Freedom – What’s Your ‘Panther’ Factor? #atozchallenge

*A to Z Challenge Alert:

I’m playing catch-up today after being unable to post for Letter F on Saturday due to no internet connection, so my post for Letter G – including the Monday Movie Meme -- will be published later in the evening on Monday, April 8th.

A Vietnam veteran named Judge tells a neighborhood drug dealer to “Be part of the solution, not the problem” in Mario Van Peebles’ docudrama “Panther” starring Kadeem Hardison, Courtney B. Vance and Tyrin Turner. This scene got me thinking about how we could benefit by adopting the same position in our dealings with people who bring negative energy and vibes to us.

Everybody has problems – some more than others, but even if you have 99 problems like Jay-Z, a naysayer doesn’t have to be one of them. As much as I would like to believe that we live in a world where people do more good than harm, it is a naïve mindset to have, given the fact that many of us are surrounded by individuals who bring us down. That got me thinking about “Freedom,” which is among my most favorite movie theme songs, to date. Produced by Dallas Austin, it features over 50 various artists including En Vogue, MC Lyte, Salt-n-Pepa, TLC, Queen Latifah, Karyn White, Xscape and Patra, to name a few. There is also a Dirty Dozen remix for this song included on the soundtrack for “Panther” that is just as catchy as the main version.

“Panther” is about the formation of the Black Panther Party and the exercising of their constitutional right to bear arms and defend themselves against police brutality and other oppressive acts. This movie and its theme song, however, reminds me of how the people closest to us – family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. – make our lives more difficult than it has to be – especially when we allow them to do so. Sometimes, I think we need to exercise our right to bear arms – not with firepower and ammunition – but with distance and/or boundaries, to defend ourselves against the limitations that other people try to place on us. If you want more out of life, then you have you have to take back your freedom to fly, like a bird, in whatever direction is best for your purpose on earth – kicking naysayers to the curb.

“Turn us loose, set us free from all the chains that bind me. Let us run in our own direction.” – Mary J. Blige and Zhane

There are some people who deliberately try to belittle or even sabotage your interests and efforts made toward something new, different or more improved, because they aren’t doing anything significant with their lives. These are the people who want you to fail or feel guilty about the choices you make.

There are other people who bring you down unknowingly because they don’t seem to understand how their behavior is affecting your mental, emotional or spiritual well-being in a bad way. Then, there are those who bring you down because the force of their own general negative outlook or behavior is so strong that it clouds the sunshine of nearly everyone whom they come in contact with directly. Lastly, we also bring ourselves down indirectly by causing or enabling other people’s problems, instead of trying to be part of their solution.

During one of the meeting scenes in “Panther,” Huey P. Newton asks Judge “why is it that every time a black man goes to lift his head, there’s another black man right there to call him crazy.” Although Huey was focused on the crabs-in-a-barrel mindset plaguing minority communities in this film, I ask myself similar questions with regards to our society as a whole. Why is it that every time someone tries to better himself or herself, learn more, do more, expand his or her circle of friends, quit smoking, adopt a new way of thinking or find a way out of circumstances that he or she does not see as ideal, there is another person right there to shoot down their efforts?

Many women attack the parenting styles, lifestyle choices and other traits of females they don’t even know personally, some homeowners criticize their neighbor’s attempts to beautify one’s front lawn or restore one’s windows, there are people who shun their friends’ and relatives’ attempts to go to college or switch jobs or relocate to a different city, the list goes on and on. These are few of many problems indeed but the most detrimental aspect of them all is the point at which we start to believe, and even act in accordance with other people’s limiting beliefs and views on just about every subject known to man.

“Whoever said these are the things that you can do and the things you ain’t supposed to? So, am I further when I think I’m getting closer?” – Left-Eye

Unfortunately, there will always be people in the world who don’t want you to win – for if you do, that proves them wrong. It shows that the lies they tell themselves about what is and isn’t possible are just coping mechanisms for not having the guts or will to see what’s behind that wall of self-doubt.

It proves that you’re better – and more capable than they ever thought you were or could ever be. It says that the more effort they put in trying to hold you back, the less likely they are to bring themselves forward.

How you respond to other people’s cynicism, however, makes all the difference in the extent of which you’ll be all you can be. After all, if you don’t feel free enough to act on your interests and curiosities, then you won’t and as a result, will forever remain stagnant in a world where things aren’t working in your favor – all because you believe that there are no other options.

“You try to tell us that our lives don’t mean anything, but we know so much better, so we’re gonna take our freedom.”

There are plenty occasions when someone else will imply that you’re too old, you’re too young, you’re too fat, you’re too stupid, you’re too weird, you’re too unattractive, you’re too quiet, you’re too loud, and so on. That does not mean you have to accept their assessment of your abilities and then allow it to keep you down – even if this evaluation is coming from yourself. You can take back your freedom to fly – like a plane with runways or pads ready for landing, in many different places. Where you land isn’t as important as the exercising of your ability to soar, locate and then aim at those available landing spots, in the first place.

Are YOU a part of your own solutions, or are YOU a part of your own problems?

Can you describe a time when you felt constrained, like something or someone was hindering your freedom in one way or another?

Making the Case for ‘Skyfall’ #TheLAMB

Awards Season is upon us as mainstream and indie films vie for Hollywood’s most coveted honors from the Screen Actor’s Guild, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, to name a few. This also means it’s time for the Annual Awards Nerdism blogathon, hosted by Stevee Taylor at Cinematic Paradox.

The subject is Making a Case for Movies that Probably Won’t Get Any Awards Recognition. So in the name of Taylor’s blogathon, here is a movie that probably won’t get major love in terms of award nominations in the Music categories but I think it should: Skyfall.

Best Original Score
I haven’t bought any movie soundtracks in a long time and composer Thomas Newman’s work on “Skyfall” will change that. There are moments during this latest James Bond film where the music had just as much as, if not more, of my attention than the action taking place on screen -- not in a poor sound mix or unwise choice by the music supervisor or sloppy timing with the editing kind of way but in a "oooh, I’m feeling the intensity of these tunes so much that I want to download them from iTunes" kind of way. The score and the imagery -- complete with great performances, pacing, editing (and everything else happening on screen) complemented each other in a way that is rarely noticeable in the average film.

The score in many films are either so ordinary that I forget that it even exists or these tracks have something going for them but not enough to justify playing in an audio-only listening session. In other words, they aren’t useful in any other medium outside of the movie that they represent. Newman offers audiences -- both movie fans and music aficionados alike -- a film score that can stand on its own with or without James Bond in the picture.

Yes, the “Skyfall” soundtrack may not be expected to serve as nothing more than a suspenseful supporting foundation for which M16’s dangerous missions can be carried out. Maybe that’s why this movie makes for a good “Best Original Score” nominee -- the underlying music carves out its own role as a character operating on equal playing field with 007 himself. That is why I think “Skyfall” is deserving of an award nomination in the music category.

Best Original Song
“Skyfall” by Adele may become my most favorite James Bond theme song, to date. Until now, I favored “Another Way to Die” by Jack White and Alicia Keys, on the “Quantum of Solace” soundtrack but Adele takes the cake -- for almost the same reasons that I’m making a case for Thomas Newman’s score. I say almost because although the song does fit within the movie well, it’s more enjoyable when played as a standard music track on iTunes or YouTube or Pandora, etc. than during the “Skyfall” movie’s opening title sequence. Adele’s voice lends to the music but both elements are beautifully in sync, setting a nice tone for the film’s plot.

It would be easy for anyone who is not familiar with, or aloof to, the James Bond character and “Skyfall” to assume that the Adele’s song is about a couple dedicated to each other, even in times of turmoil. After watching the movie, however, all I can think about is how much this song can be interpreted to reflect a bond between 007 and M -- their sentimental values as well as their unshakeable, yet unspoken, will to protect and support each other, as it relates to the roles and responsibilities that they have taken on at M16.

Have YOU seen “Skyfall” yet?

If YOU were a voting member in a film-industry related organization, in what category would YOU nominate “Skyfall” for an award?