Since this is the time that many of us reflect back on the events of the year, myself included, I have created a list of notable entertainers, movies and individuals/groups that I feel deserve mention. While this list is not all inclusive of those I think have stood out this year, it does highlight many.
In no particular order (as I feel rankings of individuals is useless for the most part):
Mr. Ray Charles - the body of work he created has transcended racial lines, even during the times when America was divided by the Black/White issue.
Mr. Richard Pryor - his ability to make us laugh, and think, at the difficult and often tragic aspects of life, and our actions with and to one another, has been and continues to be unmatched.
Mr. Johnny Depp - a brilliant actor, he has portrayed characters (new and old) in a light that is unique and facinating to behold.
Mr. George Lucas - a storyteller, in a medium that often prefers the rote and lowest common denominator, that has given a unique and blazing vision to several generations of fans (while creating new ones).
Mr. Jaime Foxx - a consumate actor will true talent in many arenas. If you haven't seen Ray or Collateral do so and you will understand why he is Oscar-worthy.
Mr. Samuel L. Jackson - I quote Mr. Roger Ebert who wrote "Like Bill Cosby, Jackson is arguing against the anti-intellectual message that success for young black males is better sought in the worlds of rap and sports than in the classroom." And beyond that is his direct help to victims of Hurricane Katrina [See my post Celebrity donations].
Mr. Morgan Freeman - from the role of Easy Reader (for those of us old enough to recall him in the Electric Company) to his Oscar-winning and -worthy roles, he is a symbol of gravitas. [as he stated during Inside the Actors Studio] His well stated views on history and race are no less important.
Mr. Denzel Washington - an individual that is, to my knowledge, as strong and grounded in his convictions as any character he has portrayed.
Mr. George Clooney - a man of convictions and purpose, who has daringly reminded the nation that vigelence and action are all that seperate our nation from dark paths.
Mr. Terrence Howard - Emerging into the mainstream as an actor with a strong presence, which some notice as early as 2000. [I loved the guitar playing over the shoulder and wonder if that was actually him doing that]
Ice Cube - rising from mediocrity to present a glimpse at another life, and what difference a permanent tan makes in this country.
Mr. Muhammad Ali - the Greatest continues to show why such a monicker is earned and deserved.
Mr. Mel Brooks - an inventive comedic man that has helped us laugh (from one medium to another) since 1950. His creation of The Producers just confirms that quality never dies.
Mr.Cristian Bale - giving us an insight to the motivations of "the worlds' greatest detective." [Yes I'm an old comic book collector/fan and Batman is one of the greats]
This list is by no means complete. I invite you, my readers, to add or discuss anyone on or not on this list.
For me this list of entertainers contains individuals of strong character, incredible performances and visionary creation. Whether they have made statements with which that I agree or disagree, in part or in whole, is not an issue. Nor is it important that they are not all Black African American/Hispanic people.
Other notable individuals [in my mind at least] include: Mr. John Leguizamo, Ms. Anjelina Jolie, Mr. Tommy Lee Jones and many others.
Lastly I want to note that our troops serving this nation around the world, both in active fighting and those not, deserve if not demand our thoughts [and prayers for those who are religious]. Without them, and those before and after them, we would not, could not have the ability to create or see or speak about any entertainment other than that given to us. The freedom to dream, the ability to entertain is meaningless without a venue for expressing them. For the ability to express my thoughts I note and thank our troops.
This is what I think, what do you think?
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Friday, December 23, 2005
Rappers, Clemency, and Interactive Videogaming Entertainment
It's Christmas time (I don't care what religion you are, its the name that most attribute to this time of year) so it seems entertainers and celebrities and some others are being good, hoping Santa and the rest of us will forget anything they've done that was bad this year. That is with the exception of rapper Foxy Brown whom seems to treat her judge in the same manner as she is alledged to have treated workers in a nail salon.
Of course everyone is celebrating various parties, and it wouldn't be a real rap record-release album party without something happening to bring the police. In this case the rapper in question, deceased notorious-b.i.g., wasn't even there for the festivities.
On the more nice side of the the list is Mr. Ethan Hawke who has added his name to the list of celebrities asking govenors to grant clemency to a convicted killer. This clemency request though is backed by the state Office of the Public Defender.
Overall there was nothing of any real importance, or that I wanted to discuss, this week - beyond my thoughts on Reparations to Black African Americans. Then a judge goes and bans a new state law.
Video games, or interactive videogaming entertainment, may not be black (though a huge number of games that involve drugs and violence do have black african americans as pro-/antagonists) oriented, it is entertainment, and as a pround 37 yr old gamer it is of interest to me. So this news item caught my attention. A judge temporarily blocked a California state law, signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger, banning the sale of violent video games to minors. This law has its roots in the Grand Theft Auto "Hot Coffee" uproar from earlier this year.
The law prevents sale of games such as Resident Evil 4, Ninja Gaiden Black, Battlefield 2, God of War and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay to minors. It does allow the sale of games such as Burnout, Need for Speed, WWE Smackdown, Silent Hunter and others. [This of course assumes that any ratings from the Entertainment Software Association or ESRB are ignored] The reason I am mentioning these games is because while not directly involving humanoids the games on the approved list do provide "...killing, maiming, and dismembering...". In addition the games, notably to me WWE Smackdown and its ilk, "...as a whole, to lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors." Any wrestling game out now definitely in my opinion "enables the player to virtually inflict serious injury upon images of human beings or characters with substantially human characteristics in a manner which is especially heinous, cruel, or depraved..." By definition of the law many games should be banned. And if the law were more than political soundbites [which I hate and see this as] it would be more clear in what it intends.
Of course, much like Sen. Hilary Clinton, Gov. Schwarzenegger is just making a political stand. What politicians and former entertainers-turned-politicians, in my humble opinion, should do is allow parents to determine what is appropriate for their children. If a parent gets of their duff and pays attention to what their child(ren) is doing they will know what the games are about and if it is appropriate.
Even further why I dislike this law is that it uses the same argument posed by those who used rap to excuse acts of violence. The "the music made me do it" crowd. By that I mean the two police officers and a dispatcher killed by a Grand Theft Auto-playing teenager case. A killer is still liable, and a killer, whether they listen to Betheoveen, Tupac, a dog (Son-of-Sam reference for the younger readers) or a track of music while playing GTA.
Entertainers (black, white, purple, or corporations for all it matters) have the freedom in this nation to present what they call entertainment [or interactive videogaming entertainment as the case may be]. The masses are free to agree or not. You don't have to like it, but you can't ban it nor should you try to get political soundbites and brownie points from it.
A bit more political than usual, but the freedoms we have should never be allowed to slip away just because its a slow week, a holiday is near, or its not exactly on topic. Nor should we allow any politician or entertainer the chance to play the soundbite game with us, politically motivated or otherwise.
This is what I think, what do you think? And let Santa know that my blog is a great gift to the naughty and nice, if you see him before I do.
Of course everyone is celebrating various parties, and it wouldn't be a real rap record-release album party without something happening to bring the police. In this case the rapper in question, deceased notorious-b.i.g., wasn't even there for the festivities.
On the more nice side of the the list is Mr. Ethan Hawke who has added his name to the list of celebrities asking govenors to grant clemency to a convicted killer. This clemency request though is backed by the state Office of the Public Defender.
Overall there was nothing of any real importance, or that I wanted to discuss, this week - beyond my thoughts on Reparations to Black African Americans. Then a judge goes and bans a new state law.
Video games, or interactive videogaming entertainment, may not be black (though a huge number of games that involve drugs and violence do have black african americans as pro-/antagonists) oriented, it is entertainment, and as a pround 37 yr old gamer it is of interest to me. So this news item caught my attention. A judge temporarily blocked a California state law, signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger, banning the sale of violent video games to minors. This law has its roots in the Grand Theft Auto "Hot Coffee" uproar from earlier this year.
The law prevents sale of games such as Resident Evil 4, Ninja Gaiden Black, Battlefield 2, God of War and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay to minors. It does allow the sale of games such as Burnout, Need for Speed, WWE Smackdown, Silent Hunter and others. [This of course assumes that any ratings from the Entertainment Software Association or ESRB are ignored] The reason I am mentioning these games is because while not directly involving humanoids the games on the approved list do provide "...killing, maiming, and dismembering...". In addition the games, notably to me WWE Smackdown and its ilk, "...as a whole, to lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors." Any wrestling game out now definitely in my opinion "enables the player to virtually inflict serious injury upon images of human beings or characters with substantially human characteristics in a manner which is especially heinous, cruel, or depraved..." By definition of the law many games should be banned. And if the law were more than political soundbites [which I hate and see this as] it would be more clear in what it intends.
Of course, much like Sen. Hilary Clinton, Gov. Schwarzenegger is just making a political stand. What politicians and former entertainers-turned-politicians, in my humble opinion, should do is allow parents to determine what is appropriate for their children. If a parent gets of their duff and pays attention to what their child(ren) is doing they will know what the games are about and if it is appropriate.
Even further why I dislike this law is that it uses the same argument posed by those who used rap to excuse acts of violence. The "the music made me do it" crowd. By that I mean the two police officers and a dispatcher killed by a Grand Theft Auto-playing teenager case. A killer is still liable, and a killer, whether they listen to Betheoveen, Tupac, a dog (Son-of-Sam reference for the younger readers) or a track of music while playing GTA.
Entertainers (black, white, purple, or corporations for all it matters) have the freedom in this nation to present what they call entertainment [or interactive videogaming entertainment as the case may be]. The masses are free to agree or not. You don't have to like it, but you can't ban it nor should you try to get political soundbites and brownie points from it.
A bit more political than usual, but the freedoms we have should never be allowed to slip away just because its a slow week, a holiday is near, or its not exactly on topic. Nor should we allow any politician or entertainer the chance to play the soundbite game with us, politically motivated or otherwise.
This is what I think, what do you think? And let Santa know that my blog is a great gift to the naughty and nice, if you see him before I do.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Commercials without entertainment, but with liquor
Has anyone noticed the latest rum television commercials out lately? In particular I mean the Malibu and Parrot Bay television commercials. They are horrible on many levels. Let me describe the commercials and then you may see what I mean.
In the Malibu rum, there is an old beat-up gray bus that looks like the yellow school buses seen in many cities and movies. It drives down a dirt road, with a dingy looking shackish looking town in the background. There is no confusing the town with a prosperous city of any sort. A middle-aged heavier set black woman (west indian decent - jamacian at a guess, if you know anyone from there or are familiar with the island) is waiting for the bus. When the bus stops to pick her up, she begins to berrate the driver for being 30 seconds late. The driver, a middle-aged large-ish build black man in rumpled clothes, looks at a cheap watch and states by his time he is not late. We then get to see the interior of the bus, not in anything near pristine condition, filled with black people in clothes that are simple, loose-fitting and worn (all also middle aged). Another plump woman joins in berrating the driver for being 1 minute late, to which he states again, not by his watch. We then get a close up of a man holding a fish (could be a mackeral for all I know - suffice to say it is a large fish, in both of his hands, dry with no tank or bag of water to be seen) stating that they need to go because his fish is sick. We snap back to a scene of the driver as a man, who was riding on top of the bus with the various boxes and bags, pops his head down to admonish the driver for stalling as he is late for a meeting. the view changes to outside the bus, where we can see the various people arguing and the man hanging down into the window of the bus as a voice tells us, 'if we were like the rest of the world we would never have been able to make the wonderful, blah blah, Malibu rum.' We then get a cut scene of a black man in shorts on an old scooter, behind the bus. He states in fustration 'oh great, gridlock!', looking around the side of the bus and back at his cheap watch.
Before I say anything else, the Parrot Bay television commercial basically has a party similar to Mardi Gras taking place. It seems to be in the islands as virtually all the people except as I recall 2, are black (not sure if african americans, west indians or what). Most are dressed up for carnivale (if you've been to a festival you know the outfits - if not plan a trip one day, its worth the time) and there is a popular song to be heard in the background. We cut to a woman berrating her husband (both are older and neither has been in a gym getting ready for a body building competition in some time) who is playing dominoes with an unseen player. The wife is demanding he that he get up from the game and hurry or they will miss the bus that everyone in the Mardi Gras/Carnivale is entering (another old shool bus style bus, though this one is painted on the sides with bright colors). He mentions he's getting there, and the bus pulls away and the music fades. The wife, annoyed, turns to her husband and says 'I never get to go on the bus' and storms off. A voice states something along the lines of 'Parrot Bay, where the party is. Drink responsibly, blah blah.'
As a comparison, here is the Smirnoff Ice version of an ethnic television commercial. A white man, with a sort of bad slavic accent (it doesn't sound russian to me, and I lived in Moscow for a time), young and possibly fit is dressed in a shapka and dublinka (russian style fur hat and coat) thick pants and boots in his house. He welcomes you to his well-lit bright home, it contains various modern appliances, but is not lavish by any means. He walks you quickly through 2 rooms to his kitchen where a set of 6'-ish tall stainless steel doors stand out sharply. This is his pride and joy he mentions as he opens the doors. He steps into the 'frige' and is actually outside. Snow is mid-calf deep, and a friend of his (also young and white and dressed in similar attire) is sitting in a lounge chair to whom he walks to as he states that this is his friend. He sits in a chair next to his friend, telling us how he loves to have his Smirnoff Ice outside and that the great thing about his home is the quiet. The view has panned to behind the seated men looking out on to an untouched expanse of snow, that ends into trees and mountains in the distance. Very serene. The man then leans over and turns on a 'boom box' radio and it blasts (I forget what type) music, he touches bottles with his friend and begins to relax.
Do we see differences? In both rum commercials we are told that blacks live poorly in all countries (aren't you glad you are a poor Black African American and live better than this?) with bad clothes and cheap adornements [no offense meant to anyone]. The Malibu commercial makes a point of telling us that Black people (especially those from the west indies it seems) are too foolish or ignorant, to know that a pet fish should be in water. Either that or that crazy people run around the island with dead fish. Not one person is young, we would assume since everyone on the bus is older and obviously stating they are going to work that the younger black adults are without jobs. By the way, the west indies are roughly in the same time zone and latitude as roughly florida, so the sun is WAY to high to be just going to work as I feel the tv commercial was implying with its gridlock statements, then again it could also mean that they are too lazy to get up and work when we do.
The 'we' or 'rest of the world' they mention is not targeted at me or other black/african americans. The implication is for the opposite of what is being shown, thus 'we' or 'rest of the world' means White Americans, with better than menial jobs, that don't need dilapidated public transportation, with well-fitting tailored (name brand) clothing. I don't think there is one thing that isn't racist in the Malibu or Parrot Bay commercials. The futher implications are that these lazy (remember this commercial is a dramatization of what they would be like if they were like 'us') alcoholics had nothing better to do than make some moonshine which was perfected as Malibu rum.
Imagine if every person in that television commercial was Irish. Would it still be cute? How about french wine country? Utah? Would whites in worn clothing and run down houses give you the same feeling? And for those that don't know there are many white and chinese Jamacians. Slavery ring a bell why? English empire-building come back to memory from elementary school history class? And I don't think I am reaching to make these conclusions. This is what the television commercial portrays, and on the surface says its only a joke. I'm not laughing. A commercial always makes bigger statements than just what is on the surface. If they didn't you wouldn't remember the product.
The Smirnoff television commercial, also targeted to white America, has a mid sized house (implying a decent income), bright colors, modern appliances and electricity (just like 'your' home). The spacious land implies wealth as does the lack of neighbors. The stinless steel doors don't go cheap either. Fur is expensive even in Russia, and he wasn't wearing dog. The food items in the 'frdge shelves? All U.S. domestic (imports are expensive everywhere). Does that compare to the closed in, poor feel of the rum commercials? Even the color suggests that life is better for the Russian. The Smirnoff televisin commercial is inviting you to enjoy the good life, and while you don't have his wealth you can have the same drink as him.
As I've said before in my discussion of the Burger King ad, "My ultimate test when viewing commercials I think are badly portraying ANY minority is to view them as being white and everything happening exactly the same. Would that commercial ever be run? Would that commercial have the same meaning? If not, what is that commercial actually saying?"
I'm insulted that these television commercials not only exist but seem to be a trend that is growing. Perhaps when they start portraying others besides blacks (African Americans or otherwise) and other 'minorities' as stupid, crazed, alcoholics and poor there will be a change. I just wish they would be stopped long before then.
This is what I see and think of this attempt at entertainment. What do you see?
In the Malibu rum, there is an old beat-up gray bus that looks like the yellow school buses seen in many cities and movies. It drives down a dirt road, with a dingy looking shackish looking town in the background. There is no confusing the town with a prosperous city of any sort. A middle-aged heavier set black woman (west indian decent - jamacian at a guess, if you know anyone from there or are familiar with the island) is waiting for the bus. When the bus stops to pick her up, she begins to berrate the driver for being 30 seconds late. The driver, a middle-aged large-ish build black man in rumpled clothes, looks at a cheap watch and states by his time he is not late. We then get to see the interior of the bus, not in anything near pristine condition, filled with black people in clothes that are simple, loose-fitting and worn (all also middle aged). Another plump woman joins in berrating the driver for being 1 minute late, to which he states again, not by his watch. We then get a close up of a man holding a fish (could be a mackeral for all I know - suffice to say it is a large fish, in both of his hands, dry with no tank or bag of water to be seen) stating that they need to go because his fish is sick. We snap back to a scene of the driver as a man, who was riding on top of the bus with the various boxes and bags, pops his head down to admonish the driver for stalling as he is late for a meeting. the view changes to outside the bus, where we can see the various people arguing and the man hanging down into the window of the bus as a voice tells us, 'if we were like the rest of the world we would never have been able to make the wonderful, blah blah, Malibu rum.' We then get a cut scene of a black man in shorts on an old scooter, behind the bus. He states in fustration 'oh great, gridlock!', looking around the side of the bus and back at his cheap watch.
Before I say anything else, the Parrot Bay television commercial basically has a party similar to Mardi Gras taking place. It seems to be in the islands as virtually all the people except as I recall 2, are black (not sure if african americans, west indians or what). Most are dressed up for carnivale (if you've been to a festival you know the outfits - if not plan a trip one day, its worth the time) and there is a popular song to be heard in the background. We cut to a woman berrating her husband (both are older and neither has been in a gym getting ready for a body building competition in some time) who is playing dominoes with an unseen player. The wife is demanding he that he get up from the game and hurry or they will miss the bus that everyone in the Mardi Gras/Carnivale is entering (another old shool bus style bus, though this one is painted on the sides with bright colors). He mentions he's getting there, and the bus pulls away and the music fades. The wife, annoyed, turns to her husband and says 'I never get to go on the bus' and storms off. A voice states something along the lines of 'Parrot Bay, where the party is. Drink responsibly, blah blah.'
As a comparison, here is the Smirnoff Ice version of an ethnic television commercial. A white man, with a sort of bad slavic accent (it doesn't sound russian to me, and I lived in Moscow for a time), young and possibly fit is dressed in a shapka and dublinka (russian style fur hat and coat) thick pants and boots in his house. He welcomes you to his well-lit bright home, it contains various modern appliances, but is not lavish by any means. He walks you quickly through 2 rooms to his kitchen where a set of 6'-ish tall stainless steel doors stand out sharply. This is his pride and joy he mentions as he opens the doors. He steps into the 'frige' and is actually outside. Snow is mid-calf deep, and a friend of his (also young and white and dressed in similar attire) is sitting in a lounge chair to whom he walks to as he states that this is his friend. He sits in a chair next to his friend, telling us how he loves to have his Smirnoff Ice outside and that the great thing about his home is the quiet. The view has panned to behind the seated men looking out on to an untouched expanse of snow, that ends into trees and mountains in the distance. Very serene. The man then leans over and turns on a 'boom box' radio and it blasts (I forget what type) music, he touches bottles with his friend and begins to relax.
Do we see differences? In both rum commercials we are told that blacks live poorly in all countries (aren't you glad you are a poor Black African American and live better than this?) with bad clothes and cheap adornements [no offense meant to anyone]. The Malibu commercial makes a point of telling us that Black people (especially those from the west indies it seems) are too foolish or ignorant, to know that a pet fish should be in water. Either that or that crazy people run around the island with dead fish. Not one person is young, we would assume since everyone on the bus is older and obviously stating they are going to work that the younger black adults are without jobs. By the way, the west indies are roughly in the same time zone and latitude as roughly florida, so the sun is WAY to high to be just going to work as I feel the tv commercial was implying with its gridlock statements, then again it could also mean that they are too lazy to get up and work when we do.
The 'we' or 'rest of the world' they mention is not targeted at me or other black/african americans. The implication is for the opposite of what is being shown, thus 'we' or 'rest of the world' means White Americans, with better than menial jobs, that don't need dilapidated public transportation, with well-fitting tailored (name brand) clothing. I don't think there is one thing that isn't racist in the Malibu or Parrot Bay commercials. The futher implications are that these lazy (remember this commercial is a dramatization of what they would be like if they were like 'us') alcoholics had nothing better to do than make some moonshine which was perfected as Malibu rum.
Imagine if every person in that television commercial was Irish. Would it still be cute? How about french wine country? Utah? Would whites in worn clothing and run down houses give you the same feeling? And for those that don't know there are many white and chinese Jamacians. Slavery ring a bell why? English empire-building come back to memory from elementary school history class? And I don't think I am reaching to make these conclusions. This is what the television commercial portrays, and on the surface says its only a joke. I'm not laughing. A commercial always makes bigger statements than just what is on the surface. If they didn't you wouldn't remember the product.
The Smirnoff television commercial, also targeted to white America, has a mid sized house (implying a decent income), bright colors, modern appliances and electricity (just like 'your' home). The spacious land implies wealth as does the lack of neighbors. The stinless steel doors don't go cheap either. Fur is expensive even in Russia, and he wasn't wearing dog. The food items in the 'frdge shelves? All U.S. domestic (imports are expensive everywhere). Does that compare to the closed in, poor feel of the rum commercials? Even the color suggests that life is better for the Russian. The Smirnoff televisin commercial is inviting you to enjoy the good life, and while you don't have his wealth you can have the same drink as him.
As I've said before in my discussion of the Burger King ad, "My ultimate test when viewing commercials I think are badly portraying ANY minority is to view them as being white and everything happening exactly the same. Would that commercial ever be run? Would that commercial have the same meaning? If not, what is that commercial actually saying?"
I'm insulted that these television commercials not only exist but seem to be a trend that is growing. Perhaps when they start portraying others besides blacks (African Americans or otherwise) and other 'minorities' as stupid, crazed, alcoholics and poor there will be a change. I just wish they would be stopped long before then.
This is what I see and think of this attempt at entertainment. What do you see?
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