Balogun Ojetade's Blog, page 24

A Steampunk NEVER brags…a Steamfunkateer, on the other hand…

A Steampunk NEVER brags…a Steamfunkateer, on the other hand…  

No one likes a show-off…but everyone likes to show off…at least a little bit.

Rules of public behavior have been a part of society since the dawn of man and are as important today as ever.

Amongst the Yoruba of Southwest Nigeria, there are ancient rules of conduct still practiced today that cover everything from never showing anger in public to not blaming someone else when you pass gas.

During the reign of Louis XIV of France, the expectations of proper social behavior when in the presence of the King were codified and distributed on small cards to members of his court to assure uniformity of court behavior. In French, this placard or card upon which these rules of behavior were listed was referred to as “an etiquette.” This term soon became the synonym for acceptable public behavior.

The Age of Steam was a time of tremendous social and economic flux. With the Industrial Revolution came a consumer economy and a new middle class that possessed the means of purchasing consumer goods. This new middle class felt that they were now of a higher social status than their less fortunate brethren. The social norms of the farm and the tenement just would not do for a people who had made their way in the world.

The market was flooded with etiquette books that laid out the rules of polite society.

These changes in behavior, based upon the norms of the 18th Century European aristocratic society, caught on with the European middle class, but in America, a keen awareness of their uniqueness as a democratic society, brought about a perception that “polite society” was contrary to the egalitarian nature of America and was a thing of the decadent Old World. This often manifested itself in loud, coarse and rough behavior and even downright rudeness on the part of Americans.

And – unlike Europe, Africa and Asia – America became a land of brag and swag.

Still, some influence from the “polite” Old World was present and bragging had to be done right to be acceptable.

The best way to brag – without running the risk of receiving a knee shot to the liver – is not to brag at all…let others do the bragging for you.

However, because our feelings of self-esteem and self-confidence are developed by taking pride in our achievements, it is not only okay, but healthy, to brag about yourself to yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back for that job well done…just don’t do it when other folks are looking.

The flip side of bragging is depression and low self-esteem, which I choose bragging over any day.  And if calling it “bragging” is too much for your Steamy sensibilities, hell, just call it “self-praise.” Feel better?

Effective bragging – err…self praise…yeah, that’s it – depends on what you say about yourself can be verified or not. How do I know you’re telling the truth when you claim you built that steam-powered penny farthing yourself? If you tell me but do not give me hard evidence, I have to rely on your word alone. When bragging is based on just what you say, you run the risk of not being believed.

There are several styles of brag-fu. Which do you practice?

Brag-Fu Style #1. I’m great. Trust me!

This is the least desirable way to brag, the least likely style to be believable and the most likely to violate social norms.  Direct bragging violates the social norm against portraying yourself in a positive light. Strangely, although it is not okay to claim to be great, it is okay to be self-deprecating and point out your own flaws. You can’t claim to be smart, but it is okay to admit to being stupid.

Brag-Fu Style #2. I’m great. See?

You may feel you are deserving of a knee shot to the liver if you say you’re a brilliant person but feel it is acceptable to say that you have accomplished something brilliant. It is, indeed acceptable, but you have to tread carefully.

For example, you write a great Steamfunk novel entitled oh, let’s just say Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman. You win the 2014 Steampunk Chronicle Award for the work (hint). Of course, it is perfectly fine to be happy about this and to even mention it in your bio and announce it on your blog and on Facebook. It is not fine, however, to wear a top-hat with “I won the 2014 Steampunk Chronicle Award for Best Novel” emblazoned upon it while running errands around town. And please, do not introduce yourself as “2014 Steampunk Chronicle Award Winner so-and-so.” It’ll just make people want to give you that knee shot to the liver.

Brag-Fu Style #3. I’m great. Trust her!

Instead of claiming to be great, you may think it is appropriate to say that someone else thinks you are great. You say that Spike Lee met you at Dragon*Con and now wants to make a documentary about your life as the first Black Steampunk. We have no way of knowing this is true, however, because you are the one relating the story to us. We would be more likely to believe you if you showed us photos of Spike admiring your Steampunk Zulu costume or, even better, a video of Spike saying he can’t wait to get started on the biopic of your life.

Brag-Fu Style #4. I’m great. But I’m not one to brag.

Let’s return to the situation in which the bragging involves an act, not a personal quality. In addition to your win for best novel, you have also won the 2014 Steampunk Chronicle Award for Best Anthology. Yours is a compilation of fourteen funktastic Steampunk stories entitled Steamfunk (hint). Rather than tell all of your Facebook and Twitter friends in a status post or tweet, respectively, you post the link to Steampunk Chronicle’s website – specifically, the page in which you are proclaimed the winner.

Surely that is okay, isn’t it?

Others will perceive such behavior as false modesty and will make people want to give you a – you guessed it – knee shot to the liver.

Brag-Fu Style #5. I shouldn’t say I’m great, but…

You may think it’s cool to talk about your accomplishments as long as you preface it with a disclaimer such as “I shouldn’t brag, but…” or “I shouldn’t toot my own horn, but …” In this case, you have provided evidence that you actually possess the ability that you are bragging about – no one can argue with the fact that you actually did win that Steampunk Chronicle award – however, your disclaimer calls attention to the fact that you know you are violating the social norm of modesty. If simply say “I won, and I’m stoked that I did,” people will accept that as an honest expression of your well-earned satisfaction. Even your rivals might take a step back and say “Well done.” But, you didn’t do that, so now everyone wants to give you a…wait for it…knee shot to the liver.

Brag-Fu Style #6. She’s great.

In this form of bragging, you attempt to impress others by showing not what you did, but what someone close to you accomplished. I brag on the production and art team that is working on my Steamfunk films Rite of Passage: Initiation, Rite of Passage: The Dentist of Westminster and Rite of Passage all the time. No one minds me calling Imed “Kunle” Patman – my Assistant Director and sometimes Cinematographer / Editor / Composer – a genius. However, if I tell people how I have taught Kunle since he was seventeen years old and have inspired him to utilize and accept the genius that he is, I am walking a thin line and in danger of plummeting into knee shot to the liver territory.

It is fine to share that information with others, but the more often I say “Kunle, the genius I inspire and teach is now one of the best filmmakers in independent films,” the more it looks like I don’t really give a damn about Kunle’s accomplishments at all. Unless Kunle publicly attributes his success to my mentoring, people will question the validity of my claim to have taught him everything he knows (and, of course, I didn’t; the man was born a creative genius and is self-taught) and, once again, will want to give me that dreaded knee shot to the liver.

Brag-Fu Style #7. They say I’m great. See?

This is the only form of self-praise that is moderately acceptable.

You quote someone else’s conversation, therefore you shift the focus from you as the speaker to the person you are quoting. This style of Brag-Fu is even more powerful if the person you are bragging to has evidence to confirm the reported conversation. For example, if I tell Spike Lee that Steampunk Chronicle says Steamfunk is the best anthology that has come across their desk in ages while Spike is reading my story – Rite of Passage: Blood and Iron – which is the last story in the anthology, he has no reason to doubt the validity of my claim because he knows that Steamfunk is, in fact, a great book.

Given that there are six unacceptable types of bragging and only one that is acceptable, the odds are definitely stacked against you for any type of bragging at all.

If you must brag, do your liver a favor and choose #7. Just be sure you have evidence of your accomplishment. By not bragging, people will be likely to root for your continued success.

Once you truly master Brag-Fu, you can even brag by writing a blog about bragging and people won’t want to give you a knee shot to the liver.

They will just think you are clever. Like me.

But I’m not one to brag.

HARRIET IS OUR HERO: Telling the Untold Steampunk Tales

HARRIET IS OUR HERO: Telling the Untold Steampunk Tales

Harriet crouched low in the thickets. She counted five – no, six – adults in the house.  Four men; two women. They were at the supper table, eating a grayish-brown mass from wooden bowls with their fingers.

A constant, dull thump emanated from the rear of the house.

“Must be the child,” Harriet whispered.  She reasoned that the girl was bored and was pretending to skip rope with the heavy chain she was tethered to.

Harriet crept towards the back of the house, but a familiar voice made her pause. She looked skyward. “I ain’t one to question yo’ Word, but is you sure, Lawd?” She nodded. “Thy will be done, then.”

Harriet stood and brushed the dirt from her dress. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.  The night air cooled the sweat on her forehead, and the flickering flame in her gut.  She opened her eyes and locked her gaze on the house.

In three strong bounds, she was standing at the front door of the house. She pounded her tiny, brown fist on the rotting wood.

The thumping of the heavy chain ceased.

The door was flung open wide.

And the stench of sweat and spoiled milk assaulted her nostrils.

“What you want, gal?”

Harriet quickly peered into the house. Everyone, except for the wiry man standing before her, was still sitting at the table. But they were no longer eating and their eyes were fixed on the doorway.

The man in the doorway spat onto the porch, the bilious sputum just missing Harriet’s boots. “You hear me, nigger? I said…”

The web of flesh between Harriet’s thumb and forefinger struck the man’s throat. She glided past him as he fell to the floor, clutching his crushed windpipe and gasping for air.

The men at the table jumped to their feet and rushed toward her, as the two women ran toward the rear of the house.

Harriet exploded forward, pummeling the nearest man to her with a flurry of elbow strikes.

Blood erupted from the man’s nose and mouth as his face collapsed under the force of Harriet’s swift and powerful blows.

Massive arms wrapped around her waist, jerking her into the air.

Harriet threw her head back forcefully. A crunching sound followed and then a scream.

She felt something warm and wet soak the back of her bonnet.

The grip on her waist loosened slightly. She took advantage of the opportunity, bending forward and grabbing the man-mountain’s leg with both hands. Holding on tightly, she rolled forward.

The momentum of the roll forced the giant to tumble over onto his back.

Harriet landed on her back, with the giant’s leg between hers. She thrust her hips forward forcefully, ramming her pelvis into the man’s knee, as she yanked his ankle back toward her shoulder.

The man-mountain’s leg made a loud, popping noise. Harriet tossed the badly twisted leg aside. The giant screamed as his leg flopped around on the floor, no longer under the goliath’s control.

She sprang to her feet. 

Harriet was met by a powerful punch toward her face as she stood. She shifted slightly to her right and the punch torpedoed past her.

She countered by slamming the heel of her right foot into the man’s solar plexus, which sent him careening through the air.  He came to rest on the supper table. Slivers of wood and chunks of gray-brown mush sprayed into the air.

The last man turned on his heels and ran toward the door. Harriet kicked an overturned chair. The oak chair flipped through the air and struck the man in the back of the head. The man’s head split open like an over-ripe plum. She turned from the dying man and walked to the rear of the house.

The back door was wide open.

The wind had extinguished the candles, but the moon bathed the room in a silver-blue incandescence.  The women were – wisely – long gone, but the girl was still in the room, crouched in a corner. An iron manacle was locked to her right ankle. The manacle was connected to a heavy, iron chain, which was screwed into the floor.

Harriet crouched before the little girl, and placed a gentle hand upon her shoulder. “You alright, baby?”

The little girl perused the room, as if to ensure they were alone, and then nodded.

“You Margaret, I reckon.”

The child nodded again.

Harriet rubbed her hand over the girl’s matted, light brown curls. “We gon’ get you outta here and get you cleaned up. Gotta have you presentable for yo’ daddy.”

The little girl’s eyes widened and the corners of her mouth turned up in the hint of a smile. Yet the act of smiling seemed to strain her, as if she had not smiled in quite some time. “My daddy? He sent you for me?”

Harriet pulled an L-shaped, sliver of metal from behind the ribbon in her bonnet; and slid it into the back of the manacle around Margaret’s ankle. “He sure did.” The manacle clicked and slid open.

Margaret caressed her bruised and swollen ankle. “Ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking…”

“Go ‘head, child.”

“Who are you?” Margaret asked.

Harriet stood, and helped the little girl to her feet. “Me? I’m Harriet. Harriet Tubman.”

- From Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman by Balogun Ojetade

This is the Harriet Tubman of my childhood visions. The Harriet Tubman I chose to make the hero of my first novel, Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman. The Harriet Tubman Milton Davis and I chose to make the leader of all the heroes in the Steamfunk feature film, Rite of Passage.

Recently, masses of people – including Yours Truly – were outraged by a video from Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital Youtube page that parodies the iconic hero and freedom fighter, Harriet Tubman, with a sex tape.

Yeah…exactly.

The video, titled Harriet Tubman Sex Tape, revisits the story of General Moses’ freedom fighting efforts by portraying her as engaging in aggressive sex acts with a white plantation owner.

“This our only chance to getting freedoms,” Harriet Tubman says when asked if her plans to have sex – doggy-style, no less – with the slave-master will actually work.

After engaging in sex – in which she also penetrates the slave-master doggy-style (yeah, it goes there) – Harriet Tubman smokes a cigarette as she lies with the satiated slave-master and makes demands upon him because she now has leverage with which to blackmail him.

This garbage – which Russell Simmons proclaimed the funniest thing he has ever seen – is alternate history gone completely wrong.

I enjoin other authors and filmmakers to join me, Milton Davis and other Steamfunk authors in getting it right.

This is just one reason why Steamfunk is important. It tells the stories that need to be told in the way people should tell them.

I enjoin fans of books, films, history and / or Harriet Tubman to read Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman and Steamfunk and to check out and support Rite of Passage, which is now in production. These great works portray Harriet Tubman as the amazing person she truly is.

Below are other short films and videos that feature Harriet Tubman as the hero. And yes, Uncle Ruckus Simmons, you can portray Harriet Tubman with humor, but remember…

She ain’t no joke!

THE DENTIST OF WESTMINSTER PREMIERES NEXT FRIDAY! (Next Thursday, if you’re a Steamfunkateer)

THE DENTIST OF WESTMINSTER PREMIERES NEXT FRIDAY!

(Next Thursday, if you’re a Steamfunkateer)

Friday, August 23, 2013 is the World Premiere of Rite of Passage: The Dentist of Westminster!

The exclusive Private Screening is Thursday, August 22, 2013. If you have received our invitation already, you know when and where.

After you watch The Dentist of Westminster, if you like it, donate to the Rite of Passage feature film, so we can bring you even more excitement and even bigger action.

If you don’t like it, donate to the Rite of Passage feature film, so we can make it even better.

But, you will like it!

Here’s a sneak peek:

PAINTING A STEAMPUNK WORLD A DARKER SHADE OF BROWN: RITE OF PASSAGE: The Dentist of Westminster

PAINTING A STEAMPUNK WORLD A DARKER SHADE OF BROWN:
RITE OF PASSAGE: The Dentist of Westminster

On Sunday, August 4, 2013, Yours Truly and the rest of the brilliant cast and crew of the Steamfunk feature film, Rite of Passage shot a short film that ties-in to the feature film, Rite of Passage: The Dentist of Westminster.

In Rite of Passage: The Dentist of Westminster, Osho Adewale, the first Black dentist in the United Kingdom – and the best dentist in Westminster, England – visits the town of Nicodemus, Kansas and his cousin forces an artifact upon him that forever changes his life.

Osho becomes the fifth Guardian of Nicodemus  – along with Harriet Tubman, Dorothy Wright, Bass Reeves and John Henry – but Harriet Tubman sends him back to the UK to serve as her representative in Europe as they prepare for the coming of a powerful entity, who, like Harriet, is connected to the artifacts that hold the power of the Orisa but does not possess any artifact.

Harriet is the living embodiment of the residual power constantly leaked by all the artifacts on earth; the entity who Harriet is preparing to receive feeds off the power of the artifacts and of those who wield them.

The world of Rite of Passage continues to grow and the story is ever-increasing in excitement. Author Milton Davis and I are having a ball creating this amazing Steamfunk world, developing its heroes and villains and entwining it all with African and African-American history.

Join us August 23, 2013, as we draw you deeper into the world of Rite of Passage at the internet premiere of Rite of Passage: The Dentist of Westminster. Visit the Rite of Passage website after 12:00 pm EST, click the Dentist of Westminster tab and enjoy!

For those of you who receive an invitation to the Rite of Passage: Dentist of Westminster Private Screening and Meet & Greet on August 22, 2013, we have some fun and exciting surprises in store for you, so be sure to keep your appointment with The Dentist; his chair awaits you!

Does Steampunk Promote Violence?

Does Steampunk Promote Violence?

Author Gail Carrington, creator of the Parasol Protectorate series Bartitsu instructor Terry Kroenung.
Courtesy io9

In the wake of the trial of George Zimmerman and the verdict, which was disheartening and disappointing for many – not me, I expected it to go just the way it did, but that’s another story, for another time –  we feel a desperate need to know why, so we can understand how – how can we keep this from happening again? When someone shoots up a school, a mall, office building, or a child many of us blame lax gun laws, and recommend those laws become stricter. Others blame it on cultural factors – violent video games and films have sickened our culture, glorifying wanton violence and desensitizing our youth to its effects.

So, where do we draw the line?

Do we wrest firearms from the cold, dead fingers of the American public (and they will, most certainly, have to be dead because people are not just giving up their guns in the U.S. of A)?

Do we wrest wireless controllers from the sweaty, dead palms of the players of Call of Duty, and Halo (and they will, most certainly, have to be dead because game geeks are not giving up their COD)?

Rza, in the Steamy martial arts movie Man With the Iron Fists. Universal Pictures

Should we ban violent films and books like Braveheart or Homer’s Iliad? Should we edit out the kills from Shakespearean plays?

Should I cut the fight scenes from Rite of Passage and replace them with Steamfunk rap battles? Wait…can’t do that…rap also inspires violence.

In truth, violence is a great – perhaps the great – staple of the entertainment industry.

We gorge ourselves on violence in television shows, novels, films, sporting events and video games, but a half century search for real-world consequences of violence in the media has found no conclusive evidence of any link. Hundreds of millions of people watch violent television and play violent games and never develop the slightest urge to kill.

Most Steampunks and Steamfunkateers insert their personas into imaginative scenarios in which they play the role of a hero who bravely confronts the forces of chaos and destruction. When we play most video games, role playing games or cosplay we aren’t training to be mass murderers or serial killers; we are emulating the good guy who races to place himself between evil and its victims.

The same applies when we engross ourselves in more traditional fiction formats like film, television, and novels.

Almost without exception, when the villain of a story kills, his violence is condemned. When the hero kills, that kill is righteous. Fiction preaches that violence is only acceptable under defined circumstances – to protect the good and the weak from the evil and the strong. What Steven King says of horror stories in his book, Danse Macabre, applies to all forms of imaginary violence: “The horror story, beneath its fangs and fright wig, is really as conservative as an Illinois Republican in a three-piece pinstriped suit…It’s main purpose is to reaffirm the virtues of the norm by showing us what awful things happen to people who venture into taboo lands. Within the framework of most horror tales we find a moral code so strong it would make a Puritan smile.”

So how should we respond to the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin or the shooting of the students at Sandy hook?

Resist the urge to find and torch a scapegoat – whether in the entertainment industry or the gun lobby.

And remember that the portrayal of heroes armed with steam-powered rifles, aether pistols, or gear-driven retractable claws are just portrayals. We Steampunks and Steamfunkateers are – in general – friendly, mannerly and relatively sane.

Now those anime cosplayers? They’ll kill ya’.

Just kidding! *looks around nervously for a teenager with disheveled blue hair and a wildly oversized sword*

 

A CALL – AND A LESSON – FOR ALL STEAMPUNKS AND STEAMFUNKATEERS!

A CALL – AND A LESSON – FOR ALL STEAMPUNKS AND STEAMFUNKATEERS!

We have all heard the age-old adage – “It is better to give than to receive.” The Yoruba peoples of Nigeria believe that what you give you get ten times over. The Chinese say that kindness in giving creates love.

The wise elders of these great societies knew just how powerful the act of giving is.

Several years ago, I taught a women’s self-defense workshop in Chicago. About fifty women attended. My students and I volunteered our time and our services to this group of women at no cost. At the end of the workshop, a woman in her fifties and her daughter, who was in her early twenties, approached me. The woman introduced her daughter. I laughed and told the woman that if I did not know any of the women’s names after six hours of grueling work with them, I must be shy of a few cards in the deck.

Then it hit me – she was making a formal introduction for…something else.

The daughter blushed as her mother told me how her daughter would make a great wife – how she was intelligent and focused; how she had graduated from college at twenty; how she could cook Indian and African food from several cultures…and the list went on and on.

Once she was done extolling her daughter’s greatness I replied “Your daughter is beautiful and will make some man happy one day, but you do know I’m married?”

“Yes,” the woman replied. “Our cultures are similar, though. My daughter doesn’t mind being a second wife to a man who knows how to love women so well.” I declined the woman’s offer, telling her that my wife would have us all running for our lives down the Magnificent Mile. Then, I asked what made her think I knew how to “love women so well.”

Her answer: “Because you gave us this wonderful workshop.”

In her culture, a person who gives is a person who loves.

Studies show that when someone is considered ‘stingy’, that person is found to withhold needs or desires such as love, affection, money, sex and attention from their spouse or partner.

This stingy person makes a conscious decision to withhold. The partner, perceiving this, experiences feelings of anger and frustration.

Stingy people exist in a psychic state of lack – they experience themselves and the world as having finite resources and therefore have to hold onto their small piece of the pie. They do not feel that, by giving to another, they are somehow or in some way replenished.  They perceive giving as a one-way street that drains them of emotional and / or material resources. Withholding is an unconscious way of regulating intimacy and keeping the other person at a distance.

Generosity, on the other hand, is an expansive energy, thus we should strive to give what we can in order to feel the growing sense of abundance giving produces, which induces good physical and mental health.

Giving a gift is a gift – not only to others, but to ourselves – because it increases the bond between us and the person to whom we have given, tells us about ourselves and generally increases our feelings of competence.

Most of us want to be loved, but it is actually the act of loving that is rewarding. Being loved is important because it facilitates our opportunities to love.

When we love, we give. Every time we do something for someone else we feel effective, useful and generous. Giving a tangible gift also leads to reflection about what our relationship to the receiver is, how much we care about the receiver and how that person’s likes or dislikes may be similar to our own. The same is true for giving advice or some other service.

The more we care about someone, the more we want to give to them. The more we give, the more we come to care about the person to whom we are giving.

We feel alive in the activity. And it is the receiver who has provided the opportunity for us to feel this good, so we feel loving in return. Furthermore, we deduce our attitudes from our behavior – “I must really care about her; why else would I give such a meaningful gift?”

Giving is an effective way to feel competent, mindful and loving and everyone wants to feel that way, which is why many people lament “I attended to his / her every need and asked for nothing in return and he / she still did me wrong.” The more the giver gave, the better he or she felt, thus the more he / she cared about the receiver. The receiver, on the other hand, has come to care less and less because he or she has not been given the same chance to feel effective.

We mistakenly think we will lose a partner’s affection or the public’s respect by “burdening” them with our requests for assistance or our acceptance of gifts. Attending to someone else’s needs leads to affection for that person. Discouraging a giver from giving, then, is clearly the wrong strategy for fostering affection and building meaningful relationships.

Rather than experience guilt or fear that the person will resent doing things for us, we should consider what giving can mean to the giver.

Does this mean that we should all become demanding? Nope. However, for any relationship to be successful, both parties must feel effective and capable of caring. The recipe calls for both parties to give.

Many women experience a great sense of loss when their last or only child grows up and leaves home. The advice given to counteract the depression experienced when faced with an empty nest is often to find something else to attend to. I would amend that advice to find something or someone else to give to.

Consider the bond between mother and child. Faced with the responsibility for a helpless infant, mothers give – and give a lot. With all that giving, the bond with her child grows stronger and stronger as the baby grows. And in this giving, a mother feels effective; tired, but effective.

However, when her young adult leaves home, a mother has fewer ways of feeling competent. Those who care about her will probably feel good “taking care” of her, “giving” to her, now that she is lonely and depressed. What she really needs instead is to give to them.

A group of Finnish psychologists discovered that reciprocal relationships aren’t necessarily the key to happiness and health. Their research has proven that, indeed it is actually better to give than to receive – particularly if you are a woman.

This team of psychologists quizzed almost 800 middle-aged men and women about how much support they gave and received in their intimate relationships, then tracked how many days they called in sick from work over the next nine years. The study’s idea of “support” included both mundane and romantic tasks, from doing household chores to serving breakfast in bed.

The researchers found that women who felt they gave more support than they received took 50 percent fewer sick days than their co-workers. On the other hand, men who received more support than they gave also had fewer absences. In other words, women who gave more and men who received more support appeared to actually be healthier, or at least better prepared to deal with stress.

My wife, all seven daughters and my granddaughter  are giving me the side eye (my son has retreated to his room), so, let me hurry up and say that this does not mean women should start cleaning up after a messy spouse or start cooking lavish family meals in hopes of adding years to their lives.

The results of this study could be related to a well-known physical difference between men and women – studies show when women provide care and support for their loved ones, they also produce the reproductive hormone oxytocin, which reduces feelings of stress and anxiety, lowers blood pressure and increases tolerance to pain. Since no equivalent response has yet been observed in men, this could explain the findings of the Finnish study.

The results certainly should not be seen as a recommendation that all men should be cared for and all women should be nurturers. In the study, men and women on average gave and received support in equal amounts. Our genders simply determine how we are affected by the acts of giving and receiving.

With such a positive and powerful influence on emotional well-being, why don’t more people give or give more?

The answer? Most people are unaware of the connection between giving and happiness.

In a recent study, participants were asked to choose what they thought would make them the happiest. Surprisingly, most replied that personal spending would make them happier than spending on others.

For most individuals, increased awareness is necessary in order to understand and to benefit from the connection between giving and higher levels of happiness. And, as in all of life’s most important lessons, experience is always the best teacher. So you know what to do…

Run on over to the website for Rite of Passage, the first Steamfunk feature film and help make it a reality. Your donations will go toward providing props and costumes needed to make Rite of Passage an amazing experience. And they won’t go unrewarded, ‘cause we want to feel the love, too.

Check out our donation levels and choose your contribution.

*We are also asking for donations or loans of your old Steampunk costumes and props*, for which you will receive credit in the film.

Thank you – and much love – in advance!

TRAYVON 2.0: The Valley of Dry Bones

TRAYVON 2.0: The Valley of Dry Bones

…thus, saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live…and they lived – and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

The trio sat, cross-legged, at the feet of their master as he stood before them, supported by his ever-present, crystal walking stick, which reflected a rainbow of colors with each measured, yet graceful, movement of the man’s wiry frame. ‘Skittles’, the stick was called – and it was rumored to be a rod of immense power.

“Long have we awaited this day,” the old master said. “The wise diviners foretold of three young warriors rising up to one day defeat the Zimmer-Men – and here you sit.”

“We live only to serve!” The three youth replied in unison.

“And serve, you shall,” The master replied. “But to serve well, you must know yourself, your enemy, the time and what must be done. Do you know these things?”

The young warriors had memorized the answer to that question long ago, for it had been recited to them every night, at bedtime, for the past thirteen years.

The trio leapt to their feet and – as one – recited ‘The History’: “On the first day of The Resurrection, the Final Sacrifice was slain by the Zimmer-Man.”

“Continue,” the master commanded.

“On the thirtieth day of The Resurrection, anger over the slaying of the Final Sacrifice and anger over the portrayal of Black people in major roles in the film, ‘The Games of Hunger’, begat the Great Riot.

“And?” The master asked, raising a thick, gray eyebrow.

“And on the thirty-third day of The Resurrection, a group of racist scientists in Atlanta poisoned the water supply with a new disease, comprised of rabies, leprosy and the rhinovirus, or common cold.”

“And did this disease work as the scientists planned?” The master asked.

“No, master,” the trio replied. “While thousands of Black people died, as the scientists planned, non-Blacks suffered also.”

“How so?” The master inquired.

“The disease mutated, transforming them into creatures possessed by a terrifying rage and an inability to feel pain – the monsters we call ‘The Zimmer-Men’.”

“And what did the Zimmer-Men do?” The master asked.

“They set out to infect the world…to remake it in their image and their likeness.”

“So, you are telling me these monsters are intelligent?” The master said, feigning surprise.

“Incredibly so,” the trio answered. “And wickedly wise.”

“And did the Zimmer-Men succeed in their twisted mission?” The master asked.

“They have infected nearly half the population of the United States, thus far and would have succeeded in infecting the entire nation, had not all the Black, Native and Hispanic organizations within America set aside their petty differences, joined together and fought…but many Hispanics have turned to Zimmer-Men, so our numbers are dwindling fast.”

Then, all is lost?” The master asked.

“No, master,” the trio answered. “For it was prophesied that three youth would don hoods made from the blood-soaked cloth of The Final Sacrifice and these hoods would give them power to destroy the Zimmer-Men once and for all.”

“Very good,” the master said, smiling. “Now, place the hoods upon your heads and tell me who you are.”

The three young warriors slipped the black hoods over their shaved heads and then shouted, in unison – “I am Trayvon Martin!”

How to Watch Rite of Passage and other Steampunk and Steamfunk Movies

How to Watch Rite of Passage and other Steampunk and Steamfunk Movies

When Rite of Passage, the first Steamfunk feature film, premieres in February of 2014 at the Black Science Fiction Film Festival, you are going to be amazed.

The costumes…the props…the sets…the music…the special effects…the acting, action, production and the story…all at such a high level you will think you are watching a “Hollywood” film, not a low budget film created by two independent multimedia companies and a “tech” university.

And just how should you watch such a masterpiece?

Should you chill with a date and a bucket of popcorn? Should you attend in Steamfunk cosplay with your other funktastic friends?

Let’s examine how to watch Rite of Passage – and, indeed, other Steampunk and Steamfunk movies (and we expect the production of many more) – a bit further:

As you watch Rite of Passage, you should simultaneously be mindful, be emotionally engaged and be critical.

Be Mindful

This is the mindset of watching a movie in a non-distracted manner.

This is about being in the present moment; watching with undivided attention and examining the full range of the film’s content without judgment.

Notice when distracting thoughts enter your head while watching the movie; let those thoughts speed through your mind then return your focus to the movie. Also, notice the emotions felt by the characters, and the feelings you are feeling in response.

Be Emotionally Engaged

This is the mindset of watching a movie with emotional investment.

Attach to the characters – in the same way you would attach to a parent, partner, friend or child. Care what happens to the characters.

Receive the protagonist with curiousity, optimism, and trust. You will notice qualities within the character that are likable and unlikable; relatable and unrelatable.  This will help you to become clear about the character’s motivations, and to emotionally invest in the character’s experience, which will allow you to tune into the character and fully experience empathic reactions. The more you actively tune in to the character, the more you’ll feel what he or she feels and, in turn, the more you will learn what the character learns.

Be Critical

This is the mindset of deriving lessons for living from the narrative, and actively applying those lessons to your personal experience.

Follow the internal or psychological story of the film – an external story, for example is a dramatic car chase; how the protagonist feels about being chased and how he or she chooses to handle it are the internal story.

Being critical affords the opportunity to examine the messages within the film.

These three mindsets – mindfulness, emotional engagement and critical-thinking – are intrinsic to your successful pursuit of everyone’s primary objective when watching a film (whether you know it or not): using the experience of watching that film to bring about personal growth and positive change.

As you watch the film with these three mindsets, you should also approach the film in two ways:

The first approach is to examine how the movie functions as a coping tool – savor the positive affect the film has upon your feeling of well-being.

The second approach is to examine how the movie serves as a metaphor – capture insight-oriented parallels.

The mere act of watching a movie can improve your mood (emotional), serve as a bonding experience with friends (social), engage memory and attention (cognitive) and serve as a good, clean source of fun on a Friday night (behavioral).

Let’s apply this model to the Rite of Passage tie-in, the surprisingly profound, yet action-packed short film, Rite of Passage: Initiation. The story is about Dorothy Wright – a pupil of Harriet Tubman – who must face a final, arduous trial to prove she is worthy to be a Conductor on the Underground Railroad.

With regards to examining how the movie functions as a coping tool, pay close attention to the scene in which Harriet informs Dorothy why she has brought her to the secret clearing in the forest for the first time and how that scene makes you feel. You will enjoy watching Dorothy’s reaction to the moment and, in turn, become more engaged in her storyline. You will probably also reminisce about your own experience in the face of some great obstacle.

The movie as a coping tool induces immediate, emotional effects, serving to connect you with the character and possibly connecting you with those you interact with well after the movie has ended – those emotions will stay with you for a while and can help you to better relate to others.

With regards to using the movie as a metaphor, examine the different facets of the mindsets of Harriet and Dorothy, Masterfully portrayed by Iyalogun Ojetade and Dasie Thames, respectively. Find parallels in your life, in nature and in society. What do the two characters represent, in general and what do they represent to you personally?

Viewing movies using the above methods now gives those movies even greater value as tools of catharsis and growth.

Of course, these methods should be practiced on movies you’ve seen before until they are a natural part of your watching process, so you do not interfere with the fun of watching a new movie, or one of your favorites, by thinking too much and becoming distracted.

After the worldwide premiere of Rite of Passage in February, be sure to see me afterward and let me know how the film affected you.

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Steampunk icons, Tony Ballard-Smoot and Mark Curtis from “The Steampunk Bible”

And yes, you should chill with a date and a bucket of popcorn and / or attend in Steamfunk cosplay with your funktastic friends.

A SPECIAL REQUEST TO ALL STEAMPUNKS: 

The talented and dedicated cast of Rite of Passage needs to look the part. We are accepting donations of costumes and props to help make Rite of Passage a spectacular Steamfunk film. Those of you generous enough to share your wares will be listed in the production credits and will receive a free DVD of the completed movie!

For more information, contact us at mv_media@bellsouth.net.

WE’RE HERE III: Black Science Fiction & Fantasy Websites and Social Media

WE’RE HERE III: Black Science Fiction & Fantasy Websites and Social Media

 

In this third installment of the We’re Here Series, we examine the best websites for all your Black Science Fiction and Fantasy needs.

While there are others, these are the sites considered to be at the cutting edge of Black Speculative Fiction.

We’re here, y’all. In a BIG way.

Enjoy!

Chronicles of Harriet

You’re here, so this should be self-explanatory. However, for those who might be unaware of where they are right now – hey, it happens – here goes:

Here you will find discussions, photographs, fiction and articles on Steamfunk, Rococoa, great Black Authors, Black fandom, the craft of writing and Sword & Soul.

BlackSci-Fi

Black Sci-Fi.com is the premier site for the latest updates on Sci-Fi, Sci-Fact and Fantasy entertainment, news, people, places, and events and the measure of their impact on the African-American community.

We seek to inform and inspire the imagination of individuals who aspire to live beyond the boundaries of everyday life.

Wagadu

This site is a social network dedicated to the reading, writing, researching, dispersing and enjoyment of Sword & Soul.

Create your own page; share photographs, videos and your own blog; and join groups and engage in live chat with other members.

Afrofuturist Affair

The AfroFuturist Affair is a community formed to celebrate, strengthen, and promote Afrofuturistic and Black Scifi culture through creative events and creative writing.

The Tumblr page is a collection of the best writing, event announcements, art and videos in one place.

Aker: Futuristically Ancient

This blog is a dialogue between the past, present and future, placed in an afrofuturist and afrosurrealist context. It explores African diasporic cultures that are often not given as much mainstream attention and re-examines popular cultures of the Black Diaspora through the afrofuturist and afrosurrealist perspectives.

Key purposes of the blog are Media Literacy; Art, Media and Cultural Criticism/Analysis; and promotion of Afrofuturism and Afrosurrealism.

World of Black Heroes

World of Black heroes is a website dedicated to following the portrayal of Black heroes.

This blog brings features Black characters in comic books, movies, books and on TV and the creators who bring them to us.

Black Superhero comic Reviews, Black Superhero News, Black Superhero Previews, and character Bios for mainstream and independent comics alike can be found here.

State of Black Science Fiction Facebook Group

The premier Facebook group where creators and fans of Black Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror meet.

Join the group and participate in their Black Science Fiction activities and discussions; their State of Black Sci Fi presentations and performances throughout the year; their contests and giveaways; and meet some Blacknificent people too.

This is the group that spearheaded the founding of Black Speculative Fiction Month, which is celebrated worldwide every October.

Alien Star Books

This website is dedicated to the promotion of Science Fiction and Fantasy books for Teens and Young Adults of Color.

There are many great books, graphic novels and comic books to choose from. To simplify your search, Ruth de Jauregui has sorted the main characters of each book into ethnic / racial categories – such as Black, Asian and Native American – and then by author within those categories.

Cosplaying While Black

A Tumblr site dedicated to dispelling any belief that race matters when it comes to the hobby of cosplay by featuring hundreds of photos of Black cosplayers.

According to the sites founder, Chelsea Medua, “I follow many cosplayers on the Internet who I see at times get crude comments and remarks for just being black. [I wanted to] let other black cosplayers out there know that they shouldn’t feel insecure about cosplaying because of their skin.”

As we continue the We’re Here Series, which introduces people to creators and creations within Black Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror film, fiction, fashion, artwork and social media, your feedback is always welcome and encouraged.

BLACK MASQUERADES: Steamfunk, Dieselfunk & Rococoa Step Out In Style For Black Speculative Fiction Month!

BLACK MASQUERADES: Steamfunk, Dieselfunk & Rococoa Step Out In Style For Black Speculative Fiction Month!

 French, Portuguese English and Spanish colonialists held costumed balls. Individuals wore costumes and the merry-making was largely indoors, though spill-over onto the streets could be expected. It is the same today with the European Carnivals of Quebec, Venice and elsewhere and is also present also in the celebration of Halloween.

By contrast, the African style of celebration called for costumed bands, and for the merry-making focus to be outdoors, rather than indoors, similar to what we see with today’s Caribbean and American Carnivals.

One of the clearest examples of the masquerade in Africa is the Yoruba Egungun Festival. During this festival, every family honors its collective ancestors, and all the members of an extended family lineage wear the same colors, thus constituting a “band”.

From the Egungun celebration also comes a feature that we find prominent in various Caribbean carnivals: throwing talcum powder on fellow masqueraders, from which comes the Trinidadian expression – “you can’t play mas’ and ‘fraid powder!”.

During the Egungun festival people wear masks to show outwardly that they are no longer themselves, that their body has been possessed by an ancestral spirit.

The ancestral spirits of the Yoruba are much more than just dead relatives, they play an active role in the daily life of the living. Believed to provide protection and guidance, there are numerous ways the ancestors communicate with the living, one of the most unique is their manifestation on earth in the form of masked spirits known as Egungun.

Nowadays, two major, annual Masquerades, which display and extol the beauty of Black Speculative Art and Fiction, bring together elements from the grand masked celebrations around the globe to bring you the best in Black cosplay.

The Afrofuturist Affair – brainchild of the brilliant attorney, activist, author and founder of the mega-popular Afrofuturist Affair Tumblr Blog, Rasheedah Phillips – is a space where different modes of time (past, present, and future and any and all combinations therein and thereout) are bought forward or backward into the present through the preservation of energy in artifacts and through the persistence of memory in flesh and through blood.

The Afrofuturist Affair, also known as The Museum of Time is, as Rasheedah puts it, “Every-when and No-when simultaneously, enacting all possible times in all possible permutations.” While most museums are limited to the here/now/then/there, in The Museum of Time, there are interactions with varied modes/forms/theories/visions of time through music, art, story, fashion, and exchange of thoughts and ideas.

Once you step inside the Museum of Time, you become Master Traveler, Manipulator, Alchemist and Magician, crafting time and displacing it however you see fit. The singular requirement is that you share your visions with the other Masters in the room.

The other major masquerade is The Mahogany Masquerade: A Night of Steamfunk and Film, in which the many enthusiastic and creative participants come, dressed in their best Steamfunk, Dieselfunk and Rococoa costumes for an unforgettable night of cosplay, short films, engaging chats with other Steamfunkateers and, of course, partying into the wee hours of the night.

The origin of the Mahogany Masquerade began when Yours Truly began research on Black perceptions of self and our place in Cosplay.

What I found intrigued me:

When asked in a recent study to describe their version of the “ideal” woman, black and white teens conjured up vastly different images.

The white teen ideal was a Barbie-like woman, 5’7”, between 100 and 110 pounds, with blue eyes and long flowing hair.

The black teens’ ideal American woman had nothing to do with physical characteristics. According to Sheila Parker, Ph.D., “They told us that the ideal Black woman has a personal sense of style, who ‘knows where she’s going’, has a nice personality, gets along well with other people, and has a good head on her shoulders.” Only if pushed did they name physical characteristics – fuller hips, ‘thick’ thighs, a ‘curvy butt’ and a small waist.

Nearly 90 percent of the white young women told the researchers they were dissatisfied with their weight, while 70 percent of the African-American young women were satisfied.

Cultural expectations, idealizations, and fixations mold the accepted definitions of beauty and the perceived ideal body-shape.

I have often contemplated – with such a healthy perception of body image – why so few of us cosplay, especially girls and women of African descent. Is it because we are not into science fiction or fantasy?

Nope. We are into speculative fiction, and in large numbers at that.

I have come to realize that one reason sisters shy away is the disdain for the fuller-figure that permeates fandom. Heavier people often feel too self-conscious to cosplay. Not only are there virtually no characters from anime, manga, film, science fiction, or fantasy who are already portrayed as fuller-figured, but fans can be very cruel to full-figured cosplayers who dare to cosplay “conventionally attractive” characters.

I recently posted a photo of Black people cosplaying as DC superheroes. People loved the photo, however, I was disturbed that a few complained about the brother portraying Batman ruining the shot because of his pot-belly (and no, that was not me behind the caped crusaders mask, before you ask).

I have heard people laugh at the plus-sized Batgirls and Storms, or make rude comments about the fat stout fellow portraying a Spartan from 300.

On one forum, a full-figured girl asked who she could cosplay as at an upcoming convention; the only person who even bothered to respond said, “Princess Fiona, Shrek’s ogre wife.”

On another forum, a curvaceous Black woman asked for suggestions for her television cosplay. Her answers? Sandra Clark – Jackee Harry’s character from the sitcom, 227 - or Mercedes Jones – the girl portrayed by actress Amber Riley on Glee. She was thinking she looked more like Lana Kane, the character from the animated series, Archer.

In an essay by journalist Kendra James called Race + Fandom: When Defaulting to White Isn’t an Option, James writes about facing ignorance when Black women cosplay. “when a non-white cosplayer colors outside the lines, there’s a risk of getting an awkward look because, instead of seeing the costume, no matter how perfect it might be, others see the color of your skin and you can see the confusion in their eyes: ‘Why is a black girl dressed as Zatanna?’ Worse are the ones who aren’t confused, but then think they’re being inoffensively clever. ‘You know there probably weren’t many Black USO Girls in the 1940s, right?’ Or, my personal favorite, ‘Wonder Woman? I thought you would’ve done Nubia.’ It’s an extension of the “default to white” privilege many fans still engage in on a regular basis.”

Ms. James goes on further to say “It often feels like a white cosplayer can not only dress as their favorite characters of color but also do so in the most offensive way without comment.”

Yes, people are still this ignorant.

We creatives must continue to fight such ignorance with education and inspiration.

I brought the idea to my close friend, Milton Davis, who shares my opinion that we are the ones who must work to improve our own images in film, fiction and other fandom and we went to work on creating what is now the premier Black masquerade in the Southeast.

Last year in October, we came out in force – in all our myriad beauty – and brought the funk to The Mahogany Masquerade: A Night of Steamfunk and Film!

This year, we are doing it even bigger, with a Masquerade Party after the film screenings that is sure to be raved about for decades to follow!

Well, talked about for a few days afterward, at least.

The event is presented by the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture & History and the State of Black Science Fiction as part of Alien Encounters, the Black Speculative Fandom Conference and in celebration of Black Speculative Fiction Month.

The Mahogany Masquerade runs from 7:00pm – 9:00pm on Friday, October 25, 2013 and is FREE and open to the public!

Immediately after, we will take the party to the streets and parade over a couple of blocks for the Masquerade Party at the BQE Restaurant and Lounge at 262 Edgewood Avenue.

Wear your Steamfunk, Dieselfunk, or Rococoa clothing, costumes, gadgets and gear and get funky with us!

And if you know of any other African or African-American themed masquerade balls, please let us know.