Drake Does Gay Better Than Gaga

Remember when it was 2008 and Lady Gaga was bisexual?

If you don’t, it’s okay because it hasn’t been particularly important to the trajectory of her career. Save a few same-sex references in songs like “Alejandro” and “Poker Face,” the fluidity of Gaga’s sexuality has hardly influenced the charm of her material. But would she be as commercially notable today if she hadn’t used her sexuality to spark interest back then?

EW to Tyler Perry: Do You Care About Black People?

Earlier this week Entertainment Weekly posted an article online that sought to answer the question: Is Madea bad for Black America? In my experience with Entertainment Weekly, it's not too often that they engage social politics, especially as it relates to race, so I think it's refreshing to see the publication exercising a bit of social consciousness. And the article isn't half bad either. I won't pretend like EW breaks any new ground in their dissection of Tyler Perry's films and their subsequent success, but the article does manage to offer one interesting point of thought:

"Tyler Perry understands that much of his audience is African-American women — the most ignored group in Hollywood — so he's doing movies that speak to them. You could see these films as parables or fables. There's a black prince figure who shows up for black women who've been frustrated, unhappy, or abused. That's the real reason critics don't like Perry's movies: They're made for churchgoing, working-class black women."

Most people that know me know that I have a love/hate relationship with Tyler Perry. I've seen Family Reunion and Why Did I Get Married? (Janet!) in theaters, saved The Family that Preys for rental, and watched Diary of a Mad Black Woman on TBS, or something. So yeah, I've put money in the man's pockets. But, without even approaching the argument that Perry's films depict the Black community from a heavily-stereotyped perspective that no white directer could ever get away with, my biggest issue with all of Perry's film had previously been their predictably and overall staleness. You can only witness so many drug-addicted prostitutes find Jesus before you start wanting more from life. However, reading the above quote from EW's article made me realize that Perry's approach to female characterization is much more problematic.

Now, I'm not a "churchgoing, working-class black women," but if I was, I'd like to think I'd be pissed off after watching a Perry film. I remember finishing Why Did I Get Married? and thinking, damn, he just threw all of these women under a bus.

I can't think of a single female character in that film that ever has a fighting chance at coming out of that ski cabin with a slice of self-respect, not even Jill Scott. If Perry's film's are for working-class women, then why would those same women feed into a storyline that belittles their ambition? From Sharon Leal's character, who secretly has her tubes tied without telling her husband so that she might excel in the workplace, to Janet Jackson's, who forgets to properly secure her infant son into his car seat while rushing home from work, Perry makes it clear that these women can't balance a career with the demands of domesticity. Yes, Tasha Smith's character runs a successful hair salon, but she also emasculates her significant other in the process. The only woman not directly at fault for the trouble in her marriage is Jill Scott's character, who is conveniently unemployed.

And if Perry's message is aimed toward churchgoing women, then what about the fact that Scott's character can't even manage to function for a few months after leaving her husband. Instead of seeking comfort in her faith, and herself, she immediately remarries, and any sense of confidence that she gains by the end of the film is in direct relation to the amount of love she is shown by her new husband.

The only woman with any real agency in Perry's films is Madea, and she's played by a man.

The gender politics in Why Did I Get Married? are handled irresponsibly, and ultimately just cast modern women in a unflattering light, as if any sort of personal or professional advancement must come at the expense of a happy home. The notion that a woman can't pursue her individual goals without falling short as a wife and mother is so dated at this point, that Perry should be taken to immediate task for just being plain lazy.

And if Married isn't enough, check any of his other films. Sanaa Lathan plays a self-centered career woman in The Family that Preys, and her storyline even comes with the assumption that she would not have made it nearly as far in the workplace without engaging in a long-term affair with her boss. I'm sure the same churchgoing audience that was left gasping when Blair Underwood's character slapped his fiance in Family Reunion, was cheering when Lathan's character was backhanded over a serving counter by her husband in Preys. Even his casual approach toward domestic violence would seem to suggest that Perry doesn't have the best interest of his female characters in mind at all, but instead would rather go for shock value in pursuit of a stronger box office performance.

The fact that Perry is on his way toward surpassing John Singleton and the Hughes brothers as one of the most financially successful contemporary Black filmmakers is disheartening, to say the least. Films like Higher Learning may not have been perfect, but they were far more socially ambitious and responsible; and you know, good.

I get so tired of hearing people say that one shouldn't knock the man's hustle, when in reality, his hustle is only perpetuating the marginalization of Black Hollywood. You can't tell me Angela Basset had any business starring in Meet the Browns. Our Black actresses are taking these roles because they don't have any other options, which would be fine if Perry actually presented them with material that matched their talent. But it doesn't matter how many #1 films Perry produces, he still won't be able to carry his actresses to mainstream, Halle Berry fame; not because they don't deserve it, but because he's not opening any new doors in his quest for millions. The players in Perry's world are circumstantial. Gabrielle Union is interchangeable with Kimberly Elise as far as mainstream audiences are concerned, and Tarij P. Henson received a career boost from Benjamin Button, with Preys acting as more of a side-hustle. It's hard to respect a hustle that leaves its supporting players in the dust, and while it may not be entirely Perry's fault that his actresses aren't achieving mainstream sustainability, I don't think he's too concerned with giving them the films to get them there either.

Tyler Perry is in a unique position to sell Black films to diverse audiences, but what good is that increased exposure to the Black experience if it's presented through such a predictable and limited lens?

Black History Month is Still Important to Me

I haven't done a Black History post, and even though it's still early in the month, that disappoints me. I'd love to say that I've been thinking about a post in the back of my mind all week, but in reality, it hadn't even crossed my mind. A lot of this blog is dedicated to commenting on the Black experience, at least as told through popular media. In reality, being Black in America transcends that which the media readily covers, and that's why I've decided to post one of my favorite poems in celebration of Black History Month.

Poetry isn't something that I enjoy reading, as it's too subjective, and really just difficult. But, for me Gwendolyn Brooks' "Kitchenette Building" personifies the Black experience in America perfectly, so I'll share it with you guys. Something about the imagery reminds me so much of my childhood; not just in terms of my own family, but families around me as well.

I've spent four years in college around some of the most ambitious Black young-adults I've ever met, and I can't help but to think that we're all the result of the reality depicted in this poem: a generation of African-Americans struggling to maintain some sense of hope, despite the desperation of their circumstances, so that their children might make it a little further than they have.

Kitchenette Building

Gwendolyn Brooks

We are things of dry hours and the involuntary plan, Grayed in, and gray.

"Dream" mate, a giddy sound,
not strong Like "rent",
"feeding a wife",
"satisfying a man".

But could a dream sent up
through onion fumes
Its white and violet,
fight with fried potatoes

And yesterday's garbage ripening
in the hall,
Flutter, or sing an aria down
these rooms,

Even if we were willing to let it in,
Had time to warm it, keep it very clean,
Anticipate a message, let it begin?

We wonder. But not well! not for a minute! Since Number Five is out of the bathroom now, We think of lukewarm water, hope to get in it.


Oh, and if you don't know Gwendolyn Brooks...you better ask

Ann Coulter Makes Me Wanna Vomit, But This Shit Right Here...

Sometimes I feel foolish for getting so upset with just about everything that comes out of Ann Coulter's mouth. It's so obvious that "a bitch got books to sell," so that pissing people off is something that she does to keep that spiteful face full of botox. Really, when you have a problem with women, jews, blacks, gays, and Barack Obama all at the same time...you need to sit down and think about things. She even called John Edwards a faggot, and he's pretty much the carebear of politicians.

But I don't blame her...she's stupid. I blame reputable new shows that continue to host her biased and unfounded, and really just ignorant, opinions simply for the sake of ratings and media attention. It's not that I disagree with her (which I totally do), it's just that a majority of what she says has no logical, or ethical merit, and I can't respect that.

That being said, who knew this woman was 47? Evidently selling your soul to Satan does wonders for the complexion and bone structure.

Anyway...the point is...I just purchased the second season of the Boondocks, and wanted to share what may be my favorite moment from the entire series. The clip below is FUNNY...I'm not suggesting it's funny, I'm telling you. And if you don't laugh, you don't get it...which means you need to go and Google current events, catch up on a couple of years in politics, and come back to it. Yep, it's that serious.





"These crabcakes are good as a mug...I fucks w/ these crabcakes!"

This Shit is Disappointing

More than 70 % of the black voting population in California voted in favor of Proposition 8, banning gay marriage throughout the state. To me, that's as amazing as it is disappointing. It's not my intention to generalize any one group of people, nor am I trying to suggest that African-Americans are solely responsible for the plight of gays in America, but I feel as though I'd be fair in saying that the black community is the first to cite oppression and discrimination as problematic within the United States, but apparently, only as it applies to them. Today, we live in a society that regularly denies homosexuals the rights and privileges afforded to any other law-abiding American citizen, and instead of recognizing our struggle in another group, blacks across America continue to invest in a legacy of hate.

Part of the reason I wanted to avoid writing about this issue is because I don't feel as though I have anything new to offer to the same old argument. Still, as we celebrate the election of our nation's first black president, I can't help but to wonder why we're not more upset about the lack of progress that America has made elsewhere. Every African-American celebrating the significance of a black man assuming presidential office should recognize that the same social and political significance that gives us pride in relation to the election of Barack Obama, should shame us in relation to the passing of Proposition 8.

Blacks can be conservative. The implications of the treatment of homosexuals in America go far beyond political lines. Blacks can be religious. Gay marriage isn't a religious issue. However, blacks can't afford to be discriminatory.

Refusing gays the right to marry in the United States undermines their citizenship. While you certainly can't, and shouldn't try to, force any religious group to recognize same-sex marriages, the constitution is a document that governs all American citizens, regardless of religious affiliation. Marriage is not just a social institution, but also a means of obtaining several rights and benefits that should be afforded to all Americans without prejudice. If gays are expected to pay taxes and be civically responsible in other ways, then the right to marry is certainly an expectation for which they should hold our nation accountable. In the United States, equality is not something one should have to earn; it's the birthright of America.

Why can't African-Americans see that the same oppressive agenda that keeps gays from marrying today, kept blacks relegated to second-class citizens just a few decades ago? More than that, the same hate that we allow to prosper now always stands a chance at refocusing itself later. Once you've overcome the tyranny of oppression, you don't ignore it as it attacks someone else. Instead, you use the progress you've earned to assist in another group's battle, until equality is a reality.

We have to recognize that diversity goes far beyond skin color, and that none of us are safe until all of us are safe.

PS. Watch the clip above in its entirety. Janet and Ashanti are SO rocking the same wig.