Talk to Me

I used to never go to the movies alone. People never understood: I had no problem going out to eat by myself, but I felt odd going to a movie. Why is that odd? Well, as was so often pointed out to me, when you go to dinner, you usually chat and visit with someone. But at a movie, it's not a visiting sort of activity. (unless you're one of the many I've been around lately. seriously?)

But no more! Is it because I don't know anyone here? Could be, but the odd thing is that I previously so often wanted to go see movies that very few of my friends wanted to see---or had time to arrange getting together to do so. So the fabulous thing about suddenly this summer, going on my own---I get to choose the movies! (Granted, you are much more aware of people talking in the theater (or, as the case this week---a girl about four seats over who kept getting and receiving text messages throughout the show, blinding my peripheral vision. No, I wasn't watching the screen with my peripheral vision, but it was still quite distracting.)

Anyway, so on Saturday, I went to see Talk to Me--the new show out with Don Cheadle.

The show is about Petey Green---an ex-convict turned radio personalities in the 60s. It was funny, touching, and I must say, I think it did more in showing a side of the effect of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. than anything I'd seen before.

Being in Memphis, well, the city is still divided racially. This is no secret, and I don't think saying this would be offensive to anyone; it's been said to me repeatedly since I've moved here---people telling me about the city. And it's sad---this sharp division. And with Dr. King having been shot here, well, I'm glad I saw Talk to Me.

I'll admit that I was stuck in the age that education didn't really explain the full umph of the civil rights movement---coming through school in the 70s and 80s in small-town Texas, I never experienced a segregated school---only stories of them. But the civil rights movement also wasn't covered in much depth. Maybe people thought that it was so fresh in the minds of people, we didn't need to address it? Or, perhaps, maybe the thought was that if it wasn't focused on, it'd go away---and revert back? I don't know. I do hope schools do a better job these days at focusing on this huge part of our nation's history.

Granted, those two towns had a different racial makeup than many other places---first in a town that was predominantly black then one that was about fifty percent black and fifty percent white. And so, living in Memphis now, where the word "minority" is hard to define by sheer population numbers alone, well, that's not at all different to me. Interestingly, though, when some Memphians ask me "How do you like Memphis?" I can almost feel when someone is holding his breath, wondering if I'll mention something about race or the racial makeup of the city. I don't, the breath is released, and we go on to discuss the city.

But that's also allowed me to have some wonderfully frank discussions with folks about the city's history, racial divide, poverty, and yes, crime rate. (I've been a victim, by the way, of the crime I've been so warned about: my garbage cart was stolen. Yep---you read that correctly---my garbage cart! Alrighty. Well, I guess someone else really needed that cart. (which was, by the way, full of garbage.) No worries---I called the city, and the city has ordered me a new cart.) Anyway, the discussions have been fascinating---me soaking up the many views and opinions, learning about historical perspectives and current thoughts. That alone has been quite an education.

Ah---back to my past education and exposure, I didn't even read King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail until this past spring---because a colleague discussed using it as an example of wonderful persuasive writing. And indeed, it is a moving piece. I especially like one of his closing remarks: "If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me." Indeed.

And so, I'm so glad I went to see the movie. And yes, I recommend it.