BOOKS_ _ MUSIC___ FILMS

Harmful to Minors:
The Perils of Protecting Children From Sex

by Judith Levine
foreword by Joycelyn M. Elders

SEX, IN AND OF ITSELF, is not harmful to minors, argues Judith Levine in her new book, Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex (University of Minnesota Press).

Instead, the potential for harm in sexual activity between teens lies in the circumstances that might lead to unwanted pregancies, STDs and just plain bad sex. Moreover, Levine asserts, our nation's drive to "protect" teens from sex is often doing more of a disservice to youngsters than we realize.

Utilizing statistical and anecdotal evidence, and her background as a sex education activist, Levine bemoans the lack of honesty in the way we talk to our kids about sex. Even in most junior high or high school sex education curricula, honest discussions about pleasure, sexual satisfaction, gratification, masturbation, orgasm and what good sex really
means is missing altogether.

"In representing intercourse as the ultimate—and, by implication, uniquely 'normal'—sexual experience, educators do more than increase the odds their students will have mediocre sex until they stumble upon some other source of erotic enlightenment," writes Levine. "Consciously or not, they also communicate the assumptions that sex is primarily heterosexual and reproductive, and, above all, that it is always perilous."

Instead, to give kids a "fighting chance" at navigating the world of sex and relationships, adds Levine, "adults need to saturate it with accurate, realistic information and abundant, varied images and narratives of love and sex."

Although Levine's otherwise intriguing book suffers from a glossing over of issues of sexual abuse and dating violence in teenage relationships (and relies, at times, too heavily on an interjection of her own, personal narrative and commentary), Harmful to Minors breaks important new ground in our understanding of teenage sexuality—beyond Puritanism, beyond hysteria, and beyond the controlling reach of the Christian Right.

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Six Kinds of Sky:
A Collection of Short Fiction

by Luis Alberto Urrea

TO SAY THAT Luis Alberto Urrea's words dazzle is commit a grave understatement. In Six Kinds of Sky, they shimmer, laugh and lilt their way across a great poetic expanse.

Luis Urrea, who received the American Book Award for non-fiction, also received a Notable Book of the Year nomination from the New York Times for Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border.

Six Kinds of Sky demonstrates Urrea's seemingly boundless talent. Born in Tijuana, the son of an Anglo woman and a Mexican father, Urrea draws richly from his mixed ethnicity, sharing six stories having to do with Latino or Native American men in crisis, and all of which demonstrate, in the words of Sherman Alexie, Urrea's ability to speak "with a multitude of passionate, powerful and hilarious voices."

Cinco Puntos Press, publishers of Subcomandante Marcos' Questions and Swords: Folktales of the Zapatista Revolution, continues to fulfill its stated mission of publishing great books from the U.S./Mexican border, the American Southwest, and Mexico. This is one of the finest collections of short fiction likely to emerge this year.

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10 Reasons to Abolish the IMF & World Bank

by Kevin Danaher

THIS ADDITION to the Open Media Pamphlet Series, billed as a veritable "Globalization for Dummies," attempts to articulate, in clear uncomplicated language, myths about globalization and the ways in which international "free trade" institutions are increasing the divide between rich and poor.

In 104 pages, Kevin Danaher presents a concise and well-constructed case against "international banking institutions that do more to prevent democracy than to promote it." Standout sections of the book include "Growth: The Ideology of the Cancer Cell," and "Redefining Corruption."

This is a perfect book for people who want to understand what the fuss about globalization is all about, as well as for activists who simply want to brush up on effective, easily understood talking points.

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Take My Land, Take My Life:
The Story of Congress's Historic Settlement of Alaska Native Land Claims, 1960-1971

by Donald Craig Mitchell

THIS EXHAUSTIVE ACCOUNT of the events leading up to Congress's passage in 1971 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act—"the most generous settlement of aboriginal land claims in [U.S.] history"—is a political history of value to anyone interested in or active in the American Indian struggle for justice and self-determination.

This is a comprehensive work of scholarship that may prove too demanding for the lay reader. However, for those willing to work their way through it, Take My Land, Take My Life is not only a crash course in the inspiring history of Alaska's Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut peoples, but a strong testament to the power of a small, committed—and patient—group of individuals to influence the course of history.

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AROUND THE WORLD

PETER GABRIEL'S DREAM of globalizing the appeal of traditional music from the far-flung corners of the world has truly begun to be realized. Each year, with the success of WOMAD Festivals in locations ranging from Singapore to Seattle, international audiences have been brought closer to the sounds and sights of the world's multitudinous, indigenous artistic traditions.

Of equal importance has been the tireless efforts of Narada/Real World Records to promote the musical achievements of "world" musicians whose profound talents might otherwise remain unknown and unheard outside of their own communities and countries.

At the top of the list for 2002 is A Better Destiny, a brilliant collection of Sufi Islamic music from the young ensemble, Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali. Heirs to the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali harness the power of their voices in pursuit of their transcendent, devotional musical path. Invoking the profound, mystical core of their faith, Rizwan-Muazzam can fairly be viewed as the young ambassadors of the spirit of Islam so often lost in both translation and institutionalized practice. [Narada/Real World Records]

ESTRELLA MORENTE'S My Songs and a Poem sets a new light under the fiery presence of flamenco in the international music scene. With a remarkable command of voice and presence, Morente's formidable talent as a Spanish cantoara is hard to match with her young age of 20. Known as "The Nightingale" by her family, Morente's far-reaching vocal range—and passion for contemporary and traditional flamenco composition—is a beautiful thing to behold. [Narada/Real World Records]

TANZANIAN TREASURE Hukwe Zawose joins forces with Canadian guitarist and producer Michael Brook for the pending release, Assembly. The energetic, charismatic Zawose—and his faithful nephew and protege, Charles—have mastered the lyricism and grace of traditional Wagogo melodies, sung in both Kigogo and Swahili. With Assembly, Brooks breathes electronically-textured life into already-sparkling Wagogo traditional music, fusing, mixing and dubbing stunning Wagogo rhythms and high-pitched vocals with the kind of Western grooves that genuinely enhance the force and spirit of Zawose's distinct musical gifts. [Narada/Real World Records]

NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN, David Byrne's Luaka Bop label has consistently released innovative and cutting-edge world beat. The forthcoming Luaka Bop release of Susana Baca's Esperitu Vivo already counts as one of the label's finest productions. Recognized as an ambassador of Afro-Peruvian music and culture, Baca's ageless, sensual voice wraps itself around eleven, poetic compositions. And none is more surprising than Baca's minimalistic cover of Björk's "Anchor Song." Listen to Baca linger over each word and note, as she bridges land and sea to make the song her own. [Luaka Bop]

WHAT WOULD HIP HOP BE without its head-snappin' beats and mind-bending scratches? At the core, true school hip-hop always revolves around the talents of its MCs and DJs. But behind turntables—and buried behind crates of albums—DJs often went without due respect despite shaping and tweaking the sounds that catapulted rappers into the spotlight.

Fortunately, by the late 90s, turntablism finally began to earn its own, particular kind of respect with the rise of groups like the Invisibl Skratch Piklz. And now, here comes SCRATCH, the wicked, wax-tweaking album and the documentary movie by the same name. On SCRATCH you'll be treated to a sick remix of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit," and plenty of tracks from the cream of the crop: Grandmaster DXT, DJ Premier, Rob Swift, and Mixmaster Mike to name just a few. Check it. [visit the official movie site]

Life and Debt

directed by Stephanie Black

LIFE AND DEBT, a new documentary film from producer/director Stephanie Black, is the most provocative and personal look at the impact of globalization and free trade economics ever brought to a movie screen. Unflinching and altogether uncompromising, Life and Debt takes viewers on a painfully vivid exploration of the mess that globalization has wrought on the everyday people of Jamaica. Beyond the sun, the splash and the rum-soaked hedonism for which so many thousands of tourists have flocked to Jamaica, is a third world nation under the thumb of debt, poverty and civil strife.

Thanks, in no small part, to the structural adjustment policies of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, Jamaica's debt now exceeds $4.5 billion, while its own, domestic industries are slowly—and seemingly deliberately—being run into the ground. Aided by high-profile interviews with the IMF's Deputy Director Stanley Fischer and former Prime Minister Michael Manley, Life and Debt doesn't neglect the perspectives of Jamaica's everyday citizens and workers, who offer disturbing glimpses into their lives stitching clothes for $30/week for U.S. companies behind the barbed wire and concrete walls of Kingston's Free Trade Zones. With a sharp, reggae-centric soundtrack and powerful (but uneven) moments of harrowing cinematography, Life and Debt is a simultaneously a catalog of the island nation's mounting societal woes, and a testament to the resilience of the long-suffering yet fiercely proud and determined Jamaican people. Go deh and see for yourself. [visit the official movie site]

reviews by Brian Brasel-Awehali and Silja J.A. Talvi