Time Beings

 In the poems written by Smith and Sanchez, readers are confronted with a clear theme: the need for social change.  However, both poems take different approaches in commenting on this issue, as "Dinosaurs in the Hood" focuses on portrayal in the media in acting on double-time, and "For Sweet Honey in the Rock" focuses on a more urgent form of double-time.   Smith's poem develops the characteristics of an ideal movie--an ideal fictional, yet revolutionary cinematic narrative.  Like Sanchez' poem, which is more directly about a battleground, this film he describes is like a revolution: "where a cop car gets pooped on by a pterodactyl, a scene / where the corner store turns into a battle ground" (stanza 2).  Smith imagines a movie that "is not a vehicle for Will Smith and Sofia Vergara" (stanza 3), which suggests that it needs to be relatable and a social commentary on the social challenges/inequalities of minorities in society.  He also ass...

 During my reading of the second half of Hamilton, I was completely captivated on the scene entitled SAY NO TO THIS which depicts Hamilton's struggle about cheating on his wife with Maria Reynolds but ultimately falling into his desire of lust and then trying to hide the fact by paying James Reynolds. I personally believe that the scene holds great importance because it clearly depicts the weakness of the human mind as the ensemble acts as the voice of reason but Hamilton succumbs to his lust.     To start off, Hamilton begins with a prayer to God to "show him how to/ Say no to this" invitation by Maria as "her legs spread and said stay" (176). Hamilton immediately going into prayer in order to try and resist his lust shows how quickly he became pulled into his lust because praying to God can often be seen as a last resort to people when everything else has failed and they put it up to the Lord's power to save them. In this specific case, we can infer ...

  Danez Smith’s poem “Dinosaurs in the Hood” is a fascinating examination of the role that time plays in conveying stories, specifically through filmmaking.     In his work, Smith envisions a movie in which Black communities fight dinosaurs and emerge triumphant.     As I read and listened to Smith’s work, I began to consider the way in which time plays a role in how we as viewers understand and respond to a person’s story.     Those involved in the production of a movie are given, roughly, a two-hour time frame to convey the intricacies and details of a story.     Smith compares the ways in which that brief and important period of time can convey either an uplifting or degrading story about the Black community.     In his poem, time is of the essence.     From the opening scene of his imagined film to its ending, Smith focuses on how the brief movie-going experience can convey a much longer, deeper, and more impactful sto...

In recent years there has been much needed and overdue focus on diversity  of Academy award winners and  nominees , specifically since the 2015 Oscars .   There are  actually new   diversity rules that will take place in the coming years.   I think it’s important to hold Hollywood accountable in  creating films that are diverse in both casting a s well as  behind the scene s  like in production and whatnot . However, the issue of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups  in film  is more complex than simply  how diverse a film production  looks .    A solution to underrepresented racial group s ,  specifically black Americans ,  has been to create movies that are  generally focused on a common experience or struggle faced by the entire race .  Or ,   if  a struggle or painful experience is not  the focu s ,   th e n  racial  stereotypes are usually portrayed. The...

     "Dinosaurs in the Hood" by Danez Smith immediately stood out to me. Its words, references to current social justice problems, and pop culture create such a clear and standout story. Smith urges society to stop allowing real social issues be portrayed in movies and tv by famous actors. This never-ending cycle takes away the validity away from these situations, and replaces it with glamour, fame, and seemingly impossible outcomes. If we are going to properly show real-world issues, we need a real-world cast–heroes who aren't famous, rather they come from broken homes, different races, and are all sorts of ages.      Smith's ideal movie  alludes to the fact of racial injustice is understood through film. There are so many stereotypes surrounding race driven films. Smith is tired of seeing mainstream actors like Will Smith play the hero in a story that is cheesy and unrealistic. These movies end with some sort of progression, but in reality, that usu...

Kanye West has released many religious and Gospel inspired songs in recent years, however, “Wash Us in the Blood” provides a direct connection between racial justice and Christianity. The invocation of religious symbols and ideas is intentionally provocative in Kanye’s music, especially in this piece where he makes a hard statement about the nature of being Black in America. Kanye is not the only one to purposefully be provocative. Sonia Sanchez and Danez Smith also provoke their audiences. I argue that the authors of these works do this in order to generate strong emotions and outrage in discussions around racial justice.    “Wash Us in the Blood” is truly provocative when it comes to the religious community. One of the most provoking lines, in my opinion, is this:   “Let it off, set it off Execution, thirty states (that’s why) Thirty states still execute (ah) Thou shall not kill”   Here, West, invokes one of the ten commandments in conjunction with the reality that...

Something that I found interesting about the play Hamilton was how much of the issues that were discussed back then in the time of the founding fathers are still discussed today. History repeats itself. One example of this is on page 193, during the second Cabinet Battle, where Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson are discussing whether to help the French in their revolutionary war. Hamilton says, “If we try to fight in every revolution in the world, we never stop. Where do we draw the line?” As an imperialist country, this quote still stands true today. The United States is known for unnecessarily getting involved in other countries. I like Miranda’s little side note at the end of this sentence because he says that there’s usually a “wild-card reaction,” to these lines; either people are silent, there’s applause, or there’s a dawning realization that the country is still like this. Almost 250 years later, this idea is still prominent in the United States. Another example of this is on...