Where do we draw the line? Topical comedy always walks the edge of trouble and if it has any hopes of being funny. Unfortunately, what is funny to some people is considered offensive to others. Recently, Cedric the Entertainer, came under fire for his character's comments in the hit movie "Barber Shop." Cedric plays "JD" the elder barber who talks a lot but never cuts any hair.
In the movie "JD" cracks that Martin Luther King was a "whoremonger," that all Rosa Parks did was "sit down" and that OJ "did it." Apparrently, those remarks upset a few people and among them were morning radio star Tom Joyner, who said he would not support the movie. I found Tom's reaction interesting in that it reminded in some ways of what happened when the movie "The Color Purple" came out.
Many people were offended by the way black men were portrayed in the movie and in the end a movie that was nominated for 13 Academy Awards did not win a single thing. Nothing! Nada! Zip! Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey and Whoopee Goldberg all gave award winning performances, but because of the protest of the NAACP, the Academy lost the lead in their pencils and backed down. Even Quincy Jones who scored the music did not win.
What made that moment in history so fascinating is that it didn't distort the truth. It happened and still happens. Now, we have a national celebrity boycotting a movie for a comedic interpretation. Now the tough question. Did Martin Luther King Jr. fool around on his wife? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Does that make him what he did for the Civil Right movement any less important? No! Does it lessen his impact in American history? No. What about Rosa Parks? She is a national icon in the black community, but did she do anything more than any other black man or woman of that time hadn't all ready done? Again, the answer is no. What she did was courageous, but she wasn't the first. However, proximity, time and circumstance and came together in one place to forever make her name treasured. Finally, there is OJ. There was no complaint about that.
Whether Rosa Parks just sat down and became famous or Martin Luther King Jr. was a whoremonger is not the issue. The issie is whether there is anyone or anything that cannot be examined, criticized or even ridiculed? At what point do we draw the line. Is there some point of maliciousness that must be achieved? Or,do we react as the tribe reacts? Are we individuals first or or we a group first?
Just some questions to stir the pot. Personally, I enjoyed the movie and would watch it again.
Ra
In the movie "JD" cracks that Martin Luther King was a "whoremonger," that all Rosa Parks did was "sit down" and that OJ "did it." Apparrently, those remarks upset a few people and among them were morning radio star Tom Joyner, who said he would not support the movie. I found Tom's reaction interesting in that it reminded in some ways of what happened when the movie "The Color Purple" came out.
Many people were offended by the way black men were portrayed in the movie and in the end a movie that was nominated for 13 Academy Awards did not win a single thing. Nothing! Nada! Zip! Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey and Whoopee Goldberg all gave award winning performances, but because of the protest of the NAACP, the Academy lost the lead in their pencils and backed down. Even Quincy Jones who scored the music did not win.
What made that moment in history so fascinating is that it didn't distort the truth. It happened and still happens. Now, we have a national celebrity boycotting a movie for a comedic interpretation. Now the tough question. Did Martin Luther King Jr. fool around on his wife? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Does that make him what he did for the Civil Right movement any less important? No! Does it lessen his impact in American history? No. What about Rosa Parks? She is a national icon in the black community, but did she do anything more than any other black man or woman of that time hadn't all ready done? Again, the answer is no. What she did was courageous, but she wasn't the first. However, proximity, time and circumstance and came together in one place to forever make her name treasured. Finally, there is OJ. There was no complaint about that.
Whether Rosa Parks just sat down and became famous or Martin Luther King Jr. was a whoremonger is not the issue. The issie is whether there is anyone or anything that cannot be examined, criticized or even ridiculed? At what point do we draw the line. Is there some point of maliciousness that must be achieved? Or,do we react as the tribe reacts? Are we individuals first or or we a group first?
Just some questions to stir the pot. Personally, I enjoyed the movie and would watch it again.
Ra