With The Oscar’s over and the winners named, take a moment to remember some of the worst films of last year. These films did not cause controversy, it was pretty universally accepted that they were horrible films. While Son of the Mask was humorless, I think the big loser was the Dukes of Hazzard. Of course it was just another in the long and growing line of remakes from writers that I would have to guess have lost their inspiration, or have never bothered to see more of the original shows than the TV Guide synopsis. Bewitched lives up to that concept as well I think. House of Wax needs nothing more said about it beyond the fact that Paris Hilton was in it.
Sadly, we cannot forget that today marks a loss in the film and media industry. Mr. Gordon Parks was not only a noted film maker, and photographer, but he was also a successful novelist as well. Without regard for the blaxploitation films that followed the success of Shaft, it has to be remembered that this film created a venue that had previously not existed. No matter what anyone may want to believe I feel, without Shaft there is no Mr. Spike Lee and Malcolm X movie. There could be no Boys in the ‘Hood, or even the current crop of rapper-wannabe-actor movies that bring in so much profit to the studios, even with less substance than is normal for the genre. There many be those who dispute this but it is in my opinion the line goes straight from Mr. Parks to today. To quote Mr. Parks, “Just remembering that no black had been given a chance to direct a motion picture in Hollywood since it was established kept me going.”
Speaking of Shaft, which one an Oscar in 1972 for the theme, and ‘urban’ music that has won an award, I must congratulate Three 6 Mafia. While I have a near total disdain for modern rap music as can be seen in many of my posts, I would be remiss to not applaud their win. It is quite an accomplishment especially since the competition was quite strong. The fact that the Oscar’s are noted for their tendency to be very conservative. An example would be the fact that Star Wars was snubbed for best picture, though most agreed that it was a break-thru in science fiction and film making. And the acting was above par (who wasn’t swept away by Darth Vader, or Han Solo. Chewbacca too.) engrossing you in a world so removed from reality as to be absurd yet moving enough to allow you to accept it all. [By the way, I always beleived Vader to be a black man, that voice just never fit any other image and it just grabbed me that a key figure of the movie was black.] But I digress. The fact that a rap song, titled "It’s Hard Out There For A Pimp" has won is a surprise equal to the performances of the actors in this movie (notably Mr. Terrence Howard).
And I will round off the music with a bigger surprise than the Oscar win. Why was Mr. Bobby Brown arrested for a 14 year old minor traffic violation? I’m really confused on this. Mr. Brown is watching his daughter in a competition and an officer ‘happens’ to do a ‘common’ warrant check. And a 14 year old charge that no one remembered, most likely, causes him to be brought in. This is such a minor event the bond was $40. Now why did the officer do this? Is it because Mr. Bobby Brown is an entertainer with a past. Did the fact that he is a Black African American with good clothes and a nice car, presumably though I don’t know he had these with him, piss off the officer. Or was this a plan they were waiting to spring for some unknown gain. It sounds like racial profiling on a celebrity level. Well until more is said about this, if ever, I can just say it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
This is what I think, what do you think.
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