Perhaps the title here is a bit controversial. Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Oscar, for her turn as the caricatured “Mammy” in Gone with the Wind (1939), and Stepin Fetchit rode the “Laziest Man in the World” character to stardom in the early days of Hollywood. Still, the case for this sobriquet I believe is strongest made for the actor and singer Paul Robeson. Robeson was always more of a personality than an actor. Whether he was playing Othello, an Africa warlord, or a day labourer, he was always recognizably himself - he never lost himself in characters in the way that we consider “acting”. With his 6’3 height and athletic build, he was always instantly recognisable - to say nothing of his distinctive voice, a rich bass baritone that has often been imitated, but never equaled by subsequent performers. Despite not being a classically trained actor, it was through his persistence in making sure that Black characters were portrayed with
I was never a skater - I was much too uncoordinated. My few misadventures on a skateboard were enough to convince me that it wasn’t for me. Some of my friends were pretty good at it, but I was happy enough to watch. I did, however, spend countless hours on the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video games. I still have a weird sense of pride for how good I was at them - I might not have been a stellar student, but I could rack up millions of points through calculated button mashing. These games introduced me not only to skateboarding, but also to bands such as the Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies, Rage Against the Machine, and many other bands that became staples in my high school CD collection. So, despite never landing a kickflip, I get nostalgic when I see people skateboarding. That nostalgia has led me to check out a few movies that are about skateboarding. I say they are “about skateboarding”, but what I have found is that they are really about domest