Media circus, indeed.
Published by Sid April 27th, 2007 in news, entertainment, Celebrity, bitchery. Tags: No Tags.Sometimes I think the malarkey members of the media get up to is more interesting than anything they report.
A 40-something male sports reporter at the LA Times is taking a break to have sexual reassignment surgery. The ongoing identity saga I respect, and I sincerely hope that when Mike returns as Chrisitne, he finds the support of his peers continues and his position as a sports writer is unthreatened–at least, is unthreatened by his replacement parts. I am concerned by the number of cliches his editors allowed into that piece. “We’ll take it one day at a time” ? “This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship”? I don’t usually read the LA Times, so I don’t know if this is their up to their usual standard, but if it is, WHAT THE HELL? Isn’t there anyone on staff (like an editor) who can ensure an article that should be powerful and moving or at least thought-provoking isn’t completely upstaged by its utter lack of creativity? I’m being unfair, aren’t I?
You know what I think would have been very interesting? If Penner had not mentioned the switch to the public, picked up the job again after the change, and the Times had examined and run a piece on the different reception, if any, the public had to the quality of sports journalism offered by this “new” female writer. Of course, that would be near impossible, as most of her industry peers would recognize her, anyway, and it assumes there is some underlying sexist tension in the industry. Seems like a safe assumption, but safe assumptions are usually the farthest off base. :-/
Two New York shock jocks, apparently having neither a grain of original humor nor any goddamned common sense between them, and having learned nothing from the Imus fallout, decided to call up a Chinese restaurant and hurl over five minutes worth of stereotypes and insults on air. Really? You dumb fucks actually had that much tired, insulting, degrading, hateful horseshit stored up inside you, and you thought it was actually funny? Seriously? And here I was thinking stupidity was just a racist’s favorite smokescreen (Well, I didn’t think you’d get all upset over a little joke!) They might actually be that stupid! Either way, I’d like to pipe up here and thow my support behind the Asian-American civil rights groups calling for their ouster. They’ve been suspended, but they should be canned. For being racists, for being idiots, and for being so unoriginal as to be unworthy of the public forum.
On another, semi-related note, one of the many reasons I would never make it big in the world of “urban” journalism: up front and on the record, I detest Russell Simmons and his media-whoring, bandwagon-jumping, Big Issues posturing. I have said it before, and I will say it again. Russell Simmons Is Full Of Shit. His most recent foray into punditry suggests the words “bitch,” “nigger” and “ho” be banished from rap/hip hop lyrics. Actually, he suggests they be banished from THE CLEAN RADIO VERSIONS of rap/hip hop lyrics. [sacasm] Wow! What a purposeful, determined step on the path to uplifting our people! [/sarcasm] The man is a hustler of the highest order. He manages to say absolutely nothing of use and get the whole world to report on it as though he’s made some conscientious, noteworthy decree.
(As an aside, if you haven’t seen this PBS Independent Lens doc on masculinity, misogyny and hip hop, you really must. Simmons is quoted, and his response to the issues presented by the black male interviewer is at best dismissive. No hint of contrition there, no sir.)
I started this rant based on a clip being peddled on the nightly news, in which it sounded as though Simmons was finally coming around and recommending the words be banned from the genre in general. Here’s a different clip of a reporter and Jesse Jackson (*sigh*) inferring the same thing. I should have known better than to believe he’d had a change of heart. Or to trust broadcast. Meh.
Upon reflection, I withdraw my assertion that Simmons is full of shit. The man is actually perfectly consistent in defense of his own bottom line, and that of his constituents. In trying to hold him to some sort of ethical/leadership standards, I made the same mistake racists and the ignorant media masses make: I confused Simmons and hip hop culture with black leadership and culture. I don’t think Simmons does want to position himself as a leader in the black community. I think he wants to keep a firm grip on his corner of the community–thugs: artistic, actual and aspiring. For once, I have no desire to say anything trite like “He can have ‘em.” This is far too important an issue, too contentious a battleground, because at the end of the day, it’s one of a hundred blows to the strength of black people.
Whenever anyone stirs the pot on some really important issues in hip hop–violence, misogyny, homosexuality, responsibility–Simmons is the first one to start the spin cycle. He always asserts that the artists–poets, as he says–are simply a mirror to the ugly truths in our culture, that they deserve a voice, and that if he happens to make a hundred million or two providing them with the megaphone, well golly, so be it, and we should give him a fucking snickerdoodle to boot for doing that public service. Pft. My bourgie ass.
If they’re a mirror, he’s the smoke, a media-savvy, smooth-talking mouthpiece obfuscating the issues by insisting we should only address the underlying disease, never stifle the symptoms. No, asshole. We have to treat both, and you damn well know it.
Too often, we let spin-men like him set the parameters of the debate, we look where they point, and suddenly we believe the whole thing is only about race and inequality and none of it should be addressed, not by us and certainly not by whites, until… Until when? Until reparations, complete equality, until the fact of American racism is relegated to the status of an historical footnote? Absolute nonsense.
*This NYT piece notes that changing a few words will not eradicate underlying attitudes, and then we’ll not only be short some great tunes, we’ll be confronted with the possibility that the problem is not just the music. Well, duh. I understand the readership of the Times is pretty much middle- and upperclass, liberal and white, and as such needs to be reminded that hip hop is not the beginning and end of black America’s troubles, but any suggestion that hip hop has no influence at all is ridiculous. Its reach is huge, it is influential in representation and perception, and it is for that very reason that we have to publicly take it to task as often as possible. This whole issue actually physically exhausts me. I have to go take a nap.
Happy Thursday.
Wow. I’m amazed about the two shock jocks and their unmitigated stupidity and gall. However, I don’t see them getting fired over it. I think that with Imus, the biggest thing is that if he was say, Howard Stern or other shock jocks like these, no one would’ve batted an eyelash. However, because Imus had some major players, such as John McCain and others, on his show and not just the stripper with the size 52GGGG jugs made the lines blurrier in a way. You can’t have major political players on a show and then toss out lines like “nappy-headed ho’s” around. The juxtaposition is too damn weird.
Shock jocks don’t have that disconnect — you know your IQ’s going to drop a couple of points when you hear that shit on the radio. What’s the awful thing is that people who listen to this and claim that they’re not racist will think it’s alright to make jokes like this.
And I will have to beat them with a clue-by-four.
Also, no one gives the same gravity to Asian American stereotypes as they do with African Americans. Maybe it’s the fact that in the past, immigrants have been more quiet and willing to deal with this shit (I remember my dad telling me to ignore stuf like this) than to stand up, boycott and get angry. It could also be a socioeconomic thing (”What are ya’ll complaining for? You’ve assimilated alright!”) or something with history (somehow it’s harder for people to digest the immigration policies that excluded Asians from being allowed to immigrate to the United States over slavery).
You. rock. my. world.
It’s this kind of Siddity Bitchery that will change the world.
And annuderthing –
With Russell, he can talk all he wants about artists, but what bugs me is that we’re not seeing female rappers get representation and respect. It’s all about Beyonce and her booty right now. What happened to the Salt-n-Pepas, Mc Lytes, Queen Latifahs and other strong women who didn’t have to rap about being a sex object? These women were as good as the guy rappers and they didn’t have to be like Lil’ Kim and her tits or Foxxy Brown rapping about sex.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong about rapping about sex, but when the message is just brand names, gangs, sex and disrespecting women, it’s easy to see how that message overwhelms everything else and permeates into our behavior. It’s a weird infinity mirror thing — who’s reflectin whom?
Russell can’t talk until he shows that there’s some diversity in mainstream hip-hop. They shouldn’t be allowed to talk until we see some diversity in hip-hop (and not just Beyonce shaking her ass). The only message right now is the brand name, ghettofabulous life and it’s bullshit.
Viv: true, they probably won’t be canned, and probably will not suffer anything more serious than their current vacations. It’s too bad. I think everytime some shock jock, of either gender or any ethnicity, pulls a stunt like this, they should be punished by being forced to enroll in (and pass, with an A) a university level comprehensive course in the history/culture of the group they’re insulting. At their own expense, to boot. May not change their opinions, but it would make them think twice before mouthing off.
Regarding Simmons, I realize I didn’t make myself clear on a few things. I don’t actually object to foul language in music (shit, I curse all the goddamned time myself) and I don’t actually believe the ban would solve anything. I’m angry at the disingenuous lip service Simmons is paying to the issue, essentially hijacking what could become a meaningful conversation for his own purposes.
Am I happy that conversation might have been spawned by the fact that white critics immediately tried to lay the blame for Imus’s slip at our feet? No. In fact, that’s classic racist maneuvering. I acknowledge that. But Simmons just matched spin with spin. I would have been happier if he had come out and said, “Look, we know there are issues in hip hop that need to be dealt with, and I have called a summit of artists and industry executives to address them/started a foundation for young women in the arts (or whatever), but none of this changes the fact that Don Imus insulted a group of talented, accomplished young women at what should have been their shining hour.” Rather than using his place in the spotlight to refocus the debate in mainstream media and perhaps have another one within the community, he threw out a self-aggrandizing smokescreen.
M: Occasionally, I part myself from Sims2 just long enough to throw a hissy fit.
Sid: Oh I don’t mind foul language — there’s a running bet as to whether or not my kid’s first word is going to be a cuss work (if it is, I’m in so much trouble with the husband). But I see your point. And really, it could’ve been a good conversation. I don’t see that happening for the points you listed.
And really, some of this is related to how hip hop is now — it’s predominantly male and there’s no female equivlent of Simmons to call him on the carpet also.
PS — Sims 2 rules. I need to get my copy back from my friend. I love making soap operas.
Oops, sorry, I didn’t mean to imply the Russell Simmons bit was direct at your reponse. It was just a generally “and another thing!” commentary. I clarify. Heh.
awesome.
your totaly fisking of hip hop/simmons? awesome.
(bowing to the Siddity, bowing and more bowing.)
geez. i really can spell. really.