The Sage Lens by Briaan

"Meaninglessness takes hold because meaninglessness is addictive. People who want to challenge this theory point to Kendrick Lamar, and the way that his music, at least so far, has some sense of the social contract, some sense of character. But is he just the exception that proves the rule?"

The 11th annual Langston Hughes African-American Film Festival in Seattle, WA has accepted my mixed-media documentary short "Steamfunk & Rococoa: A Black Victorian Fantasy." The festival upholds a "tradition of presenting positive, provocative and penetrating independent films created by emerging and established filmmakers" and will take place from April 26th through May 4th. Check out the link to the festival and information about prior years here: http://www.langstoninstitute.org/film-festival/

Are you tired of witnessing people hash out important conversations about race, popular culture, or recent politics online instead of in person? Are certain people missing from critical conversations because they're not online? Has Black History Month been reduced to a ritual of iconic photographs and McDonald's commercials? Check out Black After February. It's a movement for YEAR-LONG recognition and dialogue.

http://www.thesagelens.com/#!featureprojects/c1vdn

Tips for academic writing using Beyonce lyrics.

This mixed-media creation by filmmaker Ng'endo Mukii exemplifies the increasingly creative potential of the documentary genre.  Using different animation techniques and performance art, the film communicates a message about "'Globalized' Beauty & African Self-Image."

An important message from the inspirational Janelle Monae.

http://www.thesagelens.com/#!stand-up-vs-standing-up-dave-chappelle/cre9

Mill Dues: A Strop City Story is a mixed-media documentary about a small town in northern Louisiana and its long history with labor intensive industries.  Told from the lens of the filmmaker’s family oral histories and aided by a magic realist aesthetic, the film will take an extended glance at a little-known town in the South to unearth a greater story about deindustrialization and underdevelopment in the U.S. and the ways it impacts communities’ culture, class, and health.  Keep an eye on the progress of this personal and important project at millduesproject.wordpress.com 

Image Credit: http://www.2dopeboyz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/20090430-lyfe.jpg

https://www.sundance.org/images/filmguide/2013/13143-1.jpg

 Patricia Hill Collins, On Intellectual Activism: Resisting Racism, Writing ‘Black Sexual Politics’

image credit: USA Today