Acknowledging ‘Racial Stereotype,’ PepsiCo to Drop Aunt Jemima Name, Brand

PepsiCo Inc (PEP.O) will change the name and brand image of its Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup, it said on Wednesday, dropping a mascot criticized for a racist history. The logo of the more than 130-year-old brand features an African American woman named after a character from 19th century minstrel shows. The offensive caricature is rooted in a stereotype of a friendly black woman working as a servant or a nanny for a white...

TV Viewers Seek Out ’13th’ And Other Stories About Race Amid Protests

Television series, movies and documentaries about the experience of black people in the United States have seen a surge in viewership. This followed public demonstrations that have focused new attention on racial discrimination, according to industry data. The audience for filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s 2016 documentary “13th,” about mass incarceration that disproportionately affects black people, jumped more than 47 times higher over the past three weeks streaming service Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) said on Tuesday. Millions of people watched, the company said, though it...

Oscars Delayed to April Due to Movie Industry Coronavirus Chaos

The 2021 Oscars ceremony was moved to April from February on Monday due to the havoc caused in the movie industry by the coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony for film’s highest honours will take place on April 25, 2021, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement. It had originally been scheduled for Feb. 28. The coronavirus epidemic shut down movie theatres worldwide in mid-March and brought production of films to a...

CULTURAL CHANGE:ABC Names Matt James as its First Black ‘Bachelor’

NEW YORK (AP) — ABC has named Matt James, its first black “Bachelor” to lead the network’s long-running dating competition show, a move long sought by critics of the series’ lack of diversity among its leading men. The casting was announced Friday on “Good Morning America.” James, a 28-year-old from North Carolina, was originally chosen to compete for Clare Crawley’s affection on “The Bachelorette,” but filming was scrapped in March due to the coronavirus pandemic....

After a Reading of “Darkwater” — Elizabeth Curtis Holman

I did not think… I did not know… What pale excuse is this I make In answer to my brother’s woe, Age-long, for deep injustice sake! Across his mute and patient soul, While I have gone my heedless way, The shadows of a fate might roll That deepened night and darkened day. But I have read a burning page, That glowed with white and soul-wrung fire, And now no more I may engage My conscience...

Genevieve Nnaji: The Quest to Tell Authentic African Stories to the World

Genevieve Nnaji, has managed to remain a force to reckon with in Nigeria’s film industry – also called Nollywood, in spite of the industry’s low budget-high volume approach to movie making which has birthed many actors in the last twenty years. Born to a middle-class family that wanted her to become a lawyer, Nnaji began her career in acting by featuring in Ripples – a popular soap opera – at the age of 8.  At...

Floyd’s Death Hastens Shift in Police Pop Culture Portrayals

NEW YORK  — Gary Phillips, a prize-winning crime novelist from Los Angeles, grew up on TV shows that showed a world nothing like the one he lived in. “I watched them all, ‘Dragnet,’ ‘Adam 12,’ ‘The Wild, Wild West,’ ‘Mannix,’ ‘Cannon,’ ‘Peter Gunn’ reruns and on and on. Now these were white guys and they were tough but fair and even-handed,” he told The Associated Press in a recent email, referring to popular programs mostly...

‘Living in Bondage – Breaking Free’ Now On Airtel TV Platform

Airtel Nigeria, in partnership with Trace Content Distribution, has announced the availability of the classic drama thriller, ‘Living in Bondage – Breaking Free’, on the Airtel TV platform. Airtel made the disclosure in a statement on Saturday in Lagos. It said the movie was directed by veteran actor, Ramsey Nouah and that the drama thriller was a sequel to the 1990’s blockbuster ‘Living in Bondage’ with a riveting plot and an ensemble cast, including Kanayo...

COVID-19: NFVCB, Nollywood Appeal to LASG to Grant Funke Akindele State Pardon

The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), regulator Nigeria’s film industry has joined Nollywood stakeholders to appealed to Lagos State Government to grant state pardon to actress Funke Akindele. Alhaji Adebayo Thomas, the Executive Director of NFVCB, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja. NAN recalls that a Chief Magistrate Court in Lagos had on April convicted Funke Akindele and her husband, AbdulRasheed Bello, popularly...

4 New Netflix Nollywood Originals Coming to Your Screens Soon

Global video streaming platform, Netflix has announced plans for the long-expected Nollywood originals in coming months. This follows the launch of its Nigeria subsidiary, Netflix Naija, in February. It revealed in a tweet that the outcome would be book adaptations of the works of two indegenous novelists. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, Titilola Shoneyin’s debut novel published in 2010 will be produced in form of a series, while Wole Soyinka’s 77-paged play, Death and the King’s Horseman is to be...

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