BLACK-MEN-AT-ARMS: INTRODUCTION

How much does the media factor into our recollection of history? I mean, history is history. Even though it doesn't change, can the facts we remember be manipulated?

For instance, most Americans believe The Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World Wars were made up of all white soldiers? Why is that? Could it be because of the media's portrayal or lack thereof of brothas in the military?

For the next week, I'll be discussing different media depictions of blacks in the military and how film may have altered the collective perception on this issue. Also controversies surrounding the portrayals, and films that deal with the subjects in both negative and positive perspectives. 

Is BET the New Motown?

A friend of mine, journalist turned rapper, Jahshua Smith aka J'Young The General wrote this article comparing BET to Motown. Obviously not in it's quality, but in it's legacy. Jahshua argues both black-owned commodities failed to live up to the purpose they were created for, eventually succumbing to the white-stream media's "business mode"l and loosing their cultural identity.   Well those are my words, not his. His words are better are more eloquent. The article is below: 

Seems like a blasphemous question from the jump, right? How can we possibly compare what's often compared to a modernized minstrel show of epically stereotypical proportions to a reputed pillar in the Black community that gave us possibly the most meaningful and timeless music of the last 60 years?

Actually, when you unpack it....they're a lot closer than you think.

Motown

No introduction is really neccessary, and the long list of prominent artists Motown ushered into the homes of America have been repeated to us Ad Nauseum ever since we were children in Elementary School. We'll skip all that. 

Here's what we know about Motown from an organizational standpoint. Barry Gordy founded Motown with the intent of striking out on his own with the artists that he wrote songs for, noting how lucrative the publishing and recording aspect of the industry was. Through his vision he was able to create an African-American owned label, capable of competing with any other powerhouse out at the time. His meticulous artist development and business saavy created a plethora of African-American stars as popular, if not more, than their counterparts. That led to the first substantial phenomenon of racial integration in music, and suddenly America at large was very familiar with our culture through music and dance, setting the tone for a bridging of the racial gap that the political arena of Civil Rights simply couldn't achieve. To this day music is probably the only conduit that allows thousands of people from different racial/class-based/ideological backgrounds to be in the same place without discord, a bond that Motown helped solidify.

Unfortunately, what gets left out of this success story is a lot of the red tape that we frequently cite as inherent plague in today's industry. Berry Gordy had a very static idea of what worked and what didn't from an artistic standpoint, and many artists had to fight to make the type of music they wanted to make. Gordy rarely made any political statements without heavy prompting by artists and staff, due to the implications of negative backlash. Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder in specific fought EXTREMELY hard to transform into the socially active musicians we laud them for being today.

The problem there is that you can begin to see the instances where our culture became secondary to Gordy in favor of success, and while we did get to enjoy albums such as What's Going On, the fact that so many politics were involved speaks to what creative process stifles the common artist in today's climate.

We also have to point out the presence Motown had in Detroit, which is everlasting to say the least. For Motown to be a burgeoning juggernaut insists that there was an upwind of jobs in my hometown, and a nuturing of the creative sector that helped change the landscape of the city's music roots, as well as the Midwest region in general. Surely having that type of black business in the city would help spur it's economy for decades to come, no?

Well...no. Because of Detroit's limited cultural sphere, a desire to expand into new interests such as movies and television, and seeds already planted in New York and L.A., the groundwork was set for Berry Gordy to eventually leave and move onto bigger horizons. Motown needed a bigger market to fully realize the African-American dream of being a minority-owned global conglomerate of the likes no one had seen up till then.

But the move to L.A. wasn't as impactful as anyone would've guessed or hoped, and although we got a lot of important, scene-altering, music was made during this part of Motown's history, the label was gradually begin to weaken, which is the exact opposite of what one wishes to accomplish with expansion. By the mid-1980s, Motown was losing money and Gordy sold his ownership to MCA in 1989. An anti-climactic ending to what once was perceived as the African-American answer to Atlantic Records. Motown was no longer black owned, and the era that we associate it's name with was over.

BET

Robert Johnson, former cable lobbyist, secured a loan much like Gordy to promote his dream. With a 15k loan paired up with a 500K investment from Billionaire John Malone to start Black Entertainment Television, aimed at the African-American demographic consisting primarily of music videos and popular black sitcoms at a time where Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby hadn't helped level the playing field of those respective genres.

With BET came a lot of the same responsibilities that Motown had to burden during it's precipitous rise, with America needing to be re-introduced to our culture in an entirely different way. This was the counter-culture era of hip-hop along with it's sister R&B, and cousins such as Reggae and numerous other Carribbean styles of music -- many of it's detractors were unfamiliar with the music in general, and you now had a cable channel that showcased it only a daily basis. Once again the racial gap was beginning to bridge with Suburban America's fascination for not just the music, but the culture, growing exponentially, and with a Post-Reagan imbalance in racial disparity straining our relations the stakes were high once again. 

Rap City, Teen Summit, The Tavis Smiley Show, BET News...things that helped familiarize our country, as well as others, with the positives and negatives in our community. One thing that has always escaped Black Nationalism is the absence of the majority to recognize those issues...BET helped broadcast that.

Johnson however, much like Berry Gordy, was never overtly political and rarely energized BET as a political tool to address the ills of the inner city, and at some point that neglect instead became a glamorization that instead reinforced those ills as norms.

The balance didn't begin to really crumble until Johnson sold BET to Viacom in 1998, and well...i don't need to explain what went wrong in the 11 years since then. There's a reason why everyone balked at the comparison to Motown and the proof is in that decade-old pudding.

So Where's the Comparison

The common thread that ties the two together is that in both situations we had forerunners that had the ability to compete with a white-washed media that has long ignored the complete reality of African-American life. Both cases find Gordy and Johnson respectively being given the tools to provide their culture with their own representation, neither limited or defined by other mediums. Musically and visually both provided the chance for us to broadcast our lives without it being lost in America's translation.

But the quest for success in both cases not only highlights the marginalization of culture for prosperity, but also the inability of African-Americans in power to seperate from the majority's business model -- opting to play "the game." Unfortunately playing a game that has been rigged for you to lose means instead of Kings and Queens, we're led by a group of Rooks and Pawns who have power but not comparable to those at the top of either industry. Much like how the uprooting of Motown left the city of Detroit to fend for itself at a time where we needed it most, the new BET abandoned its viewership with a similar need not being met. And although Motown's success bred the ability for the Diddy's, Russell Simmons', and Jay-Z's to be millionaires and own profitable companies, but how many of them own the conglomerates that distribute their label's music?

None.

Motown could easily have been a member of the Big Four but somewhere along the way it lost it's focus and became another mundane record label. That type of failure is what indeed set the tone for BET's downfall.

We're now experiencing the downfall of Black Media being neglected and ultimately overtaken by the majority, and the result is a tainted account of what it is to be Black in this country. That we need Soledad O'Brien and company to teach us what wecould and should've learned on BET years ago really speaks to the state of the latter.

Seeing how we choose to celebrate the success of Motown and nitpick at the failure of BET, we should shift our focus and being objective about both and realizing where both missed their mark in the community. Because, as has been proven by Mr. Johnson, those who don't know or choose to acknowledge their history are doomed to repeat it.

DON'T FALL FOR THE "OOH WOP"!!

-Written by Jahshua Smith

My Thoughts On Gates-Gates

I know this blog is meant for films, but I feel the need to express my feelings whenever there is a national debate going on that involves race. 

The arrest of Henry Louis Gates has gotten a significant amount of media attention, almost more than Healthcare in the past two weeks. Before I say what I need to about the incident, here is the list of events and fallout of events that lead us to where we are today. Look closely to see if you find any disturbing trends.

THE EVENTS:

July 16th, 2009: The Cambridge Police are called regarding a house break in a predominately white neighborhood. Even though Henry Louis Gates is the owner of the home, he is arrested for disorderly conduct for screaming at the police officer. His charges are dropped. Louis Gates and his supporters claim he is a victim of racial profiling and the Cambridge Police are racist.

Days later: The Cambridge Police and arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley defend themselves by claiming they were doing their job when they received a call that two black men where breaking into a house and only arrested Gates because he was acting belligerent and inappropriate. Even though the national media question the charge of disorderly conduct on one's own property, many stop blaming Crowley for racial profiling, instead turning their attention onto the white neighbor who called the police in the first place. For not knowing her own neighbors, she is accused of racial profiling and labeled a racist.

July 22nd, 2009 - During a press conference on healthcare, President Obama is asked for his thoughts on the matter. He attempts to use the moment to discuss the disparity of arrests between whites and minorities, and the statistical evidence proving racial profiling exists. After acknowledging he was not informed on all the facts, didn't know what role race played, and was biased due to Gates being a close friend, Obama says the police acted "stupidly".  Obama's remarks cause a media outcry and many including conservatives like Glen Back and Rush Limbaugh label Obama a reverse racist. 

Days Later: Lucia Whalen, the 9-1-1 caller comes forth to defend herself due to being labeled a racist. During a press conference, she announces she never identified the individuals as black, contrary to Sgt. Crowley's report. The 9-1-1 recording is released, backing up her statement. Crowley supporters take this as further evidence race wasn't involved, Gates supporters are crying wolf, and trying to use reverse racism to get attention for their fake claim.

July 28th, 2009: The media reveals a member of the Boston Police Department, Justin Barrett, sent out an email to fellow-members of the Massachusetts National Guard and The Boston Globe referring to Gates as a "banana-eating jungle monkey." He is immediately suspended. Many Gates supporters see this as evidence of prejudice in the Boston police department and uses it against those claiming blacks are crying wolf. Barret goes on TV with his lawyer to apologize for the incident and says he is not a racist. Ironically, the email sent out with four references of Gates being a "banana-eating jungle monkey" also states that he is not a racist, despite obvious evidence to prove the contrary. 

July 29th, 2009: Fox News distances themselves from Glen Beck's comments that Obama is a racist and has a deep-seated hatred for whites by issuing a statement saying it doesn't reflect their views. On Hardball with Chris Matthews, Political blogger Joan Walsh accuses Rush Limbaugh & Chris Beck of projecting their racism off on Obama. 

July 30th, 2009: President Obama, Sgt. Crowley, and Professor Gates convene on the White House lawn to discuss their issues. The media terms it the "Beer Summit". Afterward both Crowley and Gates issue statements saying neither man apologized but they have agreed to disagree. 

MY COMMENTS: 

The common denominator in all these incidents pre-dating the beer summit, is someone calling someone else a racist or a reverse racist. In a country prided on being a melting pot, it's amazing how we refuse to take each other's views into perspective. This is the same problem that created the Arab-Isreali conflict, and Americans are not learning the lessons it's taught us. 

Racial Profiling exists, and being a person of color myself, I can support that claim with my experiences along with any other person of color in America. White People don't see it as a problem, because physically, they can't experience it. 

White People need to be sensitive to the issue, and understand it's something they can't see because it's something they can't physically experience. Black people need to be sensitive to the fact white people will never be able to fully understand racial profiling the way we do, and be patient and cooperative in supporting them with evidence and solutions. Black people also need to stop jumping the gun with the race card. When it doesn't apply, it does more damage than good. White People need to stop generalizing. Just because this wasn't a case of racial profiling, doesn't mean racial profiling doesn't exist.

And everyone needs to stop calling each other names. The terms "racist" and "reverse racist" only divide people and stop them from having meaningful discussions. The terms have been tossed around so much, few people really understand what they mean anymore and those being accused of it spend their energy defending themselves instead of discussing.  Meaningful discussions on varying perspectives is the only way we'll ever solve the race problem in America, and that notion was what the Beer Summit was all about.

Black FIlm Watch: Pastor Brown

Rockmond Dunbar, a known actor from Soul Food and Prison Break, directed the upcoming black film Pastor Brown. In Pastor Brown, Jessica, an exotic dancer, returns home when her father becomes unexpectedly ill. Her father's dying wish is for her to take over the church, pitting her against her sister and other eager church members looking to take over the throne. 

The film stars Salli Richardson, Nicole Ari Parker, Keith David, Michael Beach, Tasha Smith, Michael B. Jordan, and Monica. Pastor Brown is scheduled to be released in 2009, but no official release date has been set.  

Oscar Buzz - Anthony Mackie & Hurt Locker

Some of Anthony Mackie's most notable roles include Clarence "Papa Doc" in 8 Mile, John Henry Armstrong in Spike Lee's She Hate Me, Frank in Half Nelson, and then of course, Tupac in the Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious. 

Mackie has already been nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Independent Spirit Award, and The Hurt Locker is quickly ratching up critical acclaim and Oscar support. The Film Experience Blog named Mackie as having an outside chance at getting the Supporting Actor nod, but a lot can change in six months, especially if Hurt Locker continues at the momentum it's going. 

His chances might not be as solid as sure-thing Mo'Nique's, but again, things can change in six months. With Mo'Nique, Sidbe, and Daniels for Precious, Mackie for Hurt Locker, and possibly Morgan Freeman for Inviticus, 2009 might turn out to be an impressive year for Blacks at the Oscars. Let's keep our fingers crossed.