Enough With the Selective Boycotting.

Ever since the Chris Brown-Rihanna incident, I've made a personal decision to never buy his music or in any other (conscious) way support his business financially.  Because of her response to the incident, especially as a role model for young women and in particular young black women, I also don't buy anything by Rihanna and change the station when her music comes on.  I can't listen to her without thinking about men beating up women and how terrible that is.

I'm inspired that so many people are boycotting and calling out Chick Fil-A for its CEO's hatemongering toward the LGBT community.  (I want to vomit that Bloomberg actually said it's not government's job to get in the way of beliefs of a corporation.  Um, yes it is.  If a restaurant were blocking women, or patrons of a given race, or those with disabilities, it would be a major problem and the government would most certainly be involved.)

But Chris Brown and Rihanna are also businesses.  So is Charlie Sheen (spousal abuse), Sean Penn (spousal abuse), Roman Polanski (sexual abuse), Woody Allen (child abuse, I'd say), etc etc.  If you are against it in life, don't fiscally support the perpetrator of it in leisure.

I'm not going to overlook horrific behavior, especially when people are unrepentant, just because I might enjoy something that an artist produces.  Once I find out about someone of influence doing something really damaging, I just can't enjoy their work anymore anyway.

In the U.S., we vote with our wallets.  So let's all be aware of what we're paying for.  It may not be easy - I love Target but had to push myself to switch stores as much as possible when it came out (ha!) that it was funding an anti-gay organization.  Honestly, I'd rather just shop at Target and tell myself my little purchase doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.  But integrity is just more important.

I could be better at this.  I read the expose on workers' conditions in Apple factories in China on my iPhone with only a twinge of guilt.  But this isn't a pick-your-cause thing.  Even if you're not part of the group that's being hated on - I've never been abused, I'm not gay, I'm not a factory worker, etc - it's truly all connected.  If we allow one company to discriminate based on X, what's to stop another company from discriminating based on Y?  We need to have each other's backs as a society.

The Dark Knight Rises

I went to see The Dark Knight Rises yesterday.  It was tougher than I expected.

We saw it at Battery Park, which is alongside the financial district, where most of the action in the movie takes place, which makes things jump off the screen a bit more.  It's also right next door to ground zero, which makes seeing films with killing or large-scale destruction harder to swallow.


But of course, in light of the Colorado shooting, it was impossible not to picture how everything happened that night.  I was also ultra-alert every time someone got up during the movie or came into the theater after the lights went down.


And while I'm trying to process the movie, I'm also trying to process how something like that happens.  What makes someone descend down that dark road?  Was it nature or nurture?  How could anyone ever stop something so unexpected?  How did people in the theater feel in that moment?  How do they move on with their lives?


I got really emotional toward the end of the movie.  There's a theme of the characters choosing to do the right thing versus choosing to be selfish or evil, and of certain characters moving on with their lives.  And then I also thought of the plane that landed in the Hudson River - on the other side of the Battery Park theater - and how all those people survived a plane crash, something people don't usually walk away from.  While all these people last weekend went to a movie, the last place you'd expect to not walk away from, and yet.  All of this was too much, I had to cry it out for a few minutes as the credits rolled. 


I have a terrible habit of making terrible jokes, usually in the form of eye-rolling puns, right after a tragedy - it's a sideways way of dealing with it, of avoiding looking something horrific straight in the face.  So I'm glad when I'm overwhelmed by an event, when I cry for people I've never met.  It reminds me that we're all human, all connected, and that life is ever so fragile, and a gift to be intensely grateful for every single moment.

The Politics of Black Pregnancy

Hide your kids, hide your wife - Beyonce is pregnant!  OMG who cares that she's one of the most talented and accomplished pop performers in American history -- drooooollllllllbbaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbyyyyyyy!!!!  Let the tabloids rejoice!

Awesome discussion happening in the comments over at my favorite Jezebel about the ridiculousness of this being a "statement" or example for The Black Community, a lesson for black single mothers on how to do things The Right Way.*

Sigh.

Loved this comment in particular:

Honestly, me and my sister were more surprised that Jay-Z was "doing it the right way". When we read about it, the article said it would be the first child for Jay-Z at 41 years old, and we were amazed that a 41 year old rapper had yet to father children. Sure we knew before that he wasn't toting kids, but to have it laid out like that made it clear to us how unusual it seemed for a black man his age (and income bracket) not to have kids all over the place. We even expected it. Sometimes it can seem that for a black man to have multiple "baby mamas" is a status symbol in itself- it either means that he's got enough cash to support them all, or he's got enough game to get them all in the first place. If I recall correctly, Clutch even wrote an article on the whole "I wanna get you pregnant" phenomenon. So yeah, I'm more surprised that all the hoopla is about Beyonce "doing it the right way" when Jay-Z "doing it the right way" seems like a far better example to be pushing in the black community. 


*Be born to  ambitious stage parents, have ridiculous talent, achieve fame in teen years, have long career, marry billionaire, become pregnant.

Everyone Stop Telling Me To See "The Help"

I don't want to see that movie.  I don't want to read the book.  I haven't been articulating why very well, I just get an icky feeling from the commercial with the worn-out types: Sassy Black Maid, Hoity-Toity White Upper Class Lady, Sympathetic White Woman Who Will Turn Out Okay.  The white-person-as-hero feel-good flick that glosses over a host of problems that one person ain't solving is not my genre, which is also why I will not waste two hours on The Blind Side, not that I need a reason beyond Sandra Bullock (though Crash was awesome, and imho her only watchable moment).

This op-ed makes a related point:

To suggest that bad people were racist implies that good people were not.

Jim Crow segregation survived long into the 20th century because it was kept alive by white Southerners with value systems and personalities we would applaud. It’s the fallacy of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a movie that never fails to move me but that advances a troubling falsehood: the notion that well-educated Christian whites were somehow victimized by white trash and forced to live within a social system that exploited and denigrated its black citizens, and that the privileged white upper class was somehow held hostage to these struggling individuals.

But that wasn’t the case...

...Cultures function and persist by consensus. In Jackson and other bastions of the Jim Crow South, the pervasive notion, among poor whites and rich, that blacks were unworthy of full citizenship was as unquestioned as the sanctity of church on Sunday. “The Help” tells a compelling and gripping story, but it fails to tell that one.

Liveblogging the Oscars!

Let's get a few things out of the way:

1. We all know the Awards are under pressure for the lack of nominees of color, so I anticipate completely inappropriate insertions of black people presenting.

2. Let us all pray that Gwyneth Paltrow does use yet another award show as yet another opportunity to sing. #overexposure

3. I've realized it's much more satisfying to watch awards season unfold as a marketer vs as an artist.  Everything makes much more sense, highly recommend.

Actually, if I'm going to muse in short, perfunctory sentences, that's more fitting for the Tweeting, don't you think?

#takingthischattertoTwitter

Liveblogging the Oscars: Red Carpet

(hit refresh to get the latest...)

It's time for everyone's favorite industry-wide public masturbation session, The Academy Awards!  Let's get some foreplay going with some fashion & celeb snark, shall we?  (We shall, and we shall be referring to the E! Red Carpet for you viewers at home.)

And... Better News for the Disenfranchised

The divine Frank Rich breaks down why the Mel Gibson fallout is a sign of progress:

Six years ago he was not merely an A-list movie star with a penchant for drinking and boorish behavior but also a powerful and canonized figure in the political and cultural pantheon of American conservatism. That he has reached rock bottom tells us nothing new about Gibson. He was the same talented, nasty, bigoted blowhard then that he is today. But his fall says a lot about the changes in our country over the past six years. We shouldn’t take those changes for granted. We should take stock — and celebrate. They are good news.

Check out the full op-ed for an entertainment/politics time travel back to 2004, when Mel was already openly anti-Semitic, Haggard was still closeted, and Gibson was actively supported by conservative leaders from the WSJ op-ed page to the Vatican.

LiveBlogging the Oscars

The only way I can get through this is to make fun of it. After all, nothing's more political than the Oscars.

Neil Patrick Harris: The Tony Awards called, you're on the wrong stage. Also, thanks Hollywood, for blatantly plagiarizing a great song from the *Broadway* musical Chicago.

This hosting pair brought to you by "Everything's Complicated" - now on DVD and Bluray!

"Who doesn't love Sandra Bullock?" Umm, who does?

Gabourey Sidibe: WORK IT GIRL.

Bullock in Marchesa, shocking.*

Why is Miley Cyrus presenting? Whyyyy??? Yes, I know, because she is a Disney star and ABC owns Disney, ugh, gross.

Does Amanda Seyfreid know she's wearing a wedding gown? Weird. I am NOT down with the white gown trend. Except for you Meryl, you are wonderful.

Crap, Amanda being on reminds me Big Love Season Finale is starting now. Even DVR can't solve this live TV conundrum.

Why are you at the Oscars list: Mariah Carey, Molly Ringwald, Sarah Jessica, Tina Fey, Jane Seymour, all of the Twilight people, Jennifer Lopez.

(One hour later) I see I missed nothing by switching the channel for an hour. In other news, Bill Hendrickson is a jerk.

And the award for Best Oscar-Related Facebook Status goes to Matthew Lopez for: LOVES the Oscars! Where else but in porn can you see dozens of people getting screwed at the same time from the comfort of your own home?

Best speech of the night by Sandy Powell, best costume design.

iPad ad debuts during Oscars, big surprise. And it's just like every other Apple ad ever, double surprise.**

How come the best/worst dressed has to be all about the women? Let's call out the guys whose suits aren't cut properly or whose tuxes scream 2006... if we don't the anti-gays have won.

Averting eyes during horror montage... seriously.

Clearly this Twilight chick or whoever the girls in the "blush" dress is never had any voice training. That or she went to the Scarlett Johannssen School of Acting. Liz Banks just wiped the floor with her.***

Can you imagine being up against your ex for best director??

This Australian presenting with J-Lo needs a shot or something. Wake up dude.

This dance piece is mostly yawn but the Up interlude choked me up a bit. I was crying 10 minutes into that movie.

That's it I can't take any more - going to bed before all the main awards. Mayoress Oscar Mandate for next year: the people have spoken.


The Mayoress Picks VS Winners
Who I would vote for, not who I actually think is going to win. Big note: I believe the award should go to the best job done, NOT whoever's had the longest career or hasn't won yet. It should be a performance you can't imagine anyone else doing better.

BEST PICTURE: District 9

BEST DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTOR: Morgan Freeman – Invictus

BEST ACTRESS: Gabourey Sibide – Precious

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds (won)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo’Nique – Precious (won)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Fantastic Mr Fox – Wes Anderson (winner: Up)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Inglourious Basterds

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Coco before Chanel (winner: Young Victoria)

----------------------------------

Best Dressed According to The Mayoress
Vera Farmiga
Meryl Streep
Sandy Powell!!!!

*Marchesa happens to be the label of Harvey Weinstein's wife. Funny how no one wore it until they were married. Funny how only stars in Weinstein Company films wear it. Note to emerging designers: skip Project Runway and marry a studio head.

**And if this were my marketing blog that doesn't exist yet, I would give them snaps for sticking with their brand - note to all my clients - if it ain't broke...

***In honor of Hollywood, Name Drop Time! I totally met Elizabeth Banks before she was famous, at a party after she was in Bus Stop at Williamstown. Not only was she marvelous on stage, she was very sweet and charming in person. All the best to you my dear!

Today in Black (People Would Like To Make Him) History

"Someone asked me the other day, "What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?" And by the way, it's sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, "I can't really have a hood pass. I've never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, ‘We're full.'

"What is being black? It's making the most of your life, not taking a single moment for granted. Taking something that's seen as a struggle and making it work for you, or you'll die inside. Not to say that my struggle is like the collective struggle of black America. But maybe my struggle is similar to one black dude's."

- White Young Wealthy Famous Man from Connecticut

John Mayer: you have just ruined your music for me in the way that I can no longer watch Seinfeld because of Michael Richards. Thanks a bunch.

AO Scott, You Are So Aughts

This is maybe the best blog post I have ever read. This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to stop writing, because how dare I call myself a writer next to the divine Manohla Dargis:

Let's acknowledge that the Oscars are bullshit and we hate them. But they are important commercially... I've learned to never underestimate the academy's bad taste. Crash as best picture? What the fuck.

Full article - seriously, read it. And the comments too.

In Which the Mayoress Finds Herself With Only One Fugee Left to Serve

"We Are All Africans!"

At least, that was Wyclef's sentiment when shouting out Haiti on tonight's Grammys. I can't speak for the entire nation of Haiti (like Wyclef can, apparently), or even my own entire country, but as someone whose country's ancestral history is also from Africa, I HATE it when Americans say they're African. I'm not African-American. I'm American. I've never been to Africa. I know very little about Africa and I sure as hell don't know which country my family came from (thanks slave trade!).

As those who know me know, I also hate it when people ask me "where I'm from" as in what my ethnicity is - of course, as I've said before, it's usually men figuring me out, as in, whether to ask me out (hey mami! oh, you're not latina? but you look latina - are you sure?). I'm from Oregon. I can talk for days about why Portland is awesome and the cultural nuances of the Pacific Northwest, but even in the wake of tragedy I doubt I'd speak for the entire region.

My point, I suppose, is that what I value is global citizenry - we should be (somewhat) equally upset and provoked to action whether something happens in a place we have ties to or in a place we've never heard of. Aparna, one of my very wisest friends, made a great point the other day - as awful, horrible as the tragedy in Haiti is, even more unspeakable things happen daily in other places and we either don't know about them or no longer care. And that's unacceptable, no matter where you're from. In other words, let's not get so caught up in unnecessary identities that we can't be simply human. We've seen many times what happens when we go too far the other direction, so wouldn't it be wonderful if we could find out what happens when we move forward instead?

Isherwood on Fela

Now this is the kind of writing that need to be done about the theater. Then again, Broadway needs to bring us one hell of a lot more shows that actually spark conversation.

As much as I enjoyed the show, directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones, it left me with lingering questions about the depiction of the African milieu it evoked. In short, the emphasis in “Fela!” on the spectacle of African culture tilted the show a little too closely toward minstrelsy. It evoked an unsettling feeling I can’t say I ever had before at the theater.

Ironically, this line pretty much sums up part of my discomfort with that little music awards show I'm watching as I type this:

The presentation of African culture as a feast of exotic pageantry has the potential, at least, to reinforce stereotypes of African people as primitive and unsophisticated, albeit endowed with astounding aptitudes for song and dance.

Full article.

On Fela, Activism, and Responsibility

Last night I saw Fela! on Broadway, and it sparked all kinds of thoughts, many of which I'm still processing. Please, please do not miss this show. Reading this review in the Times made me vow to see it, and I'm so glad I didn't let it fall into that list of good intentions sans follow-through.

(Here is a ticket discount. I went to the box office an hour before and got standing room tix for only $27.)

Two main things I want to address re Fela:

Activism
Flora and I talked a lot after the show about the nature and impetus for revolution. She made an excellent point: "How is it any different when Shell is exploiting Nigerians for oil versus the big banks exploiting middle class Americans for credit?" Why are we so different, because we're a superpower or the West or??

It's ridiculous. We just sit around and let these corrupt things happen. People won't even write a fucking email to their elected official from the comfort of their own living room, boycott a product post a link to Facebook; let alone take to the streets and march on Wall Street, which is what we all should have done last fall when everything started spinning out of control.

We deserve what we get if we're too lazy to do anything besides complain to our friends who already think the same things we do anyway.

Responsibility
I have a strong belief that most of us, certainly anyone reading this blog, have a responsibility to do certain things simply because we can.

This belief comes from my Christian upbringing, more specifically, my interpretation of Paul's letter to the Ephesians (see verse 4:11, or Jesus' lesson on the widow's offering in Mark 12:41ff, his words to the Pharisees in Luke 11:41, the parable of the talents, or Luke 19:11ff). God gives each person different talents, and a different measure thereof. So each of us has a different capacity for giving in respect to what we have. Bill Gates and Oprah giving $1 billion to help children is the same as you or me giving a few thousand. The Times did an interesting article on this a couple years ago.

So I write this blog because I can articulate my convictions about what's going on in the world and this is one of my ways of putting my words into action, not just having an opinion. I have the luxury of time and education and access to news, so I digest as much of it as I can. I have plenty of resources to have all I need, so I have an obligation to donate time and/or money to the less fortunate. I was blessed with a lovely home so I open it to others as much as I can. You see where I'm going with this.

So another thing we talked about after the show was that those of us with the blessing of living in New York, in the middle of some of the best art in the world, and with the resources to take advantage of it all, have an obligation to go to these shows, go to these museums, purchase this music, and tell our friends so that it can survive.

And those of us working in the arts have a responsibility to make it accessible to those who can't afford $250 Broadway tickets. We were turned away from another show last night that wasn't sold out, but we weren't able to pay $80, the lowest-priced ticket, to see it. (Suck it, David Mamet's Race!) There's something wrong with that when we're talking about art rather than a product. (Yes, I know, but art as commodity is a whole other post.)

And beyond the arts - I vote out of respect for the blessing of living in a democracy and respect for the women and African-Americans who secured my right to have a voice. And the hospitality thing, volunteerism, etc. But I'm not trying to be on a pedestal about this; I don't think I give at the level I can or should yet, but I'm working toward it. May we all give in relation to what we've been given, and encourage others to do so too.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Fela! - Zombie
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

The Mayoress's 2009 Arts Picks

Like those who write them, I have a love/hate relationship with top ten lists. I love lists, but favorites rarely come in tens. Still, always one full of opinions, The Mayoress presents her "what I can remember seeing right now" lists:

Film

• Precious - if it's endorsed by both Barbara Bush and Oprah Winfrey, you know its message is far-reaching. Lovely performances by every single actor.
  
• Sin Nombre - beautifully shot, gritty, and genuine, Cary Fukunaga's gipping story follows emigrants toward the border.
  
• District 9 - allegory at its best.
• The Last International Playboy - a fun crash course in New York socialite-ism.
  

Theater

• Post No Bills (Rattlestick Theater Company) - brilliant drama where everything was pitch-perfect.
  
• Jump Jim Crow (Subjective Theater Company) - everything off-off-Broadway should be: provocative, funny, sad, inspiring, and not using an intimate venue for an excuse not to bring quality.
• Hair (The Public) - though it's a bit tourist-ized for this downtowner, a thoroughly joyful night of theatre.
  

Television

• Law & Order: SVU (NBC) - another glorious season of the best drama on network television. Note to writers: enough with the preachy scene in each episode though, ok?
• True Blood (HBO) - Alan Ball has created a world I never thought I'd find so addicting.
  
• Modern Family (ABC) - Hilarious - best new sitcom.
  
• Jersey Shore (MTV) - When the Kardashians are starting to seem smart.
• Yo Gabba Gabba (Nick) - The kids' show that makes me want kids. Well, for 30 minutes anyway.

So what are your favorites of '09?

You Too Can Create a More Boombastic Environment

Lo and behold, The Mayoress is all busy posting about the environment when right to her inbox flies this gem. (Thanks Adam.) See? Even if your opinion is about hybrid aesthetics or the "greenery" (ahem) of the Caribbean, you can make your voice heard.

In related news, I hear Shaggy has a kickass website in the works created by Brooklyn's newest, hottest marketing firm. Just sayin'.

A Reason to Like the Bushes

Babs Bush is on NPR right now plugging the movie Precious and giving great solutions for helping kids in rough situations. The Bushes even sponsored a screening of the film in Texas. She says everyone should see this movie. I can't wait.

All I'm Going to Post About Letterman

What the Letterman scandal can teach nonprofit theaters

Posted by Laura Collins-Hughes on her blog Critical Difference, October 6, 2009:

I'm not going to name names -- not of the artistic director, not of his theater. But the David Letterman scandal raises an issue that applies to all bosses and all workplaces. The artistic director I'm thinking of is well known (as is his theater), straight, married and given to hitting on any reasonably attractive woman in his vicinity who has less power than he has. The drain of female talent from his theater over the years has been striking and harmful. More striking is that apparently none of the women has sued him, or the theater, which does, after all, have an obligation to protect them in the workplace. The absence of employee lawsuits against that theater may or may not hold, but the current economic climate likely gives workplace predators like that artistic director -- and there are plenty of them -- even freer rein. What better time to prey on the staff than when they're fearing for their jobs? Conversely, for boards, there's no better time to be vigilant, protecting the staff from unwelcome advances and protecting the institution from scandal, embarrassment, internal turmoil and the financial drain of legal payouts. Boards of arts organizations are often filled with people infatuated with the myth that bad behavior is inherently artistic behavior. The charisma that's so attractive in artistic leaders can also be used to charm trustees into overlooking sexual transgressions. Board types aren't always sure where the line is with creative types. But there's nothing creatively healthy or normal about a hostile work environment in which subordinates, female or male, believe they have to submit to advances if they want to be successful.

Everything is Corrupt

AT&T, one of the biggest corporate sponsors of “American Idol,” might have influenced the outcome of this year’s competition by providing phones for free text-messaging services and lessons in casting blocks of votes at parties organized by fans of Kris Allen, the Arkansas singer who was the winner of the show last week... There appear to have been no similar efforts to provide free texting services to supporters of Adam Lambert, who finished as the runner-up to Mr. Allen.

The article goes on to say that the AT&T employees were invited by the fans to these gatherings. Bull. Shit. When you're having a viewing party, say, of the Super Bowl, do you call up the corporate offices of one of the advertisers and invite 'em on over for a product demo? Okay, yes if it's a beer brand, but a phone carrier? Puke. Unless they're giving me a free iPhone and including unlimited texting like TMobile, they are welcome nowhere near my living room.

PS when I grow up I want to be Simon Cowell.

Didn't You Get the Memo?

A lovely satire piece by Manohla Dargis and my #1 literary crush, A.O. Scott. Do not miss this one.

To: Anxious studio heads

From: A.O.S.

Did you notice the last election? People paid a lot of attention, took sides, argued back and forth. As they had, come to think of it, for much of the previous eight years. And yet so many of your “serious” movies tiptoe around areas of real public concern, trying to be vaguely topical while strenuously working to avoid offending anybody. As a result, nobody bothers to go see them. So why not risk troubling the waters a little bit? A lot of the audience likes to argue about movies and also about politics. Why not feed that appetite instead of suppressing it?

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Do not, I repeat, do not lend your hard-earned recession era money toward the box office gross for terrible-on-several-levels flick "He's Just Not That Into You."

I sat through it, but like lunch at the sketchy Chinese place on 7th Avenue, I felt a certain discomfort afterward. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the review I read in L Magazine explained it perfectly.

It takes 2 minutes to read - better than wasting 2 hours of your life trying to figure out when Johannsen got her boob job.

Read it here.