OBAMA will be good for the entertainment industry…wait and see.
January 21, 2009
January 20th. Wow! What a great day! The culmination of a seismic shift in political thinking that occurs, perhaps, once in a lifetime. When asked: where were YOU? When it happened? At last, we can think of something other than 9/11, or the tragic political assassinations of the 60’s.
I was privileged to be asked to an inaugural breakfast party by a great African American actress I had directed in 2003. Penny Johnson Jerald had played Condoleeza Rice for me in “DC. 9/11: TIME OF CRISIS”, and again for ABC’s “9/11 - THE PATH TO WAR”. I have a feeling she’ll be playing Condi some more, as TV drama examines the last 8 years of misgovernment.
Penny as Condi and Lawrence Pressman as Cheney
Penny has also played the First Lady (scarily channeling Lady Macbeth) in the first two seasons of “24″. Consequently, KCAL Channel 9’s INSIDE EDITION had sent a camera crew to the party to cover her reaction to the Inauguration of America’s first black President, as part of a mosaic of reactions recorded nationwide.
Upon arrival, Penny’s husband, noted music producer/composer/singer/teacher/all round super musicologist Gralin Jerald (www.behindtheworld.net) introduced me to fellow guests, all family and close friends. Then, as the Inauguration coverage continued on the wide screen TV, as Obama’s speech unfolded, one that was blunt in its view of the problems the world faces, and sensibly more subdued in its rhetoric than his campaign speeches, we whooped and hollered, and shed tears of joy. (A little Champagne & apple juice works wonders on my inhibitions) It was a privilege I will never forget to share this experience with people to whom it had special significance.
Everyone had been asked to bring a framed picture to display on a table; a photo of an ancestor, one who would not have believed that a descendant of theirs would witness such an event. These ranged from poignant shots of dignified, resigned, uniformed railway conductors, butlers, etc, to the late actor Greg Morris (MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, 60’s TV SERIES. I directed his son Phil Morris playing the son of his father’s character in 1988/89’s “MI” update series.)
There was also a newspaper photo of somebody’s ancestor who had been lynched. I did not think it was appropriate for someone like me to bring anything, but I was asked to nonetheless.
So I brought a formal picture of a group of Royal Air Force officers, one of whom was my Australian father. They are all gathered in rows around King George VI, for a photo op, at Central Flying School, Upavon, England, where my father was an instructor, on May 9, 1937. This was at a time when Kenya, the birthplace of Barack Obama’s father, was still under strict British colonial rule. None of these men in the picture would have believed that any of their children, if still living in 2009, would see a person of color become the leader of the world’s most powerful country.
Yet, George VI’s daughter, Elizabeth The Second, Queen of England, and Flight Lieutenant Eric Trenchard-Smith’s son, purveyor of genre popcorn, have witnessed the triumph of reason over prejudice. In this time of crisis, we won’t always agree with everything President Obama does, but we know all those difficult decisions will be informed by a superior intellect and a moral compass, a rare combination in a politician. It is a great day for America, and the world.
Oh Brian! It truly was a great day indeed! I feel like I’ve been celebrating ever since that wonderful concert on the mall on Sunday. Seeing Obama take the reins gives me such hope for the future. And after only one day he has already begun keeping his promises. With the criminals finally out of our White House I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
I’m sure every single person on the planet has photos of people who would never have believed Americans would elect a Black man, I know I do. The breakfast party was the perfect way to celebrate a day we will all always remember.
Brian -
What a wonderful post. Just one quibble -
(A little Champagne & apple juice works wonders on my inhibitions)
WHAT INHIBITIONS??
Here’s to a great 8 years - and didn’t you love the 1st couple dancing to “At Last” - just another deft Obama touch
In this time of crisis, we won’t always agree with everything President Obama does, but we know all those difficult decisions will be informed by a superior intellect and a moral compass, a rare combination in a politician. It is a great day for America, and the world.
Hear! Hear! I like that.
Yes, Brian, definitely a day of high emotion. The precarious path to reach this position of privilege and power; the hard work and determination that has kept him on track; the un-doing that falls to him of the great harm inflicted by his predecessors; along with the new uncertainties of financial institutions collapsing like dominoes and global tribal battles that seem intractable. What a job but what a man - thoughtful, calm, intelligent and healing. “At Last” is right.
Bo is eloquent as ever. She should have her own blog.
Brian,
I was even more delighted with Obama’s win than I was when John Howard lost his seat in the last election in Oz, and that’s saying something. The world breathed a sigh of relief when Bush went out the door.
I know a few people who are unhappy with the outcomes of both elections but, what the hell, I kinda like them to be unhappy.
That’s my big sis! She’s always done awesome gatherings like this
I’m proud to have her blaze the trail before me… even though she reaches back sometimes and figuratively pulls me by my ear haha.
What a wonderful post. As a Hispanic I can truly say I never thought I would ever see a person of color in the White House, at least during my own lifetime. But even beyond that I began to fear that I would never see a White House free of deception and abuses against the Constitution. After 8 years of Bush and Cheney and their abuse of power it was like a horrible flu that you can’t shake off and you start to forget what life used to be like before you caught it (for the record, I never voted for him because even back then something didn’t seem right about that bunch).
While it won’t be easy for him, it looks like President Obama is off to a good start.