Metal Lungies

Told you this was coming. Hopefully you got your emails out to but you still have time (considering there is no time limit…)

The legacy of HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) is a very rich and diverse one. Every institution came up under different circumstances but the results are remarkably similar. They took what was already established by society as the norm and made it there own. From the way administration was set up all the way to the halftime festivities. This DVD is a celebration of that legacy. I went to TSU, which is regarded as a traditionally HBCU (until recently when they joined the Board of Regents, thus becoming a state funded school but that’s another story). So this DVD meant a lot to me personally. This ain’t like UT or Michigan where the football team is the story season in and season out. At TSU and other HBCU’s the story is the band and halftime. It’s a bonus to have a good football team, but it’s imperative to have a great band. The best halftime show between rivals is the bragging rights. You could walk around the stadium during the first 2 quarters but you’d better have a seat have the half, and some folks actually leave after that. That’s just how it is. Been like that since high school and in college it just went to another level.

Conversations about who had the best choreography to who had the flyest majorettes were as much a part of the game as who actually won the game. It’s all subjective in the grand scheme of things; people just want to have good time and something to talk about. But the crowd will let you know if you got outperformed. They’ll hit you with a “cordial clap” sans cheers in a heartbeat. And that’s what made this a good DVD. It’s a primer for those who are unfamiliar with HBCU traditions, etc. It slows down the showdown so you can figure out how it goes down. They have a couple of key options on the DVD, you could watch either the movie, the singular band performances (which are intermingled in the movie), or the pictures stills. They only draw back to performance wise that they don’t show enough of the actual show and that each band got one segment apiece (except Bethune Cookman) and half the time the cameras didn’t catch the entire routines. But I’ve been to my fair share of these events so I’m speaking entirely from an experienced viewpoint. I’ve dated several band members (flute players and majorettes, etc) in my day and my first son’s god father is an ex-TSU band member.

This DVD did a really excellent job of looking into the camaraderie that plays a part in the whole band experience (which I never really understood until now even though one of my ex’s spoke about it constantly), and explaining the passion that the directors have for their programs. It was well edited and sequenced. The theme song got to be a little overbearing, next time get David Banner (he went to Southern U) or some other HBCU affiliated rapper/producer to do the theme for the next installment. And I like the fact that no winners were chosen, which added to the celebration aspect of the festivities. Next time just shorten certain clips (the faculty interviews) and lengthen certain clips (the majorette segment) and make the DVD movie clip option more accessible as far an individual chapter breakdown and you’ll have a super-winner. All in all it’s a very solid DVD. It actually made me want to relive the college experience for a split second. I applaud Honda for taking something near and dear to a lot of people showcasing and simultaneously celebrating it. On behalf of my fellow HBCU graduates, thank you Honda!!! This is a great way to preserve the legacy by adding on to the legacy.