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WhatchuTHINK: mine your mind

FORWARDEVER MEDIA CENTER

Writer Alex Haley writing The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Brother Malcolm.

"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses."
- Malcolm X

Mission

The Forwardever Media Center is 100% committed to providing unconventional writing workshops and media literacy training to "at-risk" Black youth, particularly males, ages 14 through 24. Working in partnership with The Mentoring Center in Oakland, CA., the Center's writing workshops, website internship, and film forums, help students develop critical thinking skills and discover their creative talents. We recruit youth for our programs from the California Youth Authority (the state's largest prison for youth) as well as from universities and high schools. This cross-pollination of young minds creates dynamic shared experiences.

Programs

Whatchusay Cinema–A monthly film forum hosted at schools or community centers in Northern California that explores issues such as race, class, gender, and society. Students are joined by a panel of activists, educators, athletes, entrepreneurs, etc. to rate the films and convene roundtable discussions about corresponding relevant issues in society. For info about film screenings and schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com

Writing Workshops–We offer intensive seminars in journalism, creative writing, cultural criticism, new media, film production, etc. These seminars are taught at the center, located at 1224 Preservation Park, Oakland, CA, 94612. They are also available on location, at schools, community and detention centers, churches, etc. For info about class schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com

Internships–Whatchusay.com offers competitive internships to young writers who have clearly demonstrated a passion for the craft of writing or media production. The 3-month internship covers news writing and reporting, feature writing, creative writing, media literacy and new media. Working in partnership with community based organizations, universities and international and national media outlets, we produce a pipeline of informed journalists of color who will go on to create their own independent media organizations or work for major media organizations.

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Something New

By A. L. "Toni" Anderson

Something New (2006) is billed as a cute romantic comedy, and that is exactly what it is. Sanaa Lathan (who starred opposite Denzel Washington in 2003's Out of Time and with Omar Epps in 1999's Love and Basketball) is Kenya McQueen, a Black Upwardly Mobile Professional. Like 42.4 percent (the film's working title) of Black females, she cannot seem to find a mate who meets all of her requirements. With no love in her waking life, she dreams about getting married. By contrast, her baby brother Nelson (Donald Faison) is finding too many potential mates, and changes women the way Imelda Marcos must have changed shoes.

Kenya's best girlfriends (played by Golden Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, and Wendy Raquel Robinson) are all professional women who have dating problems of their own. The four of them talk about nothing but finding and keeping an IBM (Ideal Black Man). With no other prospects in sight, Kenya's girls try to convince her to get back together with her ex, Tony, who soon calls to invite her to his own wedding.

Enter blind date Brian Kelly (Simon Baker of 2005's Land of the Dead and The Ring Two), who meets none of Kenya's requirements, and in addition, is White. To make matters worse, he turns out to be a "landscape architect" who agrees to work for her. To his credit, he turns her jungle-like backyard into a suburban paradise. Against all odds, Kenya and Brian become lovers, but she is not fully comfortable with the concept.

What makes Brian's job even more difficult is the entry of Mark (Blair Underwood of both City of Angels and L.A. Law, but who certainly needs no introduction). He is the mentor of Kenya's brother, and is also very upwardly mobile. He is smart, fine, and best of all, he is Black. Case closed, apparently!

The film also features Mike Epps, Alfre Woodard, and comedienne Sommore. It is directed by Sanaa Hamri, in her second directorial effort.

In true romantic comedy form, everybody meets someone and falls in love, and then lives happily ever after. The stuff of dreams, literally, if you like that kind of thing.

There are no sterling performances here, and perhaps that is as it should be. There are also no surprises. There are some laughs, and perhaps even some words of wisdom. If you are trying to kill a lazy Sunday afternoon, this is a film that fills the bill.