Chris Rock vs. Regina Kimbell
Word on the street is that Chris Rock is being sued for stealing Regina Kimbell's idea for Good Hair. Rock should sleep well knowing that Kimbell has no case.
Word on the street is that Chris Rock is being sued for stealing Regina Kimbell's idea for Good Hair, and at least one of the ever-growing crop of "black female empowerment" blogs thinks that this is just the latest salvo in the war against black female creativity. Seriously. I sh*t you not. (Judge for yourself and buy the whole docket of the case here.)
Rock is just the latest black man to steal an idea from a sista, you see. First it was Steve Harvey. Then, in some twist of logic, it was Tyler Perry. Now, America's favorite mailroom clerk is in on the conspiracy. The problem with that thesis is that ideas are abstract. You may lift the title of someone's creative work, or even a core idea with impunity, and still be a far cry from plagiarism or appropriation. Great works often inspire other great works along a similar vein. It's not impossible that Rock saw Kimbell's film while researching his own documentary and got inspired, but I doubt there has been a rip-off. Unless Kimbell's film has a comedian riffing off on each scenario Bruno-stylee, her case is gonna come up madd short. How the hell is she gonna be working on a documentary for five years any-damn-way and think someone is not going to beat her to the punch some kinda way? Who do you think you are? Ken Burns?
This is not like the time when Eddie Murphy stole the entire plot of a movie from Art Buchwald. That was outright theft. Her case is more nuanced than that. She wants to convince a judge that two people can't have a similar take on the same subject, in this case a subject as finite and banal as attitudes about black women's hair. There is some idea that Rock is attacking and lampooning black women, when, if the previews are to be believed, he is acting as a Negro Tour Guide through the complexities of the black hair world. He's a comedian, a flawed, unreliable narrator attempting to help the audience make sense of a narrative pocked by irony and scenes of the absurd. Frankly, Kimbell's lawsuit smells like burnt scalp and cheap publicity for her documentary. And I'm not mad at it.
In any event, Rock should sleep well knowing that Kimbell has no case. Do you think she has a case?
I don't want politics in my kids school either, so I understand why some parents were hot when they found out about kids chanting a nursery rhyme about Barack Obama during Black History Month last year. There's enough Obama Kool Aid floating around without folks trying to force it on the youngins.I want my kids to develop thier own delusions about our system of government and beyond teaching of the fundementals, don't push your smack on my seeds. I can't see any reason why there needs to be kind of political cheerleading in gradeschool. Civic lessons are one thing. Propaganda is another.
It is time for the implemenation of forcible castration of pedophiles. Finally, the Pols get something right besides haute cuisine.
Recidivism rates are low for perverts, but the numbers are unreliable. I don't know how a child rapist can be rehabilitated, and I don't want to know. There are some sins that can't be forgiven by mortal man, and if death by torture is not an option, then I don't see anything wrong with making a child rapist's life a hell on Earth. Of course, we must be sure that the pervert is guilty and that piece could make for a sticky wicket. But as long as we can be sure, then I'm OK with that.
Note to Roman Polanski: I don't care what your Hollywood friends say -- I read the teenager's testimony of how you violated her. And I think it's time for your close-up.
Does anyone out there think that castration is too harsh?
Ashley 'A. J.' Jewell: Death By Reality Fame?
We can't make a solid correlation here, but I'll tell you what: I can't name one person who has ever benefited from being
on a reality show.
Singer Kandi Burruss' fiance' Ashley "A. J" Jewell was killed this weekend at a strip club and gratefully there is an arrest, but it got me to thinking that nothing good ever comes of being on a reality show. You may recall that Burruss and her fiance' were together when they started out on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, but reports of thier split followed a few weeks after the show hit the air. There is nothing like having your business out in the street to cause dissent in your relationship. We don't know if they were on the outs before, but I bet the show didn't help.
We can't make a solid correlation here, but I'll tell you what: I can't name one person who has ever benefited from being on a reality show. These shows that let us into the lives of stars and micro-celebrities bring out the worst in people while propping up negative sterotypes, tearing up families and feed dysfunction. Worse yet, sometime they become kidsploitation and domestic freakshows, like Jon and Kate Plus 8, who needed a social service intervention long before they got divorced. You kids should not be the hook for a reality show. How could that possibly be a in thier best interest?
Of course, my heart goes out to Jewell and his seeds and I know dude was reportedly an part-owner in the club, but I can't help but wonder if the high of cheap reality show stardom had him out tossing dollars at strippers instead of at home tending to his kids. Do you think I am making a connection where there is none to be made here? Can any of you name anyone who has been on a reality show that has not just come out unscathed, but benefited in the long-term? Why do people still go on these shows, after seeing couples crash and burn?
Chris Rock's "Good Hair"
I think the Rock movie will be entertaining and I know one thing: the theatres will be packed with curious white people. White folks have no idea what your hair hang-ups are, but they are eager to learn.
The Chris Rock documentary "Good Hair" is coming out soon to a theatre near you, but already there is significant buzz about it. It's about the relationship that women --specifically black women --- have with thier hair. I didn't really encounter hair weaves until I was in my early 20s and tried to run my hands through this one young lady's head, only to get caught up in all kinds of loops and knots along the way. Ever since, I have stayed away from women with hair-weaves: I mean, what are you hiding? who you trying to fool? And--hello?---those things take cash money to maintain. As an adult, most of the women I have dated seriously have had natural hari-styles with maybe a dyeing hear or there. Dye, I can deal with. But the weave is a lie I can't abide. If it's a braid or cornroll style, that makes sense. But otherwise, it's like your trying to fool yourself into thinking something that isn't true, and want us all to play along. Why are black women so obsessed with "good hair?" I dunno.
I think the Rock movie will be entertaining and I know one thing: the theatres will be packed with curious white people. White folks have no idea what your hair hang-ups are, but are eager to learn. So the film will also open the door for white people to ask you stupid questions e.g. "is that all yours?" and demand to feel your hair, which is rude, right? White folks don't care. So, that means you'll be living my hair life, which has mostly been a string of dumb hair questions and rude inquiries for the last 10 or so years. Good luck with that.
Rock is on Oprah's show talking about his film.
Check this out:
