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BABY
BOY NOMINATED AS AN EXPOSE ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILIES
 Baby
Boy begins with a voiceover that quotes a psychological
theory that racism has made black men into babies, citing
three reasons: (1) They call their spouses "mama." (2) They
call each other "boy." (3) They call their home "the crib."
However, no such terminology emerges in the film, which is
directed and written by John Singleton, who won two previous
Political Film Society awards – for Boyz ‘n the Hood
(1991) and Rosewood (1997). Instead, Baby
Boy conjures images of the famous Moynihan Report
of 1965, which argued for the War on Poverty on the basis
of a finding that the Black community has a fragile family
structure. Whereas the Moynihan Report was attacked for racial
stereotyping by many scholars at the time, Baby Boy
brings to the screen the most vivid portrayal of dysfunctional
Black families ever. The setting is Los Angeles, and according
to Singleton Baby Boy is a "companion piece"
to Boyz ‘n the Hood. Jody (played by Tyrese
Gibson), the central character is the baby boy of the film.
He is an irresponsible, anomic 20 year old, has served some
time, lives with his Mom Juanita (played by A. J. Johnson),
has no proper job, has fathered a child with Yvette (played
by Taraji P. Henson) as well as Peanut (played by Tamara LaSeon
Bass), refuses to marry either doubtless because he has no
legitimate income, fools around with other women, and his
best male friend, Sweetpea (played by Omar Gooding), is a
punk. From time to time he visits his son and Yvette, whom
he drives to work and picks up from work in exchange for fixing
up her car; but she is unhappy that he cannot settle down
with her. Along comes Melvin (played by Ving Rhames), who
carries on a love affair with his Mom and moves into the house,
causing Jody to fear that he will be evicted. There are plenty
of conflicts, in other words, especially when Melvin keeps
telling Jody that his a "baby boy," and Yvette refuses to
see Jody and let him use her car because he is fooling around
with other women. The conflicts are expressed through a range
of behavior from verbal profanity to hysterical scenes to
brutal violence. Restricted to using a bicycle, Jody goes
to a convenience store one day for some wine, only to be roughed
up by a gang of teenagers, and his revenge comes when he teams
up with his punk friend, gets guns, and terrorizes the gang
members. Strangely, Yvette admits former boyfriend Rodney
(played by Snoop Dogg) to stay with her after he is released
from jail, and Rodney is eager to rape her. When Rodney realizes
that she will not submit to his authority because she loves
Jody, he administers a drive-by shooting to the "baby boy."
The shooting traumatizes Jody, so he and his punk friend go
after his assailant. Jody does not have the indecency to kill
Rodney, but his punk friend does, and Jody is again traumatized.
After Jody goes home, Melvin sees him in shock and pries the
gun from his hand. Thereafter, Jody grows up. He makes his
peace with Melvin, and he has the maturity to marry Yvette.
Most reviews of Baby Boy appear after a press screening, but
I preferred to attend at a cinema where a substantial number
of African Americans were in the audience. Clearly, they saw
themselves accurately portrayed in the film, confirming the
genius of John Singleton. Among the themes is the fact that
every single African American male in the film has either
been in prison, is in prison, or would be in prison if police,
absent in the film despite many violations of the law, were
more prevalent; all are what Eldridge Cleaver called "supermasculine
menials."
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All African American men and women are starved for love, often
solving strident lover’s spats articulated with a lot of profanity
through the tenderness of sensual and amorous sex. However,
the homeboys at the cinema not only cheered whenever brutal
violence appeared on the screen but also laughed at some of
the saddest scenes, which they considered to be exaggerated
or mushy. Clearly, another film could be made of how homeboys
view Baby Boy, one that would be far more surreal
than Baby Boy’s message. If Singleton were to
write a third film to complement both Boyz 'n the Hood
and Baby Boy, the focus would doubtless be on
how the African American men in both films receive their real
education in prison, as LA public schools nowadays provide
neither textbooks nor homework nor job skills for them to
become grown-up, income-earning adults. Meanwhile, the Political
Film Society has nominated Baby Boy as best film exposé of
2001. MH
GOOD
AND EVIL PRESENT CLEAR CHOICES IN ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE
 Atlantis:
The Lost Empire, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk
Wise, is yet another Disney cartoon story for kids, with fantastic
beauty and a simple story, though the plot is aimed at teenagers
more than toddlers. When the film begins, a quote from Plato
alludes to the fabled existence of a superior civilization,
Atlantis, that was submerged and lost in a day. The hero,
Milo James Thatch (voiced by Michael J. Fox), is a nerdy but
brainy museum employee who resembles Bill Gates. It seems
that Milo’s grandfather found a journal that tells of the
location of Atlantis, but in the Atlantan language. Milo,
a linguist, has translated the journal and thereby formulated
a theory about where the lost continent is located and how
to get there. Accordingly, Preston B. Whitmore (voiced by
John Mahoney), a philanthropist, secures funds for his project,
and Milo goes with a captain, crew, and ship for the journey
in 1914. However, Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke (voiced by
James Garner), a retired military officer, has an agenda of
his own -- "adventure capitalism," that is, to plunder Atlantis
of its treasures. When they arrive at Atlantis, dying Kashekim
Nedakh, king of Atlantis (voiced by Leonard Nimoy), receives
the visitors in a court that resembles the outdoor swimming
pool at San Simeon. The king rules that they are not allowed
to enter Atlantis. When Commander Rourke pleads that his crew
is tired after a long journey and in need of overnight accommodation,
the king relents, permitting the group to camp overnight outside
the gates. Princess Kidagakash (voiced by Cree Summer), however,
believes that Atlantan civilization, which has lost its knowledge
of its advanced technology, will be saved by the technology
of the newcomers, so she goes outside the gates to befriend
Milo and to show him around Atlantis. The visitors then gain
access to Atlantis, and Rourke reveals his wicked motive as
he begins his looting regardless of how many Atlantans must
die. The rest of the film deals with how to stop Rourke. As
a film that demonstrates by analogy the greed and brutality
that the West has perpetrated by exploring and then colonizing
non-Western peoples, the Political Film Society has nominated
Atlantis: The Lost Empire for three awards
-- best film in raising consciousness of the need for democracy,
human rights, and peace in the year 2001. MH
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