Random shit
There is a show on FX where they..umm..dress up white & black people in opposing race make-up, send them out into the world (to “learn” shit…), and then have them come home at night and share a home. Standard reality tv hijinks ensue! Not to mention that it’s produced by Ice Cube (insert as many “…” here as you want).
It seems like it would actually be an interesting idea. Except for many things:
1) The white people look like they are in blackface. Find me someone that’s not offended by that and I’ll smack them. OK, unless they are really big, then I’ll just mock them from a distance, like any real man with an internet connection.
2) The white “dad” has an acting career (link here if you are bored). In the show he is also called Mr. “Wurgel” – which doesn’t really match the name in his acting credits….maybe the acting one is fake? Either way, fishy!
3) The daughter is a Disney “actress” (link – click on “Rose”). I’m not clear on the chronology of the filming of the two things but umm…suspicious? She also has a different last name than the father. Again, who knows. But wierd. I guess it also came out that the white husband/wife are not actually married….so who the fuck knows?
4) The problem with all “reality” tv shows that follow people out into the “real” world – how “real” are people going to act with giant cameras in the room?
5) The black parents went out driving….to find some racism to show their son. Now, racism obviously exists, but going on a fieldtrip to look for it seems kind of…stupid. The also seem fairly jumpy and eager to take offense in general. Gee, I wonder if that’s because drama makes good TV?
6) Oh, and the white mother is one of those incredibly annoying hippy/wannabe spirit-y people who you get a sense have never really had to work for anything but still think their thoughts should be valued….
So, yeah. The shows sucks ass and is painful, not because it highlights the truth, but because it highlights stupidity on almost every OTHER possible level.
We saw The Inside Man. It was worth watching. I’m not sure if I’d call it “good” as there were several things that seem rather inconsistent to me. But, it was just a movie, so who cares. All the actors did a good job, the plot was serviceable, and there were some poignant illustrations of racism and other “Spike Lee”-isms that helped it to stand aside from its genre.
I finally read Fast Food Nation. I think every American owes it to themselves to read it (just like they should read A People’s History and a million other books…). Not just to highlight how unsanitary fast food itself is, but how …well…unsanitary its effects on American culture and living trends have been. Not that it is the main force to blame for anything, but the book is a great look at the fast food industry’s effect in general. It’s also amusing to see put to print the fact that McDonald’s has more power than the US government food regulatory boards to ensure the health of our food products. It’s also always fun to read about how kid’s school food is about the lowest possible quality legal to sell to Americans (it would never be sold to citizens of the UK and Western Europe, I’m not sure about Canada). I’d heard that bit when I was a kid, but I thought it was an urban myth type thing.
Meh, life goes on.
[Edit: For something happy/amusing, check out this story: black & white twins. ]
And I suspect this year TV on the Radio will make like Arcade Fire in the way of the press swinging heavily on their nuts. And wtf is the deal with David Bowie making friends with all these young, new bands. I mean Bowie rocks, and it’s cool and all, but somehow it reminds me of molestation. O.O]
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