She Doesn't Quite Gotta Have It

Sometimes the only way to salvage anything from an otherwise wasted experience of watching a series is to talk about it (which can only get you into trouble) or compose a review (which nobody will read anyway so there's no risk). The Ten-Episode Netflix series based on Spike Lee's first theatrical feature She's Gotta Have it is an example of ideology over aesthetic. If there is an element of fun it may come from spotting references to Spike's other films, one appearance by the director as a bartender with a straight-haired wig like the one he had in Malcolm X, and a new younger actor taking on his alter ego Mars Blackman. The other two of Nola Darling's Boyfriends are buttoned down Jamie and vane preening Greer, neither of which we have much rooting interest in - not that the goal of winning Nola's heart is one that is necessarily something to vicariously thrill for. The new series is referred to as a comedy in this trailer by a YOUNG-looking Spike Lee, but I have to say I didn't laugh once. Many of the moments duplicated from the original lose the original charm and organic feel of the humor. The new series may have been released in 2017 but it is a reflection on 2016 with ongoing to celebrities that were lost that year, primarily Prince, and the rise of Trump with culminates in a fine music video segment. Easily found on youtube. That aspect of politics is a refreshing break from the more blog and hashtag variety of politics that the series centers around. The series was suggested by Spike Lee's wife and he considers it her vision. It is mostly written by women, and may even appeal to women as long as they are of the third wave feminist variety. Spike has mentioned being accused of seeing through "The male gaze" and this is supposed to be an exercise in proving otherwise despite a couple of strip club sequences that set up a sub plot about one of Nola's friends who wants a feature erotic dance spot but is denied it because her rear end is not large enough and so she endures painful injections to increase her buttocks. That falls under the category of satire that earns no laugh. If you have to explore the story, the original black and white feature can also be found on Netflix. The camera styles that marked Spike's debut feature, shot by Ernest Dickerson, is not evident in the perhaps more quickly shot series despite the fact that the feature likely had less money. The shooting is mere coverage, recording the events of the story or the conversations, in the most expedient manner. What's left is the monologues and constant onslaught of declarative statements laid bare. If Nola Darling winds up in jail, she will not call one of her boyfriends for help because she does not want him to get to feel like her rescuer. Granted, the target audience may lap it up, but the series was a slog for this old, fat white male. Respecting the style of so much of Spike Lee's work, I felt an obligation as to push on through the rant-filler and test my tolerance of Nola's self-interested blather. If this is the kind of content that the Post-Cosby, Post-Trump, Post #MeToo generation will call for, it might just mean I will spend less time and money watching movies or on-line content. No matter how expensive a nose ring may be, from a distance it looks like the wearer could use a Kleenex. Spike has been on record that one regret from his movies had been a scene of Nola in the original film getting raped by the "nice guy" type represented by Jamie. It might have taken that much to make people feel sympathy for Nola, who comes across as self absorbed and shallow in both movie and series. In place of this crime, there is a rude guy on the street who reaches out to her in flirtation and when rejected spews verbal abuse. Ironically, except for one scene of a hug repeated from several angles, there is little evidence that the show is directed by Spike Lee himself and he likely took the job so there would be one less person to hire. There is no feel of inspired storyboards or shot sequences. A woman could have easily been hired, or ten different female directors - one for each of the ten episodes - and none of them would have to be on the level of Julie Taymor or Jane Campion. The sets are decorated with artwork due to Nola's career as an artist and blatant historical faces like Malcolm X and so on mainly for the sake of direct-to-camera monologues that eat up lots of time, like, "I don't have to explain myself but here is a five minute explanation. . . ." Meanwhile, rather sitting through ten episodes of this series to see a cringe-worthy dance between characters who don't belong together and live in an alternate universe where everything is okay with Nola disrespecting her suitors in a far fetched coda, just watch the original Prince video of Raspberry Beret.

We Shall Over Comb ?

Abortion and Gestation

On the ongoing debate over abortion, sparked by the clumsy ramblings of Donald Trump and some interviews by Hillary and Bernie. . . Here is my unsolicited two cents: These are parallel points, not mutually exclusive: a) science/biology tells us gestation IS a stage of human life b) if the fetus lives in her mother's womb she is subject to that real estate like it or not c) It is impossible to police everything an unhappily pregnant woman does and what she eats or drinks that might cause a deliberate miscarriage d) The real issue is whether the feelings of those who have had abortions need be protected from the reality of point a). A sperm carrying 23 chromosomes is not a human being. It is cute to joke about and to put a voice-over onto a sperm or have Woody Allen dress as a sperm, but contrary to the Catholic teaching and the excellent satirical tune by Monty Python "Every Sperm is Sacred" they are not sacred at all. If you believe human life has inherent value, then that issue begins when its 23 chromosomes join with the 23 chromosomes (and RNA) of the ovum and the process of cell division - the process of becoming - begins. That's the process that is still going on in your life at this moment. Whether or not the fertilized embryo attaches to the uterus wall (as Bill Nye the Science Guy tells us it must) the conception of a human being has occurred. A spontaneous abortion may occur if an IUD or such other obstruction prevents attachment. But whether that makes you sad or indifferent - and whether or not you feel anything for a homeless person freezing to death in the street for the inherent value of his/her human life - gestation remains a phase of human life just as infancy, childhood, adolescence and menopause are called stages. If abortion were legally treated as murder there are pragmatic real work concerns that make it a solution worse than the problem. What would be the statute of limitations on that form of murder? Could someone be charged as an accessory if they drive the abortive mother home from the clinic? And context is everything. We are told it is not murder and not immoral to respect an agreement within the military to allow oneself to be deployed to a battle and kill people with whom we have no personal or business grudge. And yet it is illegal to kill someone we have witnessed personally killing friends or family or to kill a rapist whose existence is negligible. It is unfortunate that these discussions are spurred by the most careless opinion - like that of Trump - for whom punishment is an abstract thought and for whom everyday suffering can be shrugged off. It's not a squeaky clean matter in any case. Anti-abortion law is a carrot appealing to emotion, something that just can't be sustained and that likely be one more way to make poor people miserable while rich people use connections to do as their whims dictate.