We go together like butter and popcorn…
We go together like butter and popcorn…My boyfriend and I enjoy watching movies at the crib. It's one of the ways we like to relax and unwind from the workweek. Both of us are tough critics, although he takes it to a whole different level. He will critique how an actor/actress says a particular word or if the movie was realistic. (although he loves sci-fi movies and shows…LOL)
Since we are an interracial couple, we discuss racial issues regularly because we're not naive, we have cultural differences. We decided early on that we would be open to discussing our individual biases and stereotypical beliefs (based on how we grew up and our personal experiences). We have discussed EVERYTHING—from natural hair, comparing how we season our food, and white privilege. After learning each other's views on each other's culture, I thought it would be a good idea if we took our love for movies and learned more about each other. In the future, we plan to get married and start a family together, and I need my man to be "hip to the game/culture" since we will be raising biracial children. (BTW…he hates when I say "hip to the game"—LOL) I made a list of movies that I thought that he needed to watch to understand "The Culture." Here's a list of some of the movies I wanted him to see so that he could have a better understanding and appreciation of black culture.
Boyz in the Hood —Malcolm X— Coming to America— Friday —Set It Off— The Temptations —The Five Heartbeats —Love and Basketball— Juice —Harlem Nights —Hidden Figures— Black Panther —The Best Man— The Color Purple— Purple Rain— Higher Learning— The Last Dragon —Carmen Jones (this is one of my favorite movies)— Good Hair (documentary)— Selma—(the list continues…this is just a few)
The first couple of movies I suggested were Boyz in the Hood, Malcolm X, Coming to America, and Friday…Surprisingly, I found out that he had watched all of those films and a lot of other black movies before dating me….SO I suggested we watch Set It Off. (yeah, I had to introduce him to an intense film…LOL). He really enjoyed it, and of course, he liked that it was a cast of women robbing a bank. He thought Queen Latifah’s acting in the movie seemed to be very realistic, but her character was a bit much for him. LOL. The film presented some of the obstacles black women face and police brutality...AND I LOVE that we were able to have an open dialogue about ALL of it.
NOW… Let's talk about the movie he chose for us to watch. He picked the movie, Office Space! OMG…I was bored out of my mind…BTW, it was his first time watching it since high school, and he realized it wasn't as funny as he remembered. Apparently, it's a film cult classic. In my opinion, a movie about white-collared men disliking their job was not entertaining to me. (my apologies, if you like this film…lol) The film exhibited humor that I didn’t find amusing…BUT my friends say I'm a tough critic when it comes to comedy. The writer and director of this film was the creator of Beavis and Butt-head, and I was never a fan of that show.
These two films allowed us to understand each other better and have a great dialogue about our opinions on both films. We decided to look up the ratings of both movies, and we found out that Office Space had a better score than Set It Off. We both couldn't believe it…until we started discussing how majority of movie critics are white men. (which speaks for itself)
I recommend for you to have a movie night with your Boo, family, and/or friends where you compare two movies. We like to "keep score" on who can pick the better movie…AND of course be movie critics. LOL.
SOOO….in the end we agreed Set It Off was the better film…AND I'm the butter to his popcorn! LOL.
-What is your favorite movie?
-How do you and your Boo like to unwind?
-Which movies do you think we should add to our list?