In the Heights’ Light-Skinned Cast Fails to Do Latinx Communities Justice

In the Heights, director Jon M. Chu’s cinematic adaptation of the 2008 Broadway smash hit, has received praise for its refreshing and multidimensional representations of the Latinx diaspora. But ever since the first trailer premiered in 2019, the film has cultivated some backlash, even prompting a public apology from its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The problem: the film’s lack of dark-skinned Afro-Latinx folks in lead roles, which critics have since called out as a product of colorism and anti-Blackness in Hollywood—and in Latinx communities as a whole.

The clip from the film’s initial trailer features protagonist Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) narrating the barrio’s gentrification while shots from the movie’s bigger dance scenes play in the background. All the Latinx leads featured in the trailer are white or light-skinned, where dark-skinned Afro-Latinx people are seen in the background of the hair salon or in the many ensemble dance groups.

Though critiques of the trailer circulated on social media at the time, the pandemic ended up delaying the release of In the Heights a full year after that initial trailer. But with the renewed press cycle, the criticism once again came to the fore.

“Where are all of the leading dark-skinned Afro-Latinx folks?” wrote The Root’s Felice León, just ahead of the film’s June 11 release, in reference to both the original trailer and more recent, updated ones, including an early look at the film’s first eight minutes. “Granted, the trailer (and film) showcased Black dancers and there were certainly Black women in the hair salon, but where are the dark-skinned Black Latinx folks with a storyline?”

 

Having pried through the strata, analyzed to a hair, counsel’d with doctors and calculated close,
I find no sweeter fat than sticks to my own bones.

-Walt Whitman

Did you think this would just end with those dumb old white people? The cannibalism never ends, Mr. Hamilton. Eat, eat, eat, shit and eat more. Hahahahaha.


 

Progressive Wash state politician threatened to blow up school bus, called children ‘cowards’ as they fled

An employee of Seattle, who has been called a “social justice warrior” and is now a progressive candidate for the King County Council threatened to blow up a school bus, then called middle school students cowards as they fled.

According to court documents obtained by The Post Millennial, Ubax Gardheere boarded the Highline School District bus on Jan. 12, 2010 as it travelled on its morning route. Once aboard the bus, which was heading to Chinook Middle School, Gardheere demanded the driver tell his dispatcher “that a national security incident was going on.”

Gardheere then began yelling at the children about America’s relationship with Somalia, according to police reports. An audio recording of the incident demonstrated that when the driver told Gardheere to leave the bus she said, “You need to calm yourselves down ’cause I could have a bomb. Look how loose my clothes are.”

Deputy Prosecutor Gretchen Holmgren said students were afraid for their safety and as students fled through the rear emergency exit of the bus, Gardheere began screaming that they were “cowards” for abandoning their classmates.

Holmgren wrote the court, “While speaking with the middle school students, the defendant stated that she might have a bomb and might have a gun. When students attempted to escape out the back of the bus, she called them cowards and told them they would be responsible if something happened to their classmates. Several students believed she had a weapon of some kind and many feared for their lives.”

According to a detective with the King County, Gardheere told the arresting officer she was “prepared to die.” However, no weapons were found in her possession. She eventually pled the felony charges down to a gross medemeanor [sic] before trial.


 

New Rick James doc reveals how penis-wielding coke binge helped Lionel Richie

 

 

He’s Rick James, bitch — and don’t you ever forget it.

That classic Dave Chappelle catchphrase is exactly the kind of emphatic statement that the late “Super Freak” funkster made in one encounter revealed by his former manager Kerry Gordy in the new documentary “Bitchin: The Sound and Fury of Rick James,” which premiered Tuesday night at the TriBeCa Film Festival and will be available to stream on TriBeCa at Home beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Gordy — eldest son of legendary Motown Records founder Berry Gordy — vividly describes how James, frustrated by disappointing sales for his 1982 album “Throwin’ Down” and its accompanying tour, marched into the office of then Motown President Jay Lasker to deliver his next LP. Then he proceeded to pour coke onto Lasker’s desk, snort it, jump on top of said desk, take out his penis — and shove it in Lasker’s face while yelling “Sell my goddamn record!”

The album was Cold Blooded (1983). The title track is about Rick James’ relationship with the actress Linda Blair.

Cold_Blooded_(song)

Rick James began dating Linda Blair in the fall of 1982. In early 1983, she aborted their baby then informed him she had been pregnant after the procedure. James was hurt by her decision.[1] He wrote “Cold Blooded” about Blair. “It was about how Linda could freeze my blood,” he wrote in his memoir.[2]

During one of Blair’s visits to James’ home in Buffalo, he took her to his recording studio.[1] She was interested in learning how to write music so he fired up his synthesizer and absentmindedly began noodling with the keys and came up with the bass line. Running with the idea, he played all the instruments on the track.


Vince Neil leaves stage, says voice is ‘gone’ during festival

Maybe he ate it.


One of the few Pearl Jam songs I like and the video is fantastic.