A roundtable discussion of Black Lives Matter strategies, Mark Jordan Legan shares scary movie picks you might not have seen, gun control in film 'Armor of Light.'
Black Lives Matter: Exploring the generational divide in South LA
Black Lives Matter was formed on the heels of George Zimmerman's acquittal following the shooting death of Florida teen, Trayvon Martin.
Here in Southern California, Black Lives Matter activists recently made headlines after confronting Mayor Eric Garcetti at a town hall meeting at Holman United Methodist Church in South L.A. Their actions have been condemned by several prominent members of L.A.'s black community.
Though community leaders remain divided over the tactics that activists should use to spread their message, they remain relatively united in their vision for the community. This was the takeaway from a roundtable discussion, hosted by Take Two’s Alex Cohen, that brought together community leaders from different walks of life.
The disruptive tactics of Black Lives matter have been the topic of several debates since the group's inception. Povi-Tamu Bryant, an organizer for the group, says the — now infamous — town hall protest was born from frustration with Mayor Garcetti.
“Eric Garcetti was supposed to be in conversation with the community, and not all members of the community were invited to the conversation,” she said. “Black Lives Matter LA folks had sat down with Eric Garcetti back in July and requested that he have open town hall conversations with the community where the community was setting the agenda.”
Bryant says the town hall meeting at Holman church was supposed to host the conversation they were promised, but that’s not what ended up happening.
“If you have a mayor who’s saying that he’s holding a town hall for the black community — that was at the bequest of BLM LA organizers and conversations that he had with them — but he never invited any of those people to the conversation, some of that might feel like he’s turning his back on you,” Bryant said.
Bryant says that when activists turned their backs on Mayor Garcetti, it was to “amplify” how they felt they had been treated.
NAACP Compton president Paulette Simpson-Gipson says that, though many community members are outraged at what happened at the town hall meeting, people shouldn’t lose sight of the issues at the heart of the protest.
“I don’t think that any of us really want to separate ourselves, because we can’t separate ourselves from being black,” she said. “We’re all black. How we get to the common goal may be different, but I think at the end of the day we want the same things,” she said.
Simpson-Gipson contends that the media chooses to zero-in on the separation, exacerbating the problem. She recommends community activists have any future conversations about protest tactics behind closed doors.
Though these conversations have yet to be had, UCLA history and African American studies professor, Brenda Stevenson, says she’s hopeful that Black Lives Matter and other organizations pushing for change in South Los Angeles can find a way to move forward together. She says history shows that more voices are heard when activist groups collaborate.
“There are always these kinds of things which occur. Some of them are generational, some of them have to do with socio-economic status, educational background, relationship to religion,” she said. “What happens is you get a much broader and comprehensive agenda that needs to be addressed … It may seem painful, it may cause some harsh feelings, but it is a very healthy political process …”
Press the blue play button above to hear the roundtable
To hear the roundtable in its entirety, click the Bonus Audio link below the player.
Roundtable guests:
- , an organizer with Black Lives Matter L.A.
- Paulette Simpson-Gipson, president of the
- Brenda Stevenson, professor of history and at UCLA
We want to hear from you. Join the discussion on Twitter and Facebook with #BLMLAChat.
Confessions of '50s mega-star Tab Hunter: "People always want to label people"
When it comes to careers in Hollywood, Tab Hunter's trajectory has been nothing short of extraordinary.
In the 1950s, the remarkably handsome star could be seen just about everywhere - movies, talk shows, commercials, the list goes on.
But behind all the glitz and glamour, Tab Hunter was keeping a secret - he was gay.
Hunter's struggle with his own identity and his highs and lows in Hollywood are chronicled in a new documentary called "Tab Hunter Confidential."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfTiAAHYhyw
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
Interview Highlights
On labels
I'm very interested in women, I love being around women. People assume that just because you're gay that you don't like women. I love women, that's just a ridiculous thing.
That's just like putting a label on you... I am more concerned with human beings, and the most important thing is what kind of a human being are you.
On leading gay actors in Hollywood -- Then and Now
You know a leading man, or a leading woman -- I don't know of any who are gay today, and certainly not then. I mean that is a thing that just those who make films won't invest in.
I mean you can find characters. You can find comedians, and the best friend of and so forth...but an out-and-out leading male or female to this day is still the same. That is what I've seen.
On his relationships with the studios
All I know is that those studios in the old days would build you to what they wanted. I was the all-American boy, Jimmy Dean was the rebel...
I was not comfortable in that skin but I did what the studio asked me to do -- a lot of times like taking dates out to premiers and all that -- because that's what they wanted me to do.
If I didn't, I was out and they would ask someone else.
It's a job, so do it to the best of your ability or let someone else who will.
Abigail Disney tackles guns and the evangelical church in ‘Armor of Light’
Two years ago, a lone gunman fatally shot twelve people and injured three others at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. For Reverend Rob Schenck, that tragedy marked a turning point in his life.
Schenck's quest to get Americans to look at gun laws through a spiritual lens is captured in the new documentary Armor of Light.
Abigail Disney directed the film and she talked about it with Take Two’s Alex Cohen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI-l26QfG9M
Armor of Light premieres Friday, October 20th at the ArcLight Hollywood, Laemmle Playhouse 7 and AMC Ontario Mills 30.
Press the play button above to hear more.
Don't let these scary Halloween movies inside your house ... or else!
Every Halloween, people want to watch scary movies, but sometimes get tired of the same old films. Take Two contributor and movie historian Mark Jordan Legan shares some other scary movie suggestions you may not have heard of.
We start with 1987's "Dead of Winter," a creepy thriller with a lead performance from Mary Steenburgen, who plays a struggling New York actress who answers a casting notice for a feature film.
Mark says the film is really frightening and disturbing as the stye main character discovers the sinister plot! Stay tuned for more ... or not.
Next is a remake of a lesser-known 1973 George Romero film, "The Crazies." This 2010 version really packs a punch. From the opening scene where a local farmer shows up at a Little League game with a shotgun, something is turning the law abiding citizens of this small Iowa town into homicidal maniacs. Timothy Olyphant (of "Justified" fame) plays the sheriff who discovers that a crashed military plane full of biological weapon is affecting the local water supply.
The next film is 1999's "Stir of Echoes." Although the film was hurt by being released three months after the mega-hit "The Sixth Sense," it received rave reviews.
It stars Kevin Bacon as just an average working class Joe with a wife and a kid. One night at a party, he finds out his sister-in-law is training to be a hypno-therapist and, for a laugh, begs her to try it on him. But it unlocks something deep inside of him and he starts having horrible visions.
And finally we close with a favorite of Mark's - Australian writer-director Jennifer Kent's feature film debut, "The Babadook." A young widow who lost her husband in a tragic accident is trying to deal with her troubled son, who sees monsters in every shadow and boogey men in every closet. This isn't helped by a creepy pop-up book, called "Mister Babadook," that gives the boy nightmares.
Mark says that even though this movie is scary, it's not so much horror as it is a psychological thriller that will stay with you for days.
https://twitter.com/MJLegan?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor is a writer and comedian living in Los Angeles. If you'd like to see more movie reviews by Mark, be sure to click this link.
Early prison release for drug offenders begins Friday
Friday marks the beginning of the largest release of federal prisoners in U.S. history. Over the next few days, 6,000 drug offenders will walk out of lock-ups across the country.
This is all a result of decision made last year by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to cut sentences by an average of two years. Nancy La Vigne, director of the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute, joined the show for more.
Absorbing El Niño? New map shows farmlands to divert floods
Climate scientists are cautioning that even a big, wet El Niño winter might not put an end to California's drought. And the heavy rainfall can bring another problem — floods.
KPCC's Deepa Fernandez spoke to Toby O'Geen of UC Davis, whose lab developed a map to pinpoint farmland that could directly benefit from flood diversions.
Move over, kale! Seaweed could be the next superfood
There may be a solution to overfishing on the horizon, and it's a healthy one, too. It's seaweed!
It can be rich in protein, iodine and Vitamin B12, and best of all it does not require any fresh water or fertilizer in order to grow.
Dana Goodyear wrote about this for The New Yorker Magazine in a piece titled, "A New Leaf: Seaweed could be a miracle food-if we can figure out how to make it taste good."
Goodyear says she first got interested by watching her children eat seaweed snacks.
"I thought this is an industry to explore...obviously people are changing their attitudes towards seaweed and then when I started to investigate it, I came to learn that it actually has all of these promising potential ecological benefits if it’s done right," she said.
Despite its health and ecological benefits, there's still the challenge of getting people to eat.
"A lot of people have a problem with it. It can be rather slippery. It can be briny. I think that people who don’t like filter feeders, like oysters and mussels probably not going to be that into kelp or other seaweeds," Goodyear said.
So there's still room for a crafty chef to whip up innovative seaweed recipes. After all, kale used to be a garnish on your T-bone steak.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.