The tragedy of Toni Morrison is distinct lack of tragedy. Sharp, accomplished, talented, malleable, congenial, and yet with a distinct lack of hardship in her background, this celebrated woman has been, unfortunately for us, celebrated. Such makes for a fine op-ed or talk show interview, but as a two-hour documentary, the subject is sadly lacking for controversy.
Born Chloe Wofford, Toni Morrison had ancestors who were plantation slaves and then sharecroppers, but she herself was born in the very integrated northern town of Lorain, OH. She got a degree from Howard U., and then another from Cornell, and went on to teach in a few colleges before becoming an editor at Random House and a very successful author. I’m sorry, but after her ancestry, not a single word of her personal bio is tragic. This is not to say Toni hasn’t overcome anything, and she most certainly has worked hard and earned her status, which can’t have been a breeze for a black woman – even one who lives a stone’s throw from Lake Erie.
However, I’m tellin’ ya right now, Oprah didn’t call me up to ask for the production rights to Soccer Sucks, knowwhatI’msayin’? I suppose that’s not fair. And the movie is about a person who’s a much better writer than I am, so let’s go there. As American as Americans get, Toni Morrison nonetheless has had novels translated into countless other languages. Most will tell you “write what you know.” As a professor, Toni taught the opposite, because she believed the results superior. This is almost certainly how her professional writing evolved. Her words have awakened communities and been banned in prisons. Dammit. I want to have a book banned. I want to be accused of corrupting young minds and inciting riots. Well, not really I suppose – especially since the most incite-ful –yet not insightful- writing these days comes from Neo-Nazis. That’s a readership I’ll happily avoid.
The novel Beloved was inspired by a single article no more than three paragraphs long; Toni decided not to research the author because she wanted to have her own slant on an escaped slave mother who close to execute her own children rather than see them as slaves again. That’s powerful stuff; in her place, I’d have researched for all I was worth to distance myself from my protagonist. Toni Morrison chose the opposite; she wanted to get behind what it was for a person to do the absolute worst thing imaginable and then continue to live. That’s a level of bravery nobody speaks about.
This is what most of Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am feels like: Did you know that Toni is not only a best-selling, life-changing novelist, but also a successful editor? No, I did not. Ok, I accept this person is among to finest to walk the planet … now somebody please tell me why entry cost $12.99? I feel like I’ve just paid to watch an A+ book report. “But it’s a really good book report! With audio/visual! And cameos from some people you might know, and many you don’t.” God bless Chloe Wofford, but the end of the day, it’s still a book report.
Two punks coloring hair on the sly
With aqua sheens marked ‘D,’ ‘S,’ & ‘Y’
When a bottle ran out
One thrasher would shout
“What happened to all of The Blue ‘S’ Dye?”
I applaud anybody who read that joke, let alone got it.
Rated PG-13, 120 Minutes
Director: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Writer: Yes she is, and a good one
Genre: Saying nice things about somebody who deserves them
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Oprah Winfrey
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who fly Confederate Flags
