"The Collector" (2009)

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And what did that cop (I don't know his name--not the arresting officer, though) call Gates? "A banana-eating tree monkey"? But his lawyer assures us he is not racist. I am sure that there are some people who may agree with that, and I think I can guess their skin tone. There is something that is almost tragic here, and I mean that sincerely. As the world shifts, an entire generation or three that grew up looking at America as the world's greatest power, the beacon of freedom and hope, etc., is seeing other countries rising up to meet our standard...while we (in areas like health and education) are starting to lag. But wait, there's more. If you look at old movies, you can see clearly that the dominant mythology in America was that White People Ran The World. This was a white nation, everyone of consequence or substance was white, and that was just the way it was. I actually feel sorry for those who are awakening to the fact that that was always an illusion, always a very temporary dream from which they are now awakening. And it has to be depressing as hell to those who placed their ego in the skin-color bucket. Obama comes along...not just black (by the definitions established by this country over 400 years.) but with a strange last name, an African father, and a Muslim middle name. No wonder his opponents have had a difficult time confining themselves to criticizing him on grounds of policy. No wonder we're seeing so many racially-tinged comments, violent slips of the tongue, accusations of "racist" by white people who probably don't have a single black person on speed-dial.

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Wow. Whatever comes of all of this, in some critical ways America really has shifted, and these people are just dinosaurs searching for a decent tar pit. There's really nothing to do but speak kindly to them and wait for them to die. Their children will do better. Or their children. But...wow.

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Saw Bill Maher taping last night at CBS Television City. Wow. Worked there about 30 years ago. The Price is Right, Sonny and Cher, All In the Family...I remember asking Carroll O'Conner questions about dealing with my girlfriend's father's racism..Carol Burnett being incredibly gracious to a disabled friend of mine...Lily Tomlin walking me to my car at two in the morning and kissing me goodnight (in a sisterly way). Good times. Maher was hysterically funny talking about the "Beer Summit", and reminding us that the Birthers may be nutty, but that kind of poison can grow if you don't watch it.

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Humor can be a superb medicine. And old high school friend, Karla Henderson, arranged for the tickets. Hadn't seen her in 40 years! I enjoy "catching up". We appeared in a version of "The Lottery" together onstage, and I remember overacting feverishly. Oh, well...Karla was played my sister, as I recall, and did a fine job.

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Saw "The Collector" Yesterday. It's about a cat burgler trapped in a house with a serial killer who has targeted the home-owners, and laced their house with vicious traps. It's better than it might have been, but no classic. The only thing that really worked for me was the fact that, for once, the protagonist was competent, and not just a screaming, oblivious teenager. I'd give it a "B" for fans of hard-core horror, a "C" for others. Maybe less.

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While talking to Tananarive about showing the current draft of our script to an advisor she trusts, I realized that my instinct was to turn down the input at this phase of the writing process. My gut curdles at the thought...but I openly admitted that she was probably right. I know from long experience that her instincts about these things are usually right. There is no real reason that we SHOULDN'T. But the feelings are there, overruled by my commitment to trust Tananarive unless I have what I consider to be a solid, non-subjective reason to do otherwise.

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But the feeling. And I know I could wrap it in all kinds of logical reasons, but underneath all that, it's just a feeling. And I think that we all have stuff like this: convictions that something is right, regardless of lack of evidence, just a KNOWING. That is still wrong. That we can have all of the same feelings that something is right, even if it makes no real sense at all. If that's right, then it ties right into the idea that our reality maps warp easily (Birthers? 9/11 Truthers? Bodies disobeying the laws of physics? Lottery addicts? People who mistake sex for love?) especially when something threatens what we consider to be our core identity or sense of how the world works. In this case, its the feeling that at certain stages of writing I can only trust myself. I let Tananarive into my circle with this (I've never written really personal stuff with Larry, so this never kicked in the same way) but beyond that? Well...let's say I have trust issues.

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But I have to respect T's process. And logically, I THINK she's right, I just don't FEEL she is. Sigh. The question is: if this is true, how do we protect ourselves from...ourselves? The way that seems to make most sense to me is to think of an idealized, balance self-image, and head toward that. If anyone else has ever accomplished what I want, I figure it's possible for me. One question: if these three things are what I got out of life, would I be satisfied? Healthy? Successful? Happy? Are they depriving anyone else of life, liberty, possessions, or honor? Does the path between me and those things sound interesting, with bitchin' scenery, even if it's uncomfortable?

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In fact...if it doesn't make me uncomfortable, it isn't much use, because I will have chosen it to allow me to stay in my "box." And even though that is comforting in the short term, it is a form of death. Every time I've broken through a wall in one of the three primary areas, I felt pain, fear, anger, resentment...and on the other side of that wall was greater freedom, power, and pleasure--enough to dwarf the discipline or emotional clearing it took to break through it.

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Of course...there are paths to excellence that lead to self-destruction. And that is the horrific imbalance you could see in a Michael Jackon. It ain't that hard to be superb in one thing...if you are willing to sacrifice everything else. Seeking balance is like holding up a mirror to the back of your head. "Perceive those things that cannot be seen." Oh, yeah. Yes, it makes me a bit dogmatic at times, but that's not always a sin. I'm sure I get it wrong sometime, but it is amazing how useful that simple tool is.

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I don't want to share my work at this phase. Tananarive does, and I trust her. So my choice of a partner helps fill in the gaps in my own emotional world.

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Saw "The Unborn" (2009), a supernatural tale of a woman haunted by a Jewish demon (and I'm telling you it's about time!) that is actually pretty scarey. Written and directed by David S. Goyer, it has some tasty images, decent rationalization, and a dynamic climax. I'd give it a "B"

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WARNING: SAMBO ALERT

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Given that Goyer is responsible for the "Blade" series, which was objectionable for multiple reasons:

1) Blade, the titular character, isn't given so much as a kiss in three films, in a world in which vampires are clearly presented as hyper-sexual.

2) Snipes was promised a relationship in the third film...but after he signed, the studio reneged.

3) Goyer brought in three white vampire hunters, and wanted to kill off blade and replace him. Wesley refused to shoot the death scene, which is one of the reasons we haven't seen him in theatrical films for some time: "you'll never work in this town again." Same thing happened with Avery Brooks, by the way, on "Deep Space Nine."

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So, given the above, I wondered what a racial filter would do with "The Unborn." First, and most obviously, the lead character has sex. Well well, what a surprise. Secondly, there are two black characters, and both die protecting the white woman. Isn't that special?

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By the way--I think I have a crush on Rachel Maddow. She was on Bill Maher, and I think she may now officially be my favorite lesbian. Smart, cute, frisky...she was such fun. Love to meet her some time.