Sunday Synopsis: ‘The Color Purple,’ People who brought me back from the Dead

"I remember when I was in the store with Miss Millie…I was feeling real down, I was feeling mighty bad…and when I saw you, I know there is a god and one day I was gon’ get to come home” – Sofia in “The Color Purple”

Of all my favorite movie quotes that I’ve featured on this blog (and in guest posts) time and time again, I never thought that a line from Steven Spielberg’s 80s drama “The Color Purple” -- starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey – would be among them. It wasn’t until a moment of sulking this past weekend, over a few seemingly huge mountains I need to climb (figuratively speaking) that I thought of the infamous dinner scene where Sofia (played by Winfrey) – as her father-in-law would describe -- rises from the dead.

For those of you who haven’t watched “The Color Purple,” please understand that I have paraphrased this quote as well as shortened it to include only the bit that spoke to me. There is a scene in this movie where Sofia must go grocery shopping to fulfill her duties as a maid for the wife of her town’s mayor and Celie (played by Goldberg) provides a helping hand by gathering the necessary groceries on Sofia’s list. Sofia later thanked Celie during dinner, after finally being released from jail and subsequently granted freedom from working for Miss Millie.

I love this particular movie quote because it isn’t about a higher power (to me, anyway), but rather, a glimpse of light at the end of what seems like a very long, dark tunnel that we’ll never get out of – until someone shows us some hope that there is another way -- that we’re not alone and somewhere, somehow – we can make it.

So today, I’m professing my love and devotion to not one – but two blogger friends – each of whom I dedicate the above movie quote:

Alana Garrigues who offers up fun writing exercises at Writercize is someone I think has a form of ESP when it comes to her interactions with me online. Aside from giving her readers cool ways to flex our mental muscles so that our brains don’t get dull, she also (unknowingly) resuscitated my energy and attempts to keep it moving – twice.

On one of my many sleepless nights, I was going through a major downturn even though a friend who I’ve known for some time gave me some pieces of clarity.

For some odd and almost unexplainable reason, several messages from Alana ignited something that removed me from the downward spiral that I found myself in at that time. Another incident occurred when I was no longer as active online as I would be, including on Twitter – around a time when my tweets would come regularly. New posts were only going up on Mondays for the Movie Meme that I host; I was lost and stressed out. It was then that Alana sent some sunshine my way – and so, I’m grateful for having met her.

I owe tremendous allegiance and gratitude to Herman Turnip, a devoted husband, father and IT genius who delves into a variety of goodies for the senses -- from the championing movie trailers of anxiously kick-ass releases to jumping out of airplanes, to five-minute stories and everything in between at Terrible Analogies.

Herman is a true blogging friend who’s been around since the early days of my blog – I’m talking back when my posts were so sporadic that you wouldn’t even know if I was going to put something up next week or next month. I’m talking back when even I wasn’t sure what the direction of this blog was going in, where I wanted to focus my attention with regards to topics and when my writing could’ve used much editing and several drafts before pushing the “publish” button. Since then, he is the one who comes to mind sometimes when I have writer’s block or am feeling sluggish or indecisive about my next move on the blogging front.

At times when I’m stuck for a voice or perspective to aim for, I just imagine that I’m writing directly to Herman; experts suggest that you writers should write to an audience – he is my audience. At times when I’m not in the mood to get up and write another post, I know I better damn well snap out of it and have something live sooner than later because I want to make sure that I’m accountable for keeping fresh posts on deck here.

There are nearly a dozen or so very specific people who I continue to be thankful to for reading my blog because they make it what it is and make my hours of research, last-minute trips and interviews worth doing; it is because of Herman, however, that I have continued (or try) to remain consistent in my blogging activities.

He tops the list of all my blogging friends who I am grateful to know due to his ongoing support, which keeps me aware that somebody is reading, so I need to make sure that there is something up for him (or her -- Hey Tina, this one’s for you!) to check out and discuss.

In addition to making some of the oddest discoveries that I’ve ever learned about, Herman has also been a dear friend in the non-blogging realm of things, sharing insight on some of the challenges and/or perspectives that I’ve pondered with regards to life/work matters. To speak of a blogger who I think is great and not name him would be a crime.

FYI & Other Stuff....

• As the first full week of May approaches, I have a long day planned for tomorrow, so the Monday Movie Meme will be posted in the evening this week (Monday, May 6th), as opposed to the morning – consider this a heads up! 

• Also, I'm still working on my 2013 A to Z Reflections and expect to post it on Wednesday.

• I was approved to be a presenter for the 2013 LAMMYS and will be announcing the winner in the category of Best Running Feature. The LAMMYS will begin on May 6th with announcements on YouTube and continues through May 16th when an official list of all winners will be published by The LAMB.

What is one of YOUR favorite movie quotes and why do you love it?

Is there any particular blogging friend that YOU want to profess your love and devotion to? If so, what makes him or her great?

Today’s Sunday Synopsis is a mash-up of two prompts from Jenni’s Blog Everyday in May Challenge. She asked participants to share their favorite quote and why they love it. She also wants participants to publicly profess their love and devotion to a fellow blogger friend while also explaining what makes them so great. The title and style of this post is inspired by Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out, who’s Sunday Summaries in 2012 highlighted people who mentioned the A to Z Challenge to their online network.

Cassmob at Tropical Territory also convinced me that I could switch-out “Summary” for a word that better matches the subject matter of this blog.

'You have to Save You!' #atozchallenge #monday #movie #meme

Detective Strode tells Frankie “all you got is you, and you have to save you” during a crucial scene in the action crime drama, “Set It Off” starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett, Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise.

It is a defining moment where Frankie’s next decision will cost her dearly no matter which path she takes. What stands out in Strode’s (played by John C. McGinley of “Platoon” and “Alex Cross” films) line is the fact that the responsibility of what happens in their intense situation lies solely on her. Suddenly, this is a tough deck of cards presented to someone used to depending on friends for a way out of dire circumstances.

Frankie’s friends were the most loyal and frank of any she could ever have – the kind who backed her up during bank robberies, got her a janitorial job, provided door-to-door transportation around the city and even supplied enough weed for her to get high on the rooftop after a long days’ work.

They were friends to whom she would teach proper etiquette for formal social settings and be a liaison for conflict resolution if some of her BFFs had a falling out.

Frankie had their back and they had hers – but now – the time has come for this former bank teller to realize that she is the only one with the power to calm the chaos involving her, Strode and the LAPD.  

As much as I hate Detective Strode, for reasons related to other scenes in this movie, he was absolutely right in what he said to Frankie during their last exchange. In fact, I believe it would help if more of us used it as a sorta mantra for getting through tough times or at the very least – be mindful of it when we want to rely on someone else to make things better. I’ve realized Strode’s words to be true on several occasions including one (which is rather unfortunate, but that’s beside the point) when a health issue made it difficult for me to function properly due to severe pain and I lost like ten pounds; It was a battle to try to get a ride to the emergency room or grocery store to get medical assistance and items I needed.

On another, less serious occasion, I tried to get help with a technical issue I was having and the person I was relying on didn’t come through in a timely manner. As a result, I was waiting and waiting until the moment when I realized that I refuse to wait one more minute – and I buckled down, focused on one specific yet very important task at hand – and I eventually fixed that setback myself. Careful observation of other people, their habits and patterns of behavior let me to realize that a lot of men and women need a rude awakening from someone like Detective Strode – especially in the inner city communities.

A lot of adults (and children too…so it’s no wonder how we got like this) wait and rely on other people to supply that vital piece to their puzzle and it’s damaging to one’s growth. Yes, I know it’s hard to take everything on at once and try to fix all of the areas that have gone wrong or are weighing down on your shoulders – but trust me when I tell you that you’ll likely be better for it in the end.

If I would have continued to wait for people at certain times in my life, I would have probably experienced more hours and days lying in bed, hoping and wishing for medicine or soup or tea. If I waited to get help during my technical setbacks, I would have never been able to participate in and Co-Host the A to Z Challenge in the capacity that I am doing so today; But I didn’t wait – I walked more than some people probably would, researched things that some people would pass up for more enjoyable activities, worked in a manner that some probably wouldn’t, paid for things that some people would rather obtain freely and gave up on things that some people don’t believe they could live without.

Some of these things were not fun to do but I learned more in the process, got by with what I could and then when the time and other resources were in line, I made it pass one of my setbacks. It took longer than I desired but it still came through in less time that it would if I had been waiting on someone else. I did it on my own; You can too. We all have the power to steer chaos, setbacks, drama or other troubles in a direction that is most beneficial to us and whatever it is we want from the situation.

I hope you remember that when life gets out of hand and you’re frustrated or lost or sad or angry or hopeless and waiting for family, friends, neighbors, co-workers or strangers to come through but they either can’t or won’t for whatever reason – all you have is YOU…and YOU have to save YOU!

So, the theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is plain and simple: The Power of YOU.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring people who were able to get themselves out of a sticky situation. It is a broad enough description to encompass any type of circumstance where the main character could use all the help that he or she can get but for some reason it isn’t available. The movie can be fictional or real – short or long – live action, documentary or animation. You get my drift. Let’s go! What say YOU?

The few movies that come to mind right now that truly exhibit the very essence of Detective Strode’s movie line are: “Rabbit Proof Fence,” “Antwone Fisher,” “Men of Honor” and – “Courage Under Fire.”

What movies can YOU think of that feature people saving themselves?

Strength, Skyfall and Theme Songs #atozchallenge #Monday #movie #meme

“Let the Skyfall. When it crumbles, we will stand tall. Face it all together.”

British singer Adele penned and performed one of my favorite songs of all time – “Skyfall.” Winner of an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song, it is the theme to the latest James Bond movie of the same name. I find it especially inspirational because the above lyrics from this tune could be used by anyone as a sort of mantra for getting through tough times.

In the last 60 days, I found out that at least two people I know lost a close family member, two more individuals have been in and out of the hospital for serious health issues and several others have faced technological, legal, financial, physical and personal problems. This isn’t anything new – at any given time we are all dealing with like 99 problems and counting. Just last summer, I met a dude with lung cancer (I think it was in the lungs…it’s been a while, so I forgot the location of the cancer) who told me that he wanted to blow himself away. What does this song have to do with the unrelated difficulties these strangers’ are dealing with? The common ground they have in shared setbacks.

On Saturday this past weekend, someone said to me “At least you woke up this morning,” after I mentioned having a very long and not-so-pleasant week. I’m all too familiar with that saying, as it’s been repeated by many people over the years. In fact, I have developed a rather strong aversion to it because I could never understand the point of it. I always thought “What’s so damn special about waking up in the morning; especially if you’re still in the same predicament (or worse) than you were in yesterday?" Fortunately, I’ve began to realize that I may be looking at it all wrong. The special sauce in waking up in the morning is your ability to get out of or go through your predicament. This can be done even quicker if you learn from someone else who has already done it or is doing it, which is where Adele comes in.

I perceive the lyrics to the “Skyfall” song to be a testament to the fact that no matter what you’re going through, regardless of how bad it is, there is someone else who has either dealt with the same problem or is currently facing it now.

Although the friends and family that many people look to for solace in whatever issues they have, is an awesome source of support, there is also a sense of unity in the fact that you can find strength in strangers.

Men, women and even children whom you would have probably never met otherwise had it not been for you stumbling in life are now a source of strength. This doesn’t just work one way either – you might be a source of support or inspiration for someone and not even know it.

So, maybe that’s what’s so special about waking up in the morning – you just might learn something about someone that makes you glad that you did wake up – or you just might be the person who makes someone else glad that he or she woke up in the morning. I suppose, when you look at it that way, there’s nothing like knowing you have the world on your side to stand tall with when it seems like sky is crumbling down. Keeping on topic, the theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is inspired by Adele, Stumbling Blocks and YOU: Inspirational Movie Theme Songs.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, the most inspirational movie theme songs that you ever heard. It would also help if you add why the song(s) inspire you. I already made it clear what one of my top selections for this week’s meme is; now it’s your turn!

What are some of the most inspirational movie theme songs YOU ever heard?

How do YOU cope with the falling skies in your life?