THE OBENSON REPORT

EPISODE 13 - The Obenson Report
Sponsored In Part By Act Now Foundation

THE OBENSON REPORT PODCAST @ BLOGTALKRADIO.COM
RECORDED SEPTEMBER 3^RD 2007

Hosted by Tambay A Obenson

TOPICS COVERED:

- Box Office Roundup! 9 Months Into The Year 2007, 400+ Films Released In Total Theatrically, Where Does "Black Cinema" Stand In Relation To The Rest? What "Black Films" Made The Cut? What "Black Films" Didn't? What Gems Did You Miss? Plus, Tyler Perry, The One-Man Wrecking Crew, And More… And as always, connections to my repeated discourse on our unacknowledged and untapped collective/movement power.

ARE YOU IN? I am!

Simply click on this link, THE OBENSON REPORT, and you will be taken directly to the listening page.

To listen to any of my past greatest hits, go to http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/31034 and scroll down to the PAST EPISODES header. There's some really good stuff there.

You can also open up iTunes on your computer and search for Obenson Report in the podcast store section.

Thanks!

Tambay A Obenson
www.obensonresport.com
www.tambayobenson.com

I've never really been fond of events whose titles begin with "The State Of..."

For example, "The State Of Black America," as you will see in the clips below. The phrase is too simplistic and broad, and implies something monolithic, which, for obvious reasons, could be a problem.

However, I understand and appreciate Tavis Smiley's core intent in organizing an event such as this one, but yet I often wonder if gatherings of this type truly inspire any real action or produce any palpable long term results; or if it's all nothing more than vacuous pomp and circumstance.

Regardless, I've been re-watching segments from this C-Span aired bit of TV history, which was broadcast earlier this year, and found the following clips worth sharing.

If you've been listening to The Obenson Report, my black cinema / black film podcast (shame on you if you haven't), you'll hear some similarities between what these folks are saying and many of the things that I've said, and continue to say, whether broadly or specifically, for the last 3 months!

EPISODE 12 - The Obenson Report
Sponsored In Part By Act Now Foundation

THE OBENSON REPORT PODCAST on Black Film / Black Cinema @ BLOGTALKRADIO.COM
RECORDED THURSDAY, AUGUST 30TH, 2007
TRT 28 Minutes

Hosted by Tambay A Obenson

TOPICS THAT WERE COVERED:

- Weekly Rant:

1.) Remembering Katrina
2.) "Mumblecore Mania" What About OUR Film Movement? My Letter To Filmmaker Magazine & Their Response.

ARE YOU IN? I am!

Simply click on this link, THE OBENSON REPORT, and you will be taken directly to the listening page.

To listen to previous episodes, go to http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/31034 and scroll down to the PAST EPISODES header.

You can also open up iTunes on your computer and search for Obenson Report in the podcast store section.

Thanks!

Tambay A Obenson
www.obensonresport.com
www.tambayobenson.com

I stumbled across this little "gem of a film" and just couldn't resist sharing with you all! I thought it especially fitting to add onto this blog post, given the subject matter... reasons should be obvious :o)

Here's the synopsis as listed on IMDB: The Brown family has a most troublesome neighbor in the shape of curmudgeonly Ol' Man Amos, whose grumpy declaration that they are "welfare collecting vagrants" inspires his efforts to make them move off their land and out of his life. Determined to stick around, the Browns are nonetheless faced with a seemingly insurmountable pile of unpaid bills that may prove to be the downfall of their home ownership. Pursuing characteristically untraditional means of raising capital, the Browns decide to enter the Watermelon Juice Afro Sheen contest, which awards $10,000.

Sounds like a winner doesn't it? I usually wouldn't even bother giving trite shit like this more than a sucking of my teeth, but the title grabbed me, and the fact that Toby/Kunta Kinte (AKA John Amos) had anything to do with it, much less a major player (he stars in it, his son directs it, his daughter produced it, and all 3 collaborated on the script) got my attention. Yeah, he's done some other shitty stuff like "My Baby's Daddy," and "Player's Club," but his overall resume, while not extraordinary, is chuck-full of decent fare, including an Emmy nomination.

No, I haven't seen the film, nor do I plan to ever see it... but... um... I'll talk about it anyway as if I have seen it, because I probably have, just under any myriad of already existing titles.

But if anyone is bold enough to rent this and actually watch it, please do come back and let us know your thoughts. Who knows, maybe it's some incredibly smart, biting, satirical piece of filmmaking that's a must see for all of us watermelon eaters.

I doubt it...

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The right way to eat a watermelon, by Ralph Waldo Emerson "Petey" Greene

Don Cheadle stars in a film about the man, currently in theatres, called TALK TO ME, which I saw, didn't like and panned... not because of the title character, rather it just wasn't a well made film. If I didn't know who this man was, and I just happened to come across this video clip, I would probably cringe myself into an epileptic seizure. But, given that I do know who he is, and I am familiar with much of the goodwill the man would go on to do before he died of cancer in 1984, I still cringe (it's practically an innate reaction now), but just not as much :o)

On this journey that I am currently on towards inproved self-awareness, I wonder why I react this way to such imagery... I am fully aware of the historical significance of "the act," but then I wonder if Petey Greene does have a point... not only in reference to how you eat your watermelon, but an even more profound interpretation would be, how you choose to define yourself and your blackness... whether under the scrutiny (real or perceived) of white America, or independent of that, from within your core.

In the African countries where I grew up, many traditional meals are eaten sans cutlery... in fact, it's often considered an insult to a household if a visitor opts to eat a specific dish with cutlery (a somewhat different take on the "acting white" notion common in the States), instead of in the customary fashion - with hands... what the western world would call "primitive," and even "savage."

So how do YOU eat your watermelon (both literally and metaphorically)? The supposed instinctive, so-called "primal" way that he eats it, or the way you've been "trained" to eat it? Or has our "training" been so effective that any talk of "the way we were" is practically pointless?

"There is a fact: White men consider themselves superior to black men. There is another fact: Black men want to prove to white men, at all costs, the richness of their thought, the equal value of their intellect…. For the black man there is only one destiny. And it is white... The analysis I am undertaking is psychological… It is apparent to me that the effect disalienation of the black man entails an immediate recognition of social and economic realities. If there is an inferiority complex it is the outcome of a double process: Primarily, economic; subsequently, the internalization of this inferiority." Frantz Fanon

Good stuff! I love it... Wish I had thought of this...

A BIG THANK YOU!!!!

Thanks to your ears, those of you who have been listening to my podcast, we've officially crossed the 1000 download mark of "The Obenson Report" podcast on black cinema.

It's nowhere near my "capable tenth" number (listen to EPISODE 8 if you don't know what I'm referring to), but it's certainly thrilling to know that people are listening! This is how movements begin and flourish, with a collective effort. In time, I'm sure that number will increase significantly, with your help of course!

So please keep listening, and, as always, I strongly encourage your participation, whether via email comments, or calling in live on the show.

And as with any other movement, bringing others into the fold, especially those with like minds, is necessary, so do spread the word, and our numbers will grow!

In the coming weeks, I will begin a focused, relentless campaign to make others aware of the podcast.

If you've missed any previous recordings, you can find all archived shows HERE, or open up iTunes on your computer, and search for "Obenson Report" in the podcast section.

Peace and prosperity to all!

How long, you ask? Not long, I say.

Tambay A Obenson
www.obensonresport.com
www.tambayobenson.com

EPISODE 11 - The Obenson Report
Sponsored In Part By Act Now Foundation

THE OBENSON REPORT PODCAST on Black Cinema / Black Film @ BLOGTALKRADIO.COM
RECORDED MONDAY, AUGUST 27TH, 2007

Hosted by Tambay A Obenson

TOPICS THAT WERE COVERED:

- Mailbag: Lots and lots and lots of feedback from listeners accumulated over the last 3 weeks. I read and respond to them this time! So I just might have read and respond to yours! Listen to find out.
- The reasons for my "existential crisis" 2 weeks ago... really! Trying to make sense of it all.
- Revisiting the "Capable Tenth," as well as the Black Film Movement/Collective. Where do YOU stand? What can we learn from The Borg; is resistance indeed futile?

ARE YOU IN? I am!

Simply click on this link, THE OBENSON REPORT, and you will be taken directly to the listening page.

To listen to previous episodes, go to http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/31034 and scroll down to the PAST EPISODES header.

You can also open up iTunes on your computer and search for Obenson Report in the podcast store section.

As always, listener comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Tambay A Obenson
www.obensonresport.com
www.tambayobenson.com

THE OBENSON REPORT PODCAST @ BLOGTALKRADIO.COM/TALKSHOE.COM
RECORDED MONDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 2007

Hosted by Tambay A Obenson

TOPICS COVERED:

A light day on The Obenson Report... took it easy today :o)

- News & Notes: A few industry news items worth mentioning and commenting on- 50 Cent, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Chris Tucker and the "Capable Tenth;" my upcoming "new look" in the works; IFC is "Trapped in the Closet," unfortunately; need recommendations for "revolution," or "movement" films.
- Shirley Bruno joined me in reviewing VISAGES DE FEMMES (Faces Of Women), Ivory Coast, 1987. Lovely Cinema Verite... Thumbs up!
- Answered a few listener questions.

Simply click on this link, THE OBENSON REPORT, and you will be taken directly to the listening page. OR EVEN BETTER search for it and download via the iTunes store.

To listen to archived episodes, go to http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/31034 and scroll down to the PAST EPISODES header.

As always, listener comments are appreciated.

Thanks!

Tambay A Obenson
www.obensonresport.com
http://www.tambayobenson.com/

THE OBENSON REPORT PODCAST
RECORDED, FRIDAY, AUGUST 17TH, 2007
TRT 30 Minutes

Hosted by Tambay A Obenson

TOPICS THAT WERE COVERED:

- Are we missing "movement power?" Are we willing to do what is necessary to see the change we want to see in black cinema? Do we have the confidence and courage to stand up to the dominant power structure? Does each of us have a price? Have we set up boundaries? Do we have limits? Do we have choices? Have we thought ourselves into a psychological prison?

ARE YOU IN? I AM!

Simply click on this link, THE OBENSON REPORT, and you will be taken directly to the listening page; or go to http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/31034 and scroll down to the PAST EPISODES header.

You can also open up iTunes on your computer and search for The Obenson Report in the podcast store section

As always, listener comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Tambay A Obenson
http://www.tambayobenson.com/

THE OBENSON REPORT PODCAST
RECORDED, MONDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2007 @ TALKSHOE.COM

Hosted by Tambay A Obenson

TOPICS THAT WERE COVERED:

- The notion of creating a contemporary black film movement - how do you define or establish a film movement? When does a movement become a movement? Does a movement end? My thoughts on the notion, as well as other ruminations on past and present movements, and what we can learn from them.
- My supposed *radical* ideas for building a black owned & operated film financing, production and distribution Studio. We've done it before... we can do it again! My notion of a "Capable Tenth," loosely borrowing from DuBois's Talented Tenth ideology, as well as my "It Takes A Village" project suggestion.

ARE YOU IN? I AM!

Simply click on this link, THE OBENSON REPORT, and you will be taken directly to the listening page; or go to http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/31034 and scroll down to the PAST EPISODES header.

As always, listener comments are greatly appreciated.

You can listen to past episodes HERE.

Thanks!

Tambay A Obenson
http://www.tambayobenson.com/

Episide 7 - An Impromptu Rant - The Obenson Report
Sponsored In Part by Act Now Foundation

RECORDED, FRIDAY, AUGUST 1ST, 2007
TRT 25 MINS

Hosted by Tambay A Obenson

- My impromptu rant about Robert Johnson's venture alliance with The Weinstein Company, called Our Stories Films Company... and I go on a little bit about the creation of a black owned and operated film studio.

Simply click on this link, THE OBENSON REPORT, and you will be taken directly to the listening page; or go to http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/31034 and scroll down to the PAST EPISODES header.

You can also open up iTunes on your computer and search for The Obenson Report in the podcast store section.

As always, listener comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Tambay A Obenson
tao@tambayobenson.com
www.tambayobenson.com
http://www.obensonreport.com/

THE OBENSON REPORT PODCAST
RECORDED 8PM EST, JULY 30TH, 2007, @ TALKSHOE.COM

Hosted by Tambay A Obenson

TOPICS THAT WERE COVERED:

- New developments: I'm moving to a new location.
- Things I learned listening to other podcasts for inspiration, in trying to make the podcast "My Own."
- Dissecting the idea of the film review.
- Film review this week: White-collar cons - one of my favorites, CHAMELEON STREET; also SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION.
- Let's play a game: "Masterpiece Theatre;" guess the script... I act it out, you guess the film; you win a free movie. Tune in to find out how and what.
- Ingmar Berman dead at 89.
- Breathless gets Criterion Collection treatment.

To listen, click on this link, THE OBENSON REPORT, and you will be taken directly to the podcast playback page, and you'll instantly be connected. Or go to http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/31034, and scroll down to the PAST EPISODES header.

As always, listener comments are appreciated.

Thanks!

Tambay A Obenson
http://www.tambayobenson.com/