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Rehema_T
Reviews
Sticks & Stones (2006)
Comments on making the film
Wow! It took a lot of work to shoot but I had a lot of help. Thank you all for your support!
When Sticks & Stones was screened the very first question I was asked was "Did this really happen?" My answer was "Definitely." The actual exchange between my parents and teacher did not contain the dialogue my characters exchange but the situation played out similarly and my parents eventually convinced my teacher that I could read. This film represents my experiences with the American educational system. In my suburban kindergarten I was the one Black student in a class of Whites. In high school I was one of many Black students and I began to notice that many of my obviously intelligent Black classmates were performing poorly academically. Eventually, I realized that many of them had internalized the standards that society stigmatized them with: Black lives are not as important as White ones.
Some are convinced and de-value themselves. They believe that they can't achieve and then get the expected result- substandard achievements. I had a model to follow, both of my parents have advanced degrees, there was never a question of my success. So, there are 2 parts to the issue, parents and teachers. We need teachers that don't hold negative preconceptions and we need parents to give children positive psychological support, so that they never question their ability, instead we fight back and question our teachers and society. Although I never questioned my reading ability, as Rehema in the film does, I believe that the motivations and behaviors of my characters fit an existing, real-life, schema.
Remember My Name (1978)
Rushes through the ending - but still good
I saw this film last night at the George Eastman House. The announcer said that it would not be released for video because of the rights to the soundtrack. The singer died without releasing the rights.
In any event, I found it fascinating. However, the conclusion seemed rushed and didn't clarify the motives of the protagonist Emily.
Don't read further if you haven't seen it!!!---- All of a sudden Emily gets Neil to her place, sleeps with him, steals his credit card and then drives down the road that she drove in on at the beginning of the film. As languid as the rest of the film is, this happens so quickly you don't understand the meaning or purpose to Emily's actions. I felt like I wished I'd brought someone with me to the film so that we could discuss what the ending might have meant-