Douglas Day Stewart

One of my all-time favourite films. It tends to get a lot of harsh criticism for the dialogue, but you have to take it in the context of two children who have little education and have been separated from society. The cinematography is stunning--a lot of scenes were shot using only natural lighting, including the 'magic hour' at dusk and canvas filters in the scenes aboard the ship. The underwater sequences are beautiful and one of my favourites is the phosphorescence swim scene.

While simple in its themes, Blue Lagoon is a timeless tale of adventure and romance peppered with societal criticisms. I fell in love with this film in my youth and it basically taught me what love is.… (more)

I borrowed the concept of 'lettering' on a character's chest and applied it to the central character, Crimsonne Redd, in the third story, Yellow Jacket; of my first novel, Sculptured Nails and Nappy Hair. In my book, the letters were not branded on; rather -- they were figurative -- each serving as a painful reminder of a fucked up quandry which was of the larger society's psyche. the letters in my story were L-S-N for LIGHT-SKINNED-NEGRO. Looking back, I realize that I loved reading this book(as a high-school student) because it was my formal introduction to INSTITUTIONAL HYPOCRISY.… (more)