'What Black Men Think'
Sunday, March 30, 2008Janks Morton, a film producer and creator of the acclaimed DVD documentary, "What Black Men Think," will kick off the inaugural 2008 Honors Week at South Carolina State University with a limited screening and analysis of the film at 6 p.m. Sunday in the fourth floor auditorium of Belcher Hall on the campus.
Sponsored by the S.C. State Honors Program Office, the Honors Week Celebration will begin Sunday, March 30 and run through Saturday, April 5 with programs, events and activities designed to put a spotlight on the nuances of collegiate honors education and academic excellence among student scholars at the university.
In what he terms "the most provocative black film since 'Roots,'" Morton presents a searing examination of the role that myths, stereotypes and misperceptions have played in the decimation of modern era black relationships and how the symbiotic relationship between government, the media and special interests perpetuates misinformation to further marginalize the role of black men in society.
Morton is the founder of Iyago Entertainment Group, a multimedia production company.
He has also established Give Us Free Productions Inc., a commercial production company which produces independent documentary, motion pictures and videos for distribution. Morton also serves as executive vice president of Jynxdacat Productions, a music production company. Morton has been in the entertainment industry for more than 20 years.
For "What Black Men Think," Morton took on the role as producer, director, cameraman, lighting, editing, mixing, entrepreneur, graphic artist, actor, inspirational speaker and more.
"That I would have to make a film, just to prove that black men are not in the dire state that most media outlets would have you believe, demonstrates the confusion that exists in our community today," Morton said.
"What Black Men Think" is now circulating at several film festivals, and the film DVD is available for purchase at Amazon.com.
Morton completed his first short documentary film production, "2OLD2PLAY: The Chicago LAN Fest," in summer 2006. It is an exploration of the camaraderie and frie-ips shared by a close-knit group of mature video game aficionados, set in an annual weekend gathering in Chicago.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Morton currently resides in Upper Marlboro, Ma.
Sunday's event is free and open to the university community and the public. Morton will have copies of DVDs of his documentary for sale after the presentation.
For more information, call the S.C. State Honors Program Office at 803-533-3710.
