Race, Sex & Cinema: The World of Marlon Riggs
Tongues Untied - 30th Anniversary screening
BAM Rose Cinemas | February 11, 2019
About last night...
Rick and I had the opportunity to visit BAM Rose Cinemas and watch Tongues Untied, a revolutionary documentary by Marlon Riggs that uniquely unpacks what it’s like to be a gay Black man in America, and how these facets of his identity are perceived by others and portrayed in the media.
This 1989 film is unlike anything I’ve ever seen! With its runtime under an hour, you’re immersed in a world of self-reflection and representation that’s still considered “too controversial” for mainstream. The realization is that in the last 30 years, while great strides have been made with respect to equality for gay rights, unfortunately, not much has changed and the “silence”, as it is depicted throughout the film for the voiceless, is deafening. Through entertaining testimonials, thought-provoking interviews, insightful poetry, African culture, and rhythmic chants that almost seem hypnotizing, Marlon pieces together timeless art that embraces sensuality and sexuality unapologetically while concurrently confronting homophobia, racism, marginalization, and the tragic effects of exclusion and mockery for laughs.
This short film was before its time, and if you have time to visit the Brooklyn Academy of Music during their weeklong retrospective of Marlon’s work that ends February 14th, then I highly recommend you check it out!
Here are some clips from the film, and if you haven’t watched the latest episode of Red Table Talk with Don Lemon, then you should check that out, too! It’s truly an eye-opening, much needed discussion! Thank you Jada Pinkett Smith for using your platform to shine light, love, and understanding on such highly important topics!
"Anoint me with cocoa oil and cum so I speak in tongues twisted so tight they untangle my mind." - Marlon Riggs, Tongues Untied
This 1989 film is unlike anything I’ve ever seen! With its runtime under an hour, you’re immersed in a world of self-reflection and representation that’s still considered “too controversial” for mainstream. The realization is that in the last 30 years, while great strides have been made with respect to equality for gay rights, unfortunately, not much has changed and the “silence”, as it is depicted throughout the film for the voiceless, is deafening. Through entertaining testimonials, thought-provoking interviews, insightful poetry, African culture, and rhythmic chants that almost seem hypnotizing, Marlon pieces together timeless art that embraces sensuality and sexuality unapologetically while concurrently confronting homophobia, racism, marginalization, and the tragic effects of exclusion and mockery for laughs.
This short film was before its time, and if you have time to visit the Brooklyn Academy of Music during their weeklong retrospective of Marlon’s work that ends February 14th, then I highly recommend you check it out!
Here are some clips from the film, and if you haven’t watched the latest episode of Red Table Talk with Don Lemon, then you should check that out, too! It’s truly an eye-opening, much needed discussion! Thank you Jada Pinkett Smith for using your platform to shine light, love, and understanding on such highly important topics!
"Anoint me with cocoa oil and cum so I speak in tongues twisted so tight they untangle my mind." - Marlon Riggs, Tongues Untied
"It wasn't because I played sex with the other boys. Everybody on the block did that. But because I didn't mind giving it away. Now other boys traded. 'You can have my booty if you give me yours. Mmm-mmm. But wait a minute now, if I go first... You went first last time...But I want to be the daddy...You the daddy all the time...I want to be the daddy...I'm the daddy'... Mmm-mmm... Not me. I gave it up for free."
- Marlon Riggs
- Marlon Riggs
A trailer from the 1989 revolutionary documentary, Tongues Untied
"While I wait for my prince to come, from every other man I demand pay for my kisses. I buy paint for my lips, stockings for my legs, my own high-heeled slippers and dresses that become me. When he comes I will know how to love his body. Standing out here on the waterfront curbsides I have learned to please a man."
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