal of Paul, who eventually realizes the harsh reality of the world, especially its views of Africans.
On April 6, 1994 the killing began because Hutus believed Tutsi people shot down the President’s plane and through the beginning of June, about one million people were murdered in Rwanda. Through the 100 days of killing, the U.N. avoided terming it genocide because if the UN accepts that genocide is occurring, it is legally obligated to intervene. Currently, a similar situation is taking place in Darfur, Sudan and a U.N. mission has been sent to investigate and report back.
Paul is a Hutu whose wife, played by Sophie Okonedo, is a Tutsi. This may seem trivial to many of us but it doesn’t to Rwandans. This Hutu/Tutsi designation was ambiguously created by the Belgians during their colonial rule of Rwanda. This made the Tutsi group as superior to the Hutu group for almost 65 years. In preparation for the Belgian pull out, elections and a military coup placed the Hutu in power. The resulting Hutu nationalism caused thousands of Tutsi people to be killed and moved into exile. Paul spent most of his career going out of his way for the various elite and notable hotel guests; knowing there would be a time when he would need assistance. This time comes a lot sooner than he expected as President Habyarimana is assassinated and the Hutu majority begins a systematic genocide of Tutsi and liberal Hutus who stood up for the Tutsi people. Overall, the cast is well composed with few “big name” stars and many smaller and unknown-to-the-masses actors and actresses. Sophie Okonedo, previously seen in Dirty Pretty Things, provides humanity as Paul’s wife, Tatiana and Nick Nolte, as Canadian Colonel Oliver, heads the U.N. peace-keeping forces. At times he seems out of place in this role but delivers one of the most powerful and emotion provoking lines in the movie- “Paul, you should spit in my face…to the rest of the world you are less than a nigger, you are an African”- as the forces that he called in come, but only to save the
As defined in the present Genocide Convention, genocide is any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group as such: a. Killing members of the group; b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Also see “Ghosts of Rwanda,” a PBS Frontline documentary and "We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families" by P. Gourevitch to learn more. ~Atiba Edwards
The Woodsman 15 / 20 Now Playing
Kevin Bacon continues to show his diverse
abilities as an actor and further his case of
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Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success being able to do it all. His acting roles have ranged from comedic to action to drama to horror to directing. Now enter Bacon as Walter, a convicted pedophile that returns to his hometown after a 12 year prison stint and tries to begin a new life. The Woodsman shows a dark side of Bacon as he deals with the shame, repressed emotion and the judgment passed on him by his family, coworkers, love interest and parole officer. The movie is sparse on dialogue to focus more on the interactions made by Bacon with himself and rest of the cast. Cast members include: David Allan Grier, Eve, Mos Def, Benjamin Bratt, Hannah Pikes, Michael Shannon and Bacon’s real-life wife- Kyra Sedgwick. Each character portrays society’s different opinions and views towards pedophiles. For example Sergeant Lucas (Mos Def) embodies the animosity that a crime like pedophilia can cause. The film use of the color red is brilliant and overall effective- take note of the Woodsman story, the ball and the jacket that Robin (Hannah Pikes) wears. The movie does have some holes that stood out but it shadowed these with great character crafting and strong images and scenes. Overall, I enjoyed this movie and applaud the cast and crew involved for taking on such a heavy issue. ~Atiba Edwards
The Life Aquatic 5 / 20 Now Playing
January 2005
and exciting that you can feel yourself being a part of the paradise screening in front of you? Well, if this is your desire while at the movies, the Life Aquatic can not fulfill your needs. Although Bill Murray hit it big with the film Groundhog Day almost ten years ago, his choices of recent films within the Independent Film genre have sparked ambivalent interest in both Murray as an actor, and his films. Far from the racy cityscape of 2003 Lost In Translation, the Life Aquatic brings its viewers on a meaningless, quasi-Marry Poppins boating journey in search of a claymation shark. The film itself was labeled a comedy, but with only two relatively understood jokes, I hardly felt it an appropriate marketing strategy – maybe the jokes were hiding somewhere in the campy wetsuits and sailor uniforms the Zissou crew were wearing on their maiden voyage. It seems quite trendy in the entertainment business to cast big stars, such as Murray, Wilson, Blanchett, and Houston, in films which maintain no plot whatsoever. The climax of the film lies in the mini-romantic antics between a disheveled Murray, three-month pregnant Blanchett, and wealthy Wilson. It is entirely possible that this film was way over my head – and the heads of all the other moviegoers present at the theater that evening as well - because there was silence both during and following the film, accompanied by confused looks of disapproval and questions regarding what the film’s point was in the end and if there were refunds available at the concession stand. If anyone is interested in seeing the film, I suggest you think very hard about whether or not you’re willing to sacrifice $7.75 – not including refreshments. Your desire to escape the real world for this is not a quest real people would be likely to attend.
Have you ever dreamt that you’d be carried
- A. Mari
away into a film that is so inspiring, creative,
- 11 www.onefokus.com
Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success
January 2005
Artists Wanted ! If you have graphic design experience... If you are an artist and want to work with FOKUS... If you are a musician and need to push your music... If you are a poet and want the world to know... If you want to work in any capacity with FOKUS... Let us know. Send us an email, contact@onefokus.com, or if you see any of the FOKUS heads walking around campus stop and chat it up with us. Submit your work to contact@onefokus.com and have it featured in an upcoming newsletter or on the website.
www.onefokus.com
Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success
January 2005
Creativity Is King !