#TBT - Grassroots Distribution: Defining Grassroots

Last week, we revisited Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald's white paper on Grassroots Distribution to look at the challenges posed by "grassroots distribution." This week, we take one more step back to define what "grassroots" means, especially in the context of independent filmmaking. 

We got close to a definition by remembering Josh and Michael's claim that, "in order for that film to stay alive, it needs to be supported by constant work, strategy, effort, enthusiasm on the part of the filmmaker and the filmmaker's team," but that is just the beginning. 

For most people, and for Josh and Michael initially, grassroots has well, roots, in community organizing as well as social and political movements. In order to make more sense of an elusive term, Josh and Michael interviewed Jeremy Bird, 2012 Obama For America Field Director and student of Marshall Ganz. According to Jeremy, grassroots operations provide:

1. Access to data and information. A surprising first descriptor, but in the context of political campaigns, it makes sense. Before the Obama campaign of 2008, campaign workers did not have access to the information they do today, which makes the 2008 phenomenon as much about the technology that was suddenly available as it was about a sea change in enthusiasm about a candidate.
2. Real responsibility and goals at the local level. In other words, a palpable sense of accountability. Trusting that the larger goal would be met not by a few leaders at the very top of a hierarchy, but by each ground-level operation spread across the map doing its part to meet its own goal. And by endowing people present at that ground level with responsibility.
3. The ability to scale and make your campaign accessible. Going off of the last descriptor, this means that you can take the campaign anywhere. It is not tied to some antiquated or traditional geographic centers of power. It is nimble and can move, engaging people wherever it is. 
4. A fundamental belief that volunteers can change the outcome. All of this grassroots, community organizing bluster is just a phony brand that is not worth applying unless you actually do subscribe to the belief that a volunteer force—someone there not motivated by wages—can move the needle towards your goal. With self-distribution of films, volunteers may be all you have available, so it’s a definite they would make a difference.

What does this mean for independent filmmakers? It could be as re-simply stated as:

1. Access to data and information. Build a web presence: website, social media, available press. Apply Google analytics. Find out where your audience is and make sure you stay in touch with them. Find out how much it costs to do that, and be sure to use your resources efficiently. Knowing where your audiences are and where your money goes enables you, the filmmaker, to make advantageous partnerships with people who can and want to help you get your movie out there. 
   • Caveat: Data is hard to come by. Check out Colin Whitlow's writings about his Film Finance Index and quest for data transparency, and keep an eye out for a larger industry demand for better reporting to independent filmmakers. 
2. Real responsibility and goals at the local level. Assemble a team of people to support your film in myriad ways - on set, in the community, online, in the press. Trust those people to "spoke out" from your film's story to find access points and alignments across media channels and audience influencers. 
3. The ability to scale and make your (film) accessible. Bring your film to the people to help your career grow! Stewart Thorndike did this with LYLE - she released a feature for free to raise money and awareness for her next feature and it worked! Check out her interview with producer Alex Scharfman here and here. 2014 CRI Fellow Artel Great is also following this principle by bringing multicultural films to multicultural audiences via the Project Catalyst mobile app!
4. A fundamental belief that volunteers can change the outcome. Make your audience your advocates! Stewart did this by converting her free-to-watch LYLE audience to PUTNEY backers. The BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD team made the immediate community the first audience and the strongest advocates. FORT TILDEN's small, committed crew converted their pride in the film into broad buzz across personal networks, creating a loosely-connected but consistently passionate conversation around the film. As Josh and Michael write, "The extent to which a grassroots entity is successful as such depends not on the fulfillment of these basic characteristics but rather on how each entity or person involved is respected, empowered, included, and, in turn, takes ownership of their part in expanding the movement."

Remember: "The structure of a grassroots entity takes the form of the Snowflake Model, with each module of organized activities both an extension from another and its own center of many others." Don't be afraid of branching out beyond your film and its narrative. A film can be many things to many people. 

ChemStuff

Cargo Collective

alk back! Have you applied these principles to your own work? What do you do to motivate the communities (paid/unpaid, professional/bystander, etc.) around your film?

Visibility Equals Power

Visibility equals power. Period. You cannot find solutions using the same consciousness that created the problem.  Can the unseen filmmaker claim to exist in a world where Main Street starves and Wall Street eats?  Not at all.  You cannot change a dream from inside, you must step outside of the dream to change it. The question becomes how do multicultural image-makers increase their media visibility in order to connect directly with communities who care most.  My work with Project Catalyst continues to tackle this pressing issue. We’re pioneering a digital settlement in the wild west of the web, offering an uncompromising signature destination for art passionate, tech savvy, socially aware, multicultural millennials who yearn for a mediascape where creators and connoisseurs can connect, voice, see, and hear fresh perspectives reflecting our diverse society.  

Artel Great, Project Catalyst, Technology and the Future of Multicultural Entertainment

Recently, I was invited to participate in Urbanworld Digital, a New Media program held at the HBO Theater in New York City.  The one-day event served as a digital media conference that focused on addressing the impact of technology on the creation and marketing of new media content. Executives ranging from HBO to YouTube and various film and media professionals shared their expertise as a primer for the 18th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival. 

My presentation highlighted the role of Project Catalyst in ushering in a brighter future for multicultural entertainment. Our disruptive model thrives outside of the dominant system. Through our advancements in new technology and strategic focus on audience building we find ourselves at a moment impregnated with empowering possibilities.

By focusing on real-world issues, we’ve found real-world answers with the Project Catalyst Multicultural Movie & Music App. We’ve heard from a global audience on 6 different continents now spanning 32 countries and counting. Take a look at the map below to see where the app's growth is most rapid. Project Catalyst App users around the world have demonstrated their interest in liberating the multicultural image from the shadows of dominant media culture.  We are currently working to uncover even more solutions. My commitment is to bringing communities progressive content curated to empower, illuminate, and inspire.  Together we can open new windows of opportunity for content creators to expand the reach of their work and for diverse audiences to stay on the cutting edge of indie film, music, and art.  Together we can increase our media visibility--- not only for this generation, but for the sake of a better multicultural future. 

The 32 countries that are currently watching content on the Project Catalyst  Multicultural Movie & Music App

So if you’re only watching broadcast, cable TV, or Hollywood film, you’re missing out on really amazing artistic works. Take control of your image and download the Project Catalyst App. You’ll see a better world. 

CRI Fellow Artel Great Talks Project Catalyst & the Dilemma of Multicultural Media Distribution

2014 CRI Fellow Artel Great is a thought leader on media visibility and an advocate for the improved representation of both multicultural content creators and audiences. As a PhD candidate in Cinema Studies at NYU, a filmmaker with degrees from UCLA, and a CRI Fellow, Artel has been tirelessly instigating positive change on both sides of the camera.

During his CRI Fellowship, he has dedicated himself to Project Catalyst - an app that delivers content produced by multicultural filmmakers to multicultural audiences. Through Project Catalyst , Artel is working to give voice to often-marginalized artists and to satisfy a largely underserved audience's demand for better, more resonant entertainment . In this interview, writer/director/producer Kiara C. Jones talks with Artel about Project Catalyst - from the philosophy behind its development to how to download the app for free. 

Artel claims that "visibility is power" and we wholeheartedly agree. If you do, too, share the interview and download the app! 

Do Multicultural Movies Make Money?

Why does it seem as if Hollywood is always surprised when a Black film comes in #1 at the box office? The most recent example being, No Good Deed starring Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson. The film's $24 million showing out earned the blockbuster superhero fantasy film Guardians of the Galaxy.  

When will Hollywood ditch the fallacious logic that says diverse films don't sell?  A

nd when will they begin to see the value in multicultural experiences, images, and stories?  According to an insightful study conducted by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American studies at UCLA, films that have more diversity in the cast bring in more cash at the box office.  "Those [films] with a relatively high amount of [multicultural] involvement (21–30 percent) on screen posted the highest median global box office receipts ($160.1 million). In contrast, films with the least minority involvement (10 percent or less) posted much lower box office receipts ($68.5 million)."

So why the counterfeit surprise when Black films do well on opening weekend?  If Hollywood is truly about the bottom line (as most will readily admit) how can such stark numbers be overlooked?  Seems odd for billion dollar corporations to be so naïve.  And if it's not an oversight, perhaps a lack of social value would be more appropriate?

Throughout our national tour to launch the Project Catalyst App, we have encountered many valuable lessons. We got off "On the Good Foot" in New York City.  We engaged with diverse communities in Chicago about "How to Solve 2 of the Biggest Problems in Multicultural Media Distribution."  And in Los Angeles we gathered feedback and put all of our ideas to the test launching the app in the heart of Hollywood on the backlot at Raleigh Studios.  Our goal was to determine once and for all if multicultural audiences would turn out to support diverse underground artistry.  The red carpet event was sophisticated and vibrant.  Guests of all colors and ethnicities came together and shared knowledge and ideas.  I designed the event as part industry mixer, part app presentation, and part film screening in the studio’s Charlie Chaplin Theater. Guests were treated to the finest libations and the delectable soul fusion fare of Artistic Endeavors-LA.

The turnout was incredible. So far Los Angeles has been our largest event resulting in the most app downloads in a single outing.  Way to represent!  Attendees included celebrities Nelsan Ellis (Get On Up, True Blood) and Craig Robinson (The Office), as well as studio execs, producers, actors, directors, musicians, entrepreneurs, journalists, and other art enthusiasts. 

During my presentation, I encouraged the audience to recognize their own agency to act and change the images they consume.  I reminded them that we are all apart of a bigger story that has to do with reinvesting and making a contribution to the culture.  Above all, the visual media we consume should reflect us, relate to us, stimulate and energize us to be our very best.  That’s what it’s all about. 

So is there really a market for multicultural media?  Absolutely.  Are you kidding? Stevie Wonder could see it and show it to Ray Charles!  In fact, if the tremendous success of the Los Angeles App launch showed me anything it’s this--- when we come together we can make amazing things happen, and when we are aware of better entertainment options that reflect our true potential we will support it. 

Multicultural audiences have always been here.  Ask Oscar Micheaux, Melvin Van Peebles, Spike Lee, or even Tyler Perry for that matter.  The question is when will Hollywood wake up and ditch their antiquated logic?  Who knows.  The most important thing is the Project Catalyst App was designed to bring a poetic solution to this fifteen year stalemate. 

Since August we’ve reached audiences on 6 continents across 22 countries— and counting.  If you haven’t downloaded the app get it free here.  If you have the app already, share it with a friend or family member.  Help make a positive contribution to spread high quality multicultural stories.

Use the comment section below and tell me if you agree or disagree that a multicultural media market exists.

Great ideas can change the world, but it takes great people like you to make it happen.

3 Ways Technology is Changing the Face of the Film World

For far too long, weekend after weekend in the movie theaters we have found ourselves stuck in the mire of the mundane.  Watching the same old thing--- tentpole films, CGI, big-budget, sequels, prequels, super hero, comic book movies about white men with super powers flying through the sky in tights. 

The question becomes---  where does that leave the talented indie filmmaker with the more meager means?  Or the microbudget filmmaker with a high quality festival recognized product?  Or better still, the multicultural or underrepresented filmmaker creating for specialized audiences? 

In the digital ubiquity of today’s world it’s all about evolution, innovation, iterations, updates, new versions, better models, and constant change.  So if visibility equals power, how do the women and men making the types of films I've described above tell their stories, in their own voices and raise our collective media visibility?

Could technology be the answer?  I think so. And here are three ways I've used technology through my Project Catalyst initiative to build community and amplify the distribution of multicultural films as well as tap into film enthusiasts and movie audiences on 6 different continents in 21 countries around the world in just 4 weeks!

1. The Democratization of Information

For the first time in history we have the opportunity to engage in a total systems reboot of the film ecology.  Project Catalyst activates the same digitally powered economies of scale that allowed iTunes to change the music landscape.

Through social media campaigns we've been able to galvanize filmmakers and film lovers around the world who share the same values and introduce them to new works by indie artists who are creating some of the most creative and socially relevant work today. Platforms like Facebook allow you to target individuals with specific interests that are more inclined to appreciate the work being made in the underground. 

Engaging these people early and often helps us consolidate the energy of those who are ready to support, but didn't know what exactly to do or where to go.  One of the marvels of the internet is how much information can be shared and exchanged to expand the reach of filmmakers creating for specialized audiences.  Use this information to test out your ideas and experiment with audience building. This is the most valuable asset you can ever imagine.

2. Content & Community Aggregation

Technology also allows you to increase your volume of content creation and output at a fraction of the cost of established media entities.  From the onset I have designed Project Catalyst to be an aggregator of content and to use that content and the followings of filmmakers who created it to build a bridge and make critical connections between like minded creatives who are also working to push the boundaries of artistic expression without compromise.

The creation of the Project Catalyst Film & Music App has allowed us an opportunity to offer the world something no one else can--- a transmedia repository of the most diverse, fresh and provocative indie cinema on the planet.  In this sense, technology has not only allowed us to trigger a flashpoint of creative innovation, but to also trigger a flashpoint of artistic expression.  Now filmmakers have a signature destination where their content can reach the people who care the most about their work.

The Project Catalyst App is a signature destination that not only connects filmmakers with their target audiences --- it also provides a customized cinema and media platform that connects multicultural communities with content that reflects a broader scope of our humanity and the true spirit and diversity present in America today.

Through technology Project Catalyst allows for the aggregation and cross platform, cross pollination of content that has drawn diverse communities together.  In this way, new communities have developed around a shared new media experience and this generates new value.  Building your film community is a vital task for the modern indie filmmaker if we are to take full advantage of new technology.

3. Direct to Audience Access

Technology is also providing a new space for direct audience access.  Particularly, mobile technology.  One result of today's hyper-mediated world, is people now carry screens around with them everywhere.  Why not place your content on devices people carry with them the most, their smartphone or tablet? 

In many countries, notably in Africa and Asia, their mobile infrastructure and usage is far ahead of the United States.  Today's American indie filmmaker must think about how can I get my work on these very important screens.  Reaching these screens offers an easy access for audiences to connect with and plug into you and share your work with others who will do the same. 

So if you’re only interested in watching or having your content appear on broadcast or cable tv, Hollywood movies, or anything coming out of dominant media you probably don’t know anything about Touch by Shola Amoo, or Page 36 by Nelsan Ellis or I’ve Been Life by Cody Chesnutt, or any of the really amazing artists featured on the Project Catalyst App who are doing fantastic work all over the world, and you're definitely missing an opportunity to connect with your audience in a new more intimate way,  a way that will only continue to grow.

By being featuring their work on the Project Catalyst App our direct audience access has provided several filmmakers with new opportunities to showcase their films in traditional film festivals.  Festival directors have approached me about films that appear on the App and I've been invited to curate a program of films in the 18th annual Urbanworld Film Festival in New York City. 

This venture, dubbed, Urbanworld Underground by Project Catalyst takes place on Saturday September 20th at AMC 34th Street Theater and is increasing exposure for filmmakers and extending the life and reach of their work. 

For more info and tickets to Urbanworld Underground by Project Catalyst go to: urbanworld.org/underground .  We'll be exhibiting six films, including, sci-fi, animation, documentary, and thriller genres.

So when you're thinking about your next move as a filmmaker or ways to increase viewership and build community, think about the ways I've described above to employ new technologies and take advantage of the Project Catalyst App as a platform to let your cinematic voice be heard across the world! 

Leave a comment below and tell me the ways you're using technology to spread your film and media content.

Great ideas can change the world but it requires great people to make it happen, so download the Project Catalyst App here and spread the word.

On the Good Foot: the Project Catalyst NYC App Launch Review

It has been said “if you can make it in New York City, you can make it anywhere.”  After spending a year designing and building the Project Catalyst App, the time had come to unleash it on the world.  What better place to do so than New York City.  As you know, my research agenda centers on uncovering new solutions to expand media diversity and multicultural film distribution.  My goal is to use digital technology to bring progressive entertainment to underserved multicultural communities. 

Contemporaneously, the Project Catalyst App is designed to offer filmmakers from diverse backgrounds a signature destination that would showcase their incredible movies and music videos to people around the world.  This is a long overdue solution to expanding humanistic and diverse media content.

The Project Catalyst New York City App Launch was held at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) in the heart of Fort Greene Brooklyn. 

The event took place in a large art gallery featuring the work of an amazing visual artist, and was designed to be part industry mixer, part presentation.  I did no public marketing for this event.  My team and I sent personal invitations to guests we believed would share our values and desires.  Our guests were treated to delectable hor devours and beverages and soulful tunes from DJ Jahmedicine.  Attendees included: actors, filmmakers, producers, scholars, writers, and musicians, and television personalities.  People from diverse backgrounds who really desire to see a positive shift in the representational politics of film and media distribution. 

My presentation informed guests why the time was ripe for change to occur and why the Project Catalyst App was the perfect solution for the new social savvy multicultural media creator and consumer.  After all, people of color make up nearly 60 percent of the movie-going audience, shouldn’t they be better represented on the screens they watch? 

The most exciting aspect of the event was revealing the app to the audience on a large projector.  I was able to showcase a brief overview of the apps functionality and content.  We watched snippets from the Project Catalyst App, which features three distinct content channels: Reflections (i.e. short narrative) Vibes (i.e. music videos), and Truth (i.e. documentaries).  Guests were excited to see the app's beautiful design and how seamless it operated.  After all, giving a live presentation from my smartphone, could have gone two ways--- very good, or very bad.  Thankfully, the presentation at MoCADA went very well. 

The creative and artistic class in New York City straightaway embraced the new Project Catalyst platform, which was not an easy task to achieve.  Truly, a feat in and of itself.  In fact, our potential for expansion and partnerships was enhanced from this event.  Geoffrey Guerrero of the Katra Film Series (a Latino film series), Kay Shaw of the National Black Programming Consortium, and other organizations in attendance reached out to express their desire to develop collaborative partnerships and showcase their content on the Project Catalyst App. I guess you could say we got started off “on the good foot.” 

My goal is to begin to aggregate content and communities to enhance the platform, reach wider audiences, and create greater value through collective actions and engagement. 

One highlight of the event was the enthrallment of noted image activist and CNN contributor, Michaela Angela Davis, who after witnessing the demonstration of the Project Catalyst App immediately became an advocate for the transmedia platform and strategy.  In fact, Davis tweeted about the app touting its uniqueness as the "Netflix culturally curated around people of color."--- I could not have said it better myself!

I firmly believe that great ideas can change the world, but it requires great people to make it happen.  That’s why I need your help to download the app and share it with as many people as possible--- For easy access, you can find the Project Catalyst app here to download for free & watch.

See more about Project Catalyst initiatives at ProjectCatalyst.com

Find us on Facebook here and Follow us on Twitter here for more updates. 

What is the Project Catalyst App?

As you know, I’ve been conducting research and spearheading the development of an innovative transmedia platform, dubbed Project Catalyst, that expands the possibilities for diversity in cinema and media through its convergence with new technology, community building, and the world of visual art via work created by filmmakers and artists of color.

Now, I have an exciting update aimed specifically at all you filmmakers and film lovers.

My vision to initiate fresh media distribution strategies, through Project Catalyst has taken a positive new step--- we’ve gone global. 

I’ve been working with a team of talented people to design, build, and launch the Project Catalyst App.  Where users can watch film, music videos, and documentaries from the brightest new indie artists right on a smartphone or tablet.  The app is compatible with iPhone and Android devices, and you can even watch on your flatscreen TV by using Google Chromecast or AppleTV.

With the Project Catalyst App,  I’ve designed the first application software to distinctively showcase narrative short films, documentaries, and music videos all made by talented indie artists from Black, Latino/a, and Asian communities.

The app’s content features an impressive array of genres from drama to animation, sci-fi to experimental.  The app currently offers three distinct content channels: 1) Reflections,  2) Vibes, and 3) Truth.   Reflections = narrative, Vibes = music videos and Truth = documentary. 

My goal is to use digital technology to bring better film options to multicultural communities by offering Project Catalyst as a signature destination that showcases incredible movies and music from artists who are creating work outside the Hollywood mainstream. 

It’s a long overdue solution to expanding humanistic and diverse media content.

My team and I have spent the last four weeks organizing a national launch tour for the Project Catalyst App.   We’ve been reaching out to artistically underserved populations across our multiple social media platforms, and so far we’ve successfully executed crowd-filled invite-only events in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. 

The goal here is to offer the creative class, media influencers and early adopters a chance to sample the goodies and help spread the word.  The response has been fantastic!

As of today, there are people watching the Project Catalyst App on every continent in 14 different countries across North and South America, Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and Africa.  All of this based on positive word of mouth from our three launch events.

Could the Project Catalyst App be the perfect platform for a new generation of social savvy consumers?  Undoubtedly. 

I’ll be revealing the strategy behind our thought campaign and details from each launch event soon.  Also, stay tuned for behind the scenes video content from our tour and insights into how you can use the Project Catalyst App to expand the reach and extend the life of your film or new media project.

Get the app free right here: http://projectcatalyst.mobapp.at/

For more info go to: projectcatalyst.com and ‘Become a Catalyst.’

Find us on Facebook here and follow us on Twitter here.

Great ideas can change the world, but it takes great people to make it happen.

Are We Waiting In Vain?

Make no mistake.  We are at war.   I’m not talking drone strikes.  I’m talking semiological warfare.  And it’s being waged by members of a corporate owned media industrial complex.

The battle is incessant for the spirit and mind of the people.  Semiological warfare is not waged on a traditional battled field with missiles or IEDs.  It’s waged on a cultural terrain with signs,images, and symbols. Movies. Television.  Music, and Advertising.

The commanders of this war strategize and execute plans that determine what we hear and see in dominant media. Their actions largely determine what we “like.”  And sadly, the folks making these decisions about our lives do not have the best interests of people of color in mind.  What is worse, this elite group is telling our stories in their voices.  They’re shaping our images from their perspectives.

Let it be known— there’s work to be done, and we need your help!  I am not afraid to get my hands dirty in the war games of media culture, especially if it means helping make the world a better place for our children’s future.  After all, a wise person once said, “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” A pretty revolutionary statement when you think about it.  We can no longer sit idly by waiting in vain for our voices to be heard.

My work with the CRI is designed to contribute to advancing media culture by offering multicultural audiences an opportunity to benefit from a customized cinema that caters to their experiences.  I aim to achieve this by capitalizing on the same digitally powered economies of scale that revolutionized the music industry. (Think of a film version of iTunes designed exclusively for people of color).

Based on my current research in cinema, media studies, and segmentation analysis, I’ve realized there remains asubstantial market for film and media that speaks directly to the lives and experiences of diverse communities (Black, Latina/o, and Asian-American), including in broader audiences who have multicultural tastes. The question becomes— why has dominant media willfully ignored this vast segment of the national audience?

I’ve spent much time thinking about what I can do as a cinema artist, media scholar, and historian, and what is my responsibility to engage in the heart of cinema’s most vital role in our society, which is to increase our vision of the possible.  It is from this line of inquiry that Project Catalyst was born.  My aim is to provide multicultural audiences with a distinctive voice that addresses their strong demand for better entertainment. Sure. We go to the movies in large numbers.  But the stories and images projected on the silver screens do not reflect the nature, depth, or breadth of our humanity. 

Project Catalyst emerges to showcase communities, films, artists, and filmmakers that Hollywood pretends do not exist.  We are offering new cultural programming that is perfectly aligned with the needs and desires of multicultural audiences.  Furthermore, Project Catalyst is also combining hybrid theatrical and alternative cinematic exhibition as a disruptive innovation designed to:

• provide better entertainment options in artistically underserved communities,

• offer a vital alternative distribution service for film and media artists whose work explores humanistic diverse perspectives, and to

• give audiences rich multilayered cultural experiences that are aligned with the needs and desires that express the love, laughter, and depth of our everyday lives.

In this respect, Project Catalyst is addressing a very specific need for a previously ignored population.  By delivering fresh and exciting film and visual culture to diverse communities across the United States, I intend to engage our audiences in a larger cultural and civic dialogue, by questioning worn-out social structures, and challenging Hollywood institutional practices through our own customized cinema and media arts.  At the end of the day, the work of Project Catalyst is critical to achieving the diversity needed in media to help save lives and open up new windows of possibility and understanding within our rapidly changing, highly mediated Twenty-First century culture.

We must truly begin to celebrate diversity in cinema and media— the audience is there, the appetite is there, the buying power is there, and the time— is NOW.  I real(eyes) great ideas can change the world, but it requires great people to make it happen. So I need your help. Go to our newly designed website www.projectcatalyst.com and fill out the information to “Become A Catalyst,” and get involved to show your support.  I look forward to taking this amazing journey with you!

Like our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter for more details on how you can help spark this exciting change!!!

Whatchu Talking 'Bout Tyler Perry?

Much has been made about Tyler Perry’s meteoric rise to fame and fortune.  Much has also been made about his ever-expanding business empire and the creation of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.  And yet, Perry’s business model is not new to Black America.  Nor is Perry the first Black person to create an independent film studio. 

As a scholar in American film history,  my research reminds me that the second decade of the 1900s, saw the emergence of a new movie cycle—  the so-called “race films.”  This cycle peaked around the 1920s and 1930s.  The “race films” centered primarily on Black-American characters and were produced by Black filmmakers, specifically for Black audiences.  This all occurred within the harsh realities of  a system of American apartheid terrorism and white racial animus.  And within this brutally hostile environment independent Black filmmakers rose like a phoenix from the ashes to create a vibrant cinematic expansion through self-reliance, community building, and an unflinching entrepreneurial spirit.

(Tyler Perry)

Beginning in 1910, with opening of The Foster Photoplay Company by William D. Foster in Chicago, next the Lincoln Motion Picture Company was founded in 1915 by George and Noble Johnson in Omaha, Nebraska, and most notably, the Micheaux Film and Book Company was founded in 1918 by the legendary Oscar Micheaux also in Chicago. The release of William Foster’s The Railroad Porter (1912) along with the backlash in Black communities to the insidious racialized defamation of The Birth of a Nation (1915), set the stage for the materialization of this cinematic movement by Black-American filmmakers and producers to create films specifically for Black audiences.  Soon we saw independent Black films spring forth with the expressed intent to counter white hegemony over the Black screen image.

These films included, The Lincoln Motion Picture Company’s, The Realization of a Negro’s Ambition (1916) and Oscar Micheaux’s, Within Our Gates (1920). The emergence of these new films (produced outside of Hollywood’s inequitable infrastructure) by marginalized groups actually catered toward a dissatisfied and disenfranchised audience who were being ignored by the lamestream film industry.  Sound familiar?

These filmmakers were remarkably able to achieve the development and execution of an alternative film distribution system (in an era where the price of resistance was often lethal).  These bold entrepreneurial pioneers created Black films, for Black audiences that played in Black communities in Black theaters, and even created Black film stars like, Paul Robeson, Hattie McDaniel, Clarence Muse, and Evelyn Preer.  The race film movement ran parallel to its vaudeville counterpart known rather pejoratively as the “chitlin circuit.”  Noted scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. describes the old Chitlin Circuit as a “spawning ground for a good number of accomplished Black actors, comics, and musicians… crisscrossing Black America, the circuit established an empire of comedy and pathos, the sublime and the ridiculous: a moveable feast that enabled Blacks to patronize Black entertainers… The productions were for, by, and about Black folks...”[i]

Now let’s put this all in the proper perspective— under some of the most egregiously brutal white supremacy, we saw the organization of several independent Black film studios that created prolifically for their target audience entirely outside of the Hollywood studio system and plugged their films into their own alternative distribution network, while turning a profit!  No social media. No cell phones. No Kickstarter. No internet. No TV ads. No public relations experts.  Just passion. Vision. And a tremendous will to serve an audience thirsty for entertainment and images that reflected the diversity of their own experiences on the screen.  Sound familiar? Ehmmm. (clearing my throat.)

This is why I love history! Malcolm X once said, “Of all of our studies, history is most qualified to reward our research.” That is absolutely true.  In fact, it is through my research into this rich (yet, often overlooked) history of American film that I was inspired to design Project Catalystover one year ago.

If these industrious filmmakers could achieve their own studios and distribution networks in the 1900s under the threat of lynching and all manner of violence, imagine what we can achieve with all of the advancements in new technology that has lowered the cost of production, initiated the democratization of information, and created the digital ubiquity that has become our reality!

We must truly begin to celebrate diversity in cinema and media— the audience is there, the appetite is there, the buying power is there, and the time— is NOW.

(PHOTO: Members of the Lincoln Motion Picture Company)

And yes, I know you’re wondering. How come I've never heard of these independent Black studios before? Whatever happened to “race films?” Unfortunately, most of the companies responsible for the production of the over five hundred or so “race films” that we know to have existed were profoundly undercapitalized.  In spite of the ground-breaking endeavors of the Foster Photoplay Company, the Lincoln Motion Picture Company, and the Micheaux Film and Book Company, by the onset of the Great Depression many Black actors were being poached by Hollywood.  

Also, the advent of the “talkies” adversely impacted Black independent filmmakers and the race film category insofar as many Black producers were unable to afford the cost of the new sound and camera equipment.

Notwithstanding, it’s important to shine a bright spotlight on their enormous contribution, and it is my intention to extend their legacies and use the inspiration of their sacrifice to carry forward the liberatory torch of hope that burns bright for our future.

I real(eyes) great ideas can change the world, but it requires great people to make it happen. Please check our website www.projectcatalyst.com and fill out the information to “Become A Catalyst,” and show your support.  I look forward to taking this amazing journey with you!

(PHOTO: Oscar Micheaux)

Also be sure to like our Facebook Page, follow us on Twitter, and check out our newly designed Tumblr for more details on how you can help spark this exciting change!!!

[i] Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The Chitlin Circuit,The New Yorker Feburary 3, 1997, 49.

Have We Been Hoodwinked? Bamboozled? Led Astray?

On the hotly contested and politically charged terrain of contemporary media culture most filmmakers live or die based on an industry model that is largely dependent upon the number of screens on which a film plays. This traditional line of thinking posits that the more screens on which a movie is shown the more money that movie makes.

However, given the state of audience fatigue induced by the current Hollywood megabudget, superhero, sequel, prequel, unoriginal remake, CGI, film cycle we're mired in--- this line of thinking has become misleading.  Movies with huge budgets that play on thousands of screens are failing to turn a profit (see my previous article: "Is Hollywood Out of Touch?" for more details.)

As a critical part of my research agenda, I’ve examined the most recent data from the United States Census Bureau and the theatrical market statistics from the Motion Picture Association of America, and what I’ve found is shocking.  People of color comprise 36 percent of the total U.S. population.

Yet, this same segment (people of color) make up 57 percent of the total movie-going audience.  That’s a lot of box office power!  But despite this stark overrepresentation of people of color in movie audiences only 2 percent of the movies produced in Hollywood have a diverse cast!  Have we been had?  Are we being took?  Have we been hoodwinked? Bamboozled? Led astray? Run amok?

You be the judge. Take a look at the infographic I've created below based on the data from a new study conducted at UCLA's  Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

image

Men lie. Women lie. But numbers don’t.

The stories, images, and experiences of people of color remain largely absent in commercial film and television.  The way America's population is trending (with people of color rising dramatically in number) this current lack of cinema and media representation is nonsensical and, frankly, fiscally unsound.  So instead of complaining about these gross inequities (and listening to others complain) I’ve decided to do something.  My current research with the CRI reveals that multicultural audiences have an enormous appetite for films that honestly depict the multiple facets of their communities using imagery that expresses the fullness of their humanity.

PC

With this in mind, working with the CRI I’ve designed Project Catalyst— an innovative transmedia company that fuses creative community building practices with cinema, art, and technology— to challenge the lack of visibility given to people of color in the current media landscape. 

My work with Project Catalyst is aimed at re-imagining the empowering possibilities of cinema by designing a new socially engaged, artistically rich, transmedia experience that directly addresses multicultural audiences and filmmakers.

As new technology continues to evolve and change the cinematic terrain, my goal is to embrace this change and push the boundaries of the possible.  My work with Project Catalyst emerges as a disruptive innovation that marries digital and mobile technologies with cinema, visual art, creative activism, and participatory engagement.  My aim is to achieve an alternative distribution model that navigates multiple media platforms to showcase amazing films— by and about people of color.  In fact, I contend a platform like Project Catalyst is long overdue.  And I am not content waiting around for some out-of-touch studio executive to finally recognize that people of color actually go to the movies!  The time has come to truly celebrate diversity in cinema and media— the audience is there, the appetite is there, the buying power is there, and the time— is NOW.

 I real(eyes) great ideas can changethe world, but it requires great people to make it happen. So I need your help. Go to our newly designed website www.projectcatalyst.com and fill out the information to “Become A Catalyst,” and get involved to show your support.  I look forward to taking this amazing journey with you!

Like our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter  for more details on how you can help spark this exciting change!!!

Whatever Happened to Multicultural Cinema and Television?

Gone are the glorious days when television programs like: A Different World,  New York Undercover,  and Living Single graced the airwaves and stimulated the small screen.  These TV shows (among many others) reflected broader depictions of humanity for people of color, and expanded visions of the possible for millions of Americans.  Since the early 2000s there has been a steep decline in the production and distribution of diverse entertainment in Hollywood overall.

DW

nyuc

And yet, it is important to note that the removal of multicultural films and television programs from mainstream screens has not removed the necessity for or the insatiable craving for multicultural images and stories from members of diverse communities.  Quite the contrary— the desire for diverse content has never been greater!

In fact, Black and Latina/o Americans watch 44% more film and television than other groups.  A recent survey conducted by the Harvard University School of Public Health reveals that, African-Americans rank the highest in terms of their dissatisfactionwith their current entertainment options.[1]  Historian Preston Lauterbach points out “entertainment is good for the soul [and] entertainment hits you the best and hits you the hardest when it’s directed toward you.”[2]   Can I get a witness?!?  However, for various reasons, dominant media continues to ignore multicultural audience members and this has created a tremendous void for people of color.

Living-Single-cast

Thus, with the support of the NYU CRI, I have officially launched Project Catalyst— an innovative transmedia organization that galvanizes amazing filmmakers, thinkers, and visual artists, to combine creative community building practices with cinema, art, and technology. Our mission is to provide alternative entertainment options for an ever-expanding multicultural population. Throughout my fellowship year, (and beyond) we will diligently work to put forth an exciting new model that unveils positive solutions to this very pressing dilemma.

 My aim through Project Catalyst is to cultivate an artistic and cinematic space rooted in the cultural affirmation of diverse communities.  A space where culture is produced and knowledge is shared that reflects the multivalent stories, experiences, and images that challenge traditional boundaries of what others conceive as valuable, not only for ourselves, but for the sake of generations of young people growing up in a media culture bereft of reflections of themselves.   Project Catalyst is a model for disruptive innovation.  A platform that fills the enormous gap in diversity that Hollywood has created.  We are providing a culturally expressive communal space that celebrates the spirit and diversity of American life!

Project Catalyst is an organization that serves as a vehicle for filmmakers who are creating works specifically for communities outside of Hollywood’s lamestream.  If you desire to reach a multicultural audience, we can help you. If you desire to share a powerful story from a traditionally underrepresented perspective we’re here to serve you.  Our goal is to amplify films, filmmakers and artists who create visual culture that possess high quality and strong humanistic voices, in order to transform our collective media invisibility into an undeniably visible cultural and cinematic force.

As always, I real(eyes) great ideas can changethe world, but it requires great people to make it happen. That’s why we need your help to share our message of positivity with others.  I thank you in advance for your continued support.  And I'm honored to take this amazing journey with you---

Check out our website for details on how you can become a CATALYST and spark your GREATNESS!!! www.projectcatalyst.com  Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/projectcatalyst  and follow us on Twitter: @pjcatalyst

[1]See Shereen Marisol Meraji’s article Black Americans Give Entertainment Options Failing Grades, NPR http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/06/07/189603116/black-americans-give-entertainment-options-failing-grades

[2] Ibid.

Is Hollywood Out of Touch?

Take a look at the unusually high number of recent box office failures and the problem becomes clear.  Hollywood is mired in a big budget, post apocalyptic, superhero, robot, sequel, prequel, 3D, blockbuster, comic book film cycle.  Yet, since last May (the start of the film industry’s high-stakes summer season) Hollywood has sustained several big-budget flops including, Jeff Bridges’ R.I.P.D., Will Smith’s After Earth, andJohnny Depp’s TheLone Ranger, just to name a few.

ripd

After

the_lone

It is my contention that today’s moving-going audiences have been beleaguered into a Hollywood induced state of mega-budget, remake, sci-fi, CGI movie fatigue.  This problem is even more pronounced in many multicultural communities as Black, Latino,  Asian-American, and Native-American experiences rarely find voice in such Hollywood blockbusters.  Even further, over the last fifteen years, there has been a steep decline in the sheer number and variance of multicultural films on the silver screen.  This reality is in stark contrast to say, for instance, the burgeoning Black cinema that produced a successful wave of talent,  highly acclaimed, and financially successful films in the 1990s.

Many of these films were financed by Hollywood studios, as well as independently, and were helmed by Black filmmakers who presented diverse stories that were multivalent, powerful, and reflective.

A few prime examples include: To Sleep With Anger (Charles Burnett, 1990),  the teen comedyHouse Party (Reginald Hudlin, 1990),  Julie Dash’s epic Daughters of the Dust (1991), which became the first feature film directed by an African-American woman, the animated comedy Bebe’s Kids (Bruce Smith, 1992), the Black westernPosse (Mario Van Peebles, 1993),  the film noir period piece, Devil in a Blue Dress (Carl Franklin, 1995),  the college-based drama Higher Learning (John Singleton, 1995),  the feminist leaningWaiting to Exhale(Forest Whitaker, 1995),  the family oriented Soul Food (George Tillman, 1997),  and the humanizing Black romanceLove Jones (Theodore Witcher, 1997).   I could keep going, but I’m sure--- you get the point!

love-jones1

waiting

In today’s media marketplace, however, this type diversification in cinema has ostensibly evaporated as, journalist Michael Cieply points out in the New York Times, " New Line Cinema, Warner Independent Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and other companies that specialized in midbudget comedies and dramas have shrank or disappeared."  Consequently, for many multicultural audience members (read Black, Latino, and Asian-American) the basic enjoyment of Hollywood films has been harmed by the limited and often regressive roles reserved for nonwhite actors (read slaves, addicts, whores, thugs, caricatures, or men dressed in drag--- ehmmm, Madea).

bebe

While there is, indeed, nothing inherently wrong with slapstick comedy or the recent wave of slave films per se, there is, however, a burning desire for more variety within multicultural communities to see films that just do--- more!   For many people of color it is virtually impossible to find a Hollywood film containing the stories of love, dignity, laughter, struggle, redemption, intelligence, and humanity that reflect the fullness and diversity of our lives.

 With this in mind, my work with the Cinema Research Institute (CRI) this year is aimed at interrogating and challenging the antiquated notions of dominant cinema.   My research is aimed at excavating innovative film distribution strategies to address issues of diversity in media culture.  Not only for the benefit of underserved communities (Blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and Native-Americans) but also for all audiences who simply enjoy great stories and great films.

And so I say, to the vibrant multicultural audiences who are sadly neglected by dominant media, and to the talented and progressive filmmakers with diverse voices, and to the broader audiences who have multicultural tastes--- I see you!!!   I know you’re out there (despite what Hollywood purports) and together we will make a positive impact.

After all, I real(eyes) great ideas can change the world, but it requires great people to make it happen.  That’s why I’ll need your help. I thank you in advance for your support.   And I look forward to traveling this amazing journey with you!!!

Do Movies Really Matter?

Movies make magic.  They captivate us.  They transform us.  They take the mundane and modify it before our waking eyes.  In fact, cinema assumes a pedagogical role in the lives of many people.  At its best, film travels through the hidden chambers of our minds and alters what already exists; clearly, movies could not achieve this spectacular feat by merely reflecting the norm. [1]

Motion pictures, at their core, expand possibilities.  In other words, cinema represents a very powerful vision of what our future can hold.  That said, my work with the Cinema Research Institute is aimed at impacting the heart of cinema’s most vital role in our society and that, in my opinion, is to increase our vision of⎯ the possible!

New media technology boom

Today, new technology continues to push the boundaries of human connectivity.  And as media culture rapidly changes with these new technologies (digital, mobile, internet, social media, etc); quite frankly, cinema and television still remain highly active sites for the production and circulation of complex power relations.

In his book, Devil Finds Work,  James Baldwin explores certain underlying assumptions found in American media.  He reminds us of the fundamental necessity for storytelling as a critical component of the human experience.  That is, after all, why humans invented poetry, art, music, literature, film, etc.  Baldwin contends that, “in order for a person to bear his [or her] life, he [or she] needs a valid re-creation of that life.” [2]  Wow. Rather profound, huh?!  (Gotta LOVE James Baldwin.)

James Baldwin, novelist, essayist, playwright, cultural theorist

To that extent, the epistemological function of cinema and television in the process of global socialization and human identity formation cannot be easily overlooked.  Cinema (and media in general) provides us with the stories and images of our humanity that help shape our understanding of being-in-the-world. [3]

The question then begs to be asked⎯ what is the psychic and empirical toll on the lives of those marginalized groups whose images, stories, and experiences have become invisible or grossly distorted in the commercial film and television landscape?

With this in mind, I am immensely honored and excited that throughout the 2014-2015 year I have been chosen to work with the Cinema Research Institute (CRI) to tackle tough questions like this.  My research is aimed at excavating innovative film distribution strategies to address issues of media diversity for underserved communities, including but not limited, to Black, Latino, Asian-American, and Native-American audiences and filmmakers.

I’d like to thank the CRI for bestowing me with this prestigious fellowship.  I deeply appreciate your confidence and tremendous support, particularly, the incomparable Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell, the assiduous John Tintori, the percipient Robert Warren, the enterprising Richard Vague, and the astute Colin Brown.  You have selected me to receive this award for a reason, and I will not disappoint.    I desire to thank my vivacious, beautiful, and intelligent mother, Ms. G.B. Walker.  There are no words to adequately express how much you mean to me.   I am⎯ because you are.  Last, but most certainly not least, I desire to thank my most wise, pioneering, and courageous ancestors upon whose shoulders I stand.  Thank you for blazing a trail that I might follow.  I hope to one day extend your legacies and inspire others the way you have inspired me.   Also, special thanks to the tireless Miranda Sherman.  And congratulations to my fellow Fellows (pun intended) ⎯ stay thirsty, my friends.

To the vibrant multicultural audiences,  the under-recognized, progressive, humanistic filmmakers with diverse voices, and to the broader audiences who have multicultural tastes⎯ I see you!!!  I know you’re out there and together we will make a positive impact and our voices will be heard!!!

I definitely real(eyes) that great ideas can change the world, but it requires great people to make it happen.  That’s why I’ll need your help throughout the year, to engage the film and entertainment community in a long-running dialogue, while designing positive solutions toward media equity, as we work diligently to disrupt the status quo in dominant film distribution.  I thank you in advance for your support.   And I look forward to taking this amazing journey with you all !!!

faced

Notes:

1. Jeanette Winterson. Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery (Random House, 1997).

2.  James Baldwin. The Devil Finds Work (Random House, 1976).

3. See Martin Heidegger, Being and Time (HarperCollins, 2008), 84.