Acting
Shot on video, this anthology consists of three episodes. In "Deathly Realities," a serial killer hiding behind a rubber mask receives comeuppance from his victims, beyond the grave. In "The Coming of the Saturnites," a space alien struggles to ingratiate himself among humans without blowing his cover. In "Money'll Eat You Up!!!," a rogue dollar bill (or "dirty green") makes its victims disappear - a brutal riposte to Gordon Gekko's then-popular mantra of "greed is good."
This charming tale focuses on Willa Ledbetter, an African American middle-aged school teacher in Watts, and her longing to visit her parent's homeland of Cuba. In the face of unexpected political and familial pressures to forego her dream, Willa struggles to make her decision. The title of the film refers to the shape of the island - the crocodile being its national symbol - and the menace socialist Cuba represents to many people in Willa's world.
Romie, an aspiring mechanic and ladies man, with his brutally honest best friend Pack, invest their entire salaries in a down-payment on a garage. Their goal: to establish a successful mechanic's shop to get away from their boring jobs as security guards, their loving yet eccentric and demanding families, and poor standard of living in their village - Pickletons. Their simple task of making the down-payment to the garage owner at the village lime that night is hilariously complicated by Romie's love-life, and Pack's love for cannabis. The complications and laughs multiply as the best friends go to extremes to avoid violent drug men, a charity collector, crazy ex-girlfriends and other wacky villagers.
In this video work, Zeinabu irene Davis and collaborator Quinta Seward perform a comic rap (old-school style) about the false promises in ads for feminine hygiene products. Lampooning the classic embarrassing scenarios (getting your period at the prom, exercise class or walking down the aisle), the rap’s feminist refrain reminds us that “confidence” comes from within, not from a box or tube. —Jacqueline Stewart
