You can only really write about what you know about. | | | | John Singleton is gone at 51. His films mattered. A lot.
(Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) | | | | | |  | "You can only really write about what you know about."
| | | | | | rantnrave:// Apologies, I'm late today as I was traveling from ORLANDO last night and spent the day on the RISE OF THE REST tour. More about that tomorrow... I woke up just before I landed to see that film director, JOHN SINGLETON, had passed away days after he suffered a stroke. On July 2nd, 1991, his debut film, BOYZ N THE HOOD opened. I was 20 years, 3 months, & 7 days old. I saw it on 3rd Avenue and 59th Street in NYC. I think my friend DANIELLE QUELLER joined me. Not many times in my life where I can say that someone I've never met changed my life. I grew up in NYC. I went to a private school in the BRONX. I went to a summer camp each summer. I never saw violence at school. And the school I went to was not a diverse one (and they kicked me out). The depictions of low-income urban areas and non-whites on television and film were not totally honest representations of the truth. The nightly news scared AMERICA with depictions of gangs and violence as if that was the only narrative. And when you think about it, think about how much fiction in all the media types you consume shape your perceptions of people and things. Let alone how the news in all its platforms shapes your perceptions. So when I walked into this film, I came out of it a different person. A sector of my brain and thinking which were dormant had something new to think about. SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES might as well have been MARS. I knew nothing other than one-sided things on the news. I remember the day so well. It hit me hard. A balanced side that you didn't see ever. A film that wasn't one dimensional. That and DO THE RIGHT THING made me confront and think about race in America. Soul. Humanity. Empathy. Humor. Parenting. Tragedy. Heartbreak. Family. It moved you the way a film should. And unlike others at the time, it was crafted by an auteur that looked like and understood his subjects. And we're not going to get those honest stories and portrayals in HOLLYWOOD without diverse executives and creators. He changed the game. And that's just good business. Let alone good for society. Had a huge impact on pop culture that seems obvious today. In that one screening, a guy I didn't know, opened my eyes. And I was never color blind again, but rather as my friend MELLODY HOBSON would say, color brave. It's ok to talk about race. And class. And the community. It's not ok to not to. And films like this put those topics at the forefront of our national discussion. His films and legacy matter. We've made progress, sadly not enough. Singleton is dead at 51 years old. And he did a lot for all of us in those years. He's gone way too soon. And he will be missed. It's such loss. Check out his work at IMDB. Then go watch... 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