Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
12 Apr 2022
🖨️ Print Article
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky CBS 60 Minutes Interview (Photo: Eric Kerchner CBS)

                                                                                       Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……,

                                                                                 “If you don’t have a broken heart—

                                                                                                  get one…”

                                                                                     —Poet Jack Hirschman

 

QUIET ON THE SET. ROLL SOUND. Sound Rolling.  ROLL CAMERA. Camera Speed. MARKER. ACTION:

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…Quiet on the set…

Quit crying… What, are you stupid? Haven’t you heard of

stuntmen—special effects? These are actors. Great actors!

Studied under Stanislavsky. This is staged. A cast of

thousands. Why, this mass evacuation’s straight outta

Eisenstein! Actors were instructed to flashback on family

photos in their back packs. Think about tricycles, toys, stuffed

animals left be hind with baby books, keepsakes, clothes and

favorite foods…

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…Quiet on the set…

Quit crying…This ain’t no Amos & Andy operation

like Libya, Ethiopia, The Congo, or Aleppo. This is major—

Armorers; Grips; Gaffers; Casting Directors; Script Supervisors;

Catering Crew—special effects alone cost more than most films!

Surround sound’s realism’s off the chain… The bomb, huh? How

cool’s all the air conditioners hanging from blown out windows?

Almost got you believin’ the buildings are really damaged?

Almost got you believin' that’s really rubble, huh? Almost got

you believin’ rust’s real on those perforated cars; and crying and

moaning you’re hearing’s real? These are actors— Brilliant

actors—studied Shakespeare!

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…Quiet on the set…

Quit crying… Your dogs ain’t dead. They trained with Cesar Millan.

They’ll rise up running like Lassie, barking like Toto—partying Spuds

McKenzie-style—at the stentorian command, “Cut!”

Your photographer friend and the young journalist who frequented

the coffee shop ain’t dead. They’ll rise, hearing, “Cut!” and shooting

will Stop… Your loved ones ain’t dead. They’re professional. They’ll leap up for

Lunch; stuff bloody brain tissue back into their skulls; stuff guts

back in their bodies, scurry over to the Catering Crew, grab bites

between

Lunch and dinner with cast and crew—when the Director shouts: “Cut!”

Wow, isn’t this staged shit cool?

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…Quiet on the set…

Quit crying… Dig the dancing stormtroopers, the combat

Chippendales rootin’ rebels; dancin’ the De-nazify—must

be a musical? Springtime anyone?

Wait, watch Ringling Brothers of Rhetoric riding dragons, donkeys,

elephants, pandas and bears from history, while rattling off hat sizes of

czars and other minutiae! Watch Ringling Brothers of Rhetoric dangling

from dicks of dictators; sucking off oligarchs,strongmen, kleptocrats/state

capitalist clowns at the speed of sound— As a shirtless horseman gallops

into the sunset with bulging saddle bags for himself and The Nationalist

International…Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved

Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet;

BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC.

You can Vote for his work at: GoFundMe PayPal: paypal.me/towncrierRNT

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Ralph Poynter delivered a solidarity message from Lynne Stewart
    Lallan Schoenstein
    Ralph Poynter Used His Strong Voice and Stout Heart to Fight for Justice
    10 Jan 2024
    Ralph Poynter was a pioneer in the fight against white supremacy, oppression, and injustice around the world. His voice and presence cannot be replicated.
  • Dr. Claudine Gay
    Aaryan Morrison
    On White Supremacy and Zionism: a Reflection on Claudine Gay’s Tenure as President of Harvard University
    10 Jan 2024
    Anti-Black racism and Zionism are two cornerstones of Harvard’s flawed foundation. We should mourn Claudine Gay’s tenure at Harvard because she was both a victim and an agent of white supremacy.
  • A lithograph print of the July 3, 1825 landing of French gunboats in Port-au-Prince
    Ira Kurzban
    Haiti’s Legal Claim for Restitution
    10 Jan 2024
    After Haiti gained independence in 1804 following a slave revolt, France threatened to invade and re-enslave the Haitian people if they did not pay compensation to French slave owners for their lost…
  • Sudan Conflict Khartum
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Sudan Talks Between Military Leaders Cannot Bring Genuine Peace
    10 Jan 2024
    Civilian democratic forces are demanding inclusion in proposed discussions in Djibouti.
  • Root Work
    Black Agenda Radio
    Some of Us Are Brave, Volume I
    09 Jan 2024
    Thandisizwe Chimurenga is the author of the new book, Some of Us Are Brave, Volume I : Interviews and Conversations with Sistas on Life, Art and Struggle.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us