DINAH-MITE!
Often neglected by collectors, Dinah-Mite was Mego’s answer to Barbie as AJ was to GI Joe. Her advertising featured her as an incredibly poseable doll who “sits and stands”; an overt shot at Barbie, who famously cannot “stand on her own”.
Dinah seems to have fared better than AJ, as she was advertised in their catalogs up through 1975. Since most of her stock did not languish in warehouses, her accessories and outfits are much harder to find.
Although Dinah started out as a white doll, she came in a Black version as well. Mego’s bendable doll rode the wave of 70’s blaxploitation heroines like Friday Foster, Cleopatra Jones, Foxy Brown, Christie Love and my fave, Velvet Smooth.
I came across this sister’s site while scoping the web for some Funky Stuff! And I was blown away by her creativity with keeping the images of 1970’s Funk alive. The images quickly reminded me of the Blaxploitation film era. The art is funky, crazy kool and I had an immediate connection with her designs. A couple of emails back and forth Desiree was happy to be apart of The Museum of UnCut Funk Family and we can’t get enough of that funky stuff!
Please read about Desiree and her company AFRODELIK DESIGNS.
WELCOME TO AFRODELIK DESIGNS brand
…collections of hand drawn art created through the spirit of SOUL
It began with a pen and paper, and the desire to show the world my creativity. For over 20 years, I have had a passion for drawing, which comes from the heart. My natural artistic talent of drawing makes me feel at peace.
My name is Desiree Marshall, and in 2006, I decided to fulfill a life-long dream, and launched my apparel company AFRODELIK DESIGNS brand.
The various pieces feature hand-drawn original designs celebrating culture. There are currently three distinct collections available:
- AFROCITY: a memorable throwback to blaxploitation movies of the 1970s
- AFRIKA: inspirational line drawings dedicated to the various African cultures
- IKONS: an ode to trendsetters and community leaders in music, politics and literature, to name a few
AFRODELIK DESIGNS is a young and exciting company that produces collections of original HAND DRAWN art, on T-shirts, Bags, Greeting cards, and much.
We are currently working on new designs and new products for Summer 2010.
Our products are enjoyed by men and women between the ages of 24-48, and children aged 1-12 years old, of ALL shapes and colours. There is something for EVERYONE!
Afrodelik collections have been described as unique, bold, urban and inspirational, and international celebrities such as Erykah Badu, actors Vivica A.Fox and Derek Luke, singer Jully Black, and playwright and actress Trey Anthony, all own Afrodelik tees.
New to the line is a dedication to the inspiration and iconic, Young Michael Jackson. Afrodelik Designs’ brand is available in stores in North America, also available on the Afrodelik website at www.afrodelik.com
Sting Like a Bee signed by Muhammad Ali circa 1979. Courtesy of The Museum of UnCut Funk Collection
The Art
I co-owned an art gallery for 4 years and I have the privilege to meet some fascinating collectors, dealers and celebrity artists. They have all had their opinions as to what art meant to them. In my mind if I liked what I saw and could identify with the images I made my purchase.
As my appreciation for art intensified I was contacted by an Australian art dealer who had an offering on a Muhammad Ali lithograph. He e-mailed me pictures and I was captivated by the imagery. I’m a huge fan and collector of animation and comic book art so this litho had to be in my collection.
Now art is subjective and many a art critics have panned celebrity art. Baird Jones, a critic for Artnet.com says “celebrity art combines the worst of several worlds. Since most stars who make art have little art training, their work tends to be a historical, a Hollywood version of naïve or outsider art. Furthermore, since celebrity art is shunned by top galleries, it’s usually displayed side-by-side with kitsch and low-grade prints”. He may be right in his opinion but Muhammad Ali is a cultural icon and any memorabilia from his years as a boxer, activist and humanitarian has increased in value and is extremely sought after.
You decide what art means to you but 20 to 30 years from now you’d wish you had a part of Ali’s sports history in your collection. The Ali lithos are all 18 by 24 inches, and were published in 1979 in editions of 500. Three have religious imagery and cost $8,500 each: Under the Sun, which shows a jet plane; Guiding Light, showing an image of a lighthouse; and the eponymous Mosque II. The fourth is a cartoonish scene of the boxing ring, titled Sting Like a Bee, that retails for $12,500 and by today’s standards for buying art is considered a bargain.
Although the art is hard to find and is sought after by fans and collectors alike, these are truly one of a kind pieces and should be apart of any collection.
Under The Sun signed by Muhammad Ali. Courtesy of Ro Gallery
Mosque ll signed by Muhammad Ali. Courtesy of Ro Gallery
Guiding Light signed by Muhammad Ali. Courtesy of Ro Gallery
The Man Behind the art:
Who would’ve thought that a stolen bike was the key to the beginning of the Muhammad Ali story? But it was. In 1954 in Louisville, Kentucky, 12-year-old Cassius Marcellus Clay’s bike was stolen while he and a friend were at the Columbia Auditorium.
Young Cassius found a cop in a gym, Joe Martin, and boiling with youthful rage, told Martin he was going to “whup” whoever stole his bike. Martin admonished, “You better learn to box first.” Within weeks, 89-pound Cassius had his first bout—his first win.
For the next 27 years, Cassius would be in that ring. Even in his youth, he had dreams of being heavyweight champion of the world. But his life would take turns that no seer could’ve predicted.
Young Cassius dedicated himself to boxing with fervor unmatched by other young boxers. Indeed, it was his only activity. As a teenager, he never worked. He boxed and trained. He had 108 amateur bouts. According to Joe Martin, Clay set himself apart from the other boys by two things: He was “sassy,” and he outworked all the other boys. The work paid off: 6 Kentucky Golden Gloves championships; two National Golden Gloves championships; two National AAU titles before he was 18 years old. And the son of Odessa, whom he lovingly referred to as “Bird,” and Cassius senior, “Cash,” to everyone, won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1960 in Rome months after his 18th birthday.
Although Cassius returned home to a parade, Louisville was still, in 1960 part of the segregated South. Even with a medal around his neck, Cassius was refused service at a local restaurant.
At the time, Cassius has managed by the Louisville Sponsoring Group, a consortium of wealthy local white businessmen. The LSG, as it became known, put young Cassius with veteran trainer, Angelo Dundee, after failed attempts to with the Mongoose, Archie Moore, and a turn down by Ali’s boxing idol, Sugar Ray Robinson.
With Dundee in his corner, from his Miami base, Cassius blazed a trail through the heavyweight division with his unorthodox style that defied boxing logic. He was a “headhunter.” He never threw body shots (he adopted this style in his youth because he had reach and because he didn’t want to get close enough to get hit). And he “danced.” Because of Clay’s powerful legs—maybe the strongest in the history of boxing—he literally floated in the ring. He invented the “Ali Shuffle;” a foot maneuver where he would elevate himself, shuffle his feet in a dazzling blur, and sometimes deliver a blow while dancing.
The third element that Clay brought to boxing was his mouth. He never shut up. He became known as, “The Louisville Lip.” It was more than banter; it was a constant harangue. In a time when boxers never talked to the media—their managers always spoke for them—Clay did all his own talking. He even went so far as to predict the round. “To prove I’m great he will fall in eight!”
While training for his title bout against the fearsome heavyweight champion, Sonny Liston, Clay met Cap’n Sam, a Nation of Islam minister of the local Miami mosque. Cap’n Sam introduced Cassius to NOI spokesman, Malcolm X. Malcolm and young Cassius bonded on a deep level. Malcolm brought Cassius into the Nation of Islam.
Despite the 7-1 odds, Clay upset Sonny Liston in Miami and became heavyweight champion of the world in 1964. The next day, Clay announced to the world that he was a member of the Nation of Islam and that his name was Cassius X. The X reflecting the unknown name that was taken from him by the slave owners centuries before.
The national response was immediate, negative and intense. Cassius X, soon to be given the name Muhammad Ali, by NOI founder, “The Messenger,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, chose to disassociate himself from his friend and mentor Malcolm X after the Messenger suspended Malcolm. Herbert Muhammad, eldest son of Elijah, was installed as Ali’s new manager as Ali continued to defend his crown against all comers.
In 1967, as the Vietnam War was escalating, Ali was called up for induction into the Armed Services. Ali refused induction on the grounds of religious beliefs. He was, in fact, a practicing Muslim minister. This refusal led to the now-famous Ali quote, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong…”
The national furor over that comment combined with Ali’s refusal to be inducted into the Armed Services, caused virtually every state and local entity in America to cancel Ali’s boxing licenses. Ali final fight of 1967 was against Ernie Terrell, who incensed Ali at the weigh-in by calling him “Clay.” Ali pounded him in the ring with taunts of, “What’s my name?!!”
Ali did not fight again for 2 ½ years. He was stripped of his championship title, his passport taken; all his boxing licenses were cancelled. He lost an initial court battle and was facing a 5-year prison term. Ali made money during his exile by speaking to colleges. He was the first national figure to speak out against the war in Vietnam.
In 1970, after a 2 ½ year layoff, and with the mood of the country changing, Ali staged his comeback, first against Jerry Quarry in Atlanta then for what was billed as, “The Fight,” his first match against undefeated champ, Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971.
Ali fought valiantly, but lost. The 2 ½ year exile had cost Ali his legs. He could no longer dance. He lost that night in the Garden, but months later he won his biggest fight, the Supreme Court, reversed his conviction and upheld his conscientious objector claim. Ali was free of the specter of jail, and free to travel to box anywhere in the world.
Several matches followed, including an unexpected loss to ex-Marine, Ken Norton; a win in their next bout; an uninspired win against Joe Frazier. But these matches were but window dressing for the biggest match of Ali’s career: The Rumble In the Jungle.
George Foreman was a fearsome champ. He had thunder and destruction in both hands. He had easily knocked out Ken Norton and had lifted Frazier off the mat with one blow.
Promoter Don King got the government of the African nation of Zaire to guarantee the unheard of sum of 10 million dollars for the fighters. In Kinshasa, Ali derived strength from the African people. They adored him. They yelled, Ali Bomaye! (Ali kill him).
Going into the fight, Ali was 3-1 underdog. His fight doctor, Ferdie Pacheco, had a jet ready to spirit Ali away to a neurological hospital in Spain after the fight. But Ali had other ideas.
Because of the heat, Ali realized he couldn’t dance from Foreman for the whole fight. He invented, “The Rope-A-Dope,” a strategy that allowed Foreman to pound on him until Foreman tired. His corner men yelled at him to get off the ropes, but Ali persisted with his strategy for seven rounds and then in the eighth round, when Foreman was spent, Ali came off the ropes and scored a shocking knockout! Ali was the king again.
After the legendary “Thrilla In Manila,” the rubber match against Frazier, who some have deemed, the greatest boxing match ever, Ali fought and lost to young Olympic Champion Leon Spinks. He subsequently regained his title against Spinks, thus becoming, at that time, the only man in heavyweight history to win the crown three times. Ali ended his career 56 wins (37 by knockout) and 5 defeats.
Ali has three ex-wives and nine children: Maryum, Rasheeda, Jamillah, Hana, Laila, Khaliah, Miya, Muhammad Junior, and Asaad. Ali is married to the former Lonnie Williams of Louisville. Ali has known Lonnie since her family moved across the street from the Clay family when she was 6 years old.
Ali has inspired millions worldwide. He gave people hope and proved that anyone could overcome insurmountable odds. He gave people courage. He made fighters of us all. This is Ali and never comes another.
Please visit The Muhammad Ali Center – www.alicenter.org
Contributor: Gregory Allen Howard, he is the award-winning screenwriter of Remember the Titans. He also wrote the original story for the movie, ALI.
African Barber signs from Ivory Coast courtesy of Indigo Arts Galley
The Hairdresser and Barbershop Signs of Africa are original boards from barbershops and hair-salons in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Tofo dating from the 1970-ies to the present day.
African Barber signs from Ghana courtesy of Indigo Arts Galley
The advertising signs contain all aspects of a specific popular genre, with similarities and differences mirroring the times of their appearance – the stylistic signature, fashion trends and influences from abroad, at the same time revealing a strong respect for the traditional ways of combing hair – the starting point for almost all modern hairstyles. Inherited ideals that meet and merge with contemporary expressions, in this case, new and authentic stylizations and imported styles, create a harmonious symbiosis evident in varying formal designs in the context of elaborating hairstyles for the purpose of creating a visual embellishment of the head.
African Barber signs from Burkina Faso courtesy of Indigo Arts Galley
Advertising boards were made by specialised, self-taught artists, who used colours to paint previously determined motifs on wooden, plywood, or less commonly on metal surfaces, most often with the very expressive use of pure colours. The paintings mostly portrayed figure motifs which symbolised certain respectable professions, or certain products and brand names. Besides the pictorial, the boards also conveyed written messages and signs. This specific combination of symbol and written message which characterises African painted signs have not changed since the emergence of this art, except to the extent of corresponding to the spirit of the times.
African Barber signs from Togo courtesy of Indigo Arts Galley
Today there are a number of artists all over Africa who are specialized in the painting of advertising boards. Their work advertises a wide spectrum of products and professions – from movies, restaurants, hotels, discotheques, buses, car mechanics, cobblers, tailor shops, state, health and religious institutions to the new trendy hairstyles.
Contributor: The Museum of African Art; Belgrade, Serbia
If you want to ease the minds of film fans about a remake you’re working on, just compare it to Ocean’s 11. That’s what Will Smith did back in 2002 when his production company bought the rights to Sidney Poitier’s Uptown Saturday Night with plans to do an all-star Black update on the 1974 classic that originally paired up Poitier and Bill Cosby. At the time, Smith mentioned casting Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. Eight years later, the remake is in motion again, this time with Smith set to costar with Denzel Washington.
In the original, Cosby and Poitier play old buddies who are robbed during a nightclub hold-up and must solve the case in order to get back a winning lottery ticket that’s in Cosby’s wallet. The film also starred Richard Pryor, Harry Belefonte, Flip Wilson and Calvin Lockhart. If Smith’s initial pitch can be continued, let’s hope that these characters are indeed filled with modern African-American stars like the aforementioned Murphy and Lawrence. And while we’re on the topic of casting, It’d be interesting and refreshingly against type to put Smith in the Poitier role and Washington in Cosby’s.
Warner Bros. and Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment are currently looking for writers to pen a new draft of the film, working from a previous script by Robb and Mark Cullen. And for the moment, director David Dobkin is attached to the remake.
Overbrook also holds the rights to the subsequent Cosby/Poitier pairings Let’s Do It Again and A Piece of the Action. Neither was technically a sequel to Uptown Saturday Night, though the three films are considered a trilogy. My assumption is if the Uptown remake is a hit, they’ll redo the follow-ups as straight sequels involving the same characters.
Source: Cinematical
Star Trek: The Animated Series was aired as the source of new adventures of the Enterprise crew. The series was produced by Filmation and ran for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 on NBC, airing a total of twenty-two half-hour episodes.
The series featured most of the original cast performing the voices for their characters, except for Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), who was omitted because the show’s budget could not afford the complete cast. He was replaced by two animated characters who made semi-regular appearances: Lieutenant Arex, whose Edosian species had three arms and three legs; and Lt. M’Ress, a female Caitian. James Doohan and Majel Barrett, besides performing their characters Montgomery Scott and Christine Chapel, performed the voices of Arex and M’Ress, respectively.
Initially, Filmation was only going to use the voices of William Shatner, Lernard NiMoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan and Majel Barrett. Doohan and Barrett would also perform the voices of Sulu and Uhura. Leonard Nimoy refused to sign up to lend his voice to the series unless Nichelle Nichols and George Takei were added to the cast — claiming that Uhura and Sulu were of importance as they were proof of the ethnic diversity of the 23rd century and should not be recast. Right On Dr. Spock!!!
The Museun of UnCut Funk is thrilled to have acquired a limition edition cel featuring Lt. Uhura and the entire cast of Star Trek The Animated Series to our ever expanding and extremely rare Black Animation Collection.
Original Production Cel use to film the opening of Soul Train. This cel is part of the collection of The Museum of UnCut Funk
Original Production Drawing used to create the original production cel to Soul Train. This drawing is part of the collection of The Museum of UnCut Funk
It was the little show that could. Beginning its ride as a local dance show on Chicago’s WCIU-TV, “Soul Train” chugged its way to Los Angeles and into pop culture history. The syndicated franchise’s impact is chronicled in the 40th-anniversary tribute “Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America.”
Narrated by actor Terrence Howard with an original score by the Roots’ Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, the 90-minute documentary abounds with performance clips and commentary by former dancers and crew members as well as music executives (Clive Davis, Antonio “L.A.” Reid) and major performers who appeared on “Soul Train,” including Chaka Khan,Snoop Dogg, Aretha Franklin and Sly Stone. At the helm is “Soul Train” creator/producer/host Don Cornelius.
The special, produced by VH1 Rock Docs and Soul Train Holdings, doubles as entertainment and history lesson. The innovative show’s August 17, 1970, debut was bracketed on one side by the civil rights movement and on the other by the emergence of black empowerment.
“This is so much more than a story about a man with a vision for a music dance show,” says Kenard Gibbs, a co-principal in Soul Train Holdings with Peter Griffith and Anthony Maddox. “Had it not been for the social and political forces stirring the pot, the show probably wouldn’t have been as successful. It empowered African-Americans, showing our culture and creativity in a light not seen on TV. This was reality TV at its best.”
After its 1971 move to Los Angeles, “Soul Train” spun off award shows as well as a No. 1 R&B/pop hit in 1974, MFSB’s “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia”). The Gamble & Huff-produced single originally was billed as “The Theme From ‘Soul Train.’”
Cornelius jokes in the documentary that the hit’s title change was his “one mistake.” During a recent phone interview, though, he said his fondest memory is the show’s early validation by major R&B talent.
“Gladys Knight & the Pips helped us start out, but we didn’t know where it would go from there. We were just determined to make this happen, feeling it was the right kind of show for this country at the time,” he recalls. “Then one day James Brown walked onto the sound stage. A few months later came the Jackson 5, and then Stevie Wonder. So we’re thinking, ‘OK, this might work.’”
The show later hosted performances by such pop stars as Elton John and David Bowie.
Contributor: Gail Mitchell
Filmmaker John Sealey began his career making short films for artists and galleries. He studied film practice at the International film school in Newport, South Wales and went on to do an M.A. in European Cinema and PhD in Film Practice at the University of Exeter, where he currently teaches film. John’s practice is grounded in cultural identity and his films interrogate areas of research within Diaspora histories – their function to challenge and create new ways of reception within the formulaic structure of classical narrative cinema.
‘They Call Me…Don’t Call Me…’ was commissioned by David A. Bailey for The Black Moving Cube Project.
Two enigmatic ‘Diaspora’ characters arrive in Manhattan in search of the residue of Blaxploitation iconography in this experimental docu-drama.
Inspired by the ideas in John Berger’s book ‘Ways of Seeing’, ‘They Call Me, Don’t Call Me’ is also an in-depth study of how we read and understand images.
In the film, the interviewees are shown an image which has something to do with Blaxploitation cinema. The point in which they see the image is their first viewing (they have not been shown anything off-camera) and their initial reactions are captured on camera.
John contacted The Museum Of UnCut Funk and graciously offered to let us share his film with you. So please check it out…Thank you John for being so funky and so righteous…RIGHT ON!!!
Here is some text that was written for an upcoming exhibition that John’s film will be featured in:
Dr John Sealey – University of Exeter
They Call Me…Don’t Call Me… (2006) DV-Cam, 25min. commissioned by David A. Bailey for ‘The Black Moving Cube Project’ 2006
‘I used to have an afro like that’
Although a great deal has been said, written and visually documented on the subject of the Blaxploitation film, for some, the mere mention of this period in Afro-American cinema history, in today’s context, seems to conjure up a narrative image of a definitive cinematic black cool, as if nothing like it had ever existed before and that everything after it seemed doomed; trapped in a straight jacket of pastiche. The hip iconography of Afros, black leather, super-cool pimps and funky soundtracks is one that the cultural mainstream has taken to its ideological heart. But what of the value of these films beyond their first level of signification and how has meaning disseminated itself over the last thirty-five years since Shaft first pounded the streets of Manhattan?
As a teenager growing up in London in the late seventies, having an Afro wasn’t just about style. For kids like myself whose parents formed part of a major migration from the West Indies in the 50s and 60s, questions of belonging became an important issue, particularly in the face of exclusion based on race and ethnicity. Having an Afro symbolised a means of identification: an identification that acknowledges one’s own cultural background. Thus, to have an Afro was to state a kind of belonging.
But these visual references can also play a different role, one that is part of a system that creates layers to be used as a defence mechanism, or as a source of cultural knowledge with which one can draw from. Stuart Hall takes up this point:
There are at least two different ways of thinking about ‘cultural identity’. The first position defines ‘cultural identity’ in terms of one shared culture, a sort of collective ‘one true self’, hiding inside the many other, more superficial or artificially imposed ‘selves’ which people with a shared history and ancestry hold in common. Within the terms of this definition, our cultural identities reflect the common historical experiences and shared cultural codes which provide us, as ‘one people’, with stable, unchanging and continuous frames of reference and meaning, beneath the shifting divisions and vicissitudes of our actual history. (Hall 2003: 223)
It was this experiential approach that was my initial starting point in developing the drama/documentary, They Call Me…Don’t Call Me…
I wanted to make a film that investigated the residue of Blaxsploitation iconography and in turn comment on structures of meaning; how we perceive or read images. Taking the idea from John Berger (1972) that seeing comes before words, I opted for a filmic structure whereby the context of a particular image was absent, so that the interviewee would be positioned in such a way, that their recall emanated entirely from the memoir of their own visual and aesthetic criteria.
This image recollection concept is also imbedded within the film form, through the
re-construction of certain shots. The opening zoom as the characters hit the streets comes directly from the opening sequence of Shaft (Gordon Parks 1971)
and the male character as he peers out of the hotel window is a nod towards the famous rifle image of Malcolm X as he attempts to protect his family.
At the same time, the film attempts to address issues of gender within Blaxploitation, using diegetic space to re-evaluate the relationship between the male and female characters: they are in silent communion with each other, sharing the same objectives and actions.
In creating the personas of the two characters, I drew on the unique insights of French filmmaker Robert Bresson in his approach to directing, using the actor as a ‘model’ within a space in which movement or kinetics become integral to the film:
Models who have become automatic (everything weighed, measured, timed, repeated ten, twenty times) and are then dropped in the medium of the events of your film – their relations with the objects and persons around them will be right, because they will not be thought. (Bresson 1986: 32)
I embellish Bresson’s idea of using the actor as a model and automated action-character, to create a prototype ‘model’ that I can successfully apply to the documentary format. In They Call Me…Don’t Call Me…the characters provide a tension which polarizes the generic form; the documentary.
Although in the early stages of the project, I wanted to explore the dichotomy between the politics of transformation (the communal) with the individualist narratives of Shaft, Superfly (Gordon Parks Jr. 1972) and to some extent Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Asssss Song (Melvin Van Peebles 1971), I felt that I needed to take on a role of active observer in my own film. Yes, I had certain filmic elements under my control; I could choose the shots, approach people to be interviewed and also cut the film with a subjective slant, but as to what the outcome would be, and what the people would say, that seemed out of my control.
‘Ooh, wow. I think that is about people feelin the power…’
Two silent ‘Diasporic’ characters called They Call Me… and Don’t Call Me… arrive in the city of New York in order to search for the spirit of ‘Blaxploitaion Cinema’. To do this they ‘arm’ themselves with images from several of the most recognisable characters from the genre, including Shaft and Foxy Brown (Jack Hill 1974).
Their names offer the first ‘clue’ in their quest:
‘They Call Me…Mr Tibbs’ (In the Heat of the Night – Norman Jewison 1967)
‘Don’t Call Me…Nigger, Whitey’ (Sly and the Family Stone 1969)
They approach subjects (members of the public) in the street, and without speaking, show them pictures – which we, the spectator, do not see. These pictures form or instigate the interview that follows. The subjects then discuss the image and when they are finished the Diasporic character walks away silently, looking for the next subject who is willing to deconstruct the images that the two characters carry around in their pockets. Intermittently throughout the film, we hear an echo voice-over of a woman describing the situation in America today for Afro-Americans. This structure continues throughout until the final interview where a group of women discuss the attributes of Pam Grier in such films as Foxy Brown.
The film ends with the two Diasporic characters inside a car; either retuning from whence they came, or continuing their quest.
An important point to say here is that; all the subjects in the film were initially approached by either myself (the filmmaker) or the cast and crew and then asked to contribute their thoughts on the documentary we were making about Blaxploitation cinema. None of the subjects were shown any images beforehand off-camera as it was felt that by using this method, the subjects would react more instinctively. Once the subject had agreed to be interviewed, we would then go on to explain (sometimes at great length) the procedure or method of the set-up idea; whereby the subject would pretend to be unaware until approached by one of the characters with an image-card.
The idea behind this set-up was the influence of the lucid style and reflexive camera of Haskell Wexler’s Medium Cool (1969).
In this film, Wexler (who, incidentally was Director of Photography on Norman Jewison’s In the Heat of the Night) blurs generic or traditional distinctions between drama and documentary, appropriating a style akin to cinema vérité by placing his ‘actors’ in ‘real’ situations and recording the resulting drama.
Shot frenetically over two jetlagged days in Manhattan in August 2005, the film draws its energy from its mode of production in the same way as the production of Sweet Sweetback…
In Van Peebles’ film, the aesthetic is born from the coupling of cinematic revolutionary ideas alongside budgetary restrictions. The vivid and elliptical montage sequences produced when we see the protagonist on the run is a good example of a filmmaker harnessing the moment – the inter-thought or feelings that surround the moment of filming.
Like Sweetback, the characters in They Call Me…Don’t Call Me… are on a journey as they ‘trace’ the footsteps of Shaft through the Manhattan community, looking for answers to questions which can only come from the subjects that they confront.
The familiar quest narrative is one that is used time and again in Blaxploitation and lends itself perfectly to They Call Me…Don’t call Me… as the two characters walk the streets of Manhattan, ready to produce their images for public investigation.
The question is; are they chasing a memory, or exploring a dream?
——————–
\
Blax
During the 1970’s, Blaxploitation moved into the horror category with a number of movies, made for Blacks, staring Blacks. One of the most important actors from this period was William Marshall. He starred as Blacula, a Black version of Dracula in two movies, Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream. Blacula became the Blaxploitation’s eras first prominent horror film. Blacula gets released from his coffin in the 20th century and raids the population of Los Angeles for victims. Blacula, along the way, finds a girl by the name of Tina and falls in love with her. The police find out about Blacula and track him down. In a final chase scene, Tina dies and Blacula is left to mourn. He then sacrifices his life to be with Tina.
The movie was a commercial success. There were huge premieres in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the Black community. Although Blacula does make victims out of a number of white L.A. police, critics felt it was a milder than most of the Blaxploitation films.
For the most part, Blacks do not fare well in horror films, as they are generally the first to suffer or be killed. While some may object to the negative portrayals of Blacks in many Blaxploitation films, at least in the horror films some Black actors were allowed to live until the end!
There were a number of horror films made during the Blaxploitation era. These films allowed allowed Blacks to fight evil while sticking it to the man. The Museum of UnCut Funk pays homage to the classic Blaxploitation horror flick with a few posters from our collection.
What??? Looks like champagne, pours like champagne, tastes like champagne! But it cost PENNIES more than beer! Yeah right! This ad was straight from Madison Ave…or maybe Harlem…Ad executives went further to suggest that Champale would taste better served in a stemmed glass. LOL!!! Well, actually it did if you were around during the 1970’s.
In the 1970’s, Pink and Sparkling Champale was an integral part of pop culture and a major hit in the Black community. It was my drink of choice at an age when I shouldn’t have been drinkin’. Decades later, even JayZ, Ghostface and the Beastie Boys added a line or two about Pink Champale in their lyrics.
“Grandma dressed me, plus she fed me banana puddin’, what’s in the hood then Puffin on L’s, drinkin’ pink champelle.” Jay Z – Mama Loves Me – The Blueprint
“Begosh all that Oshkosh jumpers / Pink Champale, brown paper bags, wall to wall bumpers.” Ghostface Killah – Wu-Tang’s Careful Click Click
“I got class like pink Champale.” The Beastie Boys -Ch-Check It Out – To The 5 Boroughs.
What was so cool and hip about Sparkling Champale and Pink Champale was the ads. The ads that ran in Ebony magazine were sexy and featured sexy looking Black folks drinking this malt liquor. You thought it was Champagne and you had to have some because it was cheap.
The Museum of UnCut Funk found a number of the original ads that ran in Ebony magazine.
From the minds of Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca, the Afrodisiac phenomena got it’s start in 2005 as short stories and anthologies. Jim Rugg, co-creator of the Afrodisiac comic series, recently stated in an interview with Comic Book Resources “ We try to capture the style and energy of the great Blaxploitation movies”.
Capture they did. Afrodisiac has all the energy and hipness of some of the greatest Black films to come out of the 1970’s. In addition to embodying the artistic flow of 1970‘s comic books, Afrodisiac is straight up old school funk. Afrodisiac is a pimp who can hypnotize any woman with the mere mention of his name. The Afrodisiac character has been compared to some of the coolest cats of the Blaxploitation genre like The Mack, Willie Dynamite and John Daniels from Black Shampoo. Afrodisiac is as slick as Jim Brown in Slaughter or Issac Hayes in Truck Turner, and as cool as Brother Rabbit from the classic animated live action film Coonskin. Afrodisiac is the man!
Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca have captured the true essence of what was going down in the streets of Black America during the 1970’s. With all the usual suspects, Afrodisaic has freaks, geeks, the man, hot chicks, bad ass rides and who can forget the fashion. Fashion played a huge part in Blaxploitation films. While SuperFly will go down as the flyest motherfucker in cinematic history, Afrodsiac represents on all levels, including his never out of place fro.
The Museum of UnCut Funk is thrilled that Jim Rugg shared some of the art from the soon to be released Afrodisiac graphic novel. The complete collection of Afrodisiac comics will be available in graphic novel form in December 2009. This is a must have for any comic book collector, fan of Blaxploitation films or anyone interested in comic art. Right On!!!
TNCZTGH3M26Q
Torchy Brown first appeared in the Pittsburgh Courier in the 1937-38 comic strip Dixie to Harlem, drawn by the first Black Female Cartoonist, Jackie Ormes. Torchy Brown was later syndicated around the country until it’s end in 1940. The strip was resurrected in the 1950’s as Torchy and the Heartbeats. Since then, Torchy Brown, the feisty and independent singer and dancer has appeared in her own TPB and several hardcover tributes to her creator, Jackie Ormes.
The emergence of Torchy Brown marked the first appearance of an independent Black woman in a nationally syndicated comic strip. 
Torchy’s self-reliance drove her to leave her Mississippi home at an early age and pursue her dreams of performing on stage, ultimately becoming a staple act at Harlem’s Cotton Club. Torchy Brown’s creator, Jackie Ormes is also the creator of ‘Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger’.
Torchy Brown was made into a popular paper doll in 1947. In keeping with Torchy Brown’s forward-thinking themes, the character often tackled hot-button issues like racism, pollution and social injustice in a comedic and approachable way. Because Torchy’s syndication was largely limited to papers with circulation extended only to Black constituents, the character has only recently gained long overdue widespread attention.
About the Cartoonist:
Zelda Jackson “Jackie” Ormes, by most accounts, became the first nationally syndicated Black woman cartoonist in 1937. The “Touchy Brown” series first appeared in the Black-owned Pittsburgh Courier in 1937, and eventually appeared in fourteen syndicated newspapers. Ormes’s strips depicted Blacks in a very different fashion which was not the norm of her day.
Typically Blacks were shown as servants or exaggerated caricatures of the “Buckwheat” or “Steppin Fetchit” variety. In contrast, Ormes’s female characters were independent and strong. Jackie Ormes said “I have never liked dreamy little women who can’t hold their own”.
Jackie Ormes The Book
Jackie Ormes: The First Black Woman Cartoonist chronicles the life of a multiply talented woman who became a successful cartoonist. Ormes’s cartoon characters–Torchy Brown, Candy, Patty-Jo, and Ginger–delighted readers of Black newspapers such as the Chicago Defender and Pittsburgh Courier between 1937-56. This biography provides an invaluable glimpse into the history and culture of that era. As a member of Chicago’s Black elite, Ormes’s social circle included leading political figures and entertainers of the day. People who knew her say that she modeled some cartoon characters after herself as beautifully dressed and coiffed females, appearing and speaking out in ways that defied stereotyped images of Blacks in the mainstream press. Ormes’s politics, which fell decidedly to the left and were apparent to even a casual reader of her cartoons and comics, eventually led to her investigation by the FBI during the McCarthy era. In the late 1940s, Ormes transformed cartoon character Patty-Jo into a doll that is now a collector’s item.
Source: Comic Vine and JackieOrmes.com
Billy Jo Jive, self-described super crimefighting ace, was a prepubescent Black detective in animated segments on Sesame Street in the late 1970s and early 80s. Along with his sidekick, Smart Susie Sunset, Billy Jo would solve crimes in his neighborhood.
The series was produced by former Terrytoons animator Ray Favata. The characters of Billy Jo and Smart Susie originated in a series of children’s books by John Shearer, with illustrations by his father Ted Shearer. The series debuted with Billy Jo Jive, Super Private Eye: The Case of the Missing Ten Speed Bike in 1976. When the sequel The Case of the Sneaker Snatcher was published in 1977, the cover boldly advertised “Don’t miss Billy Jo Jive and Susie Sunset on Sesame Street!”
Billy Jo Jive Segments:
- Lost Wig -- Billy and Suzie look for a missing wig. They find dirty hand prints at the scene of the crime, and also find them on a poster for a school play. They go there where they find the person who stole the wig, and also see his dirty hands.
- Lost Money
- Lost Guitar Strings
- The Midnight Voices -- Billy and Suzie solve the case of the midnight voices.
- Shortcakes -- Billy and Suzie search for missing shortcakes.
- Meatbone -- Billy Jo Jive and Smart Suzie Sunset search for Aunt Nellie’s dog Meatbone, not knowing that he’s been following them the whole time.
- Missing Keys
- Wrong Way Willie
- Eating Healthier
- Haunted House
- Bad News Barton
Billy Jo Jive Theme Music:
Here is the theme music from the Billy Jo Jive cartoon, a track called “Afrocat” by Richard C. Sanders, from the album Cinemaphonic: Electro Soul. Very funky!
Billy Jo Jive Animation:
The Museum of UnCut Funk Collection has recently added it’s first production cel and original drawing from the Billy Jo Jive cartoon.
For a short time in the early 1970’s, Crazy magazine, a competitor of Mad and Cracked magazines was published by Marvel Comics. In 1973, Crazy released a parody of Shaft, called Shafted. During this period Crazy magazine payed tribute to many Black celebrities in the area of film, music and television. After the 1970’s, Crazy Magazine sadly went away from the funky and focussed more on urban crap. True comic and blaxploitation fans will have at least one issue of Crazy Magazine in their collection.
The Museum of UnCut Funk Collection includes Crazy Magazine issues #4 and #48.
Crazy Magazine #2 – 1973
James Bond parody of Live and Let Die.
Crazy Magazine #4 – 1973
Richard Roundtree parody of Shaft.
Crazy Magazine # 26 – 1977
A cast of TV characters that features Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs of Welcome Back Koter and Redd Foxx of Sanford and Son.
Crazy Magazine # 29 – 1977
A cast of Welcome Back Kotter with Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs aka Freddie Boom Boom Washington. A true cult classic.
Crazy Magazine #48 – 1978
Ease on down the road with Michael Jackon, Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell and Ted Ross. For the Michael Jackson fan looking for something a little different and special to add to their collection this might be it.
Good grief! Franklin’s 41!!!
It happened on a beach on July 31, 1968.
The white boy’s little sister threw his beach ball into the water. The Black boy who was swimming retrieved the ball and took it back to him. The white boy thanked the Black boy, and that was how Charlie Brown met Franklin in “Peanuts.”
With that appearance, Franklin became the first Black person in Charles Schulz’s magnificent comic strip.
HAPPY 41ST FRANKLIN!
Had Charlie truly been a blockhead, when Franklin brought him his ball, he could have said something stupid like, “Good grief! I didn’t know you people could swim.” Instead, future strips show Franklin and Charlie playing ball.
Franklin was never as big a star as Linus, Lucy, Snoopy, Schroeder or Pigpen. He didn’t have a last name and wouldn’t even win a contest for best Afro among the “Peanuts” characters.
But as the first Black in the most successful comic strip of all time, Franklin is the greatest Black cartoon figure in American history. Even though it was the end of the racially charged 1960s when Schulz introduced Franklin, the cartoonist wasn’t attempting any kind of political statement, and Franklin being darker than his friends was never something commented on in the strip. Franklin’s debut and the appearance a few months later of The Jackson 5, fronted by the otherworldly talented Michael Jackson, was a wonderful representation of Black adolescents. Franklin proved to be wise and dignified and has never done anything he should have to apologize for except for the strange dance he did with the other kids in, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
Like Charlie, he’s close to his grandfather and, like Linus, he quotes the Old Testament. His father was in Vietnam and, most of all, Franklin has a good heart. Nowhere was that more evident than in a 1969 strip in which Peppermint Patty cries because of shoes she’s required to wear to school. Franklin says, “All I know is any rule that makes a little girl cry has to be a bad rule.”
So here’s to a comic strip trailblazer, a thoughtful and decent lad who loves his grandfather, is loyal to his friends and never made any little girls cry.
You’re a good man, Franklin.
Source: By CARY CLACK
The Original Production Cel of Franklin drumming is a part of The Museum Of UnCut Funk Collection.
I am Curious (Black)” is the first Superman’s Girlfriend story.
Lois Lane is sent to get a story in Metropolis’s “Little Africa” but is unable to get anyone to talk to her. Little children run away from her and adults shut doors in her face. One old lady will talk to her, but only because she is blind and doesn’t realize Lois is white. She draws the particular ire of a fiery orator who uses her as an example of the enemy “whitey.”
Frustrated, Lois convinces Superman to take her to his Fortress of Solitude and use the Kryptonian Transformoflux on her to turn her Black for twenty four hours.
Back in Metropolis, her usual cabby won’t stop for her because she’s Black. She has to take the subway but is convinced that everybody is staring at her because of her skin color.
This time in Little Africa, people are happy to talk with her and help her. She meets Dave Stevens, the same firebrand she encountered before, but this time because she is Black he talks to her and even hits on her. He sees some kids run into an alley to buy drugs and runs after them. He interrupts the drug deal but is shot by a pair of gangsters straight out of Guys and Dolls.
Superman, who was conveniently nearby keeping an eye on Lois, swoops in and takes them both to the nearest hospital. The doctor there informs Superman that the patient is fading and needs a blood transfusion.
It’s understandable that small hospitals would not be able to carry every blood type because it is very expensive to buy and store blood. However, blood type O-negative is the “universal donor” and in a hospital limited to only a few types of blood, O-negative would be the one blood type they would definitely stock.
What’s with Superman? He’s donated blood before countless times, usually to Lois or Lana. It’s been established in the past that his blood is compatible with every blood type, and he’s been able to “rip open” his skin even though needles don’t work. Is this simply a continuity error for the sake of plot or is Superman a closet racist? (We can assume it’s the former since Lois doesn’t bat an eye at Superman’s statements.)
Previously, we learned from Superman #125 that Lois has a “very rare blood type”, yet this comic tells us that she has blood type O-negative. Seven percent of the U.S population is type O-negative, the most of any negative blood type, so while it may not be common it’s certainly not “very rare.” Common blood types vary quite a bit across the world, so what is common in the US is not necessarily common in other areas. Given the globalization of today’s world, this is slowly changing as populations mix.
At the end of the story, Stevens realizes that Lois was white and yet donated blood to save his life. He smiles at her and they shake hands.
So here we have another “blood transfusion redeems racist” storyline. This story is a bit schizophrenic though. The individual racist — in this case a Black man — is redeemed. However the societal prejudice against blacks — the supposed point of the entire story — is glossed over and barely mentioned.
Lois does confront Superman about whether he would ever marry a Black woman, but he never has the chance to answer fully. Dave Stevens is a complex character as he is both a racist and the best hope for his neighborhood. Still, I felt that the ending went for the easy way out and missed the big picture.
Source: Polite Dissent
The I Am Curious Comic is a part of The Museum of UnCut Funk Collection.
Return Of The Super Pimps issues 1-6 are written by Richard A. Hamilton, drawn by Ulises Carpintero and Rich Bonilla, colored and lettered by various talents, and published by Dial “C” For Comics, Richard’s company.
Truth be told, the Blaxploitation movie was not, as has been popularly put forward by certain filmmakers and documentaries, merely made up of Black crime genre stories. There were comedies and dramas made during those days starring Black folk. There were even horror movies featuring mostly or all Black casts. Yet, for many, the Blaxploitation movement is treated as a singular genre–much like manga is today–with one almost universally pervasive stereotype that stands as the purest representative of those films: the hustler, the pimp.
Richard Hamilton is old enough to know that figure from those movies. But what he does to that stereotype turns it on its ear and seemingly redeems it. By doing that he lives up to his desire to mix the nobility of superheroes with the power of Funk and Soul, as stated in his first issue afterword.
The basic plot of Return Of The Super Pimps is this: The Super Pimps, a band of urban hustlers turned superheroes, once protected The Hood, an every-ghetto, from all manner of villains. That was, until one of their number lost his life in battle. That sad turn of events caused the SP’s leader, Blackbeard, to quit the hero biz and disband the team. Decades later, in our time, Police Detective Maple learns of the death of the SP’s former faithful servant and sets out to find his childhood heroes to tell them the news. Along the way, old friendships are tested and renewed, an old foe returns, and a team of heroes is reborn
Return Of The Super Pimps is a fun read. Nothing that will change the world of comics but a good, solid adventure yarn, full of characters and situations not normally seen in the standard superhero comic.
Source: http://www.comicswaitingroom.com/vince34.html
Return Of The Super Pimps
Written by Richard Hamilton
Pencils by Ulises Roman
Colors by Jasen Smith & Maria Laura
Letters by Atlantis Studios
Blackbeard — the leader with the living ‘locks! Ghetto Blaster — wielder of the fantastic 8-Track Suit! Homboy — the sentinel with a special connection to the street! Foxy Mama — lupine lady of the night! Sidekick — rookie kung-fu master! Over twenty-five years ago these Urban Revengers, these Super Pimps, protected The Hood from the diabolical Darquefire and were working to make their neighborhood a safe place to grow up. But on a fateful night as these five funky crimefighters battled their arch nemesis, a tragedy took place so horrific that Blackbeard not only walked away from the Super Pimps, he disbanded the entire group right on the spot.
Now, Detective Maple, whose boyhood heroes were the Super Pimps, patrols the very streets his idols once did. When he is called in on a murder, he recognizes the victim as Flapjack, the trusty servant of the crimefighters who have since subsided into urban legend. Using his skills as a detective, Maple hunts down one Marcus Maddox, who used to be Blackbeard, and is now a father trying to give his kids a better life than he did. Maple’s encounter with Maddox leads to meetings with the rest of former jive justice seekers, who reunite as citizens in the streets of The Hood. They soon discover evidence that Darquefire has returned, stronger than ever, and only some superpowered playas are going to be able to stop him. The five return to The Crib, their old secret headquarters, and suit up ready to take to streets. It is time to walk the walk and talk the talk, but are these middle-aged mofos still heroes or just has-beens?
Pouring out of the mind of Richard Hamilton, whose childhood was filled with the constantly spinning records of Kool And The Gang, the cinematic badness of Shaft, and Stan Lee’s multitude of comics, comes this glorious blaX-Men-ploitation! Hamilton puts his screenwriting training to excellent use here, with a super fresh and righteous story that spills from one page to the next. You can almost hear the booming bass and see the glitter of the disco ball in each carefully penned pun and feel the real fur boas as Hamilton culls every stereotype from the street and make it his own.
Each character, as in any superhero group book, is given a specific power and personality that both works to bring the group together in a crimefighting harmony, but has enough quirk to cause strife. The book’s obvious influence are Marvel’s mutant heroes, with a slightly more subtle influence from Warren Ellis’ The Authority. Hamilton’s decision to tell the back story through the eyes of young Maple also calls to mind the outsider-looking-in mentality of Marvels or Astro City. Hamilton has also worked hard to make his characters as imperfect humans with all the insecurity and doubts that come with them. As of issue three, Hamilton has yet to dive into how these superheroes obtained their powers, but their natural aging suggests they are mortal. This plays an important part of some of the subplots and adds an element of danger to their decision to reform well past their prime.
In order to bring his creation to the page, Hamilton needed artists who were as much in touch with the style of his heroes as he was. Hamilton found a crew of pencilers, inkers, and colorists who fit the bill perfectly. The character designs are top notch, and like Blacula or Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde, each seem to find roots in a pre-established character and then given a makeover by Xzibit. The colors are particularly striking, and each page is drenched in so much purple even Huggy Bear would blush with embarrassment.
If you strip away all the flashy funk and glitz, and the seemingly hokey riff on the ghetto lifestyle, Hamilton’s story not only has heart, but has several messages that he sneakily slips in. His overt push for education and good parenting through Blackbeard should be applauded, and his warning against STDs rivals any comic book sub-context to date. These books may be a little tricky to track down in a local comic shop, and you might have to go straight to the source, but any trouble is well worth it to add these to your collection.
Source : geeksofdoom.com
Return Of The Super Pimps comics are a part of The Museum of UnCut Funk Collection.
DASHIKI from Yoruba
This word originated in Nigeria
In Nigeria, it was worn for comfort in the hot climate. In America, it was worn to send a message.
That was the situation when the dashiki, and the Yoruba name for it, were imported into the English language in America in the late 1960s.
The dashiki rebelled against men’s fashions of the day: brightly colored instead of drab, loose instead of tight, worn outside the pants instead of tucked in. It could be worn defiantly on occasions that normally would call for a coat and tie.
The dashiki was introduced as a way to protest society’ s disrespect for Blacks. It was a symbol of affirmation, standing for “Black is Beautiful,” a return to African roots, and insistence on full rights in American society. Marion Berry, later to become mayor of Washington, D.C., was then one of the rebels leading the “Free DC Movement” to gain voting rights for the mostly Black residents of Washington. Sam Smith, editor of The Progressive Review, recalled that in those days the press would describe him as “dashiki-clad Negro militant Marion Barry.” The 1960s were the hippie era, too, and whites in the counterculture sometimes adopted the dashiki for its rebellious symbolism as well as its anti-mainstream fashion statement.
The militancy of the 1960s has faded, but the dashiki has not. It still serves as a symbol of Africanness within American culture, as in the celebration of Kwanzaa. It is also sometimes an ingredient of high fashion or just a colorful, comfortable shirt for all occasions.
Yoruba, from the Atlantic-Congo and Benue-Congo branches of the Niger-Congo language family, is the official language of southwestern Nigeria, spoken by nearly twenty million people there. One other word English has acquired from Yoruba is iroko (1890), a tree whose wood is resistant to insects and is often used as a substitute for teak. http://www.answers.com/topic/dashiki
The dashiki is a colorful men’s garment widely worn in West Africa that covers the top half of the body. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored suits. Traditional female attire is called a caftan, or kaftan. A common form is a loose-fitting pullover garment, with an ornate V-shaped collar, and tailored and embroidered neck and sleeve lines.
The dashiki found a market in America during the Black cultural and political struggles in the 1960s. A prototype was developed in 1967 by Jason Benning, Milton Clarke, Howard Davis, and William Smith. These young professionals formed a company called New Breed to produce dashikis. It was located in a 2-room clothing store at 147th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in the Harlem section of Manhattan.
The dashiki was featured in the movies Putney Swope (1969), Five on the Black Hand Side (1973), and the weekly television series Soul Train (1971). Articles on New Breed appeared in Ebony Magazine and the New York Times (4/20/69). Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, Sammy Davis Jr., and Bill Russell were among the well-known Black athletes and entertainers who wore the dashiki on talk shows.
The term dashiki begins appearing in print at least as early as mid-1968: an article by Faith Berry in the New York Times Magazine includes it, on July 7, 1968. Reporting on the 1967 Newark riots in the Amsterdam News on July 22, 1967, George Barner refers to a new African garment called a “danshiki.” “Dashiki” first appeared in the Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1st College Edition 1970/72.
Former District of Columbia mayor and current council member Marion Barry is famous for wearing the dashiki at various times, particularly in the time period leading up to elections. More recently he has donned a modified dashiki that combines the traditional form with a Western-style button-down shirt.
I get my thing in action (Verb!)
To be, to sing, to feel, to live (Verb!)
That’s what’s happenin’
I put my heart in action (Verb!)
To run, to go, to get, to give (Verb!)
(You’re what’s happenin’)
That’s where I find satisfaction, yeah! (Yeah!)
To search, to find, to have, to hold
(Verb! To be bold)
When I use my imagination (Verb!)
I think, I plot, I plan, I dream
Turning in towards creation (Verb!)
I make, I write, I dance, I sing
When I’m feeling really active (Verb!)
I run, I ride, I swim, I fly!
Other times when life is easy
(Oh!) I rest, I sleep, I sit, I lie.
(Verb! That’s what’s happenin’)
I can take a noun and bend it,
Give me a noun -
(Bat, ball, rake, and plow)
Make it a verb and really send it!
(Show me how)
Oh, I don’t know my own power. (Verb!)
I get my thing in action (Verb!)
In being, (Verb!) In doing, (Verb!)
In saying
A verb expresses action, being, or state of being.
A verb makes a statement.
Yeah, a verb tells it like it is!
(Verb! That’s what’s happenin’.)
I can tell you when it’s happenin’,
(Past, present, future tense)
Ooh! Tell you more about what’s happenin’,
(Say it so it makes some sense)
I can tell you who is happenin’!
(Verb, you’re so intense)
Every sentence has a subject.
(Noun, person, place, or thing)
Find that subject: Where’s the action?
(Verb can make a subject sing)
Take the subject: What is it? (What!)
What’s done to it? (What!)
What does it say?
(Verb, you’re what’s happenin’)
I can question like: What is it?
(Verb, you’re so demanding.)
I can order like: Go get it!
(Verb, you’re so commanding.)
When I hit I need an object
(Verb, hit! Hit the ball!)
When I see, I see the object
(Do you see that furthest wall?)
If you can see it there, put the ball over the fence, man!
Go ahead. Yeah, alright.
What?! He hit it. It’s going, it’s going, it’s gone!
(What!)
I get my thing in action.
(Verb, that’s what’s happenin’)
To work, (Verb!)
To play, (Verb!)
To live, (Verb!)
To love… (Verb!…)
Schoolhouse Rock!: The History
Schoolhouse Rock! is a series of animated musical educational short films that aired during the Saturday morning children’s programming on the U.S. television network ABC. The topics covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics and civics. The series produced original episodes between 1973 and 1986, with a return in 1993 and new episodes airing at least once a year between then and 1996, when production of the series for ABC was halted. Episodes continued to air for an additional five years after that, finally coming to an end after a 26-year run cancellation in 1999 by ABC.
Schoolhouse Rock! began as a commercial advertising venture by David McCall. The idea came to McCall when he noticed one of his sons, who was having trouble in school remembering the multiplication tables, knew the lyrics to many current rock songs. The first song recorded was “Three is a Magic Number,” written by Bob Dorough. It tested well, so a children’s record was compiled and released. Tom Yohe listened to the first song, and began to doodle pictures to go with the lyrics. He told McCall that the songs would make good animation.
When a print workbook version fell through, McCall’s company decided to produce their own animated versions of the songs, which they then sold to ABC (which already was McCall’s company’s biggest advertising account) based on a demo animation of the original “Three Is A Magic Number” for its Saturday morning lineup. They pitched their idea to Michael Eisner, then vice-president of ABC’s children’s programming division. Eisner brought longtime Warner Brothers cartoonist/director Chuck Jones to the meeting to also listen to the presentation.
The network’s children’s programming division had producers of its regular 30- and 60-minute programs cut three minutes out of each of their shows, and sold General Foods on the idea of sponsoring the segments. The series stayed on the air for 12 years. Later sponsors of the Schoolhouse Rock! segments included Nabisco, General Foods, Kenner Toys, Kelloggs’s and McDonalds.
The last of the original series were four segments about the then-novel personal computer technology. The shorts featured two characters by the name of Scooter Computer and Mister Chips, and so these were the only episodes in the series to feature any recurring characters.
A 1987 production of the series for VHS tape featured Cloris Leachman opening the collection and some songs with child dancers and singers but “Three Ring Government,” “The Good Eleven” and “Little Twelve Toes” were not included on the videos.
In the 1990s, the team reunited to produce Money Rock and two more Grammar Rock segments (”Busy Prepositions” and “The Tale of Mr. Morton”).
In 2002, the team once again reunited to produce a new song, “I’m Gonna Send Your Vote To College” for the release of the 30th Anniversary DVD. For the new song, Tom Yohe Jr. took over as lead designer for his father Yohe Sr., who had died in 2000. Another contemporary song, called “Presidential Minute”, which explained the process of electing the President of the United States. in greater detail, was included on the 2008 DVD “Schoolhouse Rock! Election Collection”, which centered on songs relating to American history and government.
In 2009, the team produced eleven new environmentally-themed songs for the DVD “Schoolhouse Rock!: Earth “.
In keeping with our mission to “Preserve the Funk” and bring global awareness to collecting Black animation, The Museum of UnCut Funk has acquired the original productions cels and drawings featured in this blog entry from the Schoolhouse Rock! animated series.
Spoof Comics presents SoulTrek, a combination of Soul Train and Star Trek. Say What??? Okay, maybe not the best comic, but what a brilliant idea for Spoof comic book fans.
The comic takes the reader on board the USS Colt 45 as it enters the final frontier of SOUL…that right you heard me. The USS Colt 45 sails into the galaxy on her mission to seek out SOUL in every corner of the universe and to bring it to those who don’t possess it: To Boldly Go Where No Other Brother Has Gone Before.
With funky narratives, hip jive talkin’ and reminders of what happenned to various celebrities during the early 1990‘s, this is one of the funniest comics I have read in awhile. The cast of characters includes Captain Don Cornelian (Don Cornelius), Commander of the USS Colt 45. His first Officer Commander is a no talkin’, can’t understand what the fuck he is sayin’ James Brown. The ship Counselor is The Coz and the Communications Officer is Lt. Whitney Hewston…there is no mention of Bobby Brown…thank goodness!!! Security is in the hands of Mike Tysen, whose English is just as bad if not worse than Commander Brown.
As the ship sails deeper into the galaxy, Lt. Hewston get a signal from an alien ship. Captain Cornelian asks for details and Lt. Hewston says “it’s scrambled”. The Captain shouts “Then put up the scramble board and get those kids up here”. Low and behold Shawna and Malcolm appear to unscramble the message.
This comic is cool, funky and a must have in your comic collection. The images of don’t look exactly like the celebrity themselves but it is well executed and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The story is interesting and not difficult to understand. This is one of those comic books that makes you question whether or not the creators are insane or genius.
Spoof Comics presents Soul Trek are a part of The Museum of UnCut Funk Collection.
