Jessica Smith
Stories (16/0)
What to Learn From the Film Gimme Shelter
As a birthday present to myself, I've decided to watch an overlooked film called Gimme Shelter. It was released on October 17, 2013 at the Heartland Film Festival and again on January 24, 2014 in theaters across the US. Gimme Shelter is a Christian drama film starring Vanessa Hudgens, James Earl Jones, Rosario Dawson, Brendan Fraser and Ann Dowd. Filming began in 2011 and scenes were shot entirely in New York and New Jersey. In the film, Agnes "Apple" Bailey (Hudgens) decides to run away from her abusive neglectful drug addicted mother who was keeping her to collect welfare. After being thrown out of a cab on the highway, she walked for hours and eventually found her biological father. He was now a successful broker on Wall Street and lived in a rich gated community to show for it. Initially, things didn't go so well and Apple ended up back on the streets. This was after Apple found out she was pregnant and was at odds with her father and his wife over wanting to keep the baby.
By Jessica Smith 4 years ago in Geeks
Being Biracial or Multiracial in the 21st Century
Alright, it's not very often that I discuss race. But given the current political climate in this country, I feel like I should. I want the world to know how I feel about being mixed race in the 21st century in Trump's America. Let's start with my family. I was born to an African American mother and a Caucasian father. My dad's mother is German and English and his father was Jewish. My dad's paternal grandparents came from Russia before World War I in 1910. This region is now known as present day Belarus. My dad said my great grandparents wanted the most American sounding last name possible and it was given. My great grandmother was 14 and my great grandfather was 19. It's possible they married young. Societal norms were much different even in the early 20th century. Before coming to America, they knew very little about it except that it was established by the English. They also knew they could make it big here. When they saw blacks for the first time, they thought all of them came from Africa. They had misconceived notions that if you touched a black person's hair, you'll cut your hands. But they had no exposure to people other than whites especially back in Russia. US History wasn't really taught in the old country.
By Jessica Smith 4 years ago in The Swamp
Commitments Film Review
On May 4, 2001, there was a romantic drama film released by BET called Commitments. It stars Allen Payne and Victoria Dillard as Van Compton and Fox Giovanni respectively. The beginning of the film is narrated by Victoria's character Fox bragging about the successful life she has a competitive stockbroker in New York City. Fox felt like she had it all. The money, the material possessions and the so-called satisfaction of making it in the corporate world. Not to mention a casual hook up with her co worker. Before her health scare, Fox thought she felt complete despite the fact that she grew up in foster care. Originally, she was from North Carolina but decided to go up north for more job opportunities once she became an adult. One bad habit she had in particular was her love of cigarettes. Every time something good happened at work like a successful trade off, she celebrated with cigarette breaks. When she was stressed, she also smoked to calm her nerves.
By Jessica Smith 4 years ago in Geeks
Kimi Ni Todoke Movie Review
This past summer, I had the pleasure of watching the live action film Kimi Ni Todoke. For those who are unfamiliar, it's a Japanese film based on the manga and anime of the same name. It was released in Japan on September 25, 2010. It was then released in the US at the Dallas Asian Film Festival on July 17, 2011. It's about the budding romance between an awkward school girl named Sawako Kuronoma and Shota Kazehaya played by Mikako Tabe and the unfortunately late Haruma Miura respectively. Without giving too much away, it's about how the main character Sawako, who's often given the nickname Sadako, finds love and even make some friends despite how creepy or eerie she may appear to other students and even some teachers at times.
By Jessica Smith 4 years ago in Geeks