Race - Forces of Geek

General

Waiting For Wonder Woman And Black Panther, And Fearing Their Arrival

It’s been quite a run for superhero movie geeks in this past month, as DC and Marvel have set up some 40-odd films in...

Marvin C. PittmanNovember 13, 2014

General

BOJACK HORSEMAN and ’90s Throwbacks To TV Diversity

Back in the ’90s, he was on a very famous TV show. And now he’s back, trying to recount his life, revive his career,...

Marvin C. PittmanSeptember 18, 2014

General

Forever My Superman: Remembering My Father

It’s been a sad roller coaster these past few weeks in Blerd Vision-ville. My father suddenly died Aug. 5 after a battle with cancer....

Marvin C. PittmanSeptember 4, 2014

General

Professor Badass, Look-Alikes and Me

I recently met up with a friend of mine to see Snowpiercer, the fancifully dystopian mindjob of a movie about the last of humanity...

Marvin C. PittmanJuly 24, 2014

General

IGGY AZALEA, Blaccents and Faking the Funk

I can’t get that dang Iggy Azalea song out of my head. You know the one – “Fancy” – in which I-G-G-Y tells how,...

Marvin C. PittmanJune 12, 2014

General

COLBERT, LETTERMAN And Late Night Diversity

When the news first broke that Stephen Colbert would replace David Letterman on The Late Show, I had two basic thoughts on the matter....

Marvin C. PittmanApril 17, 2014

General

LUPITA NYONG’O, Storm and One Blerd’s Wish

It’s hard not to love Lupita Nyong’o. The newest winner of the best supporting actress Oscar for her work in 12 Years A Slave,...

Marvin C. PittmanMarch 21, 2014

General

DOWNTON ABBEY Takes a Conservative Turn

I admit that I’m an unlikely fan of Downton Abbey. Period costume dramas involving storylines about unrequited love are not usually my thing. But...

Seth LeviFebruary 12, 2014

General

12 YEARS and Six Generations A Slavery Survivor

I saw the outstanding film 12 Years A Slave the other night, after weeks and weeks of delay. While long days at work and...

Marvin C. PittmanJanuary 23, 2014

General

Funeral For A Blerd: The End of Totally Biased

Wednesday last week, I felt a great disturbance in the Blerd Force, as if millions of black nerds suddenly cried out in terror and...

Marvin C. PittmanNovember 21, 2013

General

Ghettoization of Race on TV

Earlier this month Kerry Washington’s appearance on Saturday Night Live kicked off yet another brouhaha about TV being too white — a controversy as...

Seth LeviNovember 20, 2013

General

Why No Black Women on SNL? Kenan, Don’t Be Absurd (For Once)

Kenan, Kenan, Kenan. What hast thou wrought? In case you missed it, Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson stepped into the issue of...

Marvin C. PittmanOctober 24, 2013

General

Janelle Monáe, Miley Cyrus and the Sexy Song You Never Heard

There was this provocative song that debuted over the summer. It’s full of booty bass and slithery swagger, rude boasts and sexual bravado. Dripping...

Marvin C. PittmanOctober 10, 2013

General

Jay Z Raps About Success, Riches — And Anxiety

If there’s one thing about my black nerd life that typically means I don’t fit in with mainstream ideas of what it means to...

Marvin C. PittmanAugust 1, 2013

General

Melissa McCarthy and The Comedy of Awful

A suspected drug dealer and pimp is fleeing from a cop in pursuit. You’ve got your classic cop movie stuff: the street interview, the...

Marvin C. PittmanJuly 3, 2013

General

Racial Insensitivity When The Race Isn’t Real

I like fantasy stuff as much as the next guy. Swords, castles, dragons, battles, flowing robes and armor, trolls and elves and wizards? Yes,...

Marvin C. PittmanJune 20, 2013

General

Black Hipstery, A Little Bit

Oh, if I could be a black hipster. I laugh at Portlandia, so maybe I’m close? I’m already a black nerd, and there’s a...

Marvin C. PittmanFebruary 14, 2013

General

The Hair Up There

If you’re ever looking for inspiration on a day off, turn to The Jeffersons. The adventures of George and Weezie movin’ on up the...

Marvin C. PittmanFebruary 1, 2013

General

Waltzing with the DJANGO in my Mind

So many thoughts about Django Unchained. It’s incendiary, profane, hilarious and ultra-violent in classic Quentin Tarantino fashion, but there’s more under the surface. To...

Marvin C. PittmanJanuary 17, 2013