Peter Jackson wants to stay true to the facts in the new movie he is producing, but does extend to keeping the name of the hero's pet dog: Nigger?

Jackson, the man behind The Lord of the Rings movies and 2005's King Kong remake, wants to remake the 1954 film The Dambusters about a successful 1943 British bomb raid on Germany's Ruhr dams. It centers on real-life wing commander Guy Gibson. The only problem is that Gibson gave his Labrador Retriever that racial epithet for a name.

A World War II enthusiast, Jackson is said to be passionate about staying true to history. Others involved in the production argue that the name would be racially offensive to U.S. audiences, according to the Telegraph.

Hmm. You think?

        

What does it say about the National Republican Senatorial Committee that they see a correlation between Sen. Harry Reid's comment about Barack Obama having light skin and speaking with  “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one” with Trent Lott's controversial 2002 remarks that caused him to step down Republican majority leader.

Reid endorsed Obama and, in fact, urged him to run for President. He merely spoke clumsily about why he thought the country would accept Obama as a presidential candidate.

Lott, on the other hand, praised the late Senator Strom Thurmond's failed, long-ago segregationist presidential bid.

The Republicans on Saturday circulated remaks Reid had made in 2002 critical of Lott as if they'd caught him in a "gotcha" moment.

It's the same sort of racial tone deafness that caused Jesse Helms long ago to hold up his support of Clarence Thomas as proof that he wasn't a racist.



  

        

There is a very good chance that Precious, a gritty, moving and ultimately transcendent story of an abused, overweight black teenager, will get an Oscar nomination for est picture (along with several other nominations and at least one nearly certain win — a best supporting Actress nod for Mo'Nique). A story in today's New York Times points out that the movie's success casts a light on a surprising and sobering fact: "No film by a black director has ever received a best picture nomination."

This shouldn't be surprising. Black acceptance in Hollywood (despite that community's professed liberalism) has been painfully slow in coming. But all of the recent Oscars awarded to black actors and the recent success of black directors in getting to helm big budget mainstream movies such as the Fantastic Four franchise has obscured the lack of recognition given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

This very well could be about to change. If so, it is gratifying that it will be for a film that is about the black experience...because another irony of black success in Hollywood is that the more black talent gains acceptance, the fewer movies there are being made about black people. 

        

We got a response to our letter to SciFiGenre.com asking that they explain the connection between Michelle Obama and their medusa-like Black Mamba action figure. In short, they blame their supplier for the "error" and say the Obama reference made it into the product listing through oversight.

In its entirety, without comment:

Hi,

I'm very sorry about this error on our website.  I
checked with our web content manager, and apparently it
came in that way on the invoice from our supplier, and
she had it automatically parsed and did not notice that
it said Michelle Obama instead of Medusa.  Thank you
for pointing out the error - we have already fixed it.
I assure that it does not represent the opinions of
those of us here at ScifiGenre.  Quite the opposite, in
fact, and we're rather appalled that we had it up on
the website that way and are grateful you for pointing
it out!  Let me know if you have any other questions or
suggestions.

Janell
ScifiGenre.com

        

What is the connection between the First Lady of the United States and a medusa-like sci-fi action figure that goes by the name Black Mamba?

We're scratching our heads.

A website that sells sci-fi related items has a page devoted to the 10-inch Black Mamba doll. We know nothing about the character, but since Black Mamba has serpents for hair and a huge black, dangerous-looking snake draped across her shoulders like a shawl, we doubt she's a good guy. Apropos of nothing, SciFiGenre.com has affixed Michelle Obama's name to the Asian-featured toy.

We wrote a letter to the site inquiring about the connection. Were they making a political point? Does the First Lady remind them of a monstrous Medusa? Or is it just that the words "Black Mamba" makes them think of Michelle Obama?

We haven't yet gotten a reply, but one has to wonder: If its the latter reason, does that mean that if they sold a Black Sambo doll they're liable to tack Barack Obama's name to it?

It's possible this has nothing to do with race. A Michele Obama action figure hits stores in November. Lots of people likely are going online seeking to preorder it or read about it. Maybe the sci-fi website just wanted to lure some of that traffic. Of course that makes no sense: People wanting to buy a Michelle Obama doll will be either annoyed or offended by being directed to a Black Mamba toy.

Surely the folks at SciFiGenre realize that. So you have to figure that either they're not very bright or they were so intent on making their statement (whatever it is supposed to be) that they simply didn't care.

        

What did you expect him to say?

Barack Obama was able to win election to the presidency because he, to a large extent, managed to neutralize race as an issue. Besides, most people — even most racists — don't like it when you call them on it the way Jimmy Carter did this week. They take offense. They say you're using "the race card," whatever that is. They accuse the truth teller of injecting race into the national dialog, as if the obvious slurs of some of the health care protestors never happened, as if Joe Wilson's blatant act of disrespect against the office of the presidency had nothing to do with the fact that the holder of that office for the first time is black. They act as if race is a nonissue when all you've got is a roomful of people shouting 'nigger' at the top of their lungs. Race only becomes an issue, they'd have you believe, when an appalled listener stands up, points his finger and says: 'See those people over there shouting nigger — they're racists.'

We, in other words, are supposed to keep quiet about it.

It's admirable to call a spade a spade. But we're supposed to call a racist a...what? Passionate dissenter?

Fool, please.

God bless Jimmy Carter.

        

Whoever would've thought the Henry Louis Gates affair would go this far, consume as much media attention or sink to such ridiculous lows?

What's ridiculous, you ask?

Wolf Blitzer just reported on the types of beer Gates, President Obama and Sgt. James Crowley the arresting officer, will quaff when they sit down tomorrow for their pow wow. Blitzer didn't bother to report on the brand of tobacco they'll use in the peace pipe.

This followed news that a CNN reporter had contacted the White House to ask if the woman who made the 911 call had been invited to the happy hour? They did this after the woman's attorney made a good but rhetorical point that her client, who acted exemplary in calling the police to report suspicious activity, will be at work tomorrow while the three men who goofed (either by overreacting or, in the President's case, by shooting his mouth off intemperately on national TV) drink beer.

It is, of course, Obama's fault this has dragged on too long. As a candidate and as President, Obama has had an uncanny ability to usually say exactly the right thing exactly the way it ought to be said. He's good at this because usually it's his mind that does the processing. This time he spoke from his heart, as both a black man and as a personal friend of Gates. Conservative commentators had a field day and Cambridge police, feeling maligned by the President, demanded an apology.

Therefore we have to endure Thursday's ritual of three guys drinking beer, slapping each other on the back and burying the hatchet. That this is taking place at the White House and involves the President is another point of ridiculousness, of course, but at least it's intended to lighten the mood and allow everyone to get past this. This week's release of the 911 tapes and the caller's press conference also were necessary steps in the process.

But we won't get past it.

Blacks still overwhelmingly agree with what Obama said and with the fact that he said it. Others continue to believe the President of the United States should've remained aloof and not commented. Most blacks still completely understand why Gates was angry enough to express outrage at being accused of breaking into his own home. Many other people don't empathize and feel it was inappropriate and just plain dumb to talk back to the police.

Despite Obama's hope that this will provide a "teachable moment" for the country, America remains deeply divided over race. A white Boston police officer was suspended Wednesday for writing anonymous emails in which he called Gates, an esteemed, internationally known Harvard scholar, a "jungle monkey."

Then there's the New York City government aide who resigned after posting entries on Facebook calling Gates "racist" and referring to Obama as "O-dumb-a."

Glenn Beck (talk about ridiculous) is calling Obama a racist for talking publicly about the case.

And on it goes.

        

A gorilla escaped Friday from the zoo in Columbia, S.C. A prominent South Carolina Republican activist and former state senate candidate posted a comment on Facebook that referred to the gorilla as an "ancestor" of First Lady Michelle Obama. The comment has been removed from Facebook, but FitsNews.com posted a screen capture image of it. The activist, Rusty DePass, issued an apology (included in the attached CNN video clip) and said it was "a joke."

After Thursday night's New York City shooting in which a white police officer shot and killed a black non-uniformed officer who was chasing a suspect, New Yorkers and police officials are asking: Do black officers face a special risk of being mistaken for criminals?

For New York Police Commissioner William Bratton, the answer is obvious: “It’s a reality,” he said. “Minority officers are at risk.”

The question: What to do about it?

"Its serried ranks are more diverse than ever, its training and rules on the use of force more rigorous than in the past, yet the New York New York Police Department still struggles with the problem of fraternal shootings across the color line," reports the New York Times.

“This is the most Shakespearean aspect of policing,” said State Senator Eric Adams of Brooklyn, who is black and a former police captain. “Your greatest fear is to be shot and slain on duty, and that’s only matched by your fear of shooting another officer.”

He added, “If you speak with nine out of 10 officers of color they would tell you that when they hear sirens, in their head they are thinking: ‘I hope these cops know that I’m one of the good guys.’ ”

        

In December, Disney plans to release The Princess and the Frog, its first animated feature with an African American lead character. In part because of the company's preimminent role in creating entertainment for children and in part because of its rich history of propagating racial stereotypes on screen, Disney faces intense scrutiny whenever it treads into new ethnic territory.

Disney already has changed major elements of the movie in response to early criticisms, but the New York Times reports that controversy is continuing, despite the company's attempts to tread lightly because of racial sensitivities.

        

In today's post-racial America, is there room on the U.S. Supreme Court for a justice who has been a career-long, out-spoken proponent of race-based initiatives?

Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court has, at almost every stage of her career, "championed the importance of considering race and ethnicity in admissions, hiring and even judicial selection," reports the New York Times. "Now conservatives say her strong identification with such race-based approaches to the law is perhaps the strongest argument against her confirmation, contending that her views put her outside an evolving consensus that such race-conscious public policy is growing obsolete."

Republican Senator John Cronyn of Texas, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, points to Obama's election as president and to the nomination of Sotomayor to the high court as evidence that it is time for race-conscious decisions to be put to rest.

        

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

MSNBC video of Barack Obama's statement on the Swine Flu outbreak.

Two-thirds of Americans say race relations in America is generally good, according to a New York Times poll that the paper says seems to indicate Barack Obama's presidency is altering the nation's views on race. The percentage of African Americans who say race relations are good has doubled since last July.

        

A black man sits in the White House and another is the reigning Hollywood box office champ — surely we're living in a post-racial America. Right?

Well, maybe not. A review of The Soloist on MoviesBoston.com notes that when Denzel Washington made Cry Freedom more than two decades ago, Hollywood crafted the tale about a black South African martyr so that Kevin Kline, playing a white journalist, is the central figure.

What does that have to do with The Soloist?

The review argues that the homeless classical musician played by Jamie Foxx is a fascinating and complex character whose story needs more time to be properly developed. It doesn't get the time, however, because the film — like the book on which it is based — is framed around the white journalist who becomes the homeless man's champion and benefactor.

This is done, the reviewer argues, because Hollywood rarely trusts black stars to carry major motion pictures without an at-least co-equal white presence to attract audiences that otherwise might shy away from a "black" film.



Don't get sold out! Buy advance tickets X:Men Origins: Wolverine now.

        

So you think you living in a post-racial America? Think again:

In life, the playwright August Wilson had an all-but-official rule: No white directors for major productions of his work, which was one reason that a film was never made from his 10 plays about African-American life in the 20th century. “Fences,” one of the two awarded the Pulitzer Prize, foundered in Hollywood because of his insistence on a black director.

Yet in the years since Wilson died in 2005, an increasing number of white directors have staged his plays, and last week came a milestone: “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” which opened on April 16, is the first Broadway revival of a Wilson play since his death and the first ever on Broadway with a white director...

The selection of [Bartlett]. Sher by the producer, Lincoln Center Theater, has prompted concern and even outrage among some black directors, who say this production represents a lost opportunity for a black director, for whom few opportunities exist on Broadway or at major regional theaters. Wilson himself felt that black directors best understood his characters, and he saw his plays as chances to give them high-profile work. Wilson’s widow, Constanza Romero, however, approved Mr. Sher as director.

        

Robert Downey Jr. is up for an Oscar Sunday for his role in Tropic Thunder, in which he wore blackface and an afro wig. In the new post-racial America, is this sort of thing OK?

A writer for The Root and some others think not.

        

The prepared text of Barack Obama's inaugural address:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

<< MORE >>

Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th president of the United States Tuesday, and called on Americans to join him in confronting what he described as an economic crisis caused by greed but also “our collective failure to make hard choices.”

The New York Times, Jan. 21, 2009

        

Salon has a piece by Erin Aubry Kaplan titled 'First Lady Got Back.' "Barack's better half not only has stature but is statuesque," Kaplan writes. "She has coruscating intelligence, beauty, style and — drumroll, please — a butt. (Yes, you read that right: I'm going to talk about the first lady's butt.)

It's an interesting piece — provocative, witty, well-written (though a good editor would've trimmed the prosaic bits).

What a bonus! From the ocean of nastiness and confusion that defined this campaign from the beginning, Michelle rose up like Venus on the waves, keeping her coif above water and cruising the coattails of history to present us with a brand-new beauty norm before we knew it was even happening.

(snip)

As America fretted about Obama's exoticism and he sought to calm the waters with speeches about unity and common experience, Michelle's body was sending a different message: To hell with biracialism! Compromise, bipartisanship? Don't think so. Here was one clear signifier of blackness that couldn't be tamed, muted or otherwise made invisible. It emerged right before our eyes, in the midst of our growing uncertainty about everything, and we were too bogged down in the daily campaign madness to notice.

        

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