Harlem's Black Magic II

I wanted to say some quick words on the other day’s video post from the 1937 March of Time newsreel series. Now first off there is something wrong with the clip and the sound and picture are out of sync and that causes the whole clip to end way before it is suppose to - I'll be hunting around to find another clip but it may be awhile, if ever.

Second off- Woof, no small amount of condescension there, but I suppose for the time it might have been regarded as "uplifting" - thanks for the lift but I'll walk.

Anyways, watch it through and you will get to see some similar things to what’s around even today- note the Compelling Incense, Confusion Powder, Boarding House Powder and Husband Come Back Powder all by Mysto Products.

If I can find a better version of the clip I’ll post it up and have a few more things to say on it.

For now let me sign off with this thought – It’s high time we stopped tossing babies out with bathwater folks!

Just because something is ugly, done in ignorance or even done with a spiteful nature does not make it worthless. There is a lot to be learned in some old sources – but yes they are often racist, ignorant, silly, sensational, the lowest denominator, and sometimes just outright immoral. But, you just might be surprised what you find in the junk yard, people love to wrap their bullshit up in good gilt paper and around tiny seeds of truth. It's that golden paper and seeds we should try and salvage. Looking through a piece of history for what may be true and valuable in it does NOT legitimize the time, producer, inaccuracies, or wickedness of the material as a whole. But it does require a lot o hard and careful work and getting your mental hands dirty.

In other words, pull up your boots, hold your nose and follow me; there’s some good stuff buried in this shit but it ain’t gonna be a pretty job finding it.