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Correct me if I am (politically) wrong: “Real” Art, Elitism and White Delusions of Grandeur
Posted April 8, 2013 by Sharon Dodua Otoo
White cultural producers are fighting to retain their privileges: to date they still occupy dominant positions in the German art industry and therefore presumably experience the mere existence of political correctness as a threat.
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the things i am thinking while smiling politely…
Posted March 11, 2013 by denise
Dodua Otoo’s writing is efficient and brutal with a journal-like quality. This writing style effortlessly explores complex issues like white supremacy in intimate relationships, cultural colonialism, immigration, the mine-field of divorce and universal human failure. None of these issues are at the center of the story, yet are weaved through everything that happens. Her narrative gives us a sneak peek into the unsaid and often felt universe of a black woman in Berlin.
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Black in Berlin
Posted February 25, 2013 by Karina Griffith
Last week’s premiere event was a great inauguration. “The Politics of Community” was the overarching theme, but after a wonderful introduction to give some academic context, Taylor expertly guided our discussion forth and back to other areas of concern. Topics ranged from politically correct vocabulary (one beautiful Black women rejects both terms “race” and “mixed” to describe herself), to how German administrative forms fail to reflect the diverse background of some Berliners (how can you communicate that your place of birth, ethnicity and place of residence are are varied when there is only one box to check?) to how the emphasis on Germany’s Nazi past leaves little room to address the atrocities of colonialism that foreshadowed it.
Berlin Boombox
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The Berlinale Breakdown
Posted February 21, 2013 by denise
My mind is a whirl of movies and my pupils are still dilated. Most of the filmmakers in the Berlinale Blackness films were coming from outside of the culture that they wanted to represent. This means that they would be naturally attracted to the most striking elements of the society that they were discovering and may not have had the cultural fluency to appreciate the subtler aspects of that society.
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7 Things You Can Do To Make Your Art Less Racist – A comprehensive How-To-Guide
Posted February 20, 2013 by Sandrine Micossé-Aikins
Many renowned artists were racists and/or sexists. This is not your fault. But it becomes your problem, too, if you elect to continue their legacy as if they had not been dehumanising the majority of the people on the planet.
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A Tale Of Two Cities: Berlin and London
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” goes the opening line from the famous novel by Charles Dickens, followed thereafter by the words “it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”Now while ...
Heard & Seen @ Diamond D
Diamond D brings true turntableism to Berlin. Recorded at Bohannon on September 23, 2011. Diamond D is an original hip-hop producer & DJ who has been on the scene since the 80’s. It was a pleasure to watch hi...
“Kaffee macht schön!”
Call it an occupational hazard of someone already drawn to research and write about the historical links between beauty, race, and power, but I have begun to observe a strange phenomenon on the streets of Berlin… Here, where ...
Heard & Seen @ Black Milk
The hip-hop in Berlin is up close and personal. The Bohannon has a basement feel and minimal separation between performer and audience. Check out how Black Milk and his crew bring it at the their concert at the Bohannon. This i...
Review: Twa Timoun | Three Kids | Drei Kinder
Haiti is about to have a devastating earthquake and three boys in a orphanage are dreaming of fleeing. They share two beds between them and dream of the endless possibilities of life on the street. Three Kids chronicles their j...
Shadows in Flux: Indignados and Espoir Voyage
Tony Gatlif’s film starts off with an undocumented African immigrant named Betty who washes up on a beach in Greece seeking a better life. The beach is littered with the shoes of other people like her, and these are just ...
Those who arrive on the Wednesday…
The last few Bundestreffen have taken place in Helmarshausen in Hessen (just north of Kassel). The entire youth hostel is booked out and for four days Black people from all over Germany are invited to participate in workshops, ...
Review: Shabazz Palaces Show
From the days of the Digable Planets in the 90s untill now,’Butterfly’, now known as MC Palaceer Lazaro is still doing his funky hiphop thing. I went to check out his latest project, ‘Shabazz Palaces’ la...
Black Milk Flow
You have to respect a performer who brings his own washcloth as if sweat would come too quick to reach the stage-supplied towel. Black Milk came to Berlin with no intentions of holding back. His band preceded him: a DJ who did ...