Pat McGuigan

Statement Endorsing Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt

1/31/2021

One of Oklahoma’s most impactful advocacy organizations has announced a strong early endorsement for the incumbent governor of Oklahoma. The announcement came in a press release sent to The City Sentinel, CapitolBeatOK.com (an online news organization) and other news organizations.

The endorsement press release read as follows:

“The Association of Oklahoma General Contractors (AOGC) is proud to be the state's first member organization to publicly endorse Gov. Kevin Stitt in his bid for a second term as Governor of the great State of Oklahoma. Under Stitt's leadership, Oklahoma has become a Top 10 state for the condition of its bridges, expanded our state's infrastructure and technology, is leading the largest transportation construction projects in our state's history, and keeping the 8 Year Construction Work Plan moving forward.

These projects and plans have a tremendous positive impact on our state's economy, including providing good-paying, steady jobs for Oklahomans and keeping construction companies and the construction supply industry invested in our state.

By re-electing Gov. Stitt, Oklahoma will become a national leader in transportation infrastructure and drive future economic development. His foresight is paving the way for better, safer roads and bridges to keep Oklahoma as America's destination for the traveling public and businesses.

The AOGC looks forward to supporting Gov. Stitt for a second term in office and asks that all Oklahoman's who drive on our roads and bridges do too."

-AOGC Executive Director Bobby Stem

www.CapitolBeatOK.com

Statement Endorsing Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

To Honor a contented man: A Daughters finished book

1/31/2021

This past week, I submitted the final proofs of my sixth book, which is my tribute to my father's unwavering faith in education, emancipation, and Kashmir.

The sense of accomplishment and gratification that I have after the completion of this project is inimitable.

After my book "Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's Reflections on Kashmir" was published in January 2018, I promised my publisher that I would have my next book done by December 2019.

But my father's fragile health and the political tumult in Kashmir prevented me from remaining centered amid all of life's chaos.

I couldn't transcend the unpredictability of the situation in Kashmir and was unable to garner the courage to write a book during that period of mayhem.

But in March 2020, I promised the retreating wraith of my father that I would commemorate and honor him in everything I did. He would not drown in oblivion. And my life would continue to be enriched by his wise counsel and unconditional affection.

We put our best foot forward in times of difficulty and adversity. My father's unconditional love taught me to see hard times as an opportunity to grow, not as a misfortune.

I want my father's strength. He taught me to be grateful for God's mercies and was a content man. I never saw my father grieve, because he looked for meaning in every situation, and didn't forget to count his blessings. That's exactly what I do every single day!

NOTE: Dr. Nyla Ali Khan is author of the forthcoming book, “Educational Strategies for Youth Empowerment in Conflict Zones: Transforming, not Transmitting, Trauma” (Palgrave MacMillan, May 2021). She is a regular contributor to The City Sentinel newspaper, and frequently appears on the CapitolBeatOK news website. Both are based in Oklahoma City.

To Honor a contented man: A Daughter’s finished book
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

Oklahoma City (OKC) Pride Alliance to host inaugural Downtown Festival and Parade

1/31/2021

OKLAHOMA CITY - The 2021 Oklahoma City Pride Festival & Parade will return to an in-person event on Friday, June 25 through Sunday, June 27, in collaboration with Tulsa Pride to present "Pride on the Mother Road".

Last summer, the OKC Pride Alliance made the decision to create a 2020 Virtual Pride Week Festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For 2021, OKC Pride will host Oklahoma City’s Inaugural Downtown Pride Festival and Parade as an in-person event.

OKC Pride Alliance will kick off Oklahoma City Pride Month with an Opening Ceremonies on Tuesday, June 1.

The OKC Pride Alliance Parade will step off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 26 in downtown Oklahoma City. The Tulsa Pride Parade (https://ift.tt/3t7LPfb ) is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the Art Deco/East Village in downtown Tulsa.

To register as entertainment or as a vendor for the OKC Pride Festival click here: https://ift.tt/3cmFpmq .

“As COVID-19 vaccinations begin to be administered, we are optimistic that by June we will be able to return back to hosting this event in-person,” said OKC Pride Alliance President, Hannah Royce.

“We know the pandemic is far from over and the community's safety is our highest priority. Our board will continue to remain flexible and monitor best practices and CDC guidelines.”

That same weekend, Oklahomans for Equality (https://www.okeq.org/ ) will also host its own Pride Parade & Festival in Tulsa.

The two organizations will collaborate on Pride Weekend programming in an effort to show unity and support within the state’s LGBTQ2S+ Community.

Both events will honor and commemorate the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The two organizations are calling this “Pride on the Mother Road” and hope this year's observance will emphasize the importance of healing in an attempt to bridge both communities as they remember the 1921 massacre of Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood, also known as ‘Black Wall Street’.

“Our board is excited to see our festival and parade return to an in-person event, and hope that it will symbolize a move toward community restorative justice, healing, progress and a celebration of perseverance,” said Royce.

The OKC Pride Alliance (https://ift.tt/3pCkOhN ) will share additional details in the spring about the upcoming festival, including a call for volunteers, parade participants and festival vendors.

The Oklahoma City Pride Alliance, a community-run, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, is dedicated to producing the annual #OKCPrideFest and Parade, #OKCPrideWeek, and year-round city-wide LGBTQ2S+ Pride events that inspire, educate, commemorate and celebrate our city’s diverse community.

For updates on the latest announcements regarding the 2021 Pride Festival & Parade, follow the OKC Pride Alliance on social media (https://ift.tt/3oBTMpt ) and visit oklahomacitypride.org .

To learn more about the Tulsa Pride event, visit okeq.org .

Oklahoma City (OKC) Pride Alliance to host inaugural Downtown Festival and Parade
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

No Silly Valentine: Falling in love with Dorothy Day

1/31/2021

Pat McGuigan

Oklahoma City – I’m not sure the exact day or hour that I fell in love with Dorothy Day, without ever encountering her in the flesh. She died in 1980.

Her political inclinations and economic views are about as different from mine as can be imagined. But in her spiritual reflections, I found the heart of a sister.

Not an opponent or an “other,” but a friend.

A woman, I believe now in Heaven, whom I love.

Her: a journalist, avowed socialist, pacifist and founder of the Catholic Worker movement.

Me: a journalist, supporter of capitalism, advocate for a strong national defense, Reagan conservative and registered Independent since 2016.

As the years advance, she inspires and comforts me. As she grew in wisdom and understanding, she had the depth of relationship with God I seek (and sometimes glimpse) for myself.

Roman Catholics have a tradition of intercessory prayer.

We petition those who have gone before, believed now to reside at the Throne of Grace, to pray and intercede for us.

More than ever, my prayers ask for insight in matters of faith: What would Dorothy do?

I seek her company not for instruction in economics or politics – but about trusting God, and loving people I find not only disagreeable but downright infuriating.

From a Sacred Scripture translation upon which many Oklahomans and Americans rely:

“[K]eep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman. ...” Proverbs 7: 1-4 (King James Version)

I seek Dorothy Day’s wisdom as my spiritual sibling, a friend in times of need.

My search reached greater maturity on a recent and rainy Heartland Saturday, in words from ‘The Reckless Way of Love’, a collection of her notes:

“Pouring rain today. I stayed in, resting – feeling exhausted. Sorrow, grief, exhaust one. Then tonight the prayers, the rosaries I’ve been saying were answered. And the feeling that prayers are indeed answered when we cry out for help was a comfort in itself. I had the assurance that they were answered, though it might not be now. I would not perhaps see the results.”

She certainly had behavioral warts. Who does not? She understood her need for a Savior, a real alternative to this fallen world. Another priceless and honest “Day-ism”:

“I see only too clearly how bad people are. I wish I did not see it so. It is my own sins that give me such clarity. If I did not bear the scars of so many sins to dim my sight and dull my capacity for love and joy, then I would see Christ more clearly in you all.”

“Prayer is as necessary to life as breathing”

Over and over, Dorothy Day is my “Valentine” -- in magnificent consistency:

“Love and ever more love is the only solution to every problem that comes up. If we love each other enough, we will bear with each other’s faults and burdens. If we love enough, we are going to light that fire in the hearts of others. And it is love that will burn out the sins and hatreds that sadden us. It is love that will make us want to do great things for each other. No sacrifice and no suffering will then seem too much.”

And: “The frustrations that we experience are exercises in faith and hope, which are supernatural virtues. With prayer, one can go on cheerfully and even happily, while without prayer, how grim is the journey. Prayer is as necessary to life as breathing. It is drink and food.”

Dorothy could be sad and depressed. In latter years, she missed male companionship that had once been a given, but reached for joy: “We may be living on the verge of eternity – but that should not make us dismal.”

She fused petition with emphatic truth:

“I do know how small I am and how little I can do and I beg you, Lord, to help me, for I cannot help myself. … But we are sowing the seed and it is up to him to bring the increase. It is all in his hands, and we must keep ourselves in peace, first of all. That is where peace begins. He is our peace.”

[For a previously posted personal reflection on faith, see:

(https://ift.tt/39xFfGU]

Christians believe that fortunate Disciples came to know Jesus in the breaking of bread.

I came to know Servant of God Dorothy Day through reading and reflection – and by volunteering at a ‘House’ (a small food warehouse, actually) adjacent to a school where I taught for three years.

A Novel helped me find her

t was not until I read “Mustang” by novelist John J. Dwyer that I truly felt as if I understood Dorothy Day, as much as one can understand through empathetic reading.

[For a full review of Dwyer’s book, see:

https://ift.tt/2L5HPdX]

The hero of Dwyer’s novel is Lance Roark, raised a western Oklahoma Mennonite but ultimately an aerial combat hero during World War II.

Dwyer includes a vignette rooted in truth about the leading characters.

Here is my sketch:

American warriors bone-weary of conflict and emotionally drained, encounter, over cups of coffee, a messenger of peace. It is 1945. One of the seasoned combat veterans around the table at a New York City diner is John F. Kennedy, in perpetual pain from wounds suffered in the Pacific Theater of conflict. Lance and others listen as JFK converses with a woman sitting among the war-scarred vets to talk, commiserate and challenge.

The woman is Dorothy Day, arguably the most important American anti-war activist of the middle Twentieth Century. Even with a flask of liquor in his pocket, Lance sticks to coffee as he becomes absorbed with the conversation.

Kennedy defends the almost-over war, and the lady tells him and the others “there are Pearl Harbors every day … in America and throughout the world.”

Kennedy responds, referencing an incident where a co-worker saved (with non-pacifist action) Day from harm, earlier in the day, at a nearby Catholic Worker House.

Conversation deepens. Day evokes (Kennedy would have understood the reference) early Christian writer Tertullian: “The Lord, in disarming Peter, unbelted every soldier.”

For every spoken and unspoken point the brave in the diner make to defend war, she charitably offers Christ. In mere paragraphs (three pages in print), Dwyer captures eternal human debates within Christianity, including Catholicism.

Kennedy explains the reason for war.

She answers with love:

“I know … Jack. I also know your worst injuries are unseen – your back, your pain, walking at all. And I know … about your brother.” (The latter is a reference to the oldest Kennedy brother, Joseph, killed in aerial combat.)

She tells the future president, “We love our country, dear Jack.” To love God, “we must be about the works of mercy rather than the works of war.”

The discussion ends. She walks away, nothing of the superior or distant liberal intellectual in her words or actions. She spoke to men of combat with respect and affection – an equal in every sense.

In Dwyer’s imaginative rendering, the half-century-old lady “slogged through the snowbound night, a cheap scarf over her uncolored hair.”

Lance had disagreed with every point she made, but then recalls, in a shock of recognition, where and when he had first read and heard about Dorothy Day.

During a sojourn of peace at home, Lance’s dear mother had remarked (pointing to a magazine article) that Day was “the most like Jesus of any woman I ever saw.”

In Dwyer’s imaginative yet authentic story, JFK tells his comrades: “I think we shall have wars until such a day as the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.” (Dwyer used a turn of phrase from one of Kennedy’s speeches.)

The shock of Recognition

My shock of self-recognition?

These sentences: I am drawn both to the Warriors and the Days.

Her writings are a work of mercy, her literary legacy an act of love.

In the real world today, dialogue, not demonization, is needed.

That is a two-way and multi-lane street. Demands for unilateral rhetorical disarmament by conservative combatants in the culture war will not yield social justice or societal peace.

And this: One day, I hope to see my Savior, face-to-face. I will then see clearly.

And, if such things are possible in Heaven, I will ask my Lord and My God:

“Can I talk to Dorothy Day?”

NOTE: A member of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, McGuigan is founder of CapitolBeatOK.com, an online news organization, and publisher of The City Sentinel newspaper, an independent, locally-owned and non-partisan publication.

No Silly Valentine: Falling in love with Dorothy Day
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

Oklahoma Sen. George Young files bill modifying notary requirement

1/29/2021

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Sen. George Young, D-Oklahoma City, has filed Senate Bill 480, which would modify the state’s requirement to become a public notary.

Under the measure, a felony conviction would not be grounds for disqualifying a person or removing a person as a notary unless the conviction was for a felony crime that relates to the provisions of notarial services.

Under current state law, those with a felony record are unable to become public notaries, as noted in a legislative staff press release sent to CapitolBeatOK, The City Sentinel, and other news organizations.

“People make mistakes, but it doesn’t mean that they should be discriminated against once they’ve served their time and are re-entering the workforce,” Young said in a statement included in the press release .

“Prior felons often times run into challenges finding a job due to their previous record. Qualifying this group of people to become notaries can help break the cycle of poverty, allowing them to provide income to help improve their own life and the lives of their families.”

In order to qualify as a notary under current state law, an applicant must be at least 18 years old, a citizen of the United States and employed within Oklahoma or be a legal resident of the state.

“As absentee voting is becoming more and more common due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to ensure we have plenty of Oklahomans who are able to become notaries and notarize these ballots,” Young said.

“Lifting this out-of-date law and allowing more citizens to serve as notaries is just common sense,” Senator Young concluded.

Oklahoma Sen. George Young files bill modifying notary requirement
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

Oklahoma State Senator Lonnie Paxton files election protection measure

1/29/2021

Staff Report

Following one of the most controversial and debated elections in U.S. history, Senator Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, has filed legislation he asserts is intended to ensure the continued integrity of Oklahoma’s election system.

Senate Bill 523 would prohibit any political subdivision, agency, or government official from entering into a legal agreement or court settlement prescribing election procedures that conflict with election law, which is both statutorily and constitutionally set by the Legislature.

“This legislation helps ensure that the questionable and unethical election actions that took place in other states will not happen in Oklahoma. We are a government for the people and by the people, which means no office or individual in our state government has the right to make changes unilaterally to Oklahoma’s election system without first getting approval from the legislature,” Paxton said in a January 22 press release from state legislative staff.

“Changes to election procedures that occurred in other states through last minute administrative or executive actions without the approval or knowledge of the legislature [were] wrong, we need to make sure that it never happens in our state. Oklahomans need to be able to rest assured that their elections are free and transparent, and will not be hijacked to benefit any individual, office or party.”

The measure would authorize the Legislature to take such actions only through a concurrent resolution approved by a majority of both the House and Senate.

“Free, transparent, and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and is what the Unites States’ political system was built on,” Paxton said in his statement.

“Oklahoma’s election system currently provides that these standards are applied and is one of the best in the country. We need to make every effort necessary to guarantee that it stays that way.”

The legislative session begins on Monday, February 1.

Oklahoma State Senator Lonnie Paxton files election protection measure
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

Metro Library (Oklahoma City) celebrates Black History Month in February

1/29/2021

Darla Shelden, The City Sentinel

OKLAHOMA CITY– The Metropolitan Library System will celebrate Black History Month in February with diverse online library programs.

Renowned Black American poet Maya Angelou said, “I always felt, if I could get to a Library, I’ll be OK.”

Black History Month programs hosted by the Metro Library will include a dance performance on the history of Hip Hop dance from the R.A.C.E. Dance Collective, a performance by “Spiritually Bold” of the original play “Soldier Girl”, and an author visit with Tochi Onyebuchi who wrote the young adult series “Beasts Made of Night” and a new adult science fiction novel, “Riot Baby.” (Black History Month Link: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month).

Other Metro Library February Events (https://www.metrolibrary.org/events/month/2021/02?form_id=lc_calendar_upcoming_form&page=%2C1&program_type%5B137%5D=137) will include various story times, author talks and artist demos.

All online programs will be available to be viewed via the Metro Library’s Facebook page (https://ift.tt/1uDHt9S), with some events also available on Instagram or Zoom.

On Monday, Feb. 1, there will be an Intersectional Discussion Panel at 6:30 p.m. on the Library’s Facebook page.

Tuesday, Feb. 2 there will be a discussion at 6:30 p.m. of the Geneology of Freeman and Black Oklahomans with Geneologist Angela Walton-Raji (https://ift.tt/39rRapB) via Zoom and Facebook.

Each Thursday in February, the Library will host Black Veterans Stories at 10 a.m. on Facebook and Instagram.

On Saturday, Feb. 6 at 9:30 a.m., Meechie and Kids Urban Groovezz (https://ift.tt/36l4336 ), a children's reading and music series that celebrates and promotes positive images in urban children, will be featured on Facebook and Instagram.

A discussion with filmmaker Laron M. Chapman (https://twitter.com/thenameslaron?lang=en),

writer and director of the film “You People” (available on hoopla) will take place on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. on Facebook.

On Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 9:30 a.m., the Library will feature an Online Storytime with Children’s Author Kimberly Anderson on Facebook & Instagram.

At 2 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 13, Inclusion in Art Live Demo with Local Artist Jasmine Jones will take place on Facebook.

Online Storytime will be available on Saturday, Feb. 13 and 27 at 9:30 a.m., on both Facebook and Instagram.

February 15 at 6:30 p.m., the event Quilting a History of Black Towns in Oklahoma will be held on Facebook.

A special Online Storytime with Ward 7 Oklahoma City Councilperson Nikki Nice will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 9:30 a.m., on Facebook & Instagram.

On Saturday, Feb. 20, at 10 a.m., there will be an Author Visit with Tochi Onyebuchi (https://ift.tt/2NNtIuM) on Facebook

The Metro Library will present Author Hour: Celebrating Black History Month with Shakira Bourne, Dr. Mallika Grayson and Sarah Raughley [LINKs: https://ift.tt/3co29lY, https://www.malikagrayson.com/, https://sarahraughley.com/] on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m., on Facebook.

The Spiritually Bold (https://ift.tt/3iYdASx) performance group will present an original play, titled “Soldier Girl” on Monday, Feb. 22 at 6:30pm, on Facebook.

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, Online Storyline with Writer and Musician Demetrius ‘Meechie’ Gibson

(https://ift.tt/39qd3FY) will be held at 9:30 a.m. on both Facebook & Instagram.

A special RACE Dance Collective Performance can be seen on Saturday, Feb. 27 @ 2pm, Facebook. RACE (Radical Application of Creative Energy) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in Oklahoma City providing professional performances year-round and open classes weekly.

The Metropolitan Library System is a public library system serving Oklahoma County residents. MLS includes 19 library branch locations.

The Metropolitan Library System is the largest library system in Oklahoma, serving anyone who lives, attends school, or owns property in Oklahoma County. MLS circulates over 6 million materials each year.

To learn more about these and other Metropolitan Library Black History Month events, visit https://ift.tt/3al1qQ2.

Metro Library (Oklahoma City) celebrates Black History Month in February
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

Oklahoma Senator Michael Bergstrom files Independence and Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities Pilot Program Act

1/29/2021

Staff Report

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Sen. Micheal Bergstrom filed Senate Bill 470, the Independence and Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities Pilot Program Act last week, a measure that would create a pilot program allowing fifteen small intermediate care facilities (ICF) for individuals with intellectual disabilities to be selected by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and Department of Human Services and be converted to

Developmental Disabilities Service (DDS) group homes for people with developmental or physical disabilities.

Currently, small intermediate care facilities, categorized as 12 beds or less, are regulated as traditional nursing homes. However, many of the residents in these facilities are young, able bodied adults who have a need to work, socialize and learn in a much different way than traditional nursing home residents.

“Many of these immediate care facilities are unable to provide the services they need to help their residents thrive since they are regulated under nursing home models,” said Bergstrom, R-Adair, in a press release distributed by state legislative staff.

“Current regulations that govern these facilities are counterproductive for community jobs and opportunities for increased independence for these residents. By launching this pilot program, we can provide the greatest number of opportunities to those residing in facilities like Vinita’s Home of Hope.”

Under the pilot program, funding would directly follow each resident from the ICF to the DDS group home. If an ICF is converted to a group home, all residents would immediately receive DDS group home waiver services so there is no interruption in funding for residents, according to the staff release.

“We must ensure that Oklahomans have the tools they need to thrive in today’s society, including those with developmental disabilities,” Bergstrom said. “Allowing the conversion of these homes is a great first step to getting these group homes the vocational training and services their residents need to succeed.”

Oklahoma Senator Michael Bergstrom files Independence and Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities Pilot Program Act
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

Film Review: Creed went flying higher. Sylvester Stallone Michael B. Jordan Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad delivered in Rocky reboot

1/28/2021

Film Review, First published in The City Sentinel newspaper, January 2016

The saturation television advertising campaign had a point – ‘Creed’ really was one of the best motion pictures of 2015.

Well-written, skillfully performed and memorably scored, this was a great flick for those who can stand the realistic portrayal of the violent core of boxing.

The film had the pounding violence of the original ‘Rocky’ film, and a spirit close to that mega-hit of 1976, the American Bicentennial year.

Director Ryan Coogler, also the writer, built on the “new” Rocky traditions established in what many thought was the last in the series, “Rocky Balboa” (2006).

Coogler took his time with the story, making us care about Adonis Johnston-Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the born-out-of-wedlock son of Apollo, Rocky’s one-time rival, and eventually close friend.

Frankly, the steady pace of the movie, unhurried until the furious fighting finale, is one of its greatest assets.

The Philadelphia setting for much of the story was superb. Philadelphia itself was a star in scenes on those memorable steps leading to the Museum of Art.

Adonis, the Los Angeles native, is believable as he leaves behind a troubled youth, and privileged young adulthood. He settles in the City of Brotherly Love. There he slowly bonds with dirt-bike riding youths in a series of memorable scenes.

Bianca, portrayed by a profoundly sympathetic Tessa Thompson, is an aspiring-star young singer who is drawn to Adonis. Thompson, a veteran of the “Selma” movie, shines in her time on the screen.

Phylicia Rashad portrayed Apollo’s widow, who took in a young Adonis, raising her as her own child. She was authentic and as beautiful as ever in her memorable cameos.

Tony Bellow, a real-life boxer, was perfectly cast as Creed’s eventual rival. Andre Ward, another fighter, also appeared. Both acquited themselves well.

In training scenes with Adonis and other principals, young boxers (including a woman) provided support to the story line. A variety of seasoned vets of the fight game and of Hollywood popped up in supporting roles, and there was not a false note among them. If Academy Awards could be given for ensembles, this group would have been worthy.

The cinematography of Maryse Alberti was magnificent, and deserved to contend for professional awards and recognition.

As Rocky – an extension of himself – Sylvester Stallone used his veteran skills to great effect. Even at an advanced age, he can pack a punch, both on the screen and in this subdued portrayal as an aging legend.

‘Creed’ was solid film-making, and a launch pad for Jordan. His popular reach grew later with Creed II. Now a super-star, he was memorable in the pre-pandemic “Just Mercy.” (https://ift.tt/2McO9Rn)

If you have the time, catch ‘Creed’ on DVD or in one of its frequent rebroadcasts on cable.

Film Review: ‘Creed’ went flying higher. Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad delivered in ‘Rocky’ reboot
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

Film Review: Creed went flying higher. Sylvester Stallone Michael B. Jordan Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad delivered in Rocky reboot

1/28/2021

Film Review, First published in The City Sentinel newspaper, January 2016

The saturation television advertising campaign had a point – ‘Creed’ really was one of the best motion pictures of 2015.

Well-written, skillfully performed and memorably scored, this was a great flick for those who can stand the realistic portrayal of the violent core of boxing.

The film had the pounding violence of the original ‘Rocky’ film, and a spirit close to that mega-hit of 1976, the American Bicentennial year.

Director Ryan Coogler, also the writer, built on the “new” Rocky traditions established in what many thought was the last in the series, “Rocky Balboa” (2006).

Coogler took his time with the story, making us care about Adonis Johnston-Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the born-out-of-wedlock son of Apollo, Rocky’s one-time rival, and eventually close friend.

Frankly, the steady pace of the movie, unhurried until the furious fighting finale, is one of its greatest assets.

The Philadelphia setting for much of the story was superb. Philadelphia itself was a star in scenes on those memorable steps leading to the Museum of Art.

Adonis, the Los Angeles native, is believable as he leaves behind a troubled youth, and privileged young adulthood. He settles in the City of Brotherly Love. There he slowly bonds with dirt-bike riding youths in a series of memorable scenes.

Bianca, portrayed by a profoundly sympathetic Tessa Thompson, is an aspiring-star young singer who is drawn to Adonis. Thompson, a veteran of the “Selma” movie, shines in her time on the screen.

Phylicia Rashad portrayed Apollo’s widow, who took in a young Adonis, raising her as her own child. She was authentic and as beautiful as ever in her memorable cameos.

Tony Bellow, a real-life boxer, was perfectly cast as Creed’s eventual rival. Andre Ward, another fighter, also appeared. Both acquited themselves well.

In training scenes with Adonis and other principals, young boxers (including a woman) provided support to the story line. A variety of seasoned vets of the fight game and of Hollywood popped up in supporting roles, and there was not a false note among them. If Academy Awards could be given for ensembles, this group would have been worthy.

The cinematography of Maryse Alberti was magnificent, and deserved to contend for professional awards and recognition.

As Rocky – an extension of himself – Sylvester Stallone used his veteran skills to great effect. Even at an advanced age, he can pack a punch, both on the screen and in this subdued portrayal as an aging legend.

‘Creed’ was solid film-making, and a launch pad for Jordan. His popular reach grew later with Creed II. Now a super-star, he was memorable in the pre-pandemic “Just Mercy.” (https://ift.tt/2McO9Rn)

If you have the time, catch ‘Creed’ on DVD or in one of its frequent rebroadcasts on cable.

Film Review: ‘Creed’ went flying higher. Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad delivered in ‘Rocky’ reboot
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK

Pat McGuigan

The dean of all Oklahoma Journalism, Mr Patrick McGuigan; has a rich history of service in many aspects of both covering the news and producing the information that the public needs to know.

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Sooner Politics News is a platform, not a media site. All our bloggers get their feeds promoted regardless of content. As soon as We suppress or delete even one posting, we become an endorser of whatever We didn't censor..The publisher doesn't (and could not) logically agree with all the content, so we would not expect any rational reader to agree, either. What we do hope, is that readers will think for themselves, and at least be better informed of the issues, events, and values that our citizen journalists work hard to provide for free.. We automate much of the tasks so that our sources' content gets as much exposure as possible. We encourage constructive discussion & debate. The solution is more free speech, not less.