Word: rayed
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...gifted young black man's struggles on the streets and in the jails of Washington, D.C., the main piece of this puzzle is undoubtedly Raymond Joshua (played by Saul Williams) in his debut performance. Arrested for marijuana possession after his drug-dealing friend is shot by a rival gang, Ray is sent to prison. Inside he finds the gang lifestyle to be as fierce as it is on the streets, and there he comes to the realization that he wants out of the game. Released on bail while awaiting his trial, he wrestles with his feelings of anger and bitterness...
...sounds complex, that's because it is. Or rather, Ray is a complex character--because he represents more than just one man's struggles. His are the problems of a people and of a nation, and this is what distinguishes the depth and importance of Slam. In the capital of a nation that abolished slavery more than 150 years ago, the black people of America still face problems and challenges which struggle to enslave them...
There are no concrete answers to these questions, and Slam does not seek any. Rather, it strives to present these issues in a way that is accurate and unapologetic. It's not fair that Ray was born into a form of modern day slavery. It's not fair that children on the street look up to him as a successful drug dealer. It's not fair that he is incarcerated along with a major percentage of the young black men in Washington, D.C. The point that this film tries to drive home is that solutions to these problems require action...
This responsibility is required of Ray, and it is his struggle that defines both his character and the film. Fortunately, he is helped in this struggle by Lauren Bell (played by Sonja Sohn, also a novice at film). A prison English teacher and poet herself, Laruen hears Ray perform while in jail, in a remarkable scene where he averts a gang fight by performing a poem he wrote which challenges the direction of their aggression towards each other. Once out on bail, Ray seeks her out, and they develop a relationship which, although slightly stretching the notion of love...
...This Desire? never specifies the exact destination for which Harvey was reaching. The ride, though, is thrilling and fascinating, her riddles more powerful for remaining in code. Like Madonna's Ray of Light, which illuminated much but kept some spaces sacred, Harvey's album uses rock at its most modern and electronic to reveal--almost--an artist more fully and humanly herself than we have previously seen her. Even we who have loved all her incarnations will take pleasure and interest in what Polly Jean lays out for us here. God bless her--she tears our hearts out every time...