Page 8 The Skanner January 20, 2016
Arts & Entertainment
FILM REVIEW: ‘Sweaty Betty’ Has Quirks
This gritty comedy feels like a Blackface, street-smart ‘Babe’ reboot
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
I
n 1965, the federal gov-
ernment issued the
historic Moynihan Re-
port chronicling the
collapse of “The Negro
Family” which it blamed
on a host of social woes
affl icting inner-city Af-
rican American commu-
nities. A half-century
later, Blacks and Whites
still remain substantial-
ly separate and unequal.
Evidence of the dispar-
ity abounds in Sweaty
Betty, a super-realis-
tic buddy fl ick set in a
Prince George’s County,
Maryland ghetto located
in the shadow of the na-
tion’s capital. There, we
fi nd a cornucopia of col-
orful characters inhabit-
ing a den of iniquity that
it’s hard to believe exists,
but obviously does.
The stars of this must-
see adventure are Rico
and Scooby, a couple
of uneducated, unem-
ployed, unmarried sin-
gle fathers. To call the
pair actors would be
far too generous, since
they’re obviously simply
Mia Wenjen Talks
About Multicultural
Children’s Book Day
M
‘Sweaty Betty’
playing themselves.
That makes it diffi cult
to discern whether one
is watching a comedy or
a documentary, although
that dilemma only adds
to the quirky picture’s
appeal. Everybody on
their block speaks such
inscrutable Ebonics that
directors Joseph Frank
and Zachary Reed had
the good sense to use
subtitles, despite the
fact that the entire cast is
speaking in English.
The dialogue is not
only grammatically in-
correct but is invariably
delivered laced with ex-
pletives and the N-word.
And the conversations
are precisely what one
might expect of 20-ish ba-
by-daddies with nothing
better to do all day than
hang out on the street.
One minute, our heroes
We honor the many
accomplishments of African
Americans.
It is our primary goal as a
labor union to better the
lives of all people working
in the building trades
through advocacy, civil
demonstration, and the
long-held belief that work-
ers deserve a "family wage" - fair pay for an honest day's work.
A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strength-
ens families, but also allows our communities to become
stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens'
needs.
Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people work-
ing in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this
small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the
American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regard-
less of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious be-
liefs.
The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters
Representing more than 5.000 construction workers in Oregon State.
Do you want to know more about becoming a
Union carpenter?
are commiserating about
the burdens of father-
hood, the next, they’re
shamelessly fl irting with
a couple of cute honeys
passing by. Meanwhile,
their neighbors appear
to be equally rudderless,
as they spend their time
boasting, twerking, mug-
ging for the camera and/
or engaging in meaning-
less chatter.
Oh, Sweaty Betty does
have a rudimentary plot,
which revolves around
a couple of pets: a pig
named Charlotte, and a
pit bull the protagonists
can’t decide what to call:
Cocaine, Killer or Petey
(since it looks like the
pooch on The Little Ras-
cals).
These wannabe entre-
preneurs have been rais-
ing the hog in the ‘hood
with hopes of having it
become the mascot of the
Washington Redskins.
So, on home gamedays,
they drive the half-ton
oinker to the stadium via
pickup truck to partic-
ipate in all the parking
lot hoopla. Unfortunate-
ly, it eventually comes to
the attention of the local
animal control offi cer
that somebody’s raising a
farm animal in a residen-
tial neighborhood.
But don’t be fooled.
Sweaty Betty’s storyline
is inconsequential, at
best. Yet, it remains high-
ly recommended for cin-
ematic voyeurs who like
laughing from a safe dis-
tance at the outrageous
fl amboyance of a hot
ghetto mess.
A blackface variation
of Babe (1995) with street
cred!
Excellent
Unrated
In Ebonics with subtitles
Running time: 94 min-
utes
Distributor: Breaking
Glass Pictures
ia Wenjen blogs at PragmaticMom.com on
parenting, education and children’s books.
A dorm room entrepreneur with her cre-
ative staffi ng company, Aquent, ranking
#12 on the Inc. 500 list when she was 26-years-old,
Mia has always championed social justice. Her
staffi ng company was the fi rst to off er medical ben-
efi ts to temporary workers.
These days, the mother of three is focused on get-
ting diversity, multicultural and inclusive books
into the hands of the kids who need them most.
She co-founded Multicultural Children’s Book Day
(see more information at http://multiculturalchil-
drensbookday.com/) to shine the spotlight on au-
thors, illustrators and diversity characters so kids
of color could fi nd themselves in books.
Because her children are one-fourth Japa-
nese-American, one-fourth Chinese-American
and one-half Korean American, she personally
sought out books where they could see themselves;
something that she didn’t have growing up, despite
being a bookworm who read every single biogra-
phy and fi ction chapter book in her Southern Cali-
fornia elementary school’s library.
Blogging on KidLit for fi ve years helped her re-
alize that there simply isn’t enough representation
of kids of color in children’s literature. Further-
more, the books that do exist don’t get the exposure
they need and deserve. So, she’ made it her mission
to dedicate her blogging eff orts to promoting chil-
dren’s authors of color.
“
It’s about validating your
right to be part of the main-
stream as a child of color
That’s how she found Valarie Budayr from Jump
Into a Book who proposed creating a day to cele-
brate multicultural books for kids, and thus Mul-
ticultural Children’s Book Day was born. And they
hope you will join them on Jan. 27.
Kam Williams: Hi Mia, thanks for the interview.
Mia Wenjen: Thanks so much for having me,
Kam.
KW: What inspired you to found the Multicul-
tural Children’s Book Day?
MW: Lee and Low Publishing had a blog post on
how the number of diversity books for kids has not
changed in 14 years. I was shocked and dismayed.
I put it out on my Facebook that, from now on, I
would focus on diversity authors, illustrators and
characters on my blog. Valarie Budayr, of Jump
Into a Book blog, saw my post and contacted me
about creating a day to celebrate multicultural
books for kids. I said, “You can do that?” And she
said, “Yes, you just do it.” So we did.
KW: What eff ect does access to literature cele-
brating diversity have on children during their
formative years?
MW: It’s about validating your right to be part of
the mainstream as a child of color. Do you see your-
self in the media and in books and how are these
role models being portrayed? I also think when
kids see a refl ection of themselves in books, they
are more prone to relate to the character and book,
and this might spark an interest in reading.
KW: Do multicultural books benefi t white kids,
too? Or is primarily for minorities?
MW: The world around us is changing. In the year
2042 which is just 26 years from now, Caucasians
will not longer be the majority in the United States.
That’s not so far away. But in other respects, like
special needs, kids of this generation have more
special needs classmates than ever before, and
learning how to get along with everyone is going
to be a valuable life skill when they enter the work-
force. Whether it’s race, special needs, religions
See WENJEN on page 11