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For filmmakers and photographers on a budget, buying a new camera can be an expensive purchase and a financial setback. There are some great pieces of tech out there for decent prices. Here are a few DSLRs out there that are under $500.
Canon EOS Rebel SL1 Digital SLR
The Canon EOS Rebel SL1 is the most expensive camera on the list at $500. It may also be the best. The EOS Rebel will give filmmakers, videographers and journalists high-quality video at a reasonable price. It features special scene modes for shooting kids, food, by candlelight and creative filters, 3-inch touch panel LCD screen with 1,040,000 dots, movie Servo AF for continuous focus tracking of moving subjects and an 18-55mm STM lens.
The Beginning
Norman was born June 22, 1935 in Santa Barbara, Calif. This year, the animation pioneer celebrated his 80th birthday. He always had an interest in drawing and art, so for college, he attended the Pasadena based Art Center College of Design. Before getting into the animation industry, he worked with comics.
The casting of X-Men’s Storm has been controversial from the very start. For over a decade, the African storm goddess has been played by Halle Berry to the displeasure of fans. During this year’s San Diego Comic Con, it was revealed that Berry wanted to do a solo Storm film, but fans were not as enthusiastic as she was. Around the time of the casting of the first X-Men film, Angela Bassett was rumored to have turned down the role, making way for Berry.
Issues of skin tone were the main problem. Debates over whether Storm is a light-skinned or dark-skinned woman have overshadowed the real issues — like is Storm important to the franchise or is Berry talented enough? The answer to these questions may well be no, but there are other Black actresses who could pull off the character if given a chance:
Naomie Harris
Harris has been in genre films since the beginning of her career. She has become famous for her roles as Selena from 28 Days Later (2005), Calypso from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and most recently she was Eve Moneypenny in Skyfall (2012) and the upcoming Spectre (2015). Harris manages to be strong and beautiful at the same time — a feature Storm possesses.
The African American experience in this country is a winding road with peaks and valleys. Sometimes our schools fail to explore all the nuances and just give basic facts without real substance. To remedy this, there are a plethora of books written by Black writers that dig deep and go further than any classroom history lesson could.
As police brutality and the #Blacklivesmatter movement engulfs the public consciousness, teens and young adults are awake to the world, cultural appropriation, and other areas of Black history. Here are six books to check out.
The Mis-Education of the Negro By Carter G. Woodson
The synopsis from Amazon states: “The thesis of Dr. Woodson’s book is that African-Americans of his day were being culturally indoctrinated, rather than taught, in American schools. This conditioning, he claims, causes African-Americans to become dependent and to seek out inferior places in the greater society of which they are a part. He challenges his readers to become autodidacts and to “do for themselves,” regardless of what they were taught.”
Sci-fi and horror writers like Octavia Butler, Virginia Hamilton, N. K. Jemisin, and Tananarive Due have been featured on Blerds before and have become major symbols for diversity in these genres. Their writing has influenced others and their works have spread like wildfire. In a genre like horror where white males dominate, there are new voices that are out there changing the landscape for the better and adding much needed perspective. Here are some of those voices.
Linda D. Addison
Addison is a poet and short story writer that focuses on the supernatural. She is the first Black person to win a Bram Stroker Award. In fact, the author has won three Bram Stroker Awards for her poetry collections, “Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes” in 2001, “Being Full of Light, Insubstantial” in 2007 and “How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend” in 2012.
Jemiah Jefferson
Jefferson is a contemporary horror writer but she has also written erotic fiction in the early days of her career. Jefferson is currently a comic/manga editor in the editorial department at Dark Horse Comics where she has worked on comics including “Emily the Strange.” Some of her novels include Mixtape for the Apocalypse (2011) and Voice of the Blood (2011).
The Marvel cinematic universe has become a gold standard in cinematic world building. However, it isn’t perfect. For fans who waited years to see their favorite super heroes on the big screen, the MCU is perfect and can do no wrong, but for others, it is a pool of mediocrity. With all of the good there is also bad. Here are some problems that need to be addressed.
People of Color
Watching Marvel movies can be a painful experience for people of color. Actors like Idris Elba, who is a Golden Globe winner, has been relegated to a divine doorman. He may get five minutes of screen time per Thor film, even though he is a dynamic actor who starred in his own TV show.
Oscar winner Don Cheadle plays the sidekick to Robert Downey, Jr., a man who was nominated for an Oscar portraying a Black man in Black face. There has to be a reason Terence Howard jumped ship. These talented Black actors have climbed the mountain top of their craft and they get no real respect or significance in these films.
Honestly, Anthony Mackie has a decent role and some actual importance in the Captain America films. Also, Nick Fury is vital to the universe but what will happen after Infinity War? People are banking for Black Panther, but will he be relegated to a bit player in the team up films? It is possible. Marvel has a lot of diverse characters. It would be nice to see more Hispanic and Asian heroes as well.
Reason One: Fan Service
People who watch Game of Thrones know how this show works. The important characters never really die. No matter how brutal they may be treated, the really vital players live to the end. Most of the Starks who were murdered were not that vital to the end game, but Jon Snow is. In fact, in season 5, episode 8 titled “Hardhome,” he could have died when he was fighting one of the others when he was attempting to get the dragon glass.
The Beginning
In 1993, the comic book publishing company was founded as Milestone Media by a group of Black artists and writers, including the late Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. Dingle. From 1993 to 1997, the company produced nearly 300 comics with Black characters as leads. The titles were published through DC Comics as a separate imprint in its own universe.
Edna Lewis
Lewis (April 13, 1916 — Feb. 13, 2006) began her career in New York as a cook at Café Nicholson, where famous stars like William Faulkner, Marlon Brando, Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote were frequent guests. In 1972, her recipes were turned into a book, “The Edna Lewis Cookbook.” That was followed by “The Taste of Country Cooking” in 1976. Her fame as a cook and author earned her the title of “The South’s Answer to Julia Child.”
Melba Wilson
Wilson is a native of Harlem and decided to create a restaurant that specializes in comfort foods such as pecan-crusted tilapia and Southern fried chicken with eggnog waffles. Melba’s Restaurant opened its doors in 2005, and Wilson has become a star appearing on multiple Food Network shows like Throwdown! with Bobby Flay. She also has a doctorate in restaurant business.
