I spent a few years working on a story—first as a screenplay, then as a novel (coming soon to an online outlet near you)—about a kind of Messiah who manifests as piece of female anatomy. Primary among Mam’s messages to humankind is something that we’ve lost sight of in America over the last half century or so: the need to take responsibility for our actions. It’s the crucial first step in making the world a better place for everyone.
When crafting Mam’s speeches, my thinking was that the important messages (like this) are so simple that they’re routinely ignored, but that maybe if they came from an extraordinary source people would pay attention. All the hours I put in to tell that story, and it turns out Samuel L. Jackson (a different kind of extraordinary source) has said it more powerfully in a few brief seconds.
In the wake of the horrible shooting of Trayvon Martin, Jackson’s wakeup call becomes ever more urgent. Please watch!
