March 15, 2017 The Skanner Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
FILM REVIEW: ‘The Obama Years: The
Power of Words’ Revisits President’s
Defi ning Moments
An Opera in Jazz:
Terence Blanchard’s “Champion”
By K.P. Williams
NNPA
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
H
ow many immortal speeches
have been delivered by U.S. presi-
dents and other American icons?
Lincoln’s “Four score and seven
years ago” Gettysburg Address, FDR’s
“We have nothing to fear but fear it-
self,” Eisenhower’s beware of the “Mil-
itary-Industrial Complex” farewell
address, JFK’s “Ask not what your coun-
try can do for you” inaugural address,
Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and
Reagan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down
this wall,” are among the handful which
have stood the test of time.
Barack Obama has ostensibly left be-
hind not just one but a cornucopia of
historic orations likely to be remem-
bered for generations to come. That is
the contention of “The Obama Years:
The Power of Words,” a riveting docu-
mentary which discusses, in non-parti-
san fashion, a plethora of his addresses
for the ages.
Narrated by Jessie Williams of Grey’s
Anatomy, the movie features a mix of
archival footage from speeches and in-
depth analysis by experts. Among the
luminaries sharing insights are Pulit-
zer Prize-winner Doris Kearns-Good-
win, Rice University Professor Douglas
Brinkley and former Obama strategists
David Axelrod and Jon Favreau.
The reverential biopic unfolds
chronologically, starting with the key-
note speech at the 2004 Democratic
Convention which instantly turned a
little-known State Senator from Illinois
into an overnight sensation. Obama’s
next remarkable highlight arrived in
March 2008 when he salvaged a fl oun-
dering presidential campaign with a
unifying refl ection on race delivered at
Philadelphia’s Constitution Center.
SHOWTIMES
THE RED TURTLE (LA TORTUE
ROUGE) (PG)
Fri-Thur: 2:55, 7:10
PASSENGERS (PG-13)
Fri-Thur: 4:45, 9:35
SING (PG)
Fri-Thur: 11:55, 2:15, 4:35
FENCES (PG-13)
Fri-Thur: 12:05, 6:55, 9:25
Later that year in Denver, he was
widely lauded for his stirring accep-
tance of the Democratic nomination
on Aug. 28, the 45th anniversary of Dr.
Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream”
March on Washington speech. Obama
subsequently spoke very emotionally
about the Trayvon Martin shooting,
the Sandy Hook elementary school and
Charleston church massacres, bringing
the grieving Emanuel A.M.E. congrega-
tion to tears with an a capella rendition
of Amazing Grace at the end of the eu-
logy.
Just as moving was the President’s
touchstone sermon commemorating
the 50th anniversary of the Selma to
Montgomery March, uttered on loca-
tion at the Edmund Pettus bridge, site
of the infamous Bloody Sunday attack
on protesters by Alabama State Police
Offi cers for simply attempting to reg-
ister to vote. For folks interested in
lighter fare, there’s Barack’s stand-up
routine at the 2011 White House Corre-
spondents’ Association dinner, where
he roasted a red-faced Donald Trump
about everything from hosting The Ap-
prentice to spearheading the Birther
movement.
A riveting retrospective revisiting an
array of Barack Obama’s defi ning mo-
ments!
“
TERENCE BLANCHARD
P
op, Rock, Jazz, and Classical.
These are all separate genres of
music. But what happens when
you put two of them together?
You get “opera in jazz” rather than
“jazz opera,” according to jazz mu-
sician and opera composer Terence
Blanchard, who is the former Thelo-
nious Monk Institute of Jazz Perfor-
mance Artistic Director. Blanchard
is also a jazz trumpeter from New
Orleans who has over 20 albums to
his credit, won three Grammy’s and
written music for many of Spike Lee’s
fi lms. Blanchard just premiered his
fi rst opera, (the opera’s second pro-
duction run), “Champion,” the story of
former Welterweight Boxing Cham-
pion Emile Griffi th and his life-defi n-
ing fi ght with reigning Welterweight
Champion Benny “The Kid” Paret.
In March 1962, Griffi th and Paret
went toe to toe in a fi ght that end-
ed with Paret in a coma for ten days,
then dying from injuries he sustained
during the fi ght. In “Champion,” we
Jazz musician and opera composer Terence
Blanchard is the former Thelonious Monk
Institute of Jazz Performance Artistic Director.
and his story, compelled Blanchard
to choose “Champion” as his fi rst op-
era. The line, “I kill a man and most
forgive me, I love a man and many
say this makes me an evil person,” fa-
‘I kill a man and most forgive me, I love a man
and many say this makes me an evil person’
–Welterweight Boxing Champion Emile Griffi th
get inside the mind of a tortured man
reliving the fi ght that forever changed
his career, along with his public battle
of being a bisexual man of color in
the 60’s. Being a big fan of boxing and
hearing about the nature of Griffi th
mously said by Griffi th in the book,
“A Man’s World: The Double Life of
Emile Griffi th” by Donald McRae, is
one of the lines that drew Blanchard
to his story.
See CHAMPION on page 11
Excellent
Unrated
Running time: 60 minutes
Distributor: The Smithsonian
The Obama Years will air on the
Smithsonian Channel on:
March 18 @ 8 a.m. ET/PT
March 21 @ 5 p.m. ET/PT
(Check local listings)
To see a trailer visit: TheSkanner.com
The Week of
Friday, March 17 through
Thursday, March 23, 2017
MOANA (PG)
Fri-Thur: 12:15, 5:10
ARRIVAL (PG-13)
Fri-Thur: 2:40, 7:10
PINK FLAMINGOS (NC-17)
Fri-Thur: 9:45
$4.00 adults, $3.00 senior citizens
(65+),
$3.00 for kids (12 & under)
7818 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215
503-252-1707 • AcademyTheaterPdx.com
Babysitting: Available for children 2 to 8 years old. Fri: shows after 3:30pm and before 8:00pm. Sat - Sun: all
shows before 8:00pm. $9.50 per child for the length of the movie. Call to reserve a spot, no drop ins.
“Urges me with a desire
to do even more”
“I was moved to tears”
“Very real
and insightful”