Category: Resources

Will.i.am is receiving a lot of heat for his VMA performance, where he appeared in blackface while performing with Nicki Minaj.  Personally, I thought Nicki Minaj’s ridiculous purple outfit was more offensive than Will.i.am’s blackface, but that’s neither here nor there.  Let me begin by explaining that I don’t usually defend Will.i.am, because he’s generally pompous in interviews, but I’ll make an exception this time around.  Blackface is offensive because of it’s history in vaudeville and minstrel, where white men painted their face black, and danced around the stage making fun of black people.  To my knowledge, it did not involve black men painting their face black and dancing around the stage making fun of black people.  Got that?  I realize that it’s a double standard to say that something is insulting when a white person does it, but it isn’t insulting when a black person does it.  But that brings me to the brilliant Chris Rock quote below for your reading pleasure.  After you read it, I believe my point will be pretty clear.

‘I get white guys complaining that I get to use the word “nigger.” Well last time I checked, that was the only advantage I had. You want to trade places?’ he offers to a white man in the audience. ‘You get up here and scream “nigger” and I’ll raise interest rates. Because even if you don’t personally run the world, the people who run the world look pretty much like you.’

Watch Will.i.am and Nicki Minaj’s performance below.

I’ve often said that George Clooney is the Cary Grant of today’s generation. Not only do they look alike, but their careers as leading men are also similar. The only main difference between their resumes, is that Carey Grant wasn’t afraid of romantic comedies. Grant was owned by Paramount Pictures though (and later by Columbia Pictures), at a time when the big studios held the power in Hollywood. Now, the actors hold the power, and they get to decide what their next project will be.  That means that actors like Clooney can pick and choose as they please, and don’t have to act in every film produced by the studio, with whom they were under contract.  I cannot decide whether that’s good or bad, but I wonder if Clooney would have turned down a film like Bringing up Baby.  Perhaps Hollywood isn’t even making those films anymore — I certainly haven’t seen any.  If actors hold the power though, maybe they should start reading scripts to find the next His Girl Friday.  After all, someone has to do the studio’s job.

Who knew the folks over at South Park were so ahead of their time?  Actually, I think everyone knew that.  Back in 2004, shortly after Passion of the Christ, South Park dedicated an episode to Mel Gibson’s insanity.  With Radar Online’s release of the Mel Gibson tapes, it’s only fitting to play a clip from South Park so that they get a little credit.  Watch below.