Is there any more telling statement about music today than that a recent poll showed that 49% of 18-34 year olds think music is getting worse? Being just outside that range doesn’t change my agreement with the other 49%. I do fall into the 98% that find rap hip hop to not be my favorite style of music. I know its quite a shock to some of my readers. What does this mean though?
I don’t think this poll was focused on cities, or it was very balanced to include smaller towns. [Cities have millions of people, towns don’t. Most would disagree with that but as a man raised in the city where 3 blocks contain as many people as some places signified as cities, it makes sense. IE. Salt Lake is a big town with 750,000 L.A. is a city with ~4 million.] The poll claims that only 18% under 35 think it’s their favorite style of music. In my experience the majority of youth in a city, Black African American, Hispanic, White or otherwise, listen to rap hip hop almost exclusively. That says nothing to the quality of the music, just as the plethora of malt liquor ads in urban poor areas says nothing about the quality of liquor in general. But the fact that almost a majority find that the music (of all styles including rock, alternative, country ect) is repetitive, uninspired, commercialized and fluff vs. quality is significant. (I may be reading into the numbers a bit) What is causing this noticeable lack of originality and taste?
American Idol, one hit wonders, and lack of music programs in schools. There have always been the one hitters out there, that is the nature of the business. American Idol in my humble opinion is the single greatest example of the bottom of the common denominator that television tries to mass produce. It provides the deadliest of all the ills in pandora’s box, hope. Tens of thousands of sub-par hopefuls compete to get the chance to underwhelm as an entertainer. Name the last song of a winner of any of the Idolesque shows, or an actual purchase of said artists album that you made. How about a friend of yours? When in a flood of no talents, the sub-par shine as if they were legends until true talented entertainers are brought to bear.
The bigger problem though is we are not inspiring kids to delve into music, or any of the arts, in any serious manner. Rather that providing programs to teach and develop raw talent and skill, we provide the hope of sudden riches and fame in these pedestrian programs. And when some with any talent or skill do succeed they are not prepared for the cost of sudden fame and critic. It’s hard to imagine a modern day Mozart, when we don’t give kids the chance to actually touch an instrument, hear a chorus, or get near a stage. Someone once said, “When a civilization stops growing its culture it stops growing and decays.” [Tell me who and I will give them the credit they deserve]
Yes I am rambling a bit, but that’s what the blog is for right?
Friday, February 03, 2006
Mr. Simmons honored, parents outraged and lettuce
I’m happy to mention in this post a bit about Mr. Russell Simmons. Many may think of him and remember Def Jam Records or HBO's "Def Comedy Jam." Some might even recall that he created Rush Communications. To say that he is a leader in the Black African American community and a positive force in entertainment may be short-sighted. I have great respect for his accomplishments and determination to prove that anyone, especially black and hispanic youth, can become more than just a statistic. Recently Mr. Simmons was honored for his work in another creation of his, the Hip-Hop Summit Action. To quote Mr. Simmons, “Whatever they can imagine for themselves they can accomplish," he said. "Anything you can dream about, you can do.” Why something as positive as these words and actions has not been spoken more about is troubling. I pose to the media that may view this, as well as to various entertainers I often find fault with, why is the only major coverage given to Black African Americans and Hispanics (other minorities are basically ignored in my opinion) when something has gone wrong or crimes committed?
Of course everything can’t be positive, I am dealing with the media and entertainment. I was raised and grew up in New York City. [Negative comments about NYC are generally from those who have never lived there as I’ve noticed and are summarily ignored by me in person. For this blog please say something relevant if you must detract the city.] Like many I know from the city, the lifestyles of ‘middle-America’ make little if no sense. Often in growing up, my friends and I would laugh at the depictions of schools and life in Smalltown USA, since they were so far removed from anything we had seen. Having traveled a great deal since then, both abroad and here in the nation, I have learned that some of the depictions of various television shows are not that far off. I still do not fully understand how people live like that, but that is just a personal adjustment.
I mention all of that to bring up this item, that parents are angered that a teacher allowed their children to see a video on “Faust”. The outrage was not that the children were to young to understand the material, they were between 1st and 3rd grade. It was not that they were being shown an opera. It was that the children had been shown something that had the devil (actually Mephistopheles but who needs details right?) in it and making a deal with a man. One parent stated, “Any adult with common sense would not think that video was appropriate for a young person to see. I'm not sure it's appropriate for a high school student.” Am I in the same country as these parents?
Faust is a classic. It is literary art. It is a tale of morality and let us not forget that the lead does not walk away happy at the end. Perhaps some of the children were too young, the principal thinks that 4th graders and above would have been better, but that isn’t the complaint. Considering the violence on television, even cartoons some ultra-conservative fanatical religious individuals consider too violent, I doubt the video was worse than Cops, 24, or ER depending on your view. [By the way anyone who is fanatical should be ignored in my opinion. Anyone so extreme as to be caught in tunnel-vision by their interpretation of anything is wrong. Human nature is flawed, as are our creations and interpretations. A fanatic jumps off a cliff because their belief says their deity will save them, a lunatic does so because they think they can fly (or their deity/pet/rock/ect said they could). While very different reasons, the lack or denial of acceptance of other ideas merits the same result. Not the best analogy but you get the idea that I am posing.]
I wonder how many of these parents let their kids watch Charmed, or Sabrina the teen aged witch, or Johnny Phantom (I think that’s the name, kids cartoon where the lead can turn intangible like a ghost). More to the point, a story will not turn you sweet little kid into a mass murderer like Gacy. Not if you are paying attention and interacting with your child. Please will someone remind people it is not the responsibility of media, nor any entertainer or form of entertainment, to give your child values. And faulting someone who is trying to expand the mind of a child with art and knowledge is not the answer. Art, and entertainment, should expand the mind of any participant. If it does not the effort has been wasted in my opinion. [Entertainers are not excused from acting responsibly though, children and adults still look to them for inspiration above and beyond their daily lives - see my post on NBA code for my thoughts on that.]
Somewhat in that vein of though is another question. If an actor, who may or may not be gay but advocates it, plays a straight character is there any effect. I’m serious. Think of any entertainer in any field. Does watching a film with Black African American or Hispanic actors as leads turn you into a black person? [Though considering the number of films hat have starred Black or Hispanic actors as leads you may think that Hollywood executives fall into this line of thinking.] Conversely does it make an Asian into a White person? I touch on this a bit in AOL creates gay music, entertainment or restriction?
It seems that some feel it can. Rev. Jason Janz, Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr, and others are protesting for that reason. I see no other cause to be alarmed by the actor’s, Mr. Chad Allen, portrayal. I haven’t seen the movie, another not in my interest zone, but I haven’t heard of anyone suddenly claiming a life-altering effect after seeing it (and if they did I would seriously have questions about that individual). I wonder if either of the reverends or others protesting this movie for this reason have ever rolled around in lettuce while having sex. I ask that because a famous and respected singer was alleged to do so in divorce papers presented in court some years ago, and I would imagine that unless these individuals were in a cave they have heard his music at some point over the last 30 years.
This is what I think, what do you think?
Of course everything can’t be positive, I am dealing with the media and entertainment. I was raised and grew up in New York City. [Negative comments about NYC are generally from those who have never lived there as I’ve noticed and are summarily ignored by me in person. For this blog please say something relevant if you must detract the city.] Like many I know from the city, the lifestyles of ‘middle-America’ make little if no sense. Often in growing up, my friends and I would laugh at the depictions of schools and life in Smalltown USA, since they were so far removed from anything we had seen. Having traveled a great deal since then, both abroad and here in the nation, I have learned that some of the depictions of various television shows are not that far off. I still do not fully understand how people live like that, but that is just a personal adjustment.
I mention all of that to bring up this item, that parents are angered that a teacher allowed their children to see a video on “Faust”. The outrage was not that the children were to young to understand the material, they were between 1st and 3rd grade. It was not that they were being shown an opera. It was that the children had been shown something that had the devil (actually Mephistopheles but who needs details right?) in it and making a deal with a man. One parent stated, “Any adult with common sense would not think that video was appropriate for a young person to see. I'm not sure it's appropriate for a high school student.” Am I in the same country as these parents?
Faust is a classic. It is literary art. It is a tale of morality and let us not forget that the lead does not walk away happy at the end. Perhaps some of the children were too young, the principal thinks that 4th graders and above would have been better, but that isn’t the complaint. Considering the violence on television, even cartoons some ultra-conservative fanatical religious individuals consider too violent, I doubt the video was worse than Cops, 24, or ER depending on your view. [By the way anyone who is fanatical should be ignored in my opinion. Anyone so extreme as to be caught in tunnel-vision by their interpretation of anything is wrong. Human nature is flawed, as are our creations and interpretations. A fanatic jumps off a cliff because their belief says their deity will save them, a lunatic does so because they think they can fly (or their deity/pet/rock/ect said they could). While very different reasons, the lack or denial of acceptance of other ideas merits the same result. Not the best analogy but you get the idea that I am posing.]
I wonder how many of these parents let their kids watch Charmed, or Sabrina the teen aged witch, or Johnny Phantom (I think that’s the name, kids cartoon where the lead can turn intangible like a ghost). More to the point, a story will not turn you sweet little kid into a mass murderer like Gacy. Not if you are paying attention and interacting with your child. Please will someone remind people it is not the responsibility of media, nor any entertainer or form of entertainment, to give your child values. And faulting someone who is trying to expand the mind of a child with art and knowledge is not the answer. Art, and entertainment, should expand the mind of any participant. If it does not the effort has been wasted in my opinion. [Entertainers are not excused from acting responsibly though, children and adults still look to them for inspiration above and beyond their daily lives - see my post on NBA code for my thoughts on that.]
Somewhat in that vein of though is another question. If an actor, who may or may not be gay but advocates it, plays a straight character is there any effect. I’m serious. Think of any entertainer in any field. Does watching a film with Black African American or Hispanic actors as leads turn you into a black person? [Though considering the number of films hat have starred Black or Hispanic actors as leads you may think that Hollywood executives fall into this line of thinking.] Conversely does it make an Asian into a White person? I touch on this a bit in AOL creates gay music, entertainment or restriction?
It seems that some feel it can. Rev. Jason Janz, Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr, and others are protesting for that reason. I see no other cause to be alarmed by the actor’s, Mr. Chad Allen, portrayal. I haven’t seen the movie, another not in my interest zone, but I haven’t heard of anyone suddenly claiming a life-altering effect after seeing it (and if they did I would seriously have questions about that individual). I wonder if either of the reverends or others protesting this movie for this reason have ever rolled around in lettuce while having sex. I ask that because a famous and respected singer was alleged to do so in divorce papers presented in court some years ago, and I would imagine that unless these individuals were in a cave they have heard his music at some point over the last 30 years.
This is what I think, what do you think?
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Sanaa Lathan and the other side of interracial dating
I was caught between a couple of items today, the ratings on several network broadcast and cable television programs, when I noticed something a bit more enticing. It wasn’t the fact that Mr. George Clooney has done so well in the Oscars race this year. A far less glamorized movie that will be coming out shortly - Something New.
When I first noticed anything about this movie, it was that it was a love story. Being a fan of sci-fi and action films, and more than occasionally watching what friends call ‘high intellect’ films, love stories don’t usually hit my radar. Not that there is anything wrong with them. And I don’t mean to imply they are ‘chick flicks’ and I’m too manly to see them. It’s just not my thing.
This film does have an interesting twist on the theme though. The couple is an interracial one. Even more interesting is that the woman is a Black African American and the man is White. In its own way I think this film is similar in cultural impact to Guess Who’s Coming Home to Dinner, except this time it’s the Black culture that gets the surprise.
It’s not a new thing, interracial couples have been around a long time. They are socially accepted moreso now than ever before, I think the late 70's and early 80's was the turning point in the nation. The portrayal of a Black African American woman in an interracial couple is different though. Black women have long been the champions of the call to ‘Keep it black’ and ‘Stay true to your people’ in my experience. [I have known many women who believe the above strongly. I have seen some lash out at a white girlfriend of a black male, just because she was with him and he had never dated the woman. I have even had a woman I dated breakup with me due to the fact that I had dated ‘outside the race barrier’. I find both actions incredibly stupid and repulsive.] Much of the return to Africa and re-embracement of traditional African culture, has been lead by black women at least on a community basis as I have seen.
Yet as Ms. Sanaa Lathan states “...about 42.4 percent of black women in America aren't married. Black women are shooting up the corporate ladder way faster than our black male counterparts. And (black men) are either dating outside their race, in jail or dying...” [By the way my poem I rejoice in me may give you an idea of how I feel about my place in American society] The surprise is still there as, in my experience, Black African American women more than any other group including Hispanic women have stated (some shouted) they will stand by their Black African American man. Quite the diametric I think.
It will be very interesting to see how this movie does, especially in cities with high ‘minority’ populations. It is well known that many Black African American actors will not do movies or scenes that have a White female as a love interest or sexual partner. At least its well known in the communities I’ve been in. Mr. Denzel Washington has never done so nor several other prominent Black actors. The fear is alienating the Black female audience. Alienate them and watch movie sales along with star power disappear. Even Mr. Wesley Snipes has felt the backlash, I believe, if not in moviegoers definitely in the black media.
The big question though is why is this such a big deal? Interracial dating, in a movie or in real life, should not be such a question. Or am I mistaken. Does it matter what color your mate is, since the only person it should hold importance to is you and your mate. Obviously to racists it make quite the difference, but what about everyone else? I wouldn’t call Black women racist for having a belief in having a strong black family, just as I wouldn’t say that about a white female. But where is the line, if it exists at all, that crosses to the extreme. [My personal examples above seem well beyond that point but others may disagree.]
So I find that while I still will not go to see this movie, it's still a love story and they have no interest to me, I will probably watch a couple of minutes when it on DVD or regular cable among friends and/or family just to see how everyone reacts. If nothing else I find that the premise is timely, and culturally dynamic.
This is what I think, what do you think?
When I first noticed anything about this movie, it was that it was a love story. Being a fan of sci-fi and action films, and more than occasionally watching what friends call ‘high intellect’ films, love stories don’t usually hit my radar. Not that there is anything wrong with them. And I don’t mean to imply they are ‘chick flicks’ and I’m too manly to see them. It’s just not my thing.
This film does have an interesting twist on the theme though. The couple is an interracial one. Even more interesting is that the woman is a Black African American and the man is White. In its own way I think this film is similar in cultural impact to Guess Who’s Coming Home to Dinner, except this time it’s the Black culture that gets the surprise.
It’s not a new thing, interracial couples have been around a long time. They are socially accepted moreso now than ever before, I think the late 70's and early 80's was the turning point in the nation. The portrayal of a Black African American woman in an interracial couple is different though. Black women have long been the champions of the call to ‘Keep it black’ and ‘Stay true to your people’ in my experience. [I have known many women who believe the above strongly. I have seen some lash out at a white girlfriend of a black male, just because she was with him and he had never dated the woman. I have even had a woman I dated breakup with me due to the fact that I had dated ‘outside the race barrier’. I find both actions incredibly stupid and repulsive.] Much of the return to Africa and re-embracement of traditional African culture, has been lead by black women at least on a community basis as I have seen.
Yet as Ms. Sanaa Lathan states “...about 42.4 percent of black women in America aren't married. Black women are shooting up the corporate ladder way faster than our black male counterparts. And (black men) are either dating outside their race, in jail or dying...” [By the way my poem I rejoice in me may give you an idea of how I feel about my place in American society] The surprise is still there as, in my experience, Black African American women more than any other group including Hispanic women have stated (some shouted) they will stand by their Black African American man. Quite the diametric I think.
It will be very interesting to see how this movie does, especially in cities with high ‘minority’ populations. It is well known that many Black African American actors will not do movies or scenes that have a White female as a love interest or sexual partner. At least its well known in the communities I’ve been in. Mr. Denzel Washington has never done so nor several other prominent Black actors. The fear is alienating the Black female audience. Alienate them and watch movie sales along with star power disappear. Even Mr. Wesley Snipes has felt the backlash, I believe, if not in moviegoers definitely in the black media.
The big question though is why is this such a big deal? Interracial dating, in a movie or in real life, should not be such a question. Or am I mistaken. Does it matter what color your mate is, since the only person it should hold importance to is you and your mate. Obviously to racists it make quite the difference, but what about everyone else? I wouldn’t call Black women racist for having a belief in having a strong black family, just as I wouldn’t say that about a white female. But where is the line, if it exists at all, that crosses to the extreme. [My personal examples above seem well beyond that point but others may disagree.]
So I find that while I still will not go to see this movie, it's still a love story and they have no interest to me, I will probably watch a couple of minutes when it on DVD or regular cable among friends and/or family just to see how everyone reacts. If nothing else I find that the premise is timely, and culturally dynamic.
This is what I think, what do you think?
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