Searching For Atticus

Kofi, Blake & Rich pay tribute to the late Sidney Poitier with a look at one of his most iconic roles: homicide detective Virgil Tibbs in Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night."
The film is a murder mystery laced with the racial intensity of the Deep South, featuring some crackling exchanges between Tibbs and the good ol' boy police chief played by Rod Steiger. 
In his work both on-screen and off, Sidney Poitier's strength of character pushed white audiences to reconsider their notions of black men and provided people of colour (like a young Kofi) with a dignified role model. 
In that sense, his life provides a road map for anyone. 

Clips contained in this podcast ©MGM Studios.

#sidneypoitier #racism #growingup #growingupblack #rolemodels #intheheatofthenight #mrtibbs #theycallmemrtibbs

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

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Denzel Washington wins the Best Actor Oscar and Ethan Hawke earns a Supporting Actor nomination in the portrayal of what has to be the worst "first day on the new job" of all time. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer, Training Day is a tense thriller that tells the story of a young cop (Hawke) eager to earn a spot on the LAPD narcotics squad and the corrupt detective (Washington) who manipulates him through a day filled with drug use, conspiracy and eventually, murder.
Blake, Kofi & Rich dive in - discussing the simultaneous appeal and revulsion of this film, the power of intimidation and how Training Day serves as an extreme but relevant cautionary tale for anyone eager to achieve their ambitions. 

#manhood #growingup #trainingdaymovie #denzel #mentalhealth #worklifebalance 

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

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New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) ruins a perfectly good Christmas Eve in Los Angeles for Hans Gruber and his friends (Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov & Al Leong among others) - at least that's how director John McTiernan is said to have approached this Christmas classic.
Rich, Blake & Kofi discuss why Die Hard IS a Christmas movie; how intense experiences can engender quick bonds between men; and how we cast people as villains or allies in our own lives. 
Happy Holidays!

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

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 "For me, the holidays aren't complete without..." 
Kofi, Blake & Rich each offer a Top 5 list of movies, TV, music & books that get us in the spirit of the season. Some will be familiar. Others might spark a new tradition. 
Share your Christmas must-haves with us on Facebook and Instagram - @searchingforatticus.

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

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Will Ferrell's infectious enthusiasm delights in Jon Favreau's Christmas classic about a fully-grown man - raised as one of Santa's elves - who heads to New York in search of his birth father.
Elf  treads through some familiar Christmas tropes, but as Blake points out, the themes at the heart of this movie would be relevant at any time of year. Buddy the Elf (Ferrell) is a man-boy searching for his own identity, and his father Walter (James Caan) is a man who has lost perspective on how to balance the priorities of work and family.
More than anything, though, Elf is one of a handful of Christmas movies that Blake, Kofi & Rich can watch many times over the holiday season. Join us to laugh and marvel at Ferrell, Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart, Mary Steenburgen and Peter Dinklage - all working under Favreau's magical touch. 

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

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Even if we weren't enormous James Bond fans, we'd be talking about Daniel Craig's last turn in the role. No Time to Die presents a very different Bond from even the man we talked about a few episodes ago in Skyfall.
This is a James Bond who's in and out of love, betrayed and hurt - maybe even disposable.
How does that reflect our times? Does it make Bond more heroic, or simply more mortal?
SPOILER ALERT: Don't worry. If you haven't seen the film, you're good for the first half of the pod - and we give fair warning before we spoil the heck out of this one. 

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

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Niki Caro's heartfelt story of love, tradition and inspiration is one of our favourites. Whale Rider follows the complicated relationship between village elder Koro (Rawiri Paretene) and his granddaughter Paikea (Keisha Castle-Hughes). 
Despairing over the decline of the Maori people he leads, Koro seeks a successor among the village's first-born sons - all the while ignoring and even chastising Paikea for the leadership qualities she can't help but express.
Rich, Kofi & Blake discuss the remarkable performances and filmmaking on display, as well as the ways in which traditions and expectations can complicated even the most loving relationships. 

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

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It's Hallowe'en - so we HAVE to talk about a scary movie. But Jordan Peele's 2017 masterpiece is no run-of-the-mill horror flick. Get Out takes the casual racism and stereotyping that people of colour experience every day and turns it into a provocative "social thriller."
Blake and Rich are full of questions for Kofi about how we interact about race within our own friendship. We discuss how black people are objectified, how they are made to feel invisible, and how Jordan Peele and an outstanding cast - led by Daniel Kaluuya - created such a profound and thrilling film.

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

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Blake, Kofi & Rich set out to tackle Wes Anderson's offbeat comedic tale of a disbarred, disgraced and despicable father who sets out to con his way back into the lives of his grown-up genius children - and somehow ends up connecting with them. Along the way, Blake shares some very personal details of his childhood that some listeners may find disturbing. This is a conversation that starts with us discussing about quirky comedy and leads to a deep dive into the challenges and rewards of forgiveness.

#childabuse #mentalhealth #forgiveness #survivingabuse

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

#searchingforatticus #buzzsprout

There's no hiding our excitement at the upcoming release of the new James Bond movie, No Time To Die. But as we anticipate the next appearance of 007, Rich, Kofi & Blake are  talking about Skyfall - the movie that reset the Bond franchise. Well, Skyfall is where we start... More than anything, this is a conversation about who Bond is, what he represents and why on earth we love this man who lies and kills, and in whose story so many women appear to be completely disposable. 

#007 #notimetodie #skyfall #james bond #manhood #growing up

#fatherhood #motherhood #parenting #dadlife #parenthood #family #dad #love #father #fathersday #dadsofinstagram #kids #fatherandson #daddy #fathers #dads #familytime #parents #children #parentlife #friendship #marriage #fatherdaughter #fatherson #fatheranddaughter #parentingtips

#searchingforatticus #buzzsprout