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Richard Prince's popular column on the news media, published by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education (www.mije.org).
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2012NBC Heroes Employee Says There's Too Much Diversity in Hollywood
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Arturo R. Garcia, my new favorite blogger over at Racialicious has unearthed a doozy about the NBC series Heroes. Now before I put my spin on it or reveal the juicy, let me say I used to love Heroes. During the first two seasons I'd tune in like an addict. It was something about the diversity of cast, the superhero slant and my secret wish to fly above Brooklyn, in my Steve Maddens, finding injustice and whooping its tail. I must admit I haven't watched Hereos for the last two seasons: I've been busy "scratchin and survivin" during this economic crunch. I guess that's why I didn't notice the downsizing of color on the show. Arturo R. Garcia at Racialicious did notice. In a recent post Garcia brings light to an online debate between a former Heroes fan and Foz McDermott, an employee from the show. I believe the former fan complained about the decrease in diversity and white male privilege in Hollywood and Foz McDermott had this to say:
"Holy crap lady… if you are indeed a lady… that is hilarious. In a business that is scared of and run by pussy organizations that are so scared of being sued about everything, being OVERLY PC is the actual problem. Being a white male in the business of Hollywood is NOT easy. There are programs and incentives to help everyone except white males...
Let me be clear: I have no real problem with helping anyone. I think that certain people and groups have been crapped on for a long time, and making ways to help people were necessary…at one time. I don’t personally believe in it at all now. I actually think it has gone too far. Like when you have to fill a position and you have 3 candidates and the best person is the best for the job, and the one that is not the best fit is forced upon you because of diversity quotas and not their skill. that actually makes me sick. It is nothing BUT racism. Not reverse racism, that term doesn’t even exist. making a choice and hiring anyone for any reason BECAUSE of their race IS racism.
I am from South Philadelphia, where I come from, I AM the minority. I am not saying that equals being a slave or coming from a family that had a generation that survived or worse… didn’t survive the holocaust, I am just saying that I WASNT picked for things BECAUSE I am white. It made ME work harder. It is a small scale, but i can relate a bit…. A BIT… I never thought I was deserving of something because I am white. That is bullshit. But what I have done is talk to my friends about it, a lot of whom are of color, and most are sane and have something to the effect of “ya, its fucked up, but I’ll take it.” Yes! I agree! take it!! I am not mad at anyone that can take advantage of a flawed system. Go For It…hell if there was an italian discount on Ferraris, I would be doing it."
Interesting stuff. A little naive and neo-archaic, but interesting nonetheless. Foz McDermott clearly doesn't appreciate the ongoing injustices inflicted upon white men in Hollywood. Now before I join Arturo R. Garcia's cyber-march against blatant racism in HollyWeird I have to say I know plenty of white execs in the industry who are great and know a good writer when they read one. But on the flip side, there are execs who are holding onto white privilege like the last piece of gold on the planet. Recently, I've heard stories about certain new TV shows that refuse to meet with writers of colors. I've heard one show in particular, a black show, that will certainly take meetings with black writers, but will NOT hire them. Come on, that's crazy.
I have no idea what's behind NBC's Heroes and the disappearance of color on the show. But if Foz McDermott is an extension of the show's stance on race, well, then maybe the lack of color is informed by white male privilege in Hollywood backlash, spearheaded by McDermott. I'm reaching for straws, but hey, straw-reaching creates convo, and it's fun.
Thoughts?
P.S. This will be my last post on ON THE DIG for awhile. Due to economics, etc, the blogs are shutting down until further notice. I've had an amazing time digging up the good, the bad and the ugly of our intriguing culture. I've learned a lot here. I made some folks mad. I made some folks happy. And I've certainly had my share of humble pie. You can always visit me at digablepoet.blogspot.com (or my forthcoming website). I won't be posting there often, but swing through every now and then and check in on me.
Until next time,
Keith Josef Adkins
Black Conservative Doesn't Want Oprah to Interview Obama on Christmas
I ran across this provocative (I mean ridiculous) article entitled Oprah and Obama: A socialist Christmas. It was written by Republican African-American schoolteacher Lisa Carter over at Examiner. While Carter isn't teaching America's next generation, she's busy spreading her anti-Obama venom and looking for members to join her down-with-Oprah crusade. Carter hates the idea that Oprah will interview President Obama during the televised ABC special Christmas at the White House. The interview will be the first between the president and the Queen of Daytime TV since the election. Carter says,
"For liberals, this is great. It shows "diversity" by having an African American woman interview the first African American president. But for realists, this is yet another strike against African Americans."
Carter believes Oprah is bad news for other Black women because Oprah's success has been built on the heartstrings of white women. Carter also believes President Obama is a half-White trickster who was raised by white grandparents and uses the race card when he sees fit. I think she's referring to Obama's public scolding of the Cambridge police during the Henry Louis Gates profiling incident. She also feels Obama's blatant disregard for Booker T. Washington school of self-reliance is a full acceptance of socialism, i.e. handouts to the needy. It appears Carter was given a scholarship to UCLA and discovered she didn't deserve it. In fact, she says Affirmative Action harmed her. During her stint at UCLA she claims she wasn't able to keep up with the other students. Poor Lisa. I guess her bleak black beginnings didn't prepare her for the wonderful world of UCLA. Note to Lisa Carter: try a little extra study time. Does the brain good. If anyone runs into this California schoolteacher, please oh please, tell her that Oprah's ABC interview with Obama will not be a coded message for socialists everywhere to take to the streets.
Peru Apologizes for Mistreatment of Afro-Peruvians
It always makes me happy when states apologize for the institution of slavery and the mistreatment that accompanies it. I get especially inspired when faraway places, like Peru, apologizes for centuries of African-centered abuse. If you haven't guessed by now the Peruvian government decided to apologize for the horrors endured by its Afro-Peruvian population. Several years ago I was a wide-eyed student of the world. I also thought Latin America was a racism-free zone. I know, I was a youngin and believed countries of color loved people of color. However, during a month-long trip to Venezuela I learned very quickly that the so-called Black Venezuleans were sequestered in "ghettos", profiled by the police, and the headline story in Caracas primetime news. I just hope Peru's apology sends a message to all of Latin America. And, just maybe, there will be less bleached-skinned Sammy Sosas in the world.
Thoughts?
Lincoln University Won't Let Overweight Students Graduate Without Fitness Course
Lincoln University, the historically black college in Pennsylvania, won't let overweight students graduate unless they take a fitness course. I have officially heard it all. I would understand if the college encouraged overweight students to take the course, or offer the course as an elective, but mandatory? Come on. Diabetes and obesity is certainly an issue in the heart of America among black and white folks, but this is taking health concern to a level of dictatorship. James L. DeBoy, Lincoln University's chairman of health and physical education department, says:
“We know we’re in the midst of an obesity epidemic. We have an obligation to address this head on, knowing full well there’s going to be some fallout.”
Fallout? How about revolt? Apparently, the average body mass index (BMI) is between 18.5 and 24.9. Lincoln University insists any student with a BMI of 30 or higher take the course. The real issue is a nation that promotes the casual consumption of white flour, white sugar, desserts, excess red meats, breads, cheese, soda, etc. Change what and how we eat, then maybe obesity and diabetes will decrease. I'm no medical expert, but as an observer and critic of American life that seems like an obvious solution. So ... is it right for Lincoln University to force overweight students to take a fitness course to graduate?
Only the Super Negro Sells Movie Tix in Europe
Arturo R. Garcia over at Racialicious brought something juicy to my attention. He discovered the comedy Couples Retreat has opted for two promo posters. One for the American market, the other for the international market. Couples Retreat stars Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis and funny guy Faizon Love. However, if you're strolling the streets of London and stumble upon a poster for Couples Retreat, you will not, I repeat, will not see Faizon Love or his on-screen wife, Kali Hawk. Why? It appears black folks don't sell well in the land on the other side of the pond. True? No. Actually, there's another way to look at it. Blacks who don't achieve unwavering national appeal from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Laramie, Wyoming to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and pull millions into the U.S. box office, don't sell well in foreign places.
Last year, when my producer and I were taking meetings for my feature script a film exec told us "the success of indie films rely on international revenue." And international revenue is achieved with "a name that Europeans recognize." It was suggested, hypothetically, that we attach Will Smith or Morgan Freeman to our project. Otherwise, it's a real big gamble. So, it's not that blacks don't sell well. It's just Super Negroes, like Will Smith, Morgan Freeman and maybe Samuel L. Jackson, who Americans brand "digestible and profitable," sell plenty. That's not racist. That's business. No hate on Faizon Love, but I don't think he's recognizable in some black households. In other words, Faizon has not been branded "Super Negro." Yet.
Thoughts?
Sarah Palin Says Newsweek Photo Is Sexist
Sarah Palin is angry about the cover photo of her in Newsweek. So she says. When she chose to pose for Runner's World in workout gear, pigtails, bare legs and a mid-zipped red top she allegedly had no idea what she was doing, or, that some other news magazine would use the photo. Palin has this to say:
"The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now. If anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin. The media will do anything to draw attention -- even if out of context."
Come on, it's not like she was posing in a thong, wrapped in the American flag and blowing kisses to Obama. She looks like the soccer moms she loves so much. She looks like she's a busy soccer mom who also lives a double-life as a 40-something, in-shape, politician. Anyway, didn't Palin compete in a few beauty contests? She won the Miss Wasilla pageant. She also placed third in the 1984 Miss Alaska Pageant where she walked away with a scholarship and a Miss Congeniality award. In other words, Palin is no stranger to photo-posing talents and the advantages they can provide. My brethren-blogger Ta-Nehisi Coates over at the Atlantic believes the photo is sexist and unwarranted:
"I don't really understand how Sarah Palin, in running gear, conveys either the headline, or the two stories. (I read both.) I've been trying to decide where gender fits here--Would they have done this to, say, Dan Quayle? John Edwards? I don't think that's knowable. I do think that this photo, used in this context, objectifies Sarah Palin. I get why she's pissed off. It feels like a cheap-shot."
Cheap shot? Maybe. Newsweek could have alerted Palin about the photo before printing. Sexist? I guess it's all the eye of the beholder. Brilliant PR. opportunity? You betcha. Palin is no dummy: She's in this media/political game to play and reap the benefits.
Anthony Sowell's Victims: Drug Addicted, Expendable and Murdered
I was looking through the photos of Anthony Sowell's victims, and my heart dropped. More than half of them were described as women with histories of drug and/or alcohol abuse. Nancy Cobbs, Tonia Carmichael, Janice Webb, all dead, all with histories of drug addiction. I knew this, of course, but to revisit the information through a CBS photo slide show was unsettling. Most of the victims' families didn't suspect any unusual behavior with the victims until two, three and 12 months later. Man, I tell you. It breaks my heart how we often throw away members of our community who suffer from drug abuse. Don't get it wrong. I understand the need to wipe the hands clean of the emotional strain that accompanies drug-addicted loved ones. You either kill yourself helping them or not.
One of my cousins, a very intelligent, charismatic man, started to use cocaine at suburban parties and then ultimately became addicted to crack-cocaine and heroine in the inner-city. The family did everything in its power to help him. They provided money, food, lodging, prayer, bail, clothes, tough love, rehab, more money, more prayer. But when the pattern of drug use and its nasty friend, the con, became intolerable, most family members closed their doors and decided to let him meet his fate, in the streets. No one, of course, would imagine he would be brutally murdered.
The issue with my cousin is certainly different than the victims of Cleveland. He's a male, alive and rehabilitated. The victims were unrehabilitated women lured to their deaths by a serial killer. My point is one's life can't be structured around the drug-addicted. I understand why families and friends break ties with them and leave them to the stress. I guess it simply breaks my heart to know the drug-addicted can often become society's expendable citizen and there's nothing anyone can do.
Brown Paper Bag: Blame Black Hollywood
I wanted to throw my sixty cents into the Root's own Jada F. Smith's "color in black Hollywood" conversation. As an active participant in the Hollywood game I'd like to bring attention to a few facts. Smith feels the Lee Daniel's film Precious is a perfect template for the dysfunctional battle between good and evil, or should I say, lighter-skinned actors and darker-skinned actors in films and TV. I'm assuming when Smith means "light-skinned" she means anyone as light or lighter than Halle Berry or Alicia Keyes. In truth, Monique isn't necessarily a darker-skinned woman, but she is not as light as Halle. I digress. Smith has this to say about the color and the entertainment industry:
"Most of the mainstream black entertainers are light-skinned because the Wannabes are still favored over the Jiggaboos. Chocolate folks don’t get much love, even when black people are producing the films and television roles."
Well, I disagree, a bit. When it comes to "white" Hollywood darker-skinned actors seem to get plenty of play. Here's some recent examples. Denzel Washington in The Taking of Pelham 123, Viola Davis in Doubt, Taraji Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Rutina Wesley in True Blood, Don Cheadle in Traitor and the forthcoming Iron Man 2, Morgan Freeman in The Dark Knight and the forthcoming Invictus, Alfre Woodard in American Violet, etc etc. And just for the record: the school counselor in Sapphire's novel Push was a dark-skinned character. Mister in the novel The Color Purple was a lighter-skinned character, the grandson of a white man.
It's my opinion that black folks are regurgitating the color sickness in Hollywood. I've seen lighter-skinned actors picked over darker ones. True. I've heard black executives insist that a darker-skinned actor, with more obvious west-African features, be overlooked for a part because of their "unattractiveness". I've also seen talented lighter-skinned actors overlooked by darker-skinned black execs in some act of revenge or meanness. On the flip side, my former boss, Mara Brock Akil, was relentless about casting black actors who represented every shade and complexion within the African diaspora.
Honestly, this is an old converstion with no new solutions. It appears to me that Hollywood (and the rest of the country) is populated by dozens of decision-making black folks who are knee-deep in colorism and they're not budging. Why? Maybe colorism in Hollywood is like cholestrol-heavy foods for some black folks. They know its negative effects (and that it could even kill you), but they're addicted to the comfort.
John Muhammad is Dead. American Violence is Not.
John Allen Muhammad is dead. It's been seven years since he and his 17-year-old accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, drove through Maryland, Virginia and D.C. shooting (and killing) innocent people. Last night at 9:11 p.m. Muhammed, who still claimed his "innocence," was pronounced dead after lethal injection. And honestly, I don't know what to feel. I believe there are some people born with chemical and psychological imbalances and are, in a way, innocent in their lunacy. I believe there are people who are a human manifestation of a society where the violent pursuit of oil, land, religious or politcal dominance, coal, and/or diamonds trumps human life 24/7. In fact, one can't exist without the other.
I believe the John Allen Muhammads and Timothy McVeighs of the world are horrid extensions of a capitalist society some of us thrive in and others, not so much. But with that said, I still don't know what to feel. I never lost a family member or friend to such a violent and random attack. A part of me believes I would have stood among the dozens of surviving relatives anxious to see Muhammad grasp for his last breath. Another part of me believes I would mourn the loss of my loved one in solitude, but wonder if lethal injections are simply Band-Aids on a much bigger problem. A society unable to address and correct its violent streak.
From where I sit here in Brooklyn, people are still trigger-happy. Gun laws are becoming looser and looser. Our youth thrive on blood-letting video games where the thrill is to kill "the innocent." People beat each other in the heads with two by fours while others record the chaos on cellphones.
John Allen Muhammad was killed through lethal injection for his crimes (and, in a way, to provide momentary relief for family), but what about this trigger-happy, blood-hungry nation we live in? What are we going to do about that?
Comedian Katt Williams Was Guest in Home. So What's Up With the Crowbar?
Katt Williams is in the hotseat, again. Or should I say another Black man has a mug shot posted across the nation and all the trolls and race-haters are kicking back and grinning. It's reported (I repeat "reported") that Katt broke into someone's Atlanta home with a crowbar and took $3555 worth of jewelry and collectible coins. A crowbar, Katt? Come on. Really? I certainly don't want this to be true: I'm having a hard enough time convincing white folks I can sustain an intelligent thought for more than three seconds. I don't need some comedian throwing salt on my hustle with some crazy about crowbars and collectible coins.
See, this is why I have always had a lukewarm appreciation for Katt's humor. I've never been into the "pimp" style he rocks. One, the perm isn't always on point. If you're going to look like a pimp the perm has to be on point. I also can do without the relentless use of the "n-word". Will someone tell this man that it's okay to ocassionaly use real conjuctions and adjectives and not worry about being white-washed?
However, I have to shoot Katt a little love since he hails from my neck of the woods: Ohio's southwest corner, i.e. the greater Cincinnati-Dayton-Springfield area. Katt also bookends his standup with some of that "I'm a thinker and I believe there should be equality and decency throughout humanity, but I can't say that straight-out because I might be considered a punk" type of wisdom. And I like that. It's moving. No, really. It is. Maybe what Dave Chappelle said on the Actors Studio was true. Black entertainers are running through the streets and losing their minds because the stress of Hollywood is too much. I'll have to think about that one. In the meantime, Free Katt Williams.
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