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Title: Esther, baby & me Rating: 2.3 out of 4 Reference: Producers Louis Taylor, Suzie Mukherjee,
& Earl White; writer & director, Louis Taylor.
Reviews and Numerical Ratings 3 An honest, funny, baby-fearing black man has a crisis about race. His live-in partner is white and he thinks that he should be having a baby with a black woman. His narration on race is only a small part of this artistically put-together video. Some issues that students might discuss are: appropriation of western (as in the wild west) images and symbols by a black and the multicultural cast and crew and what that tells us of Toronto. Quirky phrases, such as free-basing ammonia, will add much to some students' vocabularies. For 3rd & 4th year students. Kalina Grewal 2 Very postmodern and quite hard to understand. In fact, the essence of the video is very hard to determine. Poetry was not a good tool to use; it made the video even less cogent. This video did not do much to challenge stereotypes of black male masculinity or the issues around having a child that is of mixed race. In fact, it seemed to perpetuate racist stereotypes of black males by demonstrating the black father as self-centered and irresponsible. One would really have to grasp for straws when trying to extract the importance of what the video maker is attempting to say. Difficulty suitable for 3rd & 4th year students. Kisrene McKenzie (undergraduate) 3 Witty, artistic, well-paced. Narrator’s politic about race & inter-racial relations isn’t taken up explicitly, so we can’t tell what’s real vs what’s veneer. On the other hand, it’s a clear statement about masculinity & would therefore be fascinating to discuss. Lecture topics: masculinity, family, race, gender. Kathy Bischoping & Riley Olstead 1.5 Fulfills the self interests of its creator. Although the movie allows a glimpse into the idea of “manhood”, the image portrayed is, & can be, offensive. Pnina Ginzberg 2 This entire autobiographical video is witty and
has a sense of educational function. It would be a great resource for
classes on race and gender in society, because these topics are clearly,
graphically, and controversially presented. The video will capture its
audience because Louis Taylor does a great job in presenting the topics
of race & gender in a bold manner. Ultimately, the content will
provoke fiery debates and discussions from students in any classroom
environment. Although there was a lack of sociological explanation,
discussion, and theories, and the video has only one viewpoint, the
video does touch on race & gender in a clear-cut approach. Students
viewing it will not find it wearisome, pointless, or incomprehensible.
For 1st & 2nd year students. Minh Hoang (undergraduate)
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