Since making his feature debut with She’s Gotta Have It in 1986, Spike Lee has blazed a trail for himself as one of Hollywood’s most vibrant - and defiantly original - filmmakers. That matters.(Photo by Walt Disney Studios courtesy Everett Collection) Spike Lee Movies and Series Ranked But the kindness of a stranger, with an invitation to connect, the power of a hug, soul to soul, sister to sister, brought me back to hope, happiness & humanity. The movie had left me feeling so sad, almost broken, realizing how far we, as a nation, as Black Americans, still have to go to reach full equality. I told her that if she had any questions, any questions about San Francisco or needed any advice on her job search or just anything in general, to please call me. “Yes!” she exclaimed, “Let’s exchange numbers”. But something made me want to keep her in my tribe. There was just something so familiar to me about this young woman. And that in the end we would all be ok a life lesson we older dolls, who’ve been through life’s ups & downs, have come to understand. But she was also weary & worried about the state & future of our country. She was young & excited about her life the way energetic 20-somethings often are. She told me she was a nurse & she was looking for a job. She told that she’d been her for just a few weeks and that I was the first native San Franciscan she’d met. Just six blocks away from my childhood home. She told me that she now lives in the neighborhood where I grew up. From the same town where my father was born in Minnesota. She told me she just moved here, several weeks ago. The exact same words uttered by the KKK & David Duke in the 70’s are now being uttered by the current occupant of the Oval Office. The words they were saying, WORD FOR WORD. The words they are saying.” And then how we realized that this IS today. We talked about the movie & how there were moments where we thought, “My god, this could be today. And then I sighed a little bit too loudly.Īnd then we started talking. Maybe she was just being polite when she told me she’d be sitting there. I sat across from her, not wanting to interrupt. I found her sitting on the couch, looking down at her phone. Was I just going to leave & never see her again? Would our moment begin & end in a public restroom? Or would I walk outside, sit next to her & connect? She left the restroom & I splashed some water on my face, reapplied my lipstick, put my purse on my shoulder & started to walk out of the restroom. The implication, it seemed, was, she’d be there, if I wanted to join her. I’m going to sit outside (referring to the little lounging area in the theater) & try to process it. Maybe I felt embarrassed by my own vulnerability. I’m not sure why that was all that I could say. There we were, two strangers in a public restroom. The sharing an understanding, a feeling, an awareness of a human experience kind. And not one of those demure “respect my space” hugs. I just…can’t…”Īnd then this young woman, this total stranger, reached out her arms to me. And then I promptly I burst out into tears. Looking in the mirror, dabbing tears from her eyes. When I entered the restroom, there she was. I had errands to run & didn’t think my flood of emotions would wait until I got home. I might even have to lock myself in a stall & have a good cry. I knew that I would need to go to the restroom to compose myself. I smiled weakly, shifted my legs so she could get by & then continued to sit there for another few moments. So, make that two people of color in the audience. I guess I didn’t see her when I made my initial once over of the audience earlier. The similarities in our appearance were notable. If I had a younger sister, which I don’t, I imagine this young lady is what she might look like. “Excuse me”, she whispered, as I was sitting there, holding my face in my hands, my heart in my stomach. The over 65 part, that is.Īs the credits rolled, and Prince sang (don’t ever leave a movie before all the credits roll that’s a pet peeve of mine & you sometimes miss really significant moments – hint hint), a young woman was trying to exit my row. Going to midday matinees, it’s usually like that. Speaking of the audience, when I walked in the theater, I looked around & it appeared to me that the audience was entirely composed of retired age white folks. The entire audience sat in stunned silence. I’m not giving anything away by telling you that. I knew I had to mentally steel myself for it. I sat in the very last row, which is also how I like it at this particular theater.
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