QÜNE: The Report

Buying Into Blackface

Blackface is taboo, as it was originally performed. Whites wearing ink-colored makeup, exaggerated lips and bug eyes is a thing of the past with the exception of a few pop ups i.e. Ted Danson (1993), and white frat boys (2002, 2003). In 1950, the NAACP mounted a campaign to put an end to blackface performances because they were “demeaning portrayals of African Americans.” Apparently, these performances were seen as fortifying racist images, attitudes and perceptions worldwide only when done by whites. In the 1920’s and 1930’s when Blackface was performed by black artists it was billed as “authentic”, “the real thing”. Coincidently, today when black entertainers appear as “lazy, ignorant, sexually-charged, baphoons” they too are billed as “real”.

The folk at Qune could run down the list of “has been” entertainers whose vanity has allowed them to forego any sense of pride or social responsibility. However the last two months in entertainment has given us examples so very unfortunately perfect we don’t have to dig into our past. Based on the belief that “demeaning representation is better than none at all” Tyler Perry dressed up as the large, grotesque, manly-featured, sexually-charged, grandmother named Madea and remained and scored the top spot at the box office. Yes, and just in case you were confused, Martin Lawrence also dressed up as a large, grotesque, manly-featured, sexually-charged grandmother who fights crime in the successful Big Momma’s House 2. Humorous coincidence? We think not- because in the1920s it was popular for white men to dress as “mammy’s” until blacks were hired to play the role. Now we not only continue to keep these images alive, but seem to believe that they are worthy of pride.

Read more about the legacy of blackface here [courtesy of NPR].

The Academy of Awkward Awards

The people that didn’t watch The Academy Awards may have awaken to the news that Three 6 Mafia scored an award for their Hustle and Flow anthem, entitled, It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.

As if the misogynist lyrics and the group’s ice-grills aren’t off-putting enough, Three 6 Mafia performed their song in full bling amidst a curiously hokey group of Mama Mia cast offs and Howard Hewitt look-a-likes.   The strange performance seemed to foreshadow the awkward moment that followed when members of the group accepted their award with a tenor that could only be appreciated by front-row attendees of the Source Awards.

Ironically, no hip-hop aficionado would pay money for Three 6’s anthem, despite the group’s other highly regarded hits. Its Hard Out Here for a Pimp plays like a terrible joke offered as tallow to execs with too little appreciation of musical art to tell the difference between good and bad rap.  Which is why we believe that somewhere in the faux-ghetto, Three 6 Mafia is laughing all the way to the bank, having realized that a song that likely took only 10 minutes to compose and another 30 minutes to cut garnered one of the most highly regarded awards in the industry.

The choice only makes sense when you consider how desperate The Academy has become to ensure that it maintains its high powered presence.  If you’ve ever watched The Oscars you know that, despite the handful of awards given to people of color in the last 10 years, the show mostly plays out as an esoteric ode to bland white men- plurality hath no place. This ‘coincidence’ reflects The Academy’s continued inability to embrace the rich and textured stories and interests of American minorities. To address the ever-expanding gulf (and compete with MTV’s growing repertoire of awards shows), The Academy seems intent on offering only trickles of urban fanfare [see Crash, Chris Rock, and Jamie Foxx for more evidence] keeping the compatriot damn intact to ensure that a rush of MTV styled progressivism doesn’t flood the stage. As a result, awarding Three 6 Mafia for such an simplistic piece was the equivalent of seeing our friend’s 50-year-old father don a 'throwback'.  Both are hilariously uncool and highly inappropriate, symbolizing an inability to engage and appreciate of the rhythm and mores of today’s young adults.

If The Academy wants to remain relevant, we suggest that their leadership invite established hip-hop artists to become voting members. Then Academy members can be sure that they’ll have someone ‘urban’ to confer with before deciding how they plan to disrespect connect with increasingly unmoved young adult and minority audiences before next years show.  Otherwise, they’ll all soon be wearing 'throwbacks' to the MTV Movie Awards.

Read more about The Academy’s troubles in MSNBC’s Erik Lundegaard’s article here.

Hustle & Fail

The Academy Awards recently nominated Terrence Howard as Best Actor for the lead in Hustle & Flow. Unfortunately, we had the honor of viewing the movie recently and came to the conclusion that it is, unequivocally, the absolute worst, most stereotype-laden movie we’ve seen in years. Let us add that about a month ago, we watched Four Brothers and thought ‘could a plotline be any thinner?’ We should’ve known. (Curiously, both of these movies have John Singleton in common, but we digress…)

 First, the folks at The Report are fans of Terrence Howard. And in a kinder, gentler pop-culture world, he’d be getting an Oscar nod for something of real substance Can you imagine a biopic of Langston Hughes? Or just a story chocked full of strong characters, who speak a language we all recognize, not co-starring Anthony Anderson. Well before we knew Terrence Howard, the actor— we all asked “who is that light-skinned brotha’ stealing all the scenes in such ‘afro-pleasiac’ roles as Quentin in The Best Man, and Gossie McKee in Ray?” And by the time we knew him as Cameron in Crash, we knew he had star quality.

 But Hustle & Flow replaces Howard’s gloss with grime. Forget the arguments we engaged in about
Halle’s Oscar (how many First Fridays-type events have you attended where a patchouli oiled, pseudo-intellectual argrued, 'Why did Halle  have to strip!?, Angela Bassett would have never done that!'). Or whether or not Denzel should’ve received the best actor award for playing a ‘villain’- we love Spike, but nobody outside of the HBCU circuit saw Mo’ Better Blues. As Leticia Musgrove and Detective Alonzo Harris, Halle and Denzel did what good actors do—they showed a humanity in their roles beyond which we might normally see.

 The Academy sprinkles its fairy dust on whomever in Black America they choose. Sometimes they get it perfectly right, but sometimes, they tease us with unrelenting sarcasm and mocking superiority. Can’t you hear them? “This is what Jessie Jackson asked for, so you people want an award? Here’s a nod for Terrence.”

Next up? We can only imagine. Maybe “Mr. Raydiation” aka Ray J will get one for Save the Last Dance 2, due out later this year.

Wink, wink Academy…We get it. Read more here.