Jada Pinkett Smith

Director/Writer Storm Saulter

The Jamaican born director, Storm Saulter, put together a masterful film entitled Sprinter. The film has received tons of positive critiques for both its acting and content. Without giving too much away, the film follows the lead character, Akeem Sharp, a Jamaican sprinter who has aspirations of becoming the best sprinter in the world and using the sport of racing to escape poverty and unite his family since his mother resides in the U.S.

The film consists of elements that explore some of the struggles of the emotional and mental health plaguing Black men. It’s extremely relatable considering all of the current issues that Black men face every day. Furthermore, the film lets its viewers know that these issues are global for Black men. How does Sprinter accomplish this?

3 Ways Sprinter Explores the Mental Health of Black Men

It’s in the Culture

During the film, there are issues that the lead character Akeem, played by actor Dale Elliot, struggles with. They include both mental and emotional health. Given that both his father and older brother deal with their issues negatively at the beginning of the film, Akeem goes into a downward spiral once a family secret is revealed to him. Acknowledging that Akeem had some fragility in these areas and needed help is pivotal. The lack of exemplary male role models displaying how to deal with mental health can lead to horrible results. This is a universal issue that most black families suffer from which leads to men harboring emotions and not dealing directly with those issues.

Akeem, played by Dale Elliot, winning a race in the film.

Ego is Thy Enemy

To quote Neil deGrasse Tyson, “If your ego starts out, ‘I am important, I am big, I am special,’ you’re in for some disappointments…” Many Black men have fallen victim to their egos and have lost due to it. When he starts dominating at his craft, we see Akeem begin to become popular. Just as in real life, many celebrate him and want to be in his presence to benefit from his success and this further feeds his ego. This is short-lived as Akeem’s declined humbleness begins to cost him relationships and more. His actions while his ego is inflated is resemblant to some of the Black male celebrities we see today that struggle with success and have fallen off.

It Takes Support to Get Through

Although Akeem and his family struggle coping with their mental health, we see that, once help and support are available, he is able to better combat his issues. This is something that Black men are doing better with as many are fighting the stigma and receiving treatment for mental imbalances. The examples can be seen in some of the most influential sports in the United States like professional basketball and other male-dominated sports all over the world. NBA athletes are revealing their issues with mental health and discussing the ways they are treating it, being positive reinforcements that Black men shouldn’t be ashamed of admitting their issue and finding positive solutions to treat it.

“Sprinter” is a great film and does an excellent job of evoking an emotional response. This Overbrook Entertainment (Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s production company) produced film will not only win more awards but also the hearts of many moviewatchers.

Boycott the Oscars and #OscarsSoWhite have taken over the web with so much drama and controversy that, once again, the points have gotten lost in a sea of bitter pettiness…The question at hand is “Should the Black community boycott the Oscar awards?”, with the follow up question being, “Why are we seeking validation from an organization that cares nothing about us?” Let’s dive into this a bit…

So lately we have heard about Jada Pinkett Smith’s call to boycott the Oscars, followed up by support from Spike Lee, Snoop Dogg, and other celeb friends, as well as Janet Hubert’s response to Jada’s call to boycott. Needless to say, both Jada and Janet have questionable motives behind their posts, but the bright side is some of the conversation that has sparked among the community. Here are our thoughts:

#One: Boycott the Oscars… We should have collectively tuned out the Oscars decades ago…

We could yawn at this topic, and dismiss it as the bottom of the barrel of things we need to focus on in our community, but the fact is a lot of Black people still tune in every year hoping and praying to see their favorites walk away with the ~~Ptah~~ Oscar. When they tune in, they help to boost ratings, thus advertising dollars for the program. Us not watching might not make as much of an impact as us not shopping during Black Friday, but every bit counts.

#Two: Boycotting and seeking validation are not, I repeat NOT, parallel concepts…

I swear fo’ geez, if I hear one more person ask why we’re looking for validation in response to boycotting. Boycotting is merely abstaining from something. Yes, it can be used as an intimidation tactic, but it’s not the case here. Taji Mag abstains from including any news that does not help our community build and grow. We boycott the use of non Black Owned Businesses as much a possible. We do not do this in hopes that non Black Owned businesses start treating our people better. We’re not concerned with how they operate business because WE DON’T SHOP THERE. The same concept applies here. We do not boycott the Oscars in hopes for a seat at the table, we do it because we have our award shows and organizations that provide us with the proper recognition our people deserve, that’s where our focus and loyalty lives.

#Three: Quit wasting time being bitter and quarreling…

Both sides of the “argument” are basically saying the same thing while wasting time on semantics and emotions.

Bottom line:

Let’s boycott any and everything not checking for us and give our dollars to our community first. That is how we regain and maintain our communities. Work together instead of apart. Stop picking apart the messenger and absorb the message.