Gordon Parks: Movie Notes Part 3

1. What is your definition of successful?
   To be successful is to feel accomplished and happy with your life.
2. What have you given up to become successful?
   Sometimes I must give up shallow joy to achieve deeper happiness. 
3. What did Parks give up to become successful?
   He gave up the stability of his personal life. 
4. Who was Genevieve Young's father?
   Her father was a Chinese diplomat. 
5. How much was Parks advanced to write his first book (and eventual best-selling autobiography)?
   He was advanced five thousand dollars. 
6. How much money did Elijah Muhammad offer Parks to do a story on The Nation of Islam?
   Five million dollars.
7. Why did Parks refuse the money?
   He refused the money because he knew if he accepted, Elijah Muhammad would totally control him.
8. What was significant about the movie The Learning Tree?
   It was the first Hollywood film produced and directed by an African American.
9. What was significant about the character Shaft?
   He was African American, which was unusual.
10. What was Gordon Parks' choice of weapons?
    He used film, photography, and writing. 
11. What reason did Genevieve Young give for the divorce?
    It felt like she was in a "washing machine." She never knew what was going to happen next, and it also set back her career. 
12. In 1984, Parks directed Solomon Northrup's Odyssey. What recent feature film told the same story?
    12 Years A Slave
13. Who was Gordon Parks, jr?
    He was Gordon Parks' son, who was also a director, and died in a plane crash at age 44. 
14. What is your favorite Gordon Parks photo?
    His first fashion photo that was the only photo that wasn't double exposed. 
15. What will you remember about Gordon Parks in ten years?
    He beat the odds of being an African American during a racist time and became one of the best photographers in the nation.