AmaZulu Free Write Review

Last Thursday we held a screening of AmaZulu –Children of Heaven at the Platform office. As usual at Shake! we don’t do things normally, after watching the film, we all participated in a short free write. Free writes are exactly what they say they are; free writing. No thinking, no processing, just pen on paper.  We find free writes are a great creative tool and an easy way to get all the thoughts floating in our heads out on paper, they even help frame some interesting discussions. 

Post film discussions with Jordan and Nathaniel

 Here are two examples of free writes by  Shake!r’s Umaru and Lucas after watching AmaZulu:

AMAZULU- CHILDREN OF HEAVEN

When I see life lived the hard way, the other side of living, the other side of life itself, which I don’t have to go through, its hard and I do count myself blessed for the things I take for granted… a home, family, friends even food.  Its taught me that it is hard but you have no choice but to follow your dreams, because if you don’t its like the Amazulu children going to school without singing their song. What’s the point? But It’s great when you can leave a place of labour where you have made great friends for life and hear the words  “well done”you have done your job, mission accomplished, yeh mission accomplished.  In South Africa there is a long way to go before we hear those words- mission accomplished but the children of Amazulu showed us that it is a start.  Its massive steps back when guys spread HIV to girls without even thinking about the consequences, but children of heaven keep singing your song, because we all need to hear it. -  By Umaru Saidu
 

AmaZulu  warriors are children from above supporting people and singing as they go into exams is truly real love. I am amazed by their personalities and warming attitude. They are really inspiring and compel me to muse. Similarities and differences form their country to ours, their cheerfulness is really contagious and makes me want to give them flowers.  The ins and outs of African lifestyle is truly sublime and I love to right about them paper with a lot of rhymes. –By Lucas Kelly

Guest Blog by Saara: Review of Riots Reframed

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Hello! My name is Saara and I’m going to be helping with the continuity workshops at Shake! Particularly with the monthly film screenings. I am really excited to get involved and learn from everybody!  I recently graduated from Leeds Uni in International Development and Spanish and am now a freelance journalist and learning to make my own documentary films. I think the film screenings will be a great opportunity to get together and share ideas, whilst also getting the chance to see really interesting films.  I look forward to meeting you all :)

Here is a review I wrote of Riots Reframed by Fahim Alam. We watched this as part of the Shake! continuity program at Platform.

Riots Reframed demonstrates the power of documentary in its true form. Raw and intelligent, it challenges the superficial mainstream analysis of the 2011 riots. We were told that a swathe of ‘mindless criminals’ took to the streets, a bunch of dangerous rebels running wild without a cause. Mainstream coverage created the impression that we as a society should point the finger at these young rioters, and that they alone should be blamed for what happened that August.

Review of Shake! @SLCT'13 in The SOAS spirit magazine

Here is what Crisitiana from The SOAS spirit magazine had to say about Shake! when she came for a visit. 

First Wave at 'Shake the Dust'

First Wave at 'Shake the Dust'

Last night's '100% Proof' event showcased the coach mentors for today's National Youth Poetry Slam final plus we also got to see an amazing performance by 'First Wave', a group from the Spoken Word and Hip Hop Learning Community course at University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA). 

This group, now touring the UK, used their own experience of race and racism in the US education system as the basis for this piece. It was mesmerising: a performance of such power, and such polish, and also such rawness, love, humanity. And great tenderness. I went with a friend completely new to this way of working with poetry, and he was overwhelmed by it. The slam groups from around the country filled the audience and you could have heard a pin drop from the concentration and appreciation. 

Don't throw activist histories away: The Huntley Conference on Arts & Activism, Culture & Resistance

El Crisis

There were over a 100 artists, activists, community workers, young people, archivists & conservators, educators, parents, grandparents, policymakers......taking part in talks, creative "Groundings" sessions, a parallel youth conference, music & poetry performances, from the fabulous El Crisis, younger talented artists, and the more experienced......discussing race and power, creativity and resilience, protest and activism.....and feasting on delicious food from Jollofpot, book stalls, all in the great facilities of London Metropolitan Archives.

Eric and Jessica Huntley

What was brilliant and so rich about this day was we were learning about art, activism and Black struggle through the legacy and networks of the two activists Jessica and Eric Huntley, now in their 80s, who arrived in London from Guyana in the late 1960s.

More on Britain on Trial

See an interesting review by a participant in Britain on Trial - Gloria Dawson - on the Platform blog.

And here is some feedback from Shake! young poets Rotimi Skyers & Selina Nwulu:

What did you get out of the whole thing? What was the most interesting aspect for you??

Nathaniel reads

ROTIMI: There was a lot more of a connection between two generations. Normally we get preached at and hear what they are saying, but we don't normally listen to what they went through. My parents grew up in that generation but it's not like I really listen to them and I didn't realise we have more in common than i thought, especially when we saw visual images - the films - that hooked me. 

The whole asylum seeking thing - I didn't realise it was that bad. In school they don't speak about them in a good way and I didn't see it a major issue or how it relates to racism, but today it helped reinforce the fact that racism is an international issue which needs to be put on trial.
 
SELINA: To see the journey an idea takes from the Britain on Trial poem to the event was really cool, Hearing different perspectives on topics that I didn't previously know about  was really interesting. The mini-lectures were the most interesting for me. I liked all of them but I really really liked the third one on displacement. All the speakers complimented each other complemented really really well.

What did you learn that was important for you? Or surprised you?

Praises for Shake event at Rebellious Media Conference

Well, we seemed to have totally hit the spot on Sunday with our session "The Unheard: Youth, the 'riots' and the media" at Rebellious Media Conference.

+ here's one of many praising tweets, and an extract from same person on a blog review of the conference:

@RUDY2HATS Best workshop of the RMC, many thanks...

http://rudy2shoes.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/rebellious-media-conference/

...On Sunday I went to the forum on alternative voices from ‘the riots’ this was a focused and well organised session; probably worthy of the trip in itself.  A number of young people talked about their experiences of the riots, their interpretations of mainstream media as well as their analysis of the causes.  They expressed themselves in a variety of ways, including using video and poetry.  This was the ‘rebellious media’ I was looking for, not mirroring the current inadequacies but finding common ground with others and allowing their own expression to be the media.  Concerns of those close to events were raised, not mediated through some elite journalist with a decontextualised catchphrase. This is what a radical media conference should look like as voices from the heart of relevant issues command centre stage while networking and organising follow...  

Review of the big Shake! Preview

On the evening of the 26th February, the Albany in Deptford hosted the Shake! preview - an inspirational night of poetry, music and the sharing of experiences of contemporary issues across generations. Hosted by Shake’s very own multi-talented Rotimi Skyers, accompanied by ground-breaking facilitator/poet/performer/all round awesome person, Simon Murray, the night successfully shared the message, aims and work of Shake! with the wider community.

WHAT WE LEAVE WE CARRY: THE LEGACY OF JOHN LA ROSE

Check this BBC Radio 4 John La Rose tribute programme which you can listen again to for next 4 days.

& also for those fellow Bibliophiles among you (e.g. Rotimi & yo enthusiastic book-buying that means you bro!) peep the New Beacon bookshop which still going strong in North Larndarn town. Always good to support the local community bookshops - especially when Libraries & services getting cut cut cut & when the sometimes cheaper alternatives come with power moves like this:

Big bookseller embroiled in WIKILEAKS DRAMA
Amazon's new "MORALITY POLICE CODE"

Daniel Ellsberg says BOYCOTT AMAZON

peace & poetry, Sai

ERIC SOUL IS THE HOST OF WAHALA TV

Did you know this?

Click to check out more on AFROGROOV TV!!


 And still in the spirit of Fela!, Jane has let you know that you can still get ticket for the Fela musical at the National Theatre. See the story of Nigeria's contemporary political  story through his music and life.


Note from Jane: "If you haven't seen the show "Fela!" at National Theatre yet, get down there. It's an amazing night of afrobeat and politics. Incredible performances - Eric, Zena and I have all seen it. YOU CAN GO FOR £5, standing tickets (or dancing tickets....!!)"

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/57358/productions/fela.html

HANNAH REVIEWS "THE DECLARATION" and "THE RESISTANCE" by Gemma Malley

On the second day of SHAKE! we asked the participants to bring to the session something they considered to be a piece art that had Activist connotations. Hannah Brought in the The "Resistance", part of the The Declaration Trilogy by Gemma Malley. Set in the future in a time when human being has found the  means to live forever! However, they had not considered the consequences of this, socially, politically or psychologically. We asked Hannah to right a review.

So in Hanna's own words...

THE DECLARATION: BOOK ONE

A guilt trip when you think about it. Our generation quests for eternal life, and we dare not think of the consequences. This book braves this taboo territory and explores the year 2140. The world is, literally, failing to support the immense population. There's little fuel, little food and little countryside. There is also very little crime, very few terrorist threats (unless you count those performed by the 'Underground' and groups vying for cheaper 'Longevity' drugs). What of families? Well, any parents who decided not to take Longevity are... dead. When you take Longevity, you forfeit the right to have children. Any children you may bear may be found and will be forced into either: slave labour or 'consensual' labour', raised to hate you and themselves.

The protagonist is Anna, a stubborn girl who is determined to 'Earn Her Place'. Life is looking up for her: she doesn't know her parents, she's a Prefect, her Work is usually Excellent or Perfect, and she's nearly sixteen which means that she will be a Valuable Asset and will soon be working in a House on the Outside.

Then along comes Peter, a boy who doesn't Know His Place. His mischievousness, cheekiness and Outside Knowledge drive Anna to think differently about her Place and whether or not her parents do actually love her.

It's quite an interesting read, and it challenges you to think about the consequences of our actions now. There's very little mention of race, although it can be assumed that everyone is white because the adult characters appear to be far more nationalistic than we are 'today'. Power is quite obvious- the adults have it all. One man, in particular, has a lot of it: Richard Pincent.

Stars out of five? Four.

THE RESISTANCE : BOOK TWO

The second book of the Declaration trilogy. It's a slow burner, and quite predictable. The protagonist has switched to Peter so that you find out more about him because, in the first book, he was this mysterious character with an aura of wonder. In this book, you just want to cuddle him. He's harder, but he's easily led. We're also introduced to Jude- Peter's half-brother. I like Jude. He doesn't take crap from anyone and is his own man. He's cool like that. We also get to know Richard Pincent, the man with all the power. He owns the company- Pincent Pharma- which produces Longevity drugs. Nice one, Richie! Or so it would seem, because he is really the most 'Selfish' character. He leads Peter to believe everything he says, nearly forces Anna to sign her Declaration, and locks away Jude :'( The Underground are far more active, which is a good sign because Pip was also one of my favourite characters. He reminded me of one of my teachers- if any of you know Mr. Bolton, you'll probably like Pip as well- and I don't know what that says about me, but whatever.

Predictable, gets you where you're going and has a beautiful climax. Almost like going on a business trip to a beautiful island.

Stars out of five? Three and a half.

The Legacy:

The final installment of the Declaration trilogy. Set one year on from The Resistance, the world is rapidly running low on energy, food and water with ridiculous rationing schemes having to be enforced. To make matters worse: a deadly virus is sweeping the country. Richard Pincent, the head of Pincent Pharma we met in The Declaration and got to know in The Resistance, knows this but withholds the information, blaming the Underground for the mounting bodies. Peter- in Scotland with Anna, their daughter Molly and Anna's brother Ben- travels to London after receiving a message that he is needed only to discover that Pip, the lovable leader of the Underground, has turned himself in. In a race against time (and a few grammatical errors along the way, which were annoying and distracting from the story) Peter, Jude, Anna, and newly-free Sheila  fight to save the children from riots and attacks on their lives, and make a startling discovery that draws the perfect end to the trilogy.
Stars out of five? Four and a half.