The Birth of a Nation. It was one of the landmark films of American Cinema. But its racism gets me sick when I think about how the KKK is portrayed in this film. Yet, this film is referenced in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures as part of its exhibit of how African Americans have been portrayed in American cinema.
But first....
Last year, I contacted MWL (a woman I once dated) to find out which shore excursions I should take when in Hawaii. Recently, she contacted me to find out whether I knew of some good places to eat in Los Angeles in her upcoming visit. And after her return, I found out that she used the mass transit system (mostly buses) to get around town. So that gave me the idea that we might be able to use LA's mass transit system to get around town, and avoid having to use Ubers or local cabs. I didn't know how bad a decision that would be, given our the experience we were to have in this city.
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RQS and I made a decision to see both the Academy Museum and the Petersen Automotive Museum before trying to visit my uncle in the nursing home. We asked people at the hotel how we could get to an active Metro station, and no one had a clue. LA is a car culture, and almost no one uses mass transit. This was evidenced by the directions we got to a metro station "only" 4 long blocks away. After walking there in the heat, we found that the station was was under construction and wouldn't be open until next year. So, we ended up deciding to take an Uber to the museums.
This was my first time using the Uber app, and it took me a bit of time to get things working. Luckily, we had help from an Uber driver who was waiting for an airport call. After I got things set up and clicked on the "Ride Request" button, someone else agreed to the fare before our Uber driver even got the message. AARGH! We wanted to give him the business. But we got a driver with whom we had a nice chat, and he helped us fix an error in the destination address while on the way to the museums.
Once at the Academy Museum, we gravitated to the exhibit of Blacks in Cinema, and I found it very interesting. Although I identify as White, I knew of some of the racism Blacks faced in American cinema. But I didn't know how diverse the black cinema experience was. I found it interesting that movies targeted to the African American audience had as many themes as those targeted to a White audience, and often noted that the films had an all Black cast.
Both RQS and I noted that this museum gave a superficial view of what goes into making a movie. New York's Museum of the Moving Image and New York's Paley Center gives the visitor a better idea of what goes into making a motion picture (Movies and TV Shows). But I digress....
When we were done with the Academy Museum, it was across the street we went to the Petersen Automotive Museum. And it was here that the full history of automobiles was on display, using individual automobiles (and motorcycles) to show the art of personal transportation by motorized vehicle. We spent a couple of hours here, and wished we had more time, so that we could visit "The Vault." But that's something for another visit.
Next, it was off to my uncle's nursing home. On the way there (via Uber), my uncle returned my call and said that he wasn't up to having visitors. Of course, this is understandable, as he was just told that he will never be able to return to his home due to injuries sustained in caring for my aunt. So we walked around Beverly Hills a little bit, and then went for dinner at a reasonably proced Indian Restaurant.
After dinner, it was back to the hotel to get ready for our first day on the cruise ship....
