Thoughts on the 2015 Baltimore Riots

Some will say that the Baltimore riots were about racism. Others will say they were about Police brutality. A few will try to say they were about getting justice for Freddie Gray.

I see them as a damning statement about the sad state of affairs regarding the Black family.

What people saw in Baltimore is a Black community reaping the bitter harvest sowed from 40 years of supporting White Liberal policies, White Feminism, and promoting the proliferation of single mother households. From the seeds planted two generations ago we saw a generation of directionless youths using the death of a neighborhood drug dealer and convicted felon as an excuse to loot and burn their own neighborhoods.

The Baltimore riots weren’t about civil disobedience. They were anarchy pure and simple. These were teenagers wandering the streets stealing and destroying property. Getting themselves PS4s. Getting themselves alcohol. Getting themselves Air Jordan sneakers. Stealing whatever they could get their hands on and taking what they wanted. Almost a repeat performance of the mayhem that transpired in Ferguson almost a year ago after the death of Michael Brown.

What’s even more damning about the riot in Baltimore is that all of this mayhem transpired in a city that’s over 63% Black with a Black mayor, a Black police commissioner and a predominantly Black police force. A city that has followed the policies of White Liberals in the Democratic Party to the letter for decades.

Policies that have had a direct impact on the Black family for the last two generations. What we saw in Baltimore were chickens coming home to roost on two generations of Black single mothers who thought they could raise sons and daughters on their own.

These Savage Negro Children of the Corn who burned and looted their own neighborhood are the bitter harvest of two generations of Strong Independent feminist Black women who supported White Liberals and the Liberal Welfare policies that removed Black fathers from the home.

The events in Baltimore have proven that Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs of the 1960s are COMPLETE FAILURE. And thanks to those policies there is NO LEADERSHIP in the Black community at all right now. From the churches to the public schools to the home, no one man or woman is setting the standard for leadership and establishing the mission for the Black community.

This is why we have children wandering aimlessly using the death of a neighborhood drug dealer as an excuse to commit their own crimes. This is why these teenage rioters are so callous that they’d set fire to a Senior Citizens home. These feral Children of the Corn have no moral center, and no moral compass.

What does burning down a senior citizen home filled with elderly Black residents have anything to do with getting justice for Freddie Gray? How does making elderly people homeless and putting their lives at risk in a fire get justice for a case of police brutality? How does burning down a senior home stop police from brutalizing Black men? What does looting a Game Stop for PS4s and XBOX ones have to do with Civil Rights? What does burning down a CVS these kids stole from have to do with Civil Disobedience?

Again, what we saw in Baltimore is what happens when there is a complete degeneration of the family structure. Without the father there to lead the family under God’s authority the entire Black family unit fell into CHAOS. Without a solid family structure to teach the next generation they wind up wandering lost and directionless.

Yeah, the media showed us a Black single mother discipline her son in the middle of the Baltimore riots. But all of that degeneracy wouldn’t have happened if Black fathers were in the home in the first place. People called this single mother the mother of the year, but not a single person has asked: Where were the fathers of these children who were looting and burning their own neighborhood?

The Black father has been surgically removed from the home by those White Liberal welfare policies. And after two generations of dysfunction we now see the direct impact of his elimination from the Black family in the Baltimore riots. Two generations of children without fathers growing up with no direction, no focus and just running on emotions. From the misguided young people marching across the country to Washington for the umpmillionth time to get whatever “Justice” is, to the dysfunctional savages rioting in Baltimore none of these children have received the guidance and lessons on leadership only a father can give them.

If these Negro Children of the Corn were properly educated about their history they’d have understood that all the Black neighborhoods from Watts to Crown Heights South Central to Newark to Ferguson that were destroyed by riots ears never recovered from the carnage. When most businesses in those areas were burned and looted, the owners Black, White, and whatever ethnicity just packed up and left. And the few jobs that were there for Black people were GONE FOR GOOD.

In the aftermath of those riots property values declined. And because there was no economic infrastructure the tax base eroded. And the community got poorer. And in the place of the Black-owned businesses came Arabs, Koreans and other foreigners selling inferior goods at higher prices to the Negro masses. These foreigners then took Negro dollars and used them to finance their own journey to the middle class while the Negro led by the single mother financed her own poverty and the unemployment of her sons and daughters through continuing co-dependence on Welfare programs.

Because that father was NOT there to teach his son a sense of responsibility and to model leadership his children learned to be just as dysfunctional and co-dependent as their mother was. And because she has no idea on how to lead a family her children wind up being just as fucked up as she is.  

If these children were taught about their history from their fathers and grandfathers they’d have come to understand that rioting and looting is not a part of any smart Civil Rights leaders’ Civil disobedience plan. Most of the protests for Black men from Trayvon Martin to Freddie Gray don’t get justice for these men because they aren’t led by anyone with a plan or a direction. None of the Civil Rights dinosaurs, Negro Pastors, or Pro-Black AFROSIMPTRICKS have a set of goals or a plan of action to deal with the real issue which is the decline of the Black family and the FAILURE of Black leadership from top to bottom.

All these Negroes hopped up on emotions do is talk about “Justice” but just don’t have any idea on how to achieve that goal. For all their marching and protesting all they’ve got are sore throats and tired feet. The definition of insanity is doing the exact same things and expecting a different result. How many Black men have Black folks marched and protested over the last seven years? And how many got “justice” they protested over?

And what they don’t understand is that the world is tired of hearing them whine, moan and complain. People’s ears are starting to get deaf to all the noise behind the rhetoric. For all the talk the Negro never takes any ACTION that has any IMPACT. And the greatest action that could have any impact that could be had is all these Black single mothers swallowing their pride and admitting they just can’t raise a child on their own.

The issues plaguing Baltimore and most Black communities these days aren’t just about race. They’re truly about the complete collapse of the Black family. The Strong independent Black women of the 1970s listened to the White feminists and White liberal politicians who told her she didn’t need a man. Now 50 years later her grandchildren and great grandchildren are bringing a bitter harvest of mayhem and chaos to her from the seeds she sowed.

My Brother’s Keeper-Keeps The Dysfunctional Status Quo In Control In The Black Community

In the aftermath of the Baltimore Riots, President Obama is taking the opportunity to promote My Brother’s Keeper, his nonprofit program to mentor young Black males and provide them with “mentoring” and “employment opportunities”. However, most in the Black community don’t see how the Negro community is being exploited by the brother in the White House and his White Liberal supporters.

My Brother’s Keeper is the typical White Liberal response to a crisis situation like the Baltimore Riots. And because most Black people can’t think critically and can’t see things from a broader perspective, they can’t see the vicious co-dependent cycle transpiring in front of them in the pattern of events:

Cops kill Black man,

Negroes protest looking for “Justice”

Negroes Riot and destroy their own commuinity,

White Liberal brings in government programs and other crumbs from his table to pacify the angry Negro masses,

Issue of race and providing true equal opportunity for all Black people gets swept under the rug for another decade or so until another Black man is killed by a White cop or a nonblack person.

And the same cabal of hustlers in the Unholy Trinity such as Nonprofits run by White and Black liberals, Pro-Black AFROSIMPTRICKS and Negro Pastors continues to profit off the misery of the Negro.

My Brother’s Keeper is not about providing “mentoring” and “opportunites” to Black boys.  It’s about providing a steady stream of grant money and government funds to the same group of buckdancing, bojangling, Negro opportunists who have exploited the Black community for the last 40 years.

Most people in the Black community have no idea that the people who will be running President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper program will be the same incompetent Black leaders who have FAILED the Black community for the last 40 years. And this cabal of con men have no interest in providing real mentoring and employment opportunities for young Black males, just getting an opportunity to put tax-free dollars in their pockets from grantmakers, the government and corporations. Basically they’re pimping the Black masses.

The definition of insanity is doing the exact same thing and expecting a different result. We’ve been through this vicious cycle of dead black man, marching, protesting, rioting and government programs for the last 40 going on 50 years. And nothing has changed. 

Funny for how the Liberal’s promises of hope and change things always remains the same for Black people.

We don’t need mentors to be our brother’s keepers. We need Black FATHERS to return to the home.

Want to help most of these Black boys right now? Change the Welfare policy that says that the father can’t be in the home in order for the Black single mother to receive benefits. That one policy change would have an IMPACT on FAMILIES IMMEDIATELY.

And if anyone in America was truly serious about helping Black boys they’d be ready to give Black men JOBS NOW.

Really want to change a Black man’s life? Give him a JOB. When a man has a sense of PURPOSE he has the MOTIVATION to do BETTER. When he has INCOME he can start building and taking his life to the next level. With INCOME he can start taking care of his family. With INCOME he can start building his hood into a community of homes and businesses.

But liberals like Barack Obama don’t want the Black man to have that sense of purpose. They don’t want him to get motivated to build up his community. Why? He and his White Liberal friends and the cabal of Pastors, Civil Rights activists and Pro-Black AFROSIMPTRICKS won’t get any of that grant money if the Negro masses can start proving they can do for themselves.

This cabal needs the Negro to remain a VICTIM so they can profit off his misery. And as long as the Black man is at the bottom of the social hierarchy they can make money off him through mentoring programs, job training programs and other nonprofit hustles meant to keep the money flowing out of the Black community and right into their pockets.

It’s not hard for an employer to just walk up to a Black man and hire him. There’s no need for a job training program to do that. You know a Black man without a job and you know what he can do, you just go and hire him. Simple as that. Instant life changer. Man learns discipline, responsibility and a work ethic. He learns valuable skills and work experience. He gets the money to start building and taking his life to the next level.

If he has children, his sons and daughters see him as a role model. A leader. The head of the family. It’s hard for a Black woman to say a N*gger ain’t Sh*t when the Black man has money in his pocket and is providing for his family on equal footing as her.

The cost of giving that Black man a job is couple of thousand dollars a year. That’s billions less than the My Brother’s Keeper program will cost over the next few years. And it’d have a direct impact on the black community immediately.

When sons see their fathers working, they work too. The model for manhood for Black men can only be taught by another Black man. And the father, the man who should have been mentoring and leading his sons hasn’t been in the home for close to 50 years thanks to the White liberal policies that created the Welfare state in the Black communities. It’s time to bring that Black man back to his home to take care of business regarding his family and his children. 

God made the Black man to be the leader over the family. And the family will NEVER work without him in place in God’s natural order. For close to 50 years the White liberal, the White feminist and the Black woman have all tried to replace him with artificial substitutes and every time they have FAILED. No stepfather, boyfriend, “uncle”, “man”, government program or other man-made artificial substitute will EVER replace the father and the role God defined for man in his home.

The Baltimore Riots were a damning statement on the Great Society programs of the 1960’s. They proved that the Welfare state established by Lyndon Johnson was a complete FAILURE. In their aftermath the Black family has collapsed into the chaos we saw on those Baltimore streets.

The Baltimore Riots have proven we don’t need any more government programs. We never needed them anyway. All the War on Poverty and the Great Society programs of the 1960’s did was keep Black people poorer.

The Democrats lost the War on Poverty. Now it’s time we tried a different strategy to provide equal opportunity to Black men.

Shawn Reviews Avengers: Age of Ultron

This weekend I got to see Avengers: Age of Ultron at the IMAX. It was a great experience and a good movie. While the film captured the spirit of an Avengers Marvel Comic and the characterizations of the heroes and the villains were spot on, it’s the little nuances when it comes to filmmaking and screenwriting that writer and director Joss Whedon missed that kept it from becoming the great film it could have been.  

Avengers: Age of Ultron is just like a comic book come to life. The opening sequence in the forest on the way to Baron Strucker’s hideout on the quest for Loki’s scepter are just like a splash page of a comic book. From the action transpiring in those opening scenes I thought I was watching George Perez’s art come to life. That inciting incident introduces us to the Avengers assembled on the quest to take down Strucker and his henchmen on the quest for Loki’s scepter. On the journey to discovering the scepter, Tony Stark (who takes off his armor for some reason) runs afoul of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. Interestingly enough, one of Wanda’s “Hexes” leads to Tony Stark getting the vision to create a shield to protect the earth from evil. Unfortunately who will protect us from the heroes and their ideals? A question I thought should have been answered in the story, but this is never explored.

With the fall of SHEILD in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Tony Stark starts getting idealistic about bringing peace to the world on his own. While he’s given Thor’s trust to analyze Loki’s scepter he starts abusing that trust to achieve his goals through ulterior means. Instead of analyzing Loki’s Scepter he works with Dr. Banner to create a technological shield to protect the earth. Together Banner and Stark create the artificial intelligence known as Ultron. And While the heroes are taking a Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans moment to hang out and party, Ultron is born and is discovering the world. After he takes down Jarvis, it lets itself be known to the Avengers by attacking them through Tony Stark’s own Iron legion robots. Ironically, the shield that Stark used to defend the world is now out to attack the very humans that created it!

With his prototype body destroyed, Ultron goes back to Strucker’s labs and creates himself a new one. There he discovers Maximoff Twins and recruits them in his master plan. The misguided orphans want revenge on Tony Stark and The Avengers for the destruction of their homeland and their family, Ultron just wants to destroy humanity. An evil version of Tony Stark, Ultron is out to replace the world’s chaos with his own order. Typical comic book story.  

The Avengers discover Ultron is on the quest for Vibranium and track him to the African coast. We get a lot of great Easter Eggs in this sequence where the Scarlet Witch’s hexes take the team down. Unfortunately a lot gets lost in this sequence story wise. And while we’re distracted by the montage of images in the characters’ pasts by a big Iron Man Vs. a mind controlled Hulk sequence that ends the first act, a lot winds up unexplained.

With the Avengers beaten, and Ultron making off with the Vibranium, the heroes have to deal with a publicity backlash after the Hulk and Iron Man demolish most of a downtown African City. The defeated heroes get in their Quinjet and head to Hawkeye’s farmhouse and spend some time resting and recuperating all while planning their next move.  There’s some great character interaction here and But when Tony Stark goes into the movie starts falling apart. The unevenness of the story starts to show once Nick Fury pops in to give Tony and the Avengers advice.

After Fury gives the heroes a pep talk we learn that Ultron isn’t out to create a new Vibrainium body for himself, but to evolve. He heads over to Dr.Cho’s with the vibraninum to find out about the synthetic flesh used to heal up Hawkeye to create a new body for himself made up of flesh and vibranium with the mind Gem. The Scarlet Witch reads Ultron’s mind (PLOTHOLE) and realizes he’s not out to protect humanity but to destroy it. Cap, Hawkeye and the Black Widow go on a quest to get the body from Ultron. They get it, but the Black Widow winds up getting captured.

With the body back at the Avengers Tower The Avengers debate whether or not to upload Jarvis into it. There’s a bit of a battle, but Thor fresh from his bath comes in and charges up the body and gives us an expository plot point about the Infinity Gems. But that plot point gets lost as the Vision is born. The android shows he’s ready to fight for good by picking up Thor’s hammer. With the Vision activated, the Avengers go to fight Ultron in the final battle in Slorenia.

There they find out that Ultron plans on using all the remaining vibranium to lift the city city up into the sky and using it as meteorite to destroy all life on earth. The Avengers fight to save lives of citizens and stop Ultron. The story really starts to unravel as Nick Fury and a Sheild Helicarrier and War Machine pop in as Deus Ex machinas to save citizens. In all the mayhem Ultron is defeated, the city is destroyed, and the heroes save the day. The Hulk, Hawkeye, and Tony Stark leave the team and the Avengers Assemble at their new compound in Upstate New York. And Shawn is left wanting more due to all the unexplained and unresolved story points.

Avengers Age of Ultron is a fun comic book movie. Yeah, it’s an entertaining movie, but not a satisfying one. There’s a lot going on the surface, but not much depth and substance. When you look at the movie from a story perspective it just comes across as a bit flat and one-dimensional. And the main reason it’s so flat and one-dimensional is because it tries to do too much onscreen. Less is more, and I wish Joss Whedon would have given us less flash and more substance.

I’ll say that Avengers: Age of Ultron is stronger in its sum than in its parts. And its strength is being just like the comics its based on. Many of the action sequences are just like comic panels come to life. Again, I saw the spirit of George Perez’s art in many of the cinematic sequences. And the characterizations of all the heroes definitely captures the spirit of their comic book counterparts. Every actor not only looks like the heroes in the comics but their “voices” sound just like the ones in our heads when we’re reading a comic book.

Another strength of the movie is that it does have a fun energy about it. What I liked most about it is that and that in spite of all the destruction that transpired Earth’s Mightiest  acted like Heroes. They fought to stop the bad guys. They made every effort to protect and preserve human life. In spite of their personal issues and their flaws they all remained heroes to the end.

There was a great sequence where Hawkeye talks to the Scarlet Witch about being the guy with only a bow and arrow in incredibly dangerous situations. That one scene OWNS everything the CW tried to do with its pathetic Arrow Show over the last three seasons. THAT is the spirit of who Green Arrow is and what he’s about. Fighting for the little guy because he is the little guy. And making a big impact with small actions. The scene where he goes to save the boy who was left behind in the city was one of the most powerful statements in the movie about being a hero. We needed more scenes like this. Now if Quicksilver had lived to understand the motivations for Hawkeye’s heroics the scene would have been absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, Whedon had to kill him the same way he killed Anya in the series finale of Buffy, an ancillary death that was just there and had no real emotional impact on the story.  

Unfortunately being just like a comic book has its fair share of disadvantages as well. Cinematically being just like a comic book is actually one of the things that holds Avengers: Age of Ultron back from being the great film it could have possibly been. I believe the first plot point was telegraphed to the audience in that Hulkbuster Iron Man Vs. Hulk battle scene. Yeah, the fight was exciting, but like the end of the first issue of a three issue comic arc, but from a screenwriting perspective I saw it coming a mile away. And all the unexplained story points and unexplored concepts led to a very uneven story that remained very rough in quite a few places. There wasn’t much craft when it came to the screenplay for Avengers: Age of Ultron and it showed onscreen in the pacing and story points. It’s these little nuances that make a screenplay a tight, well-crafted story and I didn’t see much of that rock-solid screenwriting he used on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer applied when adapting the story for this sequel. Yeah, Whedon captured the spirit of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in his script, but he violated the letter of too many basic screenwriting rules to get there.

The other big issue I have with Avengers: Age of Ultron were the special effects. There were JUST TOO MANY OF THEM. There was so much going on in some of the fight scenes it was like the movie had Michael Bay level ADHD. Some scenes were Michael Bay Transformers level crazy in terms of business. It was impossible to keep up with everything that went on in some cases. A special effect enhances the story and shows us something about the actions that define the character or moves the story forward. Unfortunately when there’s too many things going it gives you a headache. Advice for Mr. Whedon next time: LESS IS MORE.

The third issue I have with Avengers: Age of Ultron is that it just tried to cram too much story into one movie. Avengers: Age of Ultron feels like over 200 issues of Avengers Comic books crammed into one three-hour film. We go from the creation of Ultron, the introduction of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, the creation of the Vision and the introduction of the Avengers Academy all in one movie. It was like having ten movies worth of story in one film and in some cases it was a bit overwhelming to take in all these little details. Again, LESS IS MORE.

Joss Whedon says he was under a lot of pressure to top the first Avengers film. Well, here’s some advice from Shawn James the writer: Don’t try to top yourself. All that’s going to do is make you crazy and anxious. Don’t try to meet or exceed someone elses’ expectations, just tell your story and the audience will appreciate it.

What I’ve learned from my two decades of experience writing serialized stores like the Isis series and The Temptation of John Haynes is to take each story as its own. Yes each story connects with previous ones, but each story is its own entity with its own beginning, middle and end. Once a writer applies this approach their lives will be a whole lot easier. Continuity doesn’t have to be drum tight, but easy enough for a child to follow the basic details.

And another thing I’ve learned is that less is more. Smaller and simpler often has a bigger impact on the audience than big and elaborate It’s the little things a writer puts in a story that stays with them and allow them to connect with the characters. Stories are about people. Unfortunately it was very hard to connect with any of the characters in Avengers: Age of Ultron on a human level because so much was going on and so many characters in a single frame. People were there, but it was hard to care about any of them.

Again, I’ll say go out and go see Avengers: Age of Ultron. It’s a fun entertaining film with a fast pace and lots of action. I wasn’t going in expecting anything but an action movie and that’s what I got to see, a good, not great action film. When it comes to these Marvel Studios movies I’d just like to see a little more craft on the screen. For the big budget movie I didn’t expect to see so many rookie mistakes in the screenplay and the special effects. I’m hoping for Avengers 3 or the rest of the Phase 2 and 3 Marvel Studios films everyone starts to understands that less is more and focuses more on making the plots tighter and better developing the characters. People go to the movies to see people and I’d like to see a bit more humanity in these Marvel Super hero movies. 

Spinsterella- New Novel I've been Writing

This cover is NOT FINAL! 

There was a reason for all the vlogs for the past few weeks. I’ve been busy for the past few weeks finishing work on my latest novel. And last week I finally finished the first draft of it.

The new novel is called Spinsterella and it’s a romantic comedy. It’s a fairy tale the Shawn James way. If I had to pitch it to a trade publisher, I’d tell people it’s a story about two misfits who find love with each other; a story about facing one’s fears and moving ahead in life. It’s kind of Shrek meets Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice. If Tim Burton ever made a romantic comedy, this would probably be the end result.

The heroine in this one is a Goth. A 40-year-old Goth. I’ve always had a soft spot for Goths and the Goth subculture and I’ve always wanted to create a Goth character and tell their story. Most people don’t know that Marilyn Marie from All About Marilyn and Colleen Anderson from The Thetas almost became full Goths at the end of their character transformations. However I changed my mind at the last minute.

This time I decided to take the plunge and create that Goth character. I spent the last year studying the Goth subculture, reading Goth blogs, watching Goths’ YouTube Videos and just listening to the people, their language and the way they do things. And I found it to be a very interesting world of cool people with a style all their own. No two Goths are alike and that’s what I love about them. What I loved is that even though almost everyone wears black, there is more than one shade and one texture to the color of the stories and experiences of the people all over the world.

This one is very different than my previous novels. Most of the books I write like those in the Isis series are usually PG or PG-13 in terms of content and almost all ages can read them, but this one is definitely R Rated. There’s sex, violence, and profanity. Quite a few Goths curse, so that’s in the dialogue. And it’s a romance novel so of course there’s sex scenes J. Nothing as graphic as Zane but the sex scenes are pretty steamy. It was a nice change of pace to write something with adult themes, I really haven’t really done that in over a decade. I really wanted to get out of my box and try some new concepts this time.

This one’s also a bit more autobiographical than my previous novels. Yeah the hero is based on me. Again. I decided to make this one a story about what would probably happen if I returned to work at a business after all that I had to deal with after losing my job at City College’s Science/Engineering Library. Re-adjusting to the job market after being out of it for six to seven years is a major life-changing event. And there’s a major character transformation arc as a character has to deal with their personal issues while transitioning from being alone and working on one’s own to learning how to being part of an office with its own unique culture and its own unique social situations.

I know from personal experience that when you’ve been out of the job market for an extended period of time you just shut down mentally and emotionally and you just focus on surviving. In survival mode you tend to tune everyone out and your only goals are getting through a day and having enough money to get to the next one. So when you return to the job market you don’t have much interest in forming relationships and personal connections with co-workers. Because you don’t know whether or not you’re going to be staying anyplace for too long. With the job market being unstable these days you learn to expect the unexpected.

And you don’t know who’s going to stab you in the back. There’s a lot of anxiety and tension entering a new environment like a workplace when you’ve been out of it for an extended period of years like I have. You just keep your distance from everyone in an effort to avoid the predators in the workplace who can cost you everything. Again, you don’t know whether or not you’re going to be staying. So you don’t make plans long term for your career.

I wanted people to understand if a person like myself is very distant when they first meet them on the job that we’re not being hostile towards them. Nor are we being conceited or aloof. When someone like me is out of the job market for a long time we just aren’t looking to be open to others on day one. To protect oneself, from further harm a man or woman may just shut down those parts of themselves and their personality in an effort just to keep surviving. It may take six months to a year for them to just feel comfortable enough to feel free enough to start expressing the parts of their personality they were forced to suppress to get through a day in those hard times. If an employer isn’t patient enough to understand the issues this new hire is going through

These were major story points in developing my hero. It was a fascinating character transformation arc and I felt it was a story that needed to be told. Most people don’t understand how these starts and stops in today’s unstable job market effect people mentally and emotionally, and I wanted to tell that story.

In developing the romance between the hero and my Goth heroine I found myself applying many of the things I learned from YouTubers like the Iceman and others to the relationships and approaches to relationships in this story. Now that I’m aware of Simps and the Simp/Trick paradigm I wanted to take a different approach to relationships than what’s presented in your usual romance novel and my previous romance novel A Recipe For $ucce$$. I wanted to show a man being balanced in his masculinity and present a model for how people have healthy relationships.

Spinsterella is a fairy tale about two rejects. Misfits. And how they find love with each other as they face their fears and overcome their anxieties. It’s a fun romantic comedy filled with a lot of irony, satire, and sarcasm. With the first draft complete, I’ll be working on revisions soon. Right now I’m working on outlines for Isis: Imitation of Life and E’steem: Back to School.  I’d love to have this one out for Christmas, but we’ll see. 

Thoughts on the Batman V Superman Teaser

Shawn’s thoughts on Batman V.Superman Dawn of Justice Teaser

I was at the library watching the Batman V. Superman teaser trailer. And everything I hated about modern DC Superheroes was presented front and center in that little snapshot of WB’s newest feature film.

First we get the immoral character calling himself Oliver Queen in the show calling itself Arrow but not featuring Green Arrow on the CW. Now this movie featuring a pair of super-powered pyschopaths.

Shawn has to ask: Why can’t DC Superheroes Be fun?

Batman V. Superman looks like a very ANGRY film. A film filled with doom and gloom. A bitter film made by very bitter people who have no idea what comic books and superheroes are supposed to be. From what I saw onscreen I dare to say many who work at Warner brothers need to get their head examined.

In Batman V. Superman the world hates Superman. They see him as an aloof overlord who does whatever he feels like and seeks to impose his will on mankind. People call him a false god. They don’t appreciate his good deeds. He doesn’t inspire hope in people. Instead he instills fear in them.

This is a far cry from the late Christopher Reeve’s Superman who was considered a friend to the world. A brightly colored hero who inspired hope in everyone in 1978 and even today when Superman: The Movie is broadcast on TV in reruns.

Seriously, everything in Batman V. Superman is NOT what superhero comics are about. It’s not what superheroes are about. It’s the kind of movie that warps and distorts superheroes and their missions. It’s what dysfunctional people who have no understanding of the genre THINK superheroes are, not what they actually are.

Comic book superheroes are not gods. They are not better than anyone else. They are people just like you and me. And they see themselves as people just like you and me. And in spite of their human flaws and frailties, they dedicate themselves to making a difference by helping those in need and sharing their gifts and abilities with others. Again, superheroes are friends to the communities they serve.

Comic book superheroes are about HOPE. They INSPIRE others to DO BETTER. BE BETTER. To MAKE THEIR LIVES COUNT. 

More importantly superheroes instill a sense of community in the kids who read their adventures. They make them understand when people have been given gifts and talents that they must use those gifts and talents make their world better. A Superhero volunteers his or her time to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves and to help those who can’t help themselves. They know their job isn’t about thanks or rewards, it’s about doing what’s right and standing for what’s good.

From an educational perspective, Comic book superheroes help kids make sense of a world they don’t understand. In their brightly colored costumes they do the things kids want to do but can’t. They have the problems kids have, and offer them solutions in their adventures as they overcome the bad guys. Again, they are the friends who brighten up a child’s day and make a rough day for a tween or a teen that much better.

From what I saw in the Batman V. Superman Trailer, the employees at Warner Brothers and DC Comics have lost touch with what superheroes are supposed to be about. What I saw in their teaser wasn’t a superhero movie. It was a movie filled with the stuff of Super-Villains. From the bleak tone and dark visuals, the movie should have been called Ultraman V. Owlman: Dawn of Injustice.

When I heard the line where Batman pondered if he can make Superman bleed it made me cringe. Batman doesn’t act like this. EVER. Batman is dark, but he’s also a Knight, a man with a code of chivalry and honor. People seem to forget that aspect of the character these days.

Seriously, are these the kinds of values DC wants to teach kids? Is this what DC wants their heroes to be about in the 21^st Century?

It must be because the same dysfunctional ideologies are projected in the pages of DC Comic books since 2002 are now being transposed onto film. It’s been a decade and a half of dysfunction at DC Comics and Warner Brothers and Batman V. Superman is the cinematic manifestation of the mental illness plaguing the DC offices regarding superheroes.

Batman V. Superman doesn’t feature the actions of heroes. And it’s not a story about heroes. What I saw in that teaser were the antisocial behaviors sociopaths participate in. That may as well have been Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on in that trailer. Or recent mass murderers James Holmes and Eliot Rodger. If you read their manifestos, they have the same nihilistic views about the world.

I’m really getting tired of these dysfunctional types projecting their antisocial values and ideals onto superheroes. Comic books aren’t supposed to be real. Superheroes are not supposed to grow up with you. Their worlds are made to instill hope and inspire others to be the very best they can be.

I don’t see that in the DC’s Batman V. Superman movie. I don’t see that in DC’s comic books these days. I don’t even see it in their TV shows like Arrow.  All I see is anger, angst and despair.

This is why SANE people are turning away from DC Comics in droves. The world is miserable enough. Who wants to spend $5 to read a comic with no hope? Or spend $15 to watch heroes whose solution is worse than the actual problem?

A long time ago in a ghetto far, far away the superhero comics in my brother’s comic book collection inspired me to become a writer when I was nine years old. I couldn’t draw worth a crap so I used words to make my pictures. Even though I grew up in poverty, I saw hope in those comics. They helped me get through the rough times in a three-room apartment in the South Bronx that had no heat in the winter or made a getting through week in a hell hole of a junior high school like IS 148 or a shithole of a high school like Park West a little easier.

Having those comics to help me get through those hard times was one of the things that made me want to become a comic book writer back in the late 1980s’-early 1990’s before the industry collapsed.

And almost thirty years since I wrote my first story I’m writing my own books. Trying to promote the same messages of truth, justice, and helping the community in stories like those I tell in the Isis series. Trying to promote the same messages of family and friendship I learned in novels like The Thetas. And promoting the concept that good always triumphs over evil in novels like The Temptation of John Haynes.

Comic books were a big influence on my writing. And I always pay homage to them in almost all of my work.

I don’t know if I’d ever want to write comics if I got the chance. If Batman V. Superman and DC’s decade and a half of dysfunction are the standard for the values of superheroes these days then I don’t know if I want to work in the genre. From all the gore and excessive violence in DC’s comics and now being featured in their movies, I’d have to say many who work at DC and Warner Brothers have some sort of mental health issue. It’s bad enough you can’t give a kid a superhero comic these days, but now you can’t take them to see a DC Comics Superhero movie.

Damn. Just Damn.

That’s fucked up. Really fucked up when you consider that comic books are a medium made for children from its inception. 

I can honestly say if Batman V. Superman is the standard for DC Comics I won’t be supporting any of their movies the same way I don’t buy any of their comics or action figures anymore. These are not the values of the DC superheroes I grew up with. When Warner Brothers makes a movie about those heroes, I’ll gladly pay money for a movie ticket. Until then, my wallet remains CLOSED as it relates to any DC related merchandise.

Story Paradigms and Story Models

In serialized storytelling such as comic books there are story paradigms and story models. While some writers use these terms interchangeably they actually mean two different things.

A Story Paradigm is a standard model for storytelling.  

Paradigms are the structure for storytelling. They lay the foundation and framework a writer for telling the story they’re writing.

Paradigms are time-tested models writers have used for centuries to get their stories from the beginning to the end.

An example of a paradigm is a one act arc, a three-act story arc or a five-act story arc. 

For the most part Story Paradigms rarely change. Stories follow a one-act arc, a three-act arc, or a five act arc regardless whether they are short stories, novels, screenplays, teleplays, or comic books.

A Story Model is the sequence of events a writer uses to tell their stories.

Story models are the form a writer wraps around the structure of a paradigm.

Story models are that sequence of events that get a story from the beginning to the middle to its end.

Once the foundation and framework are laid, a writer can get creative and use their imagination towards creating a model for getting their story from the inciting incident to the first plot point, the second plot point, the climax and the conclusion.

In serialized storytelling every character has a unique story model that is distinct. And these story models are just like fingerprints, no two are exactly alike. It’s this model that gives a character’s stories a unique feel. In some cases if the writing is strong enough it creates the “heart” and “soul” for those stories.  

A good story model will give a reader an indicator to what they’re reading from the first page. Usually a reader can tell it’s a Batman story or a Superman story just from the mood or the tone established on the first page.

The sequence of events that establish a Superman story model will not work in a Batman story model. And the sequence of events works in an Batman story model won’t work in an Superman story model. Two different characters can exist in the same world but the approaches used to tell their stories are completely different.

But a writer can turn these story models on their ear to show how their story models are distinct. One of the best examples of story models being flipped around was Superman The Animated Series episode Knight Time. In this story Superman is forced to go into Gotham City to find out what happened to a missing Bruce Wayne. And as he searches for Bruce he has to put on Batman’s cowl to solve the mystery.

And as he puts on Batman’s cowl he soon finds that Superman’s approaches won’t work in Batman’s world. It’s only when he adapts his approaches to crime fighting that he overcomes the challenges of navigating Batman’s world and discovers the true villain of the story: Brainiac.

While story paradigms rarely change, story models do change. Sometimes a writer will change a model to keep things from being formulaic and predictable to readers and viewers. Other times a writer will use a new story model to give a reader a different perspective on a character.

And other times a writer will change a story model because it’s dated. Story models sometimes do get old and what worked in an era like the 1980s and 1990’s won’t work today. Things like grim n’ gritty storytelling or Shock and awe storytelling won’t work in a time like the 21^st Century where people have completely different view of the world.

When I’m writing the Isis series sometimes I change the story models to tell a different type of story and present the character from a different perspective. Usually most Isis series adventures are kind of a comic book/fantasy/superhero story model where she takes on bad guys like Amari, Nemesis, D’Lilah, or Raheema Sanders. However, in a story like Isis: All About the Goddess I decided to put the character to a mystery story model to show how the character is a friend to people and how far she’ll go to protect others whose lives are in danger.

In the mystery story model I used in Isis: All About The Goddess a superhero character like Isis really couldn’t use her powers like flying and super strength. So the challenge was getting the character to work in this different story model and showing how she could overcome the challenge of not using her powers to find out who is stalking former child star and current Next School art model Marilyn Marie.

In another Isis series story Isis: Death of a Theta I also go off the traditional superheroine story model of good guys and bad guys. In Isis: Death of a Theta I also wanted to show how Isis was a friend to those she loved and how she had to deal with letting those friends go as she sacrificed the life of her aging alias Andrea Thomas Robinson.

 follow a more contemporary story model while using a singular first-person narrative just like I used in the novel The Thetas. I wanted the story to be similar in tone and style to The Thetas and I wanted events in that story to be consistent with events that happened in The Thetas. Again, the goal was to get readers to see the character’s heroism from a different perspective.

A change in story model can allow a writer to mix things up and keep them from being boring and predictable. In a lot of cases changes to the form can make the structure of the story stronger and give a reader an insight into a character and their mission and help the reader connect with them