African Men. Hollywood Stereotyes.

I directed and edited this for Mama Hope, an SF-based non-profit that helps build sustainable communities in African countries.

I had the awesome honor of joining them in Kenya and Tanzania, and had a blast with these four guys. Real cool dudes. This video acts as the official remix sequel to the wildly popular Alex Presents: Commando.

This video was conceived 9 months before Kony, so people might say this is a reaction to their type of marketing. Not true. But this campaign really is different in the sense that Africans themselves are the stars of their own stories and futures. It shouldn’t be us that uses a spotlight to wax emotional about how much help they need.

Pretty hilarious how over the top movie depictions are. So much insane violence, dressed in hilarious caricatures, or serious, dramatic makeup. A vast majority of Africa is like these guys right here. That’s the reality. We need to lose our obsession with the “good versus evil” narrative in how we adapt African men in screenplays. And if that doesn’t drive box office sales? Well, who gives a shit if it doesn’t. It’s right right thing to do.

Awesome work from Bryce Yukio Adolphson, Jason Chandra, Nyla Rodgers, Matt McCorkle, and Michael Thurber.