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How does one learn to be a good father? Why does fatherhood seem to be at odds with the image of Black masculinity? Pops explores and reveals answers to these and other questions concerning parenting.
In early 2015, Garland McLaurin found out that he was going to be a father. Three months into the pregnancy, his partner miscarried. he immediately realized he was totally unprepared. Scared about His abilities to be a good parent, Garland began to contemplate what fatherhood looked like for Black men. He thought about friends and the general narrative surrounding Black fathers.
The goal of Pops is to contribute to the national conversation around fatherhood from the viewpoint of Black fathers. In light of recent societal events and conversations concerning African American men, Garland wants his project to inform and inspire a broader online media audience using entertaining and engaging storytelling.
Garland has become a father and at the same time he is am faced with the possibility of losing my own father. The many questions around fatherhood that led me to tell this story still exists, but with Pops he am able to look at the experiences of these fathers and navigate my own parental journey.
POPS is a web series about three African American men facing the toughest challenge of their lives, becoming good fathers. The universal themes of responsibility, nurturing,
and love are individually explored by these fathers. They differ in personalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and struggles, but share the collective experience of fatherhood. Their stories serve to reflect the reality of black fathers in America, a role rarely portrayed in the media.
Garland McLaurin is a Peabody-Award winning filmmaker; his love for storytelling comes from its power to artistically explore the complex and conflicting social and psychological layers of people and society. His current project POPS, is a web-series exploring fatherhood for African American men funded by ITVS Digital and National Black Programming Consortium.
He co-directed/produced the Peabody winning documentary series, 180 Days A Year Inside An American High School and Hartsville that aired on PBS. He served as co-cinematographer on Wes Moore’s Coming Back documentary series, highlighting veterans, and for award-winning documentary filmmaker Yoruba Richen’s The New Black, which explores the fight for marriage equality in the African American community. His other professional credits include: field producing on CNN’s Black in America 4,
producer/shooter for WAMU 88.5 American University, BET’s special Homecoming: The Killing of DJ Henry. Additional past digital media work includes work for Black Public Media, Time.com, NY Times video division and video editing at the National Geographic digital news division.
He holds a BA in Radio-TV-Film from Howard University and an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts graduate film school.
During our conversation, Mr. McLaurin talked about:
– Some of his background (Black and Korean), growing up in Oklahoma and living in different places
– What values did his parents instill in him when he was growing up
– Where did his interest in film and media start
– His experience going to Howard and New York University’s film schools
– Some of the highlights of his career before POPS
– The story behind POPS
– The process of choosing the fathers featured in POPS
– Some stories during the series
– What did POPS show him about Black fatherhood
– Some of the people that helped make POPS a reality
– How did the collaboration with the Corporation of Public Broadcasting happen
– Some special moments during the filming of POPS
– What did POPS teach Garland about himself
– What he would like POPS legacy to be
– How is he enjoying being a first time father
You can find out more about POPS via:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
You can watch POPS at:
POPS – The Stories
Indie Lens Storycast YouTube page
Please feel free to email us at dr.vibe@thedrvibeshow.com
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God bless, peace, be well and keep the faith,
Dr. Vibe
dr.vibe@thedrvibeshow.com
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