MARUGE

Tonight I watched a delightful film based on a true story, from National Geographic, titled THE FIRST GRADER, about an 84-year-old ex-Mau Mau freedom fighter in Kenya who decides he wants to go to school and learn how to read, sparking resistance from the community and politicians, but at the same time inspiring fellow Kenyan adults and children to reach for education. After the government declares universal free education for all, a man who gave his life for freedom, saw his wife and children murdered by the British, and spent at least a dozen years in concentration camps, where he was brutally tortured to force him to renounce his allegiance to the rebellion, Muruge wins the ear and heart of a young, popular primary school teacher, who lets him into her class. Gradually his classmates come to love him, and respect him, and he becomes somewhat of a celebrity; some believe he is being paid off, but that is not the case. Both he and his teacher stubbornly fight for his right to learn. This is a nice movie about the power of reading, the willpower and determination of some to gain knowledge---no matter their age, the residual affects of colonialism and imperialist barbarism, continued tribal conflicts in Africa, and the bravery of many to continue to improve and help their country advance. There are many light-hearted headnods to Obama's eventual presidency (Kenyan roots, and all).

BLACK CIVIL WAR REFUGEES

Attended an interesting lecture tonight at the University of South Carolina by Duke University professor Thavolia Glymph (who I served as a TA my first year at USC) who forcefully noted the glaring omission of scholarly attention given to the humanitarian disaster heaped upon refugee ex-slaves, especially women and children, during the Civil War, largely from gross negligence and racial (and cultural) blindness to the horrors of life in camps, particularly in the western theater. Many thousands of women and children died from malnutrition, disease, and maltreatment; were caught in the middle of fighting and shot to death or recaptured; were attacked by confederate raiders and slaughtered, while large numbers were often reenslaved. As black men were brought into the army or conscripted for manual labor, their women were often forced to deal with relocation and sought safety for themselves and their children, and they were left vulnerable both to the enemy and deprivations by the Union forces with whom they sought sanctuary. While many at the time criticized refugees who reported on these events as being crazy and untruthful, black freedpersons were well aware of the possibilities of death and reenslavement. Even the abolitionist and black press failed to highlight their plight, preferring instead to concentrate on the exploits of black troops (a trend carried on with movies such as Glory). Hundreds of thoudands of books have concentrated on military aspects of the conflict, and historians have spilled much ink on the plight of slaveholding women, but they have almost totally ignored black refugees, despite a wealth of information in official reports, letters, and other sources that have been openly used by scholars for years. Dr. Glymph, despite experiencing personal tragedy this week, soldiered on and delivered an inspiring talk, that should marshall many graduate students to uncover this and other hidden aspects of African American life during the war and reconstruction. I look forward to reading her book. I would love to be working with her on this subject right now, it sounds like a wonderful dissertation topic. I wonder too if any work has been done on ex-slaves who may have been kidnapped and sold southward to countries that kept the institution beyond emancipation on our shores. It was great to see her and chat, and show off my boys (who actually stayed and listened to the lecture, and were well behaved), and I hope the African American Studies program can continue to bring in noted scholars for their research grants as well as talks to students and the public (not just during this month). It was also nice to actually chat with Professors Donaldson and Littlefield, as well as several graduate students. I was a little surprised there were not a few more history professors in attendance.

DARTH KITTY

I saw this on LOST AT E MINOR, an arts website, and I really liked it. Hope I don't get tracked down and beaten for posting it here, but it really made me laugh. So creative, people are. Weird, but creative.

A LINE I LIKE

"They were not the hot, phosphorescent colors of India, but the cool, black-and-white stick drawings of winter trees against winter clouds, white geese flying across a gray mountain range in the snow." Bharati Mukherjee, Desirable Daughters

MAO'S LAST DANCER

Tonight I watched the very nice movie, Mao's Last Dancer, a biopic about Chinese dancer Li Cunxin (based on his autobiography), who was trained in Communist China and later defected to the United States to dance with the Houston Ballet. Directed by Bruce Beresford, best known for Driving Miss Daisy and Breaker Morant, with screenplay by Jan Sardi, best known for Shine,, the film portrays the difficulty Li faced in achieving his desire to escape the rigid state-controlled Chinese dance in order to study, and then stay, in America, especially in light of the penalties heaped upon his family and the long years of not knowing about their welfare. Despite scenes and acting that reminds one of a Hallmark Classic, the film nonethless touches the heart; I will admit to tearing up several times. One of my favorite scenes is when young Li is given a contraband tape by his soon-to-be-banished teacher (for daring to insist on classical training) of Baryshnikov dancing, and the young Li's face lights up as he watches (and is inspired) as the star performs. The viewer roots for continued success for the dancer. Some of the ballet scenes are beautiful, especially the penultimate Rites of Spring, which I have never seen before. The cast did a credible job, and I love just about anything Joan Chen is in. Although the action officially takes place in Houston, most of the dancers are with Australian companies, and they are very good. Chi Cao, who portrays Li, is an exceptional dancer, and I loved his performce, especially in light of the fact that this apparently was his first tiem on the big screen. I encourage anyone who enjoys dance to see it.

KABEI

Tonight I watched an excellent Japanese film, Kabei: Our Mother, about a mother of two girls whose scholar husband has been arrested by the militaristic government during the invasion of China, and then follows her efforts to provide for her children while remaining loyal to her man. She makes great sacrifices, and gets some help from a sister and a former student of her husband (who falls in love with her). It is a sad movie about the strength of a mother, undying love, the tough times the Japanese people had to suffer for their expansionist dreams, the perils of blind conformity, as well as the goodness and failing of many people. Based on Teruyo Nogami's memoirs, the film is lovingly presented by director Yoji Yamada. Sayuri Yoshinaga is wonderful in the main role, as are the two young actresses who play her daughters. The movie is a wonderful insight into the attitudes and culture of Tokyo during the war. I recommend it.

MIDNIGHT MASS 2011