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NPR interviewed Byron Hurt on All Things Considered this past Saturday. Have a listen as he discusses his latest web documentary, “Barack and Curtis,” which was released this past October. Hurt examines the style and expression of black masculinity through the presentation of self demonstrated by Barack Obama and 50 Cent. Now that Obama has been elected, Hurt is asked whether or not notions of black masculinity will become more diversified and les physical.
Tomorrow marks the release of Byron Hurt’s new documentary, “Barack and Curtis.” Byron Hurt has been releasing select clips that did not make the final cut. Featured in this clip: Chuck Creekmur, CEO of Allhiphop.com; Jackson Katz, scholar, activist and ant-violence educator; Asere Bello, community organizer; C. Nicole Mason, Ph.D. Executive Director of the Women of Color Policy Network at New York University.
Byron Hurt’s documentary exploring black masculinity in “Barack and Curtis” will be released on October 10. Until then, Byron Hurt has released several clips of raw footage that did not make the final cut.
Film-maker, activist and lecturer Byron Hurt (creator of the documentary, “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes“) has completed his short web documentary, “Barack and Curtis: Manhood, Power and Respect.”
Byron Hurt’s intention is to examine masculinities. Plural.
As Feminsting pointed out in June, Barack Obama has come under attack for not being “masculine” enough.  Obama was and is criticized for his lack of “masculine” hobbies such as hunting and his “effeminate” values (peace? diplomacy? ) and “effeminate” charateristics (not shooting moose? caring for the environment?). Note: During her speech at the Republican National Convention, Sarah Palin criticized Barack Obama’s emphasis on the environment by stating, in her characteristic mocking tone, “What does he actually seek to accomplish after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?”
Susan Faludi, in the New York Times, noted disparaging comments directed at Obama that referred to him as being “a kind of wuss.”
In line with anti-violence educator, Jackson Katz, who is best know for his documentary, “Tough Guise,” Hurt seeks to move beyond our narrow, one-dimensional notions of what it means to be a man in our culture.