#takeagiantstep

[justinverlander]

takeagiantstep replied to your post: “i just wish i was cute and lovable ”:

You seem lovable to me?

i’ve got you all fooled!!! >_>

[justinverlander]

Diamondbacks

Fernando Rodney because he shaved a few years off my life with the Tigers. 💀💀💀💀💀 

[justinverlander]

Humphrey bogart, Donald O’Connor, s.z. “Cuddles” Sakall

Humphrey Bogart: Do you travel a lot? Where have you been? — Um, not really, unless you count driving to Toledo from Michigan for MudHens games. 

Donald O'Connor: What is your favorite ice cream/sorbet flavor? — Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream

S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall: What was the best year of your life so far? — Hmm. 2012 was pretty difficult, personally, but the Tigers went to the World Series and I went to Chicago and San Francisco, so I’ll say 2012.

[doomonfilm]

Thoughts : Take A Giant Step (1959)

Digging through the Criterion Collection library is always a wonderful experience, and it’s bolstered by the fact that they offer curated collections on a nearly daily basis.  Recently, a collection of Ruby Dee films popped up, and while investigating, I discovered a film by the name of Take a Giant Step.  What really caught my eye was the fact that, in 1959, the film had an all Black leading cast, an extreme rarity for the time, which made it a fitting choice for my Black History Month docket.

Spence Scott (Johnny Nash) is expelled from school after a History class discussion over the Civil War turns into a standoff between himself and the mostly White class.  After walking out of class, Spence is caught in the restroom smoking a cigar, which ultimately leads to his expulsion.  Frustrated, Spence heads home just in time to see Christine (Ruby Dee), the Scott’s housekeeper, out before his Gram (Estelle Hemsley) comes downstairs to console him.  Spence slips out of the house before his parents, Lem (Frederick O’Neal) and May (Beah Richards) Scott, return home, and with bag in hand, Spence heads out with intentions of taking care of himself.  After a couple of less than ideal encounters, however, Spence returns home to face the music, but things only worsen as tensions rise within the family and issues pile up.

Watching Spence attempt to navigate the educational and social ills he was born into due to his parents’ attempts at bettering themselves stands as a metaphor for the greater struggles that many Black men and women face in the shadow of generations of mistreatment, and the frustration these chains that emerge from the past can cause.  Spence continuously tries to extend bridges to his young friends from other cultures, sometimes in spite of how his Gram feels, but it becomes immediately apparent that Spence does so with a sense of indignation that he is no longer unable to hide by the time he is introduced to us.  The divide between Spence and his parents makes things more difficult because, despite their similar end goals, their journeys could not differ more, but the built in hierarchy of respect that is implied makes communication flow one way.

There are echoes of Long Day’s Journey Into Night in terms of how frank the film is with its subject matter, although Take a Giant Step predates Long Day’s Journey.  While racism and oppression are at the forefront of the story, the film presents unflinching looks at underage drinking, prostitution, infidelity and other social norms that were often swept under the rug at the time.  Even Lem, Spence’s father, opts to handle his missing son on his own rather than involve the police, a sentiment that seems to still stand in the Black community.  Seeing the relationship between Spence and Gram depicted on the screen is one of the earliest presentations of generational connections in the Black community that I can remember, and in turn, it makes the loss of Gram sting for the viewer the same way it does for Spence.  There is no effort made to sugarcoat or dance around death and despair, but the film also smartly chooses not to dwell on these things or wallow in them, staying true to its initial narrative trajectory.

For a film that is nearly 65 years old, the cinematography is surprisingly modern, with a very kinetic camera that allows characters to explore the fullness of the spaces and locations in which the story takes place.  Though based on a play, the film is adapted well enough to break the confines that normally come with this evolution by building a sense of a much bigger world not limited to minimal locations.  While the score is present enough to give viewers emotional cues, it manages to stay out of the way of the monumental performances viewers are blessed with.  All in all, the film is quite technically proficient, but in a way that makes it an overall strong film rather than a story enhanced by bells and whistles, which in turn, gives it a bit of a timeless feel despite its dated look at its subject matter.

At only 19 years old, and with a world of fame yet to unfold for him, Johnny Nash really and truly stepped up to the plate in a role that required him to state some extremely tough truths and observations with the kind of conviction that could put a Black man in danger at the time, and all the while, he still maintains a youthful innocence.  Estelle Hemsley provides the most beautiful wisdom and honesty to Nash’s Spence, as well as infinite amounts of patience in a depiction of some of the most trying times, and a frankness that comes with experience.  Frederick O’Neal embodies the monumental struggle that comes with advancing up the corporate ladder as a Black man, trying his best to be dignified in a cesspool of stress, while Beah Richards finds herself stretched thin by the multi-directional pull that comes with raising and worrying for children in a vengeful society.  Ruby Dee stands as the anomaly of the cast as she straddles the fence between outsider (due to her service role) and confidant (due to her character’s equal sense of isolation to Spence) with effortless grace.  Pauline Meyers, Royce Wallace and Frances Foster bring real world energy to the film with their hustles and struggles, which is offset by Ellen Holly’s attempts to exude joy in the face of personal defeat and acceptance of a less than ideal life.  Appearances by Sherman Raskin, Frank Killmond, Joseph Sonessa, Dell Erickson, Dee Pollack and William Walker fill in the gaps.

Using DOOMonFILM as a way to explore the roots of Black films has been a truly rewarding experience, and it’s directly due to finding films like this.  Take a Giant Step has quite a bit to say about the frustrations that emerge from systematic racism, but even taken out of that framework, it could be celebrated for just how forward-thinking that it is.  Many fans of film who feel that the past was always given a rose-colored tint would be pleasantly surprised to find out that honesty of this level existed in films prior to the 1960’s.

[justinverlander]

takeagiantstep replied to your post: takeagiantstep replied to your post: ...

I want to die just imagining that. Like bitch no!!! Like I just truly don’t get how they go 0-100 so quick like did no one ever teach them about working up to it. Cause like a guy came up to me and did said that in real life I would call the cops like. 😂🙈 

Seriously. It baffles the mind sometimes. And of course the only people I ever really connect with either disappear off the face of the earth, are taken, or have no interest in me (or are a combo of all three). But the fuckboys like me, at least! 💀💀💀

[justinverlander]

takeagiantstep replied to your post: takeagiantstep replied to your post: ...

The ones that are like “wow you like this one singular thing I like were meant to be WHEN ARE WE MEETING”? 😂 cause literally too many. But the stealth fuck boys mess me up. I just wanted to talk about baseball

The same thing just happened to me with this guy. He messaged me asking me to teach him about baseball, then started asking me if we could talk about baseball while he gave me sensual massages (to put it mildly). 😂

[justinverlander]

20 & 34

20:Where was the last place you snogged someone? — 🙈 I don’t remember, it’s been literal years.

34:Who/what was your last dream about? — Uhh. I think my last dream involved me going on some crazy adventure with José Iglesias and my friend @ameerdarkly.

[justinverlander]

takeagiantstep replied to your post: takeagiantstep replied to your post ...

Exactly which is why I always feel even worse after but I stay doing it. There was one guy who messaged me about baseball cause it was in my bio and the conversation was great and he knew what he was saying. And then he switched into fuckboy mood and I had to block him 🙁    

stealth fuckboys! that’s been pretty much every convo i’ve ever had on a dating site. either that or the weirdly insta-clingy creeps. 😐