Chappelle, I had to finally make a comment

I thought I should make a final post and what better topic than my final paper, Chappelle's Show. I was finishing up with my research paper in which I was examining a couple sketches from the show. I revisited the show so that I could accurately comment on my paper. I haven't seen the show in awhile now, despite watching it feverishly when they came out on DVD...the show is gold. It is still as funny as it ever was...maybe more. I did my paper on Clayton Bigsby the black white-supremacist and the white family whose last name is "Niggar". Both of the sketches are so ridicuos, man what gems. Chappelle really had a clear vision where he wanted the show to go and did he ever execute. There were some other sketches that I forgot about. Anything with Paul Mooney is gold. The one I particularly enjoyed was him commenting on movies. "They have the Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise, the Mexican starring Brad Pitt. What's next the Last Nigger On Earth starring Tom Hanks!?" That line gets me every time. The way Chappelle uses humor to make genuine, intelligible, relevant social commentary is masterful. I laugh but the skits do really make me think about things, not many shows do that, even serious ones. Chappelle has a unique ability to take humor and real issues and infuse them together without being to preachy about it or that he is trying to demonstrate his values or ideas...you've got to appreciate talent like that. I realize I'm probably beating a dead horse here being that everybody has already spoke about the show at length at some point this semester but I just had to toss my two cents in.

Catch A Tiger By The Toe...Cheesy

I've been reading a lot of blogs about Tiger Woods, so I thought it prudent to weigh in with my thoughts on this whole debacle. I am already quite sick of this controversy and just wish we could move on to new business already. I get it he was married and he cheated with a slew of women. I realize that Tiger is a public figure so I understand that it is a news story, I just wish it wasn't. His story is no different then the same stories you hear on Jerry Springer. Being that he is such a celebrity it warrants huge amounts of press coverage but I feel that he should be entitled to privacy, let alone dignity. I think what he was did was reprehensible but that is his own private business, what right to "we" have to invade him like this. People are so eager, dare I say happy, to disparage him. Two weeks ago everybody loved him and now they are calling for his head on a pike. It seems that the human condition is such that "they" build you up but once you get there they can't wait to tear you right back down. It just bugs me how people are so mistake-free and self-righteous, they have never made a mistake. I don't agree with Tiger but at the same time I am not judging him either. It is life and he can live it how he wants, who am I to comment on it. I genuinely feel bad for the guy. Despite his actions, I don't feel anybody deserves to be berated the way he is. Also, not to be a stickler, but nothing has been directly outright proven one way or another. It bothers me how this is the most important thing in the news right now, a guy cheated on his wife....how shocking. I'd be willing to bet that there are far more pressing issues that warrant news coverage...priorities people!

Another thing that has gotten on my nerves lately is the accusations that Tiger is racist being that the women he allegedly had the affair(s) with are all white. It's ludicrous, he can't just simply cheat on his wife, the race card must be brought into it. I think the news organizations are really stretching it here. How is having a sexual preference or affinity for now something considered racist. Its like if he had slept with black, Asian, and Latino women it would have been far more acceptable and politically correct. I mean his wife is white, is that racist because he didn't choose a wife that "looked for like him". I mean think this is the opposite of racism being that he had affection for a race that "wasn't his own". It's not like he was negative towards any particular race. I think this is a sign that the news has to move own, they are just grasping for straws and trying to squeeze every last bit of life out of this story. The guy is ruined, mission successful. Let's move on to some new business!

Disney, A Princess, A Frog, and Your's Truly

I was going through some of the class blogs and I one entry seemed to catch me. Melissa wrote an entry about the upcoming animated Disney feature the Princess & the Frog. She wrote about how the movie features a princess who is black and this is the first time Disney has ventured to do this. I commented on her blog but it really got my wheels spinning so I wanted to expand a bit.

The picture she chose to include in her blog was of the two main characters, the prince and the princess. Now as anyone who has seen a Disney movie, this is pretty much the standard way of doing things. Of course this time the princess is black, which is a bold departure from their usual W.A.S.P. princess. Not only is the princess black but the prince being white makes for an interracial couple which once would be considered far taboo especially for a children's movie. I'd imagine they want to make the film contemporary and socially conscious. I will commend Disney that this is a very bold, progressive decision that I think is a real positive step and departure from their standard operating procedure. I think it is great that young children can look up to a princess who doesn't look like the unrealistic Barbie archetype. That all being said, here is where my issue comes in. I can't help but notice that the prince is still white. I haven't seen the movie so I probably shouldn't be making assumptions but I'd imagine the prince makes some sort of a macho brave act. I'm just wondering if his being a white male ultimately makes the black princess out to be something of subservient. I don't mean this in a master-slave relationship, but more in a male-female capacity. As if to say that she is a woman so at the end of the day she will still need a man to rescue her. I mean here she is a bold black princess but at the end of the day she still must be rescue by a white male. It almost seems that her being black is counter-productive because it seems to put the prince up on a higher pedestal than he already would be on simply because he is a male. I hate writing this because I feel like I am attacking Disney, which is not my intention because I think they made a wise and positive departure from their standard archetype(s). I just think the contrast between the two characters has the potential for some unintentional side effects. I wonder if there was discussion about making the prince black and princess white. Perhaps they thought that might be "too much" because America couldn't handle such a culture shock. Do you think they ever realistically entertained the idea of both of the characters being black? Unfortunately I doubt it. As I said before I haven't seen the flick, which actually looks pretty solid, so I shouldn't be making assumptions. It is interesting to consider though, ya heard?

Me & My White Friends

I was considering what to write about for my blog. I was really having on block on a topic that I might want to pontificate on. While in this fog of though I came to the realization that I don't have any friends who are white. This fact is by no means an intentional choice that I made. I don't have ANYTHING against any minority. I enjoy people for who they are, I honestly don't care or concern myself with such trivial things as the race, culture or otherwise of a given person. That being said I honestly don't have anybody that I am friends with that is not white. I was going through my phone and everyone is white, just like me. I was wondering why this might be. I think it has to do with where I grew up (Weymouth) there weren't many minorities. There really wasn't much of a mix of different people when I was growing up. When I was a bit older in high school there was more diversity but I explicitly remember the absence of diversity when I was young. I think this was a big factor in the current situation I find myself it. It is just kind of weird to think about. I'm fairly certain that my friends don't have any friends that are minorities. As weird as it may sound I really don't think that it is that unique. I'd be willing to wager that there are black people who don't have any friends who aren't black. I don't take offense to this concept either because I understand that sometimes it just doesn't work out like that. I wouldn't say that I would LOVE to have a black friend because that would make it sound like I care that they are black. As I said I really honestly don't care what a person's racial background is. I am far more concerned with the person's character, and the quality of it. I would however welcome a new friend, and if they happened to be black, Latino, or otherwise it wouldn't make a bit of difference. As cheesy and cliche as it may sound a person is a person and a friend is a friend. I've known instances of people being or not being friends with a certain someone based on such superficial standards and it always puzzled me. I guess I again refer to myself and think how ludicrous it is to waste time thinking/caring about these types of things. I wouldn't want people to think of me as racist because I don't have any non-white friend because that wouldn't be further from the truth. It is just weird the winding road that is known as Life. If I was born in a different area of the country I could have a completely different stable of friends.

Seinfeld!

Every so often I get sucked into the world of Seinfeld. It is far and away my favorite show of all time and as such I have the entire series on DVD. When these spells hit me I will just rip through episodes and eventually find myself watching the entire series. I think the writing is clever and quite ingenious. Since I the semester has started I have tried to look at things with a more analytical eye, specifically dealing with diversity and race. This mindset jogged my memory to about a year ago. I was watching Pardon the Interruption (PTI) on ESPN. Tony Kornheiser (who is white) made a reference to Seinfeld to which Michael Wilbon (who is black) said "I don't know what you're talking about, black people don't watch Seinfeld". I thought it was a bit off-color at the time but now it really makes me question it. This is a rather "iffy" thing to say. Wilbon didn't receive any "talking to" about what he said. I feel though that if Kornheiser said "You know white people don't watch Cosby Show", I feel that he would be hit with an onslaught on scrutiny. I'm not suggesting that Wilbon is racist or was even saying it in a defaming way I just think it was a questionable thing to say. I realize that the things white people say are subjected to much higher magnified scrutiny than any other race. I think it's a double-standard but at the say time I can certainly understand why. My other problem with this is that Seinfeld is just plain funny I don't understand why black people wouldn't like it. I have heard this argument before that Seinfeld is geared for specifically white people. I can understand the audience being predominantly white but there is no reason why black people wouldn't enjoy the show as well. It just makes me mad because there is a viewpoint that Seinfeld is racist, which couldn't be further from the truth. I've been a fan since I was 8 years old and seen every episode an obscene amount of times, not to mention I'm just in the process of watching them as we speak. This show is completely harmless. The show actually pokes fun at the situation when George has to prove to his boss who is black that he black friends. George doesn't have any black friends, not on purpose, it just never worked out for him. Seeing George scramble to find a friend who is black is funny and an interesting commentary about the world we live in. I like George don't really have any black friends. This is not because I choose not to but rather by coincidence and circumstance it just so happens that I don't have any black friends. I'm sure that there are black people who don't have any white friends. This is not because of any racial preference, it is just the way it worked out. I think Seinfeld was, and still is, light years ahead of itself. The show was such a perfect vehicle for social commentary and pinpointing the human condition. Seinfeld touched on some many areas of human's everyday lives, it is really quite amazing. The show was anything but racist, and I say that as not a casual fan but an extremely hardcore enthusiast. I think what Wilbon said was certainly questionable, but I don't think he meant it in a racist way. I still love PTI and Wilbon...I just gotta defend my Seinfeld! Viva la Seinfeld!!!

Obama's School Message

I'm a Howard Stern fan. I know he has his detractors but he has a solid following. Love him or hate him you must give him credit for sticking around for as long as he has. I think Howard is entertaining and funny, but I also think he is extremely intelligent and insightful. During one of his recent broadcasts the topic of Obama's speech to school children came up. Obama delivered a speech specifically for the students of America that was to air around lunchtime. The speech was basically about not letting circumstance dictate the direction and eventual outcome of your life. Adversity must be met head on, a truly simple and invaluable lessen which is the basic principals of which America is built upon. The controversy came in as there were many parents reportedly pulling their children out of school in order to avoid seeing the speech. Why would they do this? Isn't the President addressing the youth of America a pretty important thing? There has been a whirlwind of supposed reasons for this but Howard was able to cut through the bullshit and be straight. It is a race issue. He contested that people are still uncomfortable with having a black president and as such react this way. I know that it is a sort of easy reason, but to me its true. When a President like JFK or Reagan had a speech to deliver, you better believe that parents weren't pulling their children out of class. Bear in mind that this was completely non-political, non-partisan, non-agenda piece that was meant to do nothing but inspire children to push themselves to their highest potential. Howard pointed out what a disgrace it was that this happened. He is the President of the United States, he deserves respect. I hated George W. Bush for all the same reasons as most people, however, I always respected him and the office that he represented. Some interviewed parents said they were didn't want their children to hear the speech because they couldn't be sure that Obama's speech would inappropriate or not. He is the President with Ivy league speech writers helping him, I'm fairly certain that he isn't going to say anything politically-incorrect or offensive. I know you might be thinking I misinterpreted what these parents were saying. but you'd be wrong. There actual excuse, whether it be fabricated or not, was that they couldn't trust that his words would be something school children should hear. I'll say it again, HE IS THE PRESIDENT. I agree with Howard that it is unfortunately a race issue, and it is despicable. What message does these parent's action send to children? They are essentially demonize Obama and turning him into a villain instead of an ally. What message does it send to other countries? As the unofficial pace car for the world, we set the tone for the world. The world often looks to us as an example. What does it say when "we" don't even trust our leader to speak to school children? These "Americans" should be completely ashamed of what they did, I know that I certainly am.

What's in a name?

I was working on the discussion boards last week and found many of the posts to be inspired as well as insightful. The subject of the class seems to foster genuine thoughts and discussion between classmates. It's pretty cool. I commented on a particular post on the board, but I wanted to discuss it further and hence this blog is immediately coming in handy. The original post was about how the term "African-American" seemed to lessen the stature of black people. For full disclosure, I am a white male. I agreed with the postee that the term did seem to be somewhat disparaging. I mean I wouldn't consider myself "European American". I mean I don't know any more people in Europe than most black people know in Africa, so why the need to label them and not me. I think that we spend too much time in this country worrying about meddlesome things such as this. Not to say that it doesn't have value but I feel there are more pressing issues that deserve our attention. I feel there is a sentiment in this country to go above and beyond in order to avoid being offensive. I mean I am all for equal rights and the right to live in peace and freedom but it's just a name. Whenever I am around a black person I am always hesitant to use the term "black". To me I don't know exactly how they might feel about it because again I'm just a white dude. I mean to refer to someone as "black", is that offensive and/or racist, I don't know. I mean if someone reffered to me as "white" I wouldn't even bat an eyelash. However, I realize that African-Americans have gone through much more struggle in the way or equal rights, so I almost feel that I don't have the right to comment. Even within this post I don't know whether to use the term "black" or "African-American". I think that black may have a negative connotation to some people perhaps. I don't know, it's all just so confusing about what is right and wrong. It's a slippery slope. I couldn't be further from a racist and don't want to offend anyone, I'm just trying to refer to something. To me we are all Americans, no more no less. If you want to get technical, if we were born in America, doesn't that make us Native Americans? That little nugget I will save for another post.