Diary of a Tired Black Man

Diary of a Tired Black Man is high concept and low quality. It was written, shot, and produced by Tim Alexander. I don’t think it is because of any laziness on Tim Alexander’s part, I just simply think it’s hard to make a film. It’s a little bit documentary, a little bit feature film. It’s the story of a Black man who has divorced a Black woman and the personal and relationship issues that led to their separation.

The film has a good message; don’t carry your baggage from a former relationship into your present one. The issue of some Black women, and men to be honest, punishing their current partner for the mistakes of a past one is valid. Tim Alexander also focuses on how the problems between men and women while raising a child lead to generational problems in terms of relationships in the community. I was also very impressed by a portion of the film where the lead character, James, had to come to terms with his own role in choosing a woman with whom he was not a good match. I think that helped the film simply being a female bashing answer to men bashing films and books. For these reasons alone it’s worth giving a look. That’s the good.

The bad is abundant as well. The acting is not great throughout most of the film, although the lead actor Jimmy Jean-Louis does a good job. Tim, when interviewing people on the street came across as aggrieved at times. Sometimes messages in the film that could have been delivered with subtlety were delivered with way too much force. In other words he lays it on kind of thick. It also gets a little long near the end. However, over all the film had a worthwhile message and is worth watching. Despite some rough patches, the good moments are really excellent. I rate it a rent.

Don't Blame it On Rio

There are very few books or media that focus on how African American men see the world. This is especially true when it comes to relationships. All too often a discussion of African American men in relationships focuses on trifling broke brother’s failure to be fathers or remain faithful to their mates. Well, this book follows this narrative to a certain degree but differs in that it explores the phenomenon of middle class African American men who take sex vacations in Brazil and truly attempts to understand their rationale and their beliefs about African American women.

Jewell Woods, the author, honestly made an attempt to understand how African American men view relationships with African American women and with Brazilian women. He also explored what motivated African American men to go to Brazil, moving beyond the obvious answer of sex and exploring some of the emotional and psychological factors involved. Rather than outright condemning the brothers, Jewell allowed them to have their say and then dissected their arguments, showing their hypocrisy, but also their humanity. Jewell manages to hold middle class African American men to account, without pandering to African American women who are likely to read his book.

Sexual tourism is a growing phenomenon in the African American community, and it is good that Jewell is holding middle class African American men, who normally get a pass on their sexism, accountable. One thing that I had a problem with in the book is that he opens with the question “Are Black Women Necessary” but does not really explain why they are. I love African American women, but considering what some of the complaints about them in the essay it felt like more of an effort to refute the arguments against sisters in the book would have been beneficial. Besides this, the book is an educational and a worthwhile read, especially considering the lack of literature that makes a real attempt to study African American outside of the prison and baby daddy categories.