Reels & Riddims
Netflix's Shirley: Honoring the Legacy and Power of Shirley Chisholm
As we step back and scrutinize the political environment depicted in the film, drawing stark parallels to the issues that ripple through our modern-day discourse. We wrap up our conversation with the thought that perhaps the truest movement for change lies in the quiet struggles and victories that shape us when no one is watching. Join us for an episode that not only celebrates a champion of history but also lights the way for us to carry her torch into the future.
Connect with us:
- @reelsandriddims on Instagram
- Website | YouTube
A Breadfruit Media Production
As we step back and scrutinize the political environment depicted in the film, drawing stark parallels to the issues that ripple through our modern-day discourse. We wrap up our conversation with the thought that perhaps the truest movement for change lies in the quiet struggles and victories that shape us when no one is watching. Join us for an episode that not only celebrates a champion of history but also lights the way for us to carry her torch into the future.
Connect with us:
- @reelsandriddims on Instagram
- Website | YouTube
A Breadfruit Media Production
hello, hello, welcome back. Welcome back to another episode of reels to the rhythms. Reels and rhythms is brought to you by carry on friends, in partnership with the style and the vibes and breadfruit media, and my co-hostess with the mostess is michaela welcome welcome.
Speaker 2:Welcome to reels and rhythms, you know yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1:So it's been a while, but you know we're back and we have a review. But before we go into that, guys, you can text us. So if you're listening to the audio version of this podcast in the, you will see send us a text. So send us a text. Questions. If you have any suggestions of things we should review, send us a message, send us a text and we will reply. So we're really excited about that. You get to interact with us and so I'm excited about that. So what else is going on? Michaela, you're ready to get into this review?
Speaker 2:Carrying upon the tech things. We have new and improved things. Yes, tech sweater, not by WhatsApp. Nobody's sending us no anti-messages on WhatsApp, sending us no auntie messages on WhatsApp.
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Speaker 2:Yes, yes. So today we are talking about Shirley. So Shirley is the story of Shirley Chisholmm and it is directed and written by John Ridley, starring and produced by Regina King. So we saw the promo for this and it's on Netflix. So it follows Shirley Chisholm, as she was the first black woman to run for president. So it follows her, follows her campaigning.
Speaker 2:Of course, history. We know that she wasn't successful, but she did make a lot of noise and I think that the film kind of captures some of that. And so, yeah, that's what we're talking about today. So you know how we do already. We're going to talk about key plot and elements and characters and, of course, the accent then. So, as you guys may or may not know, shirley is a Bajan American. So she was born in Brooklyn but was raised in Barbados for her early childhood and then she came back to Brooklyn. So you know, she was based in Bed-Stuy yes, yes, based in Bed-Stuy and kind of rose up the ranks in local politics. So I'm curious, carrie, you live in Brooklyn. So what is the sentiment really around Shirley Chisholm and her legacy in Brooklyn?
Speaker 1:You know, to be honest, I remember the interview that Regina King did with Dan Rathers, saying that she was doing this project and she wanted to do it because she only heard about Shirley around Black History Month and if I think back to my years when I moved from Jamaica to Brooklyn, and I think of when she passed away, I didn't know much or hear much about Shirley Chisholm at all.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I don't feel so bad. I feel like I didn't learn anything about Shirley Chisholm until I got to college and people were actually talking about her. And I still didn't learn anything about Shirley Chisholm until I got to college and people were actually talking about her. And I still didn't really. I just knew the name, I knew she was in local politics, I knew she was based in Brooklyn, but I really didn't know a whole lot about her story. I really kind of just started to hear things and even then I would. I would say I know a baseline about her and her career even to date. Um, so I think it's important to kind of frame that I'm looking at this movie with that set of eyes.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, Because even you know me already. Like when I watch something I go back to references and I'm like, did I miss this? I mean, you did see pictures of her on different schools around Brooklyn, but it wasn't really in depth really, and so when I even think of her career to her passing, even her passing felt insignificant because there was not a lot of news, or about it, At least I felt there was not a lot of news about it, At least I felt there was not a lot of publicity around it. So it was a very interesting to see this movie, but also kind of really digging back into the archives and I want to give myself grace. When you're young you don't pay certain things any mind. But for the school that I went to, where everything was just very centric around, like you know, you know who Thurgo Marshall was, you knew who all these other people was, I I didn't really hear much about Shirley Chisholm, Um, but thankfully that's changing now.
Speaker 2:So, um, for sure, cause even I have a book for for Marlee, my younger one, and it talks about all these different women, of who you could be when you grow up, and Shirley Chisholm is one of them, so it's like an inspiring book around Black female leaders and she's in there. So I think just having that name recognition is important and then you carry it through with you as you get older, and I think we're in a great space now where there is so much being exposed to you know, even the younger generation. Now there's so many different books, so many different companies who are really centered on not just giving Black History during Black History Month, but really putting emphasis on all the things all year long, and I love even some of the Instagram pages that I follow. They talk about Black stories and Black history related to anything that we wouldn't necessarily have heard of, and I really love a lot of those creators who are giving historical context around some of the important names that we don't hear about.
Speaker 2:We hear about Martin, we hear about Malcolm, we hear about Rosa Parks, but there are so many throughout history that I think need to be highlighted, and I also think it's interesting that this was probably a line to release in this year, because you know it's election year, which I think is pretty poignant as well, like we can't, you know, get away from that. And there are definitely some points in the movie that I definitely relate to in terms of you know her, her positioning. So, all right, let me jump into it. Mech would jump right in. What did you enjoy and what do you think had the opportunity to be improved? How did you feel about the film? Initial reaction.
Speaker 1:So overall I did enjoy it. It was good to see a lot of like the campaign and I know because of her life they really focused on the campaign. But I really wanted to kind of get a sense a little bit of more of her backstory. A little bit I wanted to see some of that. Her and her sister talked about it, but I really wanted to see some more of her backstory come in. But overall I liked it because it also introduced another important character that is also of Caribbean heritage that if it wasn't for this I really wouldn't know.
Speaker 1:That you know who Mac was. Right, he played an important part and you know I had to go look him up and even when I looked him up there weren't many pictures about him this man from British Guyana and his role in local politics in Brooklyn. So I thought that was also important and that was the character played by the late Lance Riddick Wesley McDonald, mack Holder. So I did some research. There's some stuff about you know, but there's like really old clippings of kind of what he did. So I really did enjoy that and I like that it spoke, you know, I mean I have a whole list of notes here, so I'm gonna know how we're gonna do it, but it was just from the opening scene, I think, going back her husband Conrad, that whole relationship, interesting, very interesting.
Speaker 1:But it was important because, michaela, you know I always say this right, you know everyone talks about women empowerment, but I've always said I am the only girl, so the men in my life play a very important part in how successful I am. And it was just important to see her around all these men because I related to that. I'm always around the boys because that was just the language that I knew and how much they understood the role they played, based on her knee, like they all assumed role, whether you know, it was just, it was just like they understood and then just setting it and then just move accordingly. Even even when the character Terrence Howard play, which would later be her husband, he just know, like when she eat, don't bother, like that was his, that was his role, like yeah, the lunchtime is lunchtime, leave her. You know, mac had his role, conrad had his role. So I thought that was really an interesting juxtaposition to this idea of women empowerment.
Speaker 2:And then the other part that I felt like, if I could interject they understood not only who she was but the power that she brought to the table, and they didn't try to stifle it right, and even when they did try to quote unquote reign her in, it wasn't met with. There was this egoless thing about their, all the relationships that intertwined with Shirley. She was at the center, yes, but she knew her bigger purpose, she knew what she was doing it for, and so, therefore, there wasn't this tension that you know. I, like I've never seen this on screen, like I really and truly enjoyed how much they surrounded her and I'm sure that her relationship with her dad, which they really don't talk too much about, and, um, understanding his introductory to her in politics, it sounds like all girls, it's just her and her sisters.
Speaker 2:So when you have that dynamic, it's almost like her father embedded in her, like you're going to be able to do anything that you put your mind to. It doesn't matter that you're a girl doing these things. And it was not a path laid, you know, laid out for her, and she was quite okay laying the path and being in the position that she was in. That's kind of what Caribbean strength I feel like, looks like I feel like you know, you know what I mean, like I just felt such a pride in watching how much they respected her, they loved her, but yet they also revered her as this ball of powerful energy and hope that she gave so many people, and they really relished in that ability, without ego.
Speaker 1:You said exactly the right thing, right? She expected them because they were her advisors, so she expected them to push back. She expected them to have opposing opinions, and that's what she wanted. They gave it, she said her piece and she either chose to follow the advice or go the other way. And then they were like, well, whatever, whatever.
Speaker 2:And then they just kind of did whatever, there were times where she listened to them and there was time where she stuck to her guns.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I love that about the the relationships between the characters yes, so I got like her book um Bost and the chapter she opens up where she talks about the early years in Barbados. In addition to her father, you know, like I understood like this sense of bravado, or like I can do whatever her father gave her. She talked about growing up in Barbados and how you know, at the time, when it was the colony, the strict, you know, british way of being raised, but at the same time she grew up in a country where there were all Black people, or mostly Black people that that also had a strong impact on her. So I think that was just very interesting to see how they all kind of, you know like, navigated around her. They, they had agency and it was just this natural by, like you know, like this natural flow of agency opinion Let me hear it, I'm going to do my thing. But it wasn't like, oh, I'm going to cut you off type thing. And even towards the end where she was like, okay, the guy who promised her the delegates and he didn't, and when she was like, listen, we're not going to hate him, he's going to do, he had to do what he had to do. That's like a level of emotional maturity that Wally probably never went and go have because more fire burn. That you know, know, we're done with that.
Speaker 1:But it you know it's, it was just something about her and that's why I said I really wanted to see more of this, this family structure and setting that made her who she was. Um, and that would I. I would have loved to see that. That's the only thing. But I understood they focused on the campaign, but the more they showed how she, she, she moved is, the more I was like let me see more about daddy. And we saw a little bit about mom and we saw there's some tension with her sister. But it was almost like, let me see what the upbringing was like, because yo, whatever, daddy was feeding her, like you know, but at the same time I got it as the first child and having a similar relationship with my father, my uncles, grandfathers, being the first, I kind of have an idea of this like this, that energy that she, she brought. So I, I did, I did like it. So I'm going to stop because I have one more note about stuff.
Speaker 2:I was just getting your overall. I don't even think you got to your overall thought because we started talking about some other stuff.
Speaker 1:So, overall, I liked it. I felt like, you know, while it was important to talk about the campaign, I felt like I wanted to see a balance of like, maybe some more of her personal life to the campaign, but overall I liked it. I think it was a great way to show how, like people like Barbara Lee and all these other people kind of started in that orbit of Shirley Chisholm and yeah, so I think it's a great primer for you know, kids to just get an introduction to who she is and what she was able to accomplish. And then you're going to be like, if she was able to do that in 1960 something, what can we do now? Type, type energy.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah, I agree, I'm teetering more on like I really liked it, but again, I don't have the full context. I haven't read the book, I haven't watched, you know, documentaries to really understand, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as someone who really loves history pieces and autobiographies, as I mean only her estate can really, you know, validate whether you know, they, they, they believe that it was executed as well, Um, as I think that it it highlighted that specific period of time. But, like you, I also wanted to understand a little bit more about her backstory and even what she did after. So I think it would have been nice if it was like a one season series on the timeframe right before and then maybe right after, with some reflection of her history, of her personal history, like her upbringing, and kind of doing some flashbacks. But overall I really did enjoy it.
Speaker 2:I really again enjoyed understanding more about who she was as a person and as a woman during this timeframe. I think it did a great job of balancing her political aspirations, who she was as a politician as well as who she was as a woman, that scene where she came home and she got off late from the plane and she came home and there was nothing to eat and I'm like, imagine if this were reversed. She literally had to warm up something for herself and she just sat at the table and it was just like and they let that camera sit there and she sat there at that table for a good couple seconds. So I thought, like I thought it was just an interesting dynamic to really see, um, and you got to see like the the cracks in her marriage a bit and I I wasn't sure like what was happening with her and Arthur. I saw it from the first scene from the opening scene.
Speaker 2:I was just enamored by her. I saw it, but I then it was after the movie I said oh, it become our, our next husband. So it looked like, you know, she, she, she divorced Conrad and later married Arthur.
Speaker 1:From that opening scene where when they're at the door. Where they're at the door and him say, oh, she go, oh, come on. It's almost like he said, oh, thank God, she hugged me, that type of thing. I was just like what is this?
Speaker 2:I saw that he was enamored by her, but I wasn't sure of Like she was, so you couldn't read her in terms of like her affection for, because it felt like she had that affection for all of the men that were in her life, in terms of having like this I can't find the words but having this like admiration for her, her orbit, right Of people around her. So it's not like she treated him any differently, but you saw moments of like I'm like why did they hold the camera on that little hand hand gesture at that time and you know? But then I realized afterwards that that later became her husband.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, that was. That was very interesting. Like this is what I wrote the look upon him, fierce, when him close him eye. When she gave him a hug, when they first came to the house to tell her how much money they raised and she was running, I was like, ooh, that looks as something Cause. I was just like what is this? And it's it came so early. You're like wait, what's going on here? And then you kind of saw, like how Conrad was, um, the the relationship with Conrad, but I just think it was just her, because there was also uh, uh, the type of relationship she had with her mother and father. You remember we were talking about Bob Marley and Indira was like not even a little affection. And you said I thought the most affection, you know, rita went go get it's for the time, like the. I feel like it was the time and if she get what her father gave her, she also got this stoic type approach to things.
Speaker 2:She, just, she just give a look.
Speaker 1:I think Regina did a good job on the character, Really good job playing the character, and I liked the bits of Caribbean culture that they put in. When they were, you know, they were at the block party and then, you know, when she was talking to a young Barbara Lee, and you know she said something and Barbara Lee was like what? And she was like, oh, I'm going to go out.
Speaker 2:Talk like something good. Love God, don't forget the thing. But yeah, she had a good number of moments where she kind of she's like Lord child me a slipping on my beige on the roads, where she kind of she's like Lord child may I slip into my beige on roots?
Speaker 1:She said when she lose our religion, she slip into the beige on roots.
Speaker 2:Yes yes, also, I think she did a good job because I went back and looked at some speeches that Shirley did and I think she had the inspiration there was. I don't know if it was like a hundred percent down pack, um, but I think she caught, I would say, at least 80 to 85 percent of the essence of who shirley chisholm was. She had the mannerisms down, the style, she had the stature, she had the persona, the, the personality, and I think she captured the emotions of what we know of her. But I think accent, probably not 100%, but I think it was good.
Speaker 1:But if you think of when you go back to those videos of Shirley, if you think of when you go back to those videos of Shirley, you know she, she didn't have a heavy accent but she had like a hint of there is an accent under here and it's, you know, it's subtle. It's subtle Right, because growing up the Bajans were called like little England, you know, because they were a little bit more Strict, more British than the other Caribbean countries. So she had still not a neutral but it wouldn't have been a very deep accent and she kind of carried that through her whole life. But in addition to, you know, the roti restaurant and all these other things, what I did love was, as she was launching her campaign, the infusion of like actual videos of her not getting the support from the women's movement. And I was just like yo, this is wow.
Speaker 2:I'll make you finish your thought.
Speaker 1:Like there was just so much in there to unpack about that and it was you know she's like, but I support them and when it came down they did not come around to support her and that is just a through line through history. But the difference between before, shirley, is you had actual clips of when they were asking certain people and they were endorsing the men. It was just wow.
Speaker 2:She literally said where are they, arthur? I support them, black men and white women, I have supported them. Where are they? Meaning they had not shown up for her and even right towards the end, her two constituents that she made deals with then went ahead and did the same thing. So I thought that that was such a poignant message, especially in today's climate, of what can and does happen in politics, and even for Black women in particular. It almost feels like you have to just count on your own, but you're not enough. Even if you had all the Black women in the world, or I mean in the US, to really get behind you, you still need other groups of people to kind of rally behind you in order to make an impact. But I think, also because she was from a marginalized community, you end up having a bigger impact on not just local but the entire country, and that still has not really sunken in as a thought in politics.
Speaker 1:I mean, we're not going to have the answer for it, so I'm not going to go. Go even. I don't even want to dwell too much on it, but just to see, I just felt that in my heart when she said it.
Speaker 2:She's like where are they are? And like I just felt as a black woman. I felt that line. So where are they, arthur? Where are they? I show up for them. Where? Why are they not showing for for us? And even though she's not talking about her circle of people and Arthur knows that he's not getting offended by what she said because he knows what she's saying Like he listened to her and he was just like well, you just going to complain about it or you going to get to work. You know what I'm saying. He was just like I hear you, I hear you, I hear you, but you still got to get this work, shirley.
Speaker 1:That's the energy and this is why my brothers, my husband, my uncles, my friend them, my bridging them, what my grew up with that are like brothers because me know them as long. That's the energy they give me when I go through things. They're just like so, uh, we go do. Oh, you want to quit this?
Speaker 1:yeah, you're gonna make it just backslide, yeah, no and I think that the less my takeaway from that is I'm gonna do it because I want to do it. Like you know, somebody say you know if, if somebody want borrow money from you, lend it to them, like you know, need it back Right. And so if I'm going to support you, I'm going to do it because I want to, but I'm not going to expect it back from you because I'm not guaranteed to get it back from you. And you know that's just the reality of of it sometimes. And then you also have a choice. I'm not running for politics. You have a choice to say I don't want to dispense my energy upon that.
Speaker 1:Shirley's question is good, because we've all felt like where are they? Whether it is in politics, at work or you're a content creator, where are the people in where you are support and when you need the support which part? Then we can all feel that. But we also can feel like all right, what we're gonna do, we're gonna weeping our morning and national tea cutting. Now come and to the lesson that I've been learning, you know, is I'm not gonna change who I am because this is me, but guess what we're gonna? We're gonna create some boundaries upon who we support and help, because I can't give out this resource to everybody because it's draining.
Speaker 1:So I think her having that mixture of people around her, especially like Arthur and Mac and Conrad, to kind of just say, all right, yeah, true, string budget, but yeah, let's do it Right Also enabled her to be fearless.
Speaker 1:Right, because she trusted them to get whatever they they were in charge of done and, like I said, she also trusted that they would be honest with her about whatever they felt, like they didn't disagree, they didn't agree with or whatever. And you know, and I think that is just such an important thing, like you may not always agree upon everything, but you need to state it, hear the opposing points and then decide all right, yeah, all right, good point, good point, but I'm still a move away. Right, you just, you just need to kind of own your, your, your actions and all that type of stuff. Because even towards the end, when she was like he promised me and the other man said tell us and don't listen to the man there because he might go breaking promise, but again, owning her mistakes as well. So it was just such an interesting thing, mistakes as well. So it was just such an interesting thing um that this the woman who played her sister is regina king's actual sister. I looked it up.
Speaker 1:Yes, the woman who played shirley's sister in shirley is regina king's sister in real life okay, okay her name is regine reina reina yeah yeah, mirio, yeah yeah I was like wow, because I also felt that energy or chemistry between those two characters as well. Um, and it was just, it was just interesting, you know, um, when, when the mother and the sister at the block party sat all the way in the far corner just kind of watching while she was doing her thing the languages that she spoke, you know, because she could speak Spanish and whatever. So it was just all these different dimensions to her was was really great to see.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I liked how they showcased all of those dimensions and her interactions with people, because I think what you know of her is probably really the strong personality that you see from a political side. But I think they showed a lot of her balancing that with the people and it really goes to show you balance that with your few inner circle. You know what I mean. I love how Mac was like you got to know Shirley in order to know how to move with her and to understand her, and she didn't have a lot of people but who came in? So we saw William Townsend.
Speaker 2:Stanley came in as her campaign manager and he just butt heads all the way through to the end of his and the same energy that he kind of came in with is kind of how he got the boot and it's funny because he quit. And then Shirley was like can I talk to you in my office? And then she kicked him out. I'm like that is so crazy, like no, you're not going to done me until we finish with you, who you think you'll talk to in my office? You want disrespect me? I thought that you know that. I didn't expect that scene to go that way either, so I was pleasantly surprised about all the different moments that they were able to show of her being vulnerable, um, but never she's not backing down um, which I I love that I was very inspired by that stanley never read the room for me to get introduced.
Speaker 1:he never realized that you cannot tell shirley nothing. So he came in with that energy, like I know everything and you're gonna listen to what I say, and sh Shirley said all right, me, tolerate this fair little bit, cause you say we want money, but you know, and, and that's that's the, that's why it wasn't going to work. And they kind of knew it wasn't going to work, but they, they had no choice. Um, but there was a scene, the scene when she, she almost got stabbed and she asked Conrad, when she, she almost got stabbed and she asked Conrad, where were you?
Speaker 1:And Conrad gave a line that really he gave like a whole little monologue. That was just so powerful. He was just like I, you know you want me to be there, but in the shadow. So I'm staying at the shadow. You know, in my new camera I'm this. So you know I wasn't there because you want me close, but not too close.
Speaker 1:And it was just. You know, I just love that scene because he got to be vulnerable and she just kind of just listened, right, you know, to him because in her heart she knew it was true. You know, they, like you said, they all knew what they were signing up for. It was in her, in her heart, she knew it was true. You know, like you said, they all knew what they were signing up for. It was in her heart, she knew it was true and she wanted a lot from him. And he was just like I can't be everything that you want me to be. So I'm staying at the role where I'm designated, which is still what I say in the shadow. And then, when they cut to them doing the interview as husband and wife, oh, their whole hand fell a little bit and their hands slip out.
Speaker 2:That type of thing was just wow, well, yeah, I think it's that energy of you know he's not sure if he is ever going to be enough right, it's that that dynamic of of him, him and Shirleyley, and then you have arthur, who was kind of around. Arthur is the one who cut, who moved her out of the way. If you go back and you watch it, um, so I I think, yeah to your point. I I really liked, I loved conrad as a, as a husband and as, and his character and how he's portrayed um, but on screen it looked like they were just growing apart, um, and so that's kind of what they were able to show um, and I don't know, you know the the intricacies of that, but I I think it was just them um showcasing how they kind of grew apart in this, how the campaign really challenged them as a couple, because even when they went back to do the last piece of investment she refers to him in his opinions and his opinions and he's just kind of spread out like well, and brought the checkbook and was just like well.
Speaker 2:I don't know why you asked me my opinion because you've already made your mind up, and so that felt like the last straw, if you will, when it came down to the finances. So it was hard to watch. But it's a real moment that a lot, I think a lot of people go through sometimes and they do have, and I think without the film you probably wouldn't have known or seen that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, and she said it was my, her money, and I think that was, um, like you said, like a real moment, one of the things that was interesting about the film, and it could be a double-edged sword. I think the film did a good job of pulling back the curtains behind the nomination process, the delegate process and all of that, and that could be interesting for some who love poli-sci, like myself, or history, but could also be a turnoff for people who are like well, if I vote for this person, why all these other people convert or decide if my vote should actually go to another person? But I thought it was a really good way to educate, you know, to bring that awareness to the nomination and the delegates process.
Speaker 2:I think it also came into play in the last few elections, right, it was. You know, the the election process as a whole is pretty, um it different. Is that democratically, you know? Um, democratically you know, kind of like, is it Well, the founding fathers?
Speaker 1:well, the reason why it's that way. The founding fathers. As with anything, they just didn't trust the regular people to know how to vote, so they built in all of these processes to make sure to make the people have no hope of what? Because you didn't think they might have sense to make the right. Have no hope of what? Because you, you, you didn't think them have sense to make the right decision. So that's that's what.
Speaker 2:There's a chance that you know the. The delegate goes against what their constituents constituency wants and it's really at the, at that level that you know um, it could go either way because, like, if you truly have you know the and who's to say like what? There's a whole different political conversation, but do we still need that?
Speaker 1:Yes, you are correct, this is a whole other conversation.
Speaker 2:But it does keep it at the forefront. You know what I mean. So I think that those conversations, even as you weave them into these stories, is how people also start to understand the political process here in this country.
Speaker 1:And Shirley was just like say what it was again. You know, just like how I thought Rustin was amazing because you saw how these other people really played a huge role. I think this did a really good job of seeing, you know, where Representative Barbara Lee, you know, got her start. Where Representative Barbara Lee got her start just really creating our history in a way that the textbooks have denied us, and now we can put that in an art form for not only for our kids to see but for a generation of people to see and experience and be curious to learn more about not only Shirley but the other people in history that made that campaign possible.
Speaker 2:And if we put it into context of today, diane Carroll is probably the equivalent of a Kerry Washington, if you will. You know, like in today's, you know, like she was that girl, that actress of that time. So for her to to really um rally behind just any movement and advancement of black people I think behind closed doors um, it made me think. I'm like, does that happen today? Like I'm wondering if 20, 30 years from now we're going to see movies about, you know this timeframe and if those things have happened. I don't get that feeling. However, I would be interested to see who in our generation would be the political dot connectors for Black people.
Speaker 1:Well, in this age we hear commentators or analysts or TV personalities telling ballplayers shut up and play ball or do all of these things. But if we are looking at our history, especially in the creative forms, the athletes have always been political. They've always been from Muhammad Ali to. You know the other basketball players, you know they've always been politically active. We think of Harry Belafonte going back. They've always been political but because of new media and technology, these athletes are here and shut up and play or don't do this.
Speaker 1:You don't have the sense when it's always been that way, where the athletes whoever the famous person was in our community, they thought it was also part of their responsibility to speak to the cause of whatever. The day was right. I told you you need to watch the Motown Hitsville right when it talked about when Barry Gordy was set on. We make feel good music for everybody and he was getting pushback from Marvin and Marvin was like you said. We need to make music about what people are feeling. Well, I have a brother in Vietnam and this is what I'm feeling type thing, so it's always been there. I think the entertainers and the athletes are getting a lot more pushback and being told about their place because their stardom is not appropriate. You know, like we don't see your blackness, just play ball. You're supposed to entertain that type of thing, so it's interesting.
Speaker 2:But not only that, like I think the point about the voting age being 18 in 1972, that's not that long ago Right, and the way that she activated around college campuses, I don't remember any of that happening. I don't remember any of that happening when I was in college. To be honest, I see I've seen, I see protests now just due to the political climate of things that are happening, but I didn't see or hear from any sort of delegates at that.
Speaker 1:This is just my personal no, no, no. No, you're right, because by the time we came up, there was a different movement. It was rock the vote. You know that whole campaign that MTV did about you know like go out and actually vote and you know the involvement with, like musicians and all these other things. Like each generation, the focus is different Because even in the last election, the other parties realized that young people were voting and then become ways to try to stifle the young people vote.
Speaker 1:So young people have always had an impact. It's just the language that is being used. An impact it's just the language that is being used. So back when it was the rock the vote era, music was the thing that was important. Maybe in the seventies it was coming after Vietnam and all these other things. So with each generation, you use the vehicle that impacts them the most and is important to them. And, as we were talking, the person, while they're not a dot connector. When Cardi was on the bird app you know she was very vocal about politics I was like where are the bird apps?
Speaker 2:All right, go on, go on. Yes, yeah, I think celebrities are using their social media platforms to be for me, I think the older I know.
Speaker 1:Like I have a question for asking when we're done record because from from from we talked about it a couple weeks, couple Friday ago. It's been in my head and it will not leave. But we'll talk about it after.
Speaker 2:But you know and I think that's why the movement don't need to be televised anymore. It needs to go offline.
Speaker 1:The reason why it's very hard to take it offline is because we live in a world where everyone is a thought leader, an influencer, or they're popular, and that is a title that people want, and not many people want to truly stay in the background, you know. So that's a whole other thing, but overall all right. So we enjoyed it. We're wrapping it up.
Speaker 2:We enjoyed it, yes, um so not a long tangent, but it was necessary yes, because this is a political film, so we did have to get political.
Speaker 1:Sorry, political, mr Political, but anyway All right. So let us rate the Shirley Flim, all right. So what are you giving it for? Oh, let me back up. So, if this is the first time that you are listening, we have a rating for reels and rhythms. We are rating in three categories we're rating for accent, we are rating for reels and rhythms. We are rating in three categories we're rating for our accent, we are rating for character and we are rating for storyline, particularly because of reels and rhythms. We want to see are there strong storylines and characters regarding people of Caribbean heritage? And you know plus or minus depending on how strong the storyline and the characters are. So, with that said, run it with the hoxent. What is your grade?
Speaker 2:My grade is a three for accent, four for character. Ooh, storyline. I really enjoyed the storyline, so I'm going to say five.
Speaker 1:Okay, we're close, right, I gave it a three for accent, four for character and a four for storyline, and I only took off that one point only because, only because I really wanted to see more of her personal life in there, because it was just so captivating.
Speaker 1:But overall I thought it was amazing. So let me see what the average is. So boy is Eda, we are hard, greta are something, so the average is 3.83. So, just round it up, it's almost a four. That's not bad. I really liked it and I think it's a good thing to watch again absolutely so let us know what you guys think.
Speaker 2:Please, uh, you can text us now, you can comment on instagram. Um, you can let us know in the you know, send us an email whatever you prefer. Um, what were your thoughts on shirley?
Speaker 1:um, and yeah, that's it all right, so stay tuned for our next episode. Uh, it's gonna be a music one, it's a documentary, but I think you'll like it. Um, and yeah, stay tuned. Follow, like comment text, all the things we want to hear from you, and we have some fun episodes coming up. When we get to that part, we tell you. You know, we give you instructions and rete te. So until next time, walk good, lick more later.