A.J.’s real name is Ajamu Talib. His dislike for his African name is the least of his problems, still it says a lot about him.Brooklyn born and bred yet outcast by his peers, his only escape was music. A.J. found freedom in rock n roll.
Tight clothes, straightened hair, popular with girls and partying every night, he is fully entrenched, in the debaucherous New York rock n roll scene. For once he feels like everyone else. Well almost.
He begins to find that his chosen community, the white rock world, only seems to run smoothly for white rockers. A series of events force him to recognize hisfriends both exotify him and are in denial of his blackness. Black, but not “really” black. What’s a young black rocker to do?
“White Lies, Black Sheep” is one of those films where the locations and the city itself are as important as the story. Much like Taxi Driver, Wild Style, Downtown 81, or Kids, “White Lies” is sure to be used as a reference point, establishing for future generations just what New York was like, back in early second millennium.
This Film was written, directed, co-produced and edited by James Spooner
June 27th, 2009 at 12:57 PM
[...] the documentary Afropunk about Blacks in the punk scene and a semi-autobiographical narrative, White Lies Black Sheep, about a Black youth in search of himself in the white rock and roll world. Both films explore the [...]
June 28th, 2009 at 11:50 PM
[...] the documentary Afropunk about Blacks in the punk scene and a semi-autobiographical narrative, White Lies Black Sheep, about a Black youth in search of himself in the white rock and roll world. Both films explore the [...]