Summer Beach Reads - With A Dash Of Diversity

I've come across several lists of the best summer beach reads, and none of them have much diversity. So here are a few of my recommendations:

A Day Late and a Dollar Short by Terry McMillan - An enthralling story told from several different perspectives about a black family coping with divorce, health challenges and other everyday problems.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz - Like Macmillan's book, this story about a nerdy Dominican-American fanboy is told in the voices of different characters.

Rock Star by Jackie Collins - The late, great Collins was the queen of the juicy summer beach read. The diverse cast of characters in this page-turner features a Teddy Pendergrass-type soul singer and a young Mariah Carey-esque pop diva.

What Does It Mean To Be An American?: An Interview With Flame, Pioneering Trans Comedian

A couple of years ago, I got the opportunity to interview a pioneer in the transgender community: Flame, one of the first trans stand-up comedians. 

Flame, who was born a man and identifies as a woman, worked at the legendary Chicago comedy club All Jokes Aside. The club became a “star factory” in the 1990s. The venue not only ignited Flame's star (pun intended), but also launched the careers of Steve Harvey, Dave Chappelle, Oscar winner Mo’Nique, Chris Rock and Carlos Mencia, among many others.

The All Jokes Aside comedy club is the subject of the book I co-wrote with founder Raymond Lambert about his life and how he made the unlikely leap from investment banking to show biz, “All Jokes Aside: Standup Comedy Is a Phunny Business.” 

Here are some outtakes from my interview with Flame that didn’t make it into the book:

Chris Bournea: Tell me about your experiences in the comedy industry and working at All Jokes Aside, in particular.

Flame: My story is a little bit different from everybody else because I was the first and only transgender comedian  to come through there and do stand up.

CB: I know Raymond was always respectful to you, but how were your interactions with the other comedians?

Flame: It was bittersweet. I worked for 10 years and nobody spoke to me in the green room - the male comedians and even some of the women. I guess it was some kind of stigma that if you were seen talking to me, people would think you like guys. A secure man is a secure man. I guess they had their own insecurities.

CB: What did performing at All Jokes Aside do for your career?

Flame: That was my home base. From there, I did [ BET's]  "Comic View" a few times.

CB: How did the audiences at All Jokes Aside react to you?

Flame: It was always shock value because I always dressed very provocatively. I left very little to the imagination.

CB: Did anyone ever heckle you?

Flame: I could always tell the men from the boys. The men would make a joke about it and move on; the boys would keep talking about it and not let it go.

CB: How did you respond to hecklers?

Flame: I always put hecklers on blast. ... I got a few angry patrons but nobody ever ran up on me. I never had an altercation. I always kept it light: "You know I was joking with you and here's my hotel room number, but, oh, you already have it!"

(This blog is part of an occasional series titled "What Does It Mean to Be An American?" about diversity.)

We Need Documentaries More Than Ever In The 'Fake News' Era

Documentaries have taken on a new importance in an era when even mainstream media organizations are being accused of disseminating “fake news," according to a recent panel discussion about the media's role in society. 

“Documentaries in the Post-Truth Era” was the topic of the panel discussion, which took place during “Doc Day." The May 23 event was part of Le Marché du Film, an international moviemaking conference affiliated with the Cannes Film Festival in France. 

The panel discussion was of special interest to me as an independent filmmaker who journeyed to Cannes to promote my documentary, “Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring.” 

Documentaries serve a larger purpose beyond shedding light on a specific subject, said Christophe Tardieu, director general of the Centre National du Cinéma, which stages Doc Day. 

"Documentaries are essential for understanding the world," Tardieu said. 

Documentaries also bring voices to the forefront that wouldn’t be heard elsewhere, said Kathleen Lingo, executive producer of “Op-Docs,” The New York Times’ video series that gives independent filmmakers and journalists a platform to explore different subjects. 

"We're open to filmmakers from all around the world, and really diverse voices," Lingo said, "which is why I'm here at Cannes."

Documentaries play an important role of exploring complicated issues in an in-depth format, as opposed to posts on social media platforms that don’t offer enough context, said Laurent Richard, an investigative filmmaker and founder of the Freedom Voices Network. 

"The documentary can bring complexity,” Richard said. “This is the difference between a tweet and a feature-length documentary." 

Part of the discussion centered on whether channels such as PBS have an obligation to broadcast programming that give all sides of an issue, rather than just the so-called “liberal” perspective. 

PBS and other outlets often don’t get credit for exploring many perspectives, including points of view that can be described as “conservative," said Kathy Im, director of Journalism & Media at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

“If you look at the body of work supported by liberal organizations or public television, it's quite diverse,” Im said. “I think our work is being mischaracterized." 

Documentary filmmakers can advocate for a particular cause but still give opposing views, which can help broaden their audiences, said Carrie Lozano, director of the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund. 

Documentary filmmakers should “find a way to tell the stories in a way that can reach more people,” she said, “and that can be done a lot of the time.”

Including many different perspectives can ultimately make a documentary more interesting to watch, Lingo said. "Instead of focusing on an 'us vs. them' mentality, it's about finding the great story and trying to have these difficult conversations.” 

And of course, no panel discussion about documentaries would be complete without a dialogue on how filmmakers can find more funding to tell their stories. 

Rather than randomly applying for every possible grant, Im suggested that documentarians work as hard as they can to match their subject areas with the interests of potential funders: "It's almost like we need a matchmaking site: 'I want to make a film about this' and 'I want to fund a film about that.'"