Our Stories, Our Time

Bruno = Gay Face?

2009-07-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Now, I loved Borat. I thought Sacha Baron Cohen effectively illuminated American's ignorance and racial intolerance. America was the butt of all jokes, not Kazakhstan as some have claimed (though I can understand Kazakhstan's grievances). My love for Borat, however, has not transferred into a desire to support Cohen's newest film, Bruno. I saw no satire in the commercials, only common stereotypes of "queens." Bruno plays on notions of promiscuity and superficiality to generate laughs.

David Rakoff of Salon.com perhaps puts it best:

Baron Cohen's Brüno is a gay minstrel, in the most literal sense of the word. Just as the characters of the burnt-cork vaudevillians had, bound up ineluctably with their dark complexions, traits like being shiftless, lazy, and "a-feared of spooks" as their eyes bugged out in Neanderthal, superstitious terror, Brüno's homosexuality comes bundled up with a lot of unattractive software. He is an open hydrant of empty, venal ignorance, a fame-chasing, grandiose fucktard, all because he is a cockaholic (his term).

If there is any comfort to take away from this it is that Baron Cohen exhibits a similar disconnect and misunderstanding about attitudes toward gay men as the government, since most polls show that Washington lags behind popular opinion when it comes to tolerance.

Another movie added to my boycott list...

Comments please.

State of Affairs: Part II

2009-07-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

Granted Mediatakeout.com's gossip reporting is less than credible. Nevertheless, I found a recent story on Chris Brown and Jay-Z interesting:

MediaTakeOut.com told you yesterday that Chris Brown was supposed to perform at the Michael Jackson tribute. Well he was ... then BET changed its mind. What happened you ask??? MediaTakeOut.com just got OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION that it was ALL JAY Z' doing. According to that insider, Jay Z SPECIFICALLY FORBID BET from allowing Breezy to perform. He told them that if they did neither he NOR BEYONCE would have performed.

Dang Jigga, we ain't know you were that vindictive ...

I don't know how I feel about this. Of course, I don't agree with what Chris Brown did to Rihanna. That said, I also don't believe that he should forever wear a scarlet letter. It's irresponsible to define anyone by a singular mistake. How long should the boycott last?

Your thoughts please.

State of Affairs

2009-07-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Chris Brown and Rihanna incident has really made me think. It amazes me how, even after Brown plead guilty, people continue to blame her. "She must have said something," people say. "She hit him first; she had it coming... She had no business destroying that boy's career." On and on the comments go. To me, it's simple: no matter what you do--no matter what you say--no woman, or anyone for that matter, deserves domestic abuse. Though this seems like common sense, it amazes how many people have sided with the abuser, the most vocal critics being women. Despite pictures of her busted lip, her bruised eye, people still manage to see Rihanna as the monster. The rogue. The traitor. Unfortunately, this mindset is common.

I vividly remember a conversation I had in high school. "No matter what black men do," a young boy said, "there's no way we can face a fair trial in America. The system is too corrupt." Most of us in the room agreed; after all, it's no secret that our justice system is filled with prejudice. If a black man and a white man commit the same crime, nine times out of ten, the black male will receive a longer sentence. The boy continued his soliloquy with a smile, eying all the young women. "That's why, if black boy rapes one of y'all, y'all can't tell. There's no way he can get a fair trial." The girls nodded in a show of psychic solidarity. Black girls don't tell became our slogan. It took days before someone had the courage to call out our stupidity.

The Chris Brown/ Rihanna incident is a microcosm of a larger problem. When will be break oppressive ties of blind solidarity? More importantly, when will we learn the value of our intrinsic worth? Why should we put our best interests aside to defend men who hurt us?

Precious

2009-07-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

So I'm so excited about this movie!! It received a standing ovation at Cannes. It also picked up the Grand Jury prize at Sundance. In addition, there's buzz that Mo' Nique is a shoe-in for an Oscar. After rave reviews, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey have agreed to "present" the film to the American public, a move which will hopefully garner greater commercial success. Precious is adapted from the novel Push by Sapphire.

Below is the film's first trailer:

Precious opens November 6, 2009

We shall overcome...

2009-07-13T06:29:00.000-07:00

In June of 1951, the NAACP appeared in federal court seeking an injunction against the Amos 'n Andy show. Lawyers outlined a series of offensive stereotypes; among these black women as rude and aggressive, black men as lazy and weak. Few characters could engage in conversation without peppering their speech with faulty grammar and mispronunciations. In addition, "every character [was] either a clown or a crook." Despite calls for boycotts, Amos 'n Andy became an instant success. In 1953, CBS reluctantly pulled the program, mainly due to rapidly changing attitudes towards race. Sponsors refused to support such a controversial show.

I was struck my a youtuber's comment:

"That's a damn ass shame. Those were the only kind of parts a black man could get in those days. I'm glad those days are long gone.. And i'm glad most white folks don't have that kind of mentality anymore."

Jump ahead to 2004, the year Soul Plane made it's debut. We've all seen it, we know it's a triflin' mess.

I ask you this. What's changed? Have we made progress? Have white folks views of blacks changed or are we still "clowns and crocks?" Why do we perpetuate these images? Perhaps more insidious, is this how we see ourselves?

Maybe I'm just sensitive...

2009-07-13T05:29:00.000-07:00

So the other night, my best friends and I got into a heated debate about the way black people are portrayed in film. It began with a snide comment I made about Transformers, a movie I refuse to see due to numerous reports of robot minstrelsy. If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a snippet of an article written by Kyle Buchanan of Movieline.com:

There are two robots in the film called Mudflap and Skids, and despite being red and green, respectively, they are voiced in a way that clearly designates them to be the “black” robots. Also, Skids has a gold front tooth (no, I’m serious) and both cannot read.

It would be one thing if this was just one person's opinion but, as I said before, numerous critics have complained. My boyfriend said he was embarrassed by the film--uncomfortable by moviegoer's laughter. It's amazing how, in 2009, harmful stereotypes continue to be a tenet of American humor. I've decided to boycott the film and I encourage others to do the same; after all, these harmful stereotypes will continue to exist in cinema as long as we provide financial support. I expressed my disappointment when a friend told me he saw the film. That's when the debate ensued, surprisingly, me playing defense.

Perhaps I have no right to complain; after all, I haven't seen the film myself; my disdain towards it is rooted in hearsay. My friends who saw the movie and enjoyed it noted this fact. And perhaps I'm just too sensitive. As my friends also outlined, stereotypes are based in truth. Perhaps most black people can't read, perhaps a large majority of us do have gold teeth, perhaps we all have a frail grasp of the English language...

For those of you who have seen Transformers, is the film racist? Am I over-reacting?

Cheers,

Meagan

Welcome

2009-07-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Our Stories, Our Time; a forum where readers can intellectually engage, critique, and debate creative works and current events. Because the Diaspora is diverse, opinions, I pray, will be diverse. Conversations will sometimes grow contentious. And that's beautiful. My only request is that all remarks be kept above the belt. Remember that there is a person on the other end of pseudonyms and computer screens. Keep it classy.

So let's get our feet wet. If you like what you see, come back. Tell friends. Let the rounds begin.

Sincerely,

Meagan