Against the Norm - Erykah Badu & The Freedom of Artistic Expression

Once again, I'm back, giving you another comment I posted on a subject near and dear to my heart.....artistic expression.

Recently, a music video was released for Erykah Badu's latest single "Widow Seat". The video is a metaphor for relinquishing the constraints of conformity & the consequences for doing so. It's provocative in the fact that it also contains an instance of public nudity captured via a gurrilla filmmaking style. The link below is from a Yahoo! media blog that discusses the controversy surrounding Ms. Badu's latest effort. Many comments that were posted in response to the article were laced with indecency themselves, retorting to name calling, pleads for criminal charges to be filed, & threats of violence if said people "would have been there" while it was happening.

My own value for artistic expression combined with my personal views of the "groupthink phenomenon" predicated my response to much of what was being posted on the comment page. Below is the link to the article. The actual music video is embedded below as well.

~{The video image was truncated when published, double click the video pane to be sent to the original music video}~

Check it out...watch the video...read some of the comments posted to the article....then return to "Soul Speak from Backbeats" to read my own response. It will give you a better frame of reference to understand my perspective as stated in words.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/hiphopmediatraining/257081/erykah-badu-disrobes-in-video-to-promote-individualism/

My comment was as follows...

"The comments on this article support the message Ms. Badu was conveying musically & visually in "Window Seat". The group think of what is obscene & the ostracization she is receiving for it is exactly the point. Individualism in thought isn't celebrated any longer, for many people hide behind a veil of political correctness rather than thinking, speaking, & acting for themselves.

What this article has left out & what most of y'all screaming bloody murder by calling for her arrest fail to realize is that this incident happened weeks ago...no complaints were made...& no charges were brought forth. I don't have kids, & I'm an artist myself, so perhaps my own perspective is biased, but what I do know is, the purpose of art is to inspire thought, emotion.....hopefully both. The clarity & execution of Ms. Badu's vision within this video is commendable. Granted, this same narrative could've been conveyed using visual effects, & honestly from the lack of reaction in the video, I thought it was.

I currently reside in Dallas, & many of my peers find it odd that there are so many visitors to the city who venture out to Dealey Plaza. Traffic in that area on weekends is regularly slowed due to the hordes of people taking group pictures, strolling about, staring @ the book depository window. If one wants to pay their respects to President Kennedy, they should do so @ his grave, not the scene of the crime. It's nothing for the city to be proud of, & as a native Texan I regret such a luminary figure met his demise in my home state.

This video is not disrespectful to Kennedy's memory. It just serves as a mere reminder of the inherent danger within going against the norm. Kennedy.....Lennon......King.....Romero.....Jesus Christ...sadly, the list goes on."

Well.....that's the way I see it. I hope you can understand where I'm coming from. I have to give mad props to Ms. Erykah Badu for continuing the efforts to expand the collective conscious of the masses by fostering a supportive environment for individual thought rather than mere "groupthink".

If you've gotten this far...thanks for reading!

I Wish You Peace, Love, & All That's Beautiful in this World (& the next)

-D

Political Rant

{TAKEN FROM A NOTE I WROTE ON FACEBOOK}

I came across an article on Yahoo! about Fox News' newest "Infotainment" correspondent...Sarah Palin. She was reportedly asking for Rahm Emmanuel's resignation for the use of the word "retarded" to describe a tactic used by a liberal special interest group against Conservative Democrats not supportive of healthcare reform. Palin went on to write an entry in her blog called "Are You Capable of Decency? Rahm Emmanuel." I won't get into the details, but the comments left on her facebook blog entry were entertaining, saddening, & frustrating to say the least. I wanted to post a comment myself, but once things got rolling my words were far too much for a single comment (& I didn't want to be bothered reading the responses in my email), so I decided to make it a note instead. Just some food for thought...enjoy.

-I guess we should change the terms "handicap" in golf & "ritard" in music notation, so that no member of the human race can be offended. Despite all that Palin (and much of the people here that have commented) say...EVERYONE has thought, said, & have acted in a manner that supports stereotypes & are politically incorrect in nature. Hell, I & the NAACP could call for Sarah Palin's head for daring to compare this improper choice of words to describe a political tactic to that of a racial slur unjustly placed upon the people of my ancestry, but I wouldn't & I wont...because that would be utterly idiotic.
Perhaps, almost as stupid as all of the silly party politics that have had this country stuck in neutral & aimless for so long. United we stand...divided we fall, so cliche...yet so appropriate. For, as long as we blindly hold onto partisan politics we'll continue to bicker amongst ourselves about something as inane as someone's word choices in a country that is supposed to have freedom of speech.
And as we're distracted by hurt feelings, not sticks, stones, or broken bones, our politicians can continue to enjoy the perks of a career that's privately funded (thanks Supreme Court), such as gifts from special interests for earmarks in legislation that hinder all legislative progress & being overpaid by 30% for doing nothing (bunch-o'-fillibusters). All of this, while so many members of their own constituency are jobless, underpaid, or lack simple health benefits.


God bless America...& God help us all.

{FOOTNOTE}

In the weeks following these events, Sarah Palin was paid $100, 000 to speak at a Tea Party Event. Being the consumate professional that she is, she presented few ideas & needed to write notes on her hand such as "Budget/Tax Cuts & Lift American Spirits." ON HER HAND!!!! So inspirational. My college speech professor would've been proud.

Air To The Throne? or How I Learned to Stop Hatin' & Pay Sports Blogs No Mind

As I write this blog entry I wonder, "What's my motivation?" I mean, all that I've written and released here thus far has been pretty simple; a document of my life as it happens, trips down memory lane, & observations of whatever strikes me as interesting, but as of late, what I've read & stumbled across online is far different from my musings & rather disturbing. It hasn't been all disappointing. Surprisingly, thru Facebook, I've not only kept up with old friends but have had some enlightening political discourse that has lead me, & I hope others, to new discoveries. Believe me when I say, I'm not one of those people that expect the internet, television, radio, and every other form of media to function more informatively. I understand the business of entertainment because I'm in it, so I'm not surprised when Tony Romo breaking up with Jessica Simpson is discussed more on sports radio here in Dallas than what is happening in the NBA Summer League, MLB All-Star Game, or even the MLS or Premier League Soccer for that matter, but when this same mentality pervades every medium, it feels like things are getting dangerous.

I still remember the "Costas Now" feature on the phenomena that is affecting America right now as we speak, the death of newspapers and the rise of the blogger. As a blogger I appreciate the arena to share my perspective, but I understand that it's my opinion & I don't present it as anything other than that. Now, when I search for info about the NBA off-season, the top story is about Nike confiscating tape of Lebron James getting dunked on at one of his summer camps by a college student. It's not that this isn't a worthy topic to report, but what makes this story suffer is lack of information and an overt bias throughout the story. The main points presented were that A) it's a sad state we're in when corporate sponsorship controls so much of an athlete's life/career, & B) this apparently provides fuel for the discussion of who's the heir to the MJ's throne. The only problem with both of these points is the only way to support these points is thru speculation.

The entire Nike campaign for King James has been to differentiate him from Air Jordan. Where MJ had "I Wanna Be Like Mike," (Gatorade) Lebron has "You Shouldn't Want to Be Me...You Should Wanna Be Better Than Me," so before making Nike out to be an overly controlling entity trying to ensure James' "legend," perhaps one should wait and see whether or not it wasn't a means to utilize the footage within their marketing strategy. Doesn't the whole situation fall within the story of Lebron's slogan, to elevate one's game to surpass him. Also, I'm sorry, but one single dunk over someone doesn't make you a better player than them, nor does it elevate another pro player to a higher status since said situation didn't or hasn't happen to them.

The fundamental flaw in Skeet's column about this situation is that makes a claim that this will tarnish Lebron's legacy & strikes a comparison to Jordan while painting a picture in which MJ would never let this happen. For if Jordan would have ever been beaten @ his own camp, he and/or Charles Oakley (???) would strike fear and intimidation in all who may have witnessed the act to never speak of it again. Other than it being wrong that all these hypothetical situations are being presented, the problem with that picture is it already has happened, without his proposed results. Video footage is online of MJ losing a game of one-on-one @ one of his camps in 2003. Like a true champion, his response to how does it feel to lose 3-2 @ his own camp, "In life & in the game...you win, you lose, you get crossed over, you get dunked on...it all happens." Damon Wayans made more of the situation during the Q&A following Jordan's loss, but he is a comedian, & it was all in fun. Judging by the responses from many readers of the Skeet's column, & Kobe's comment of "You're not dunking on me at my Summer Camp," I think that many people have lost that ability to see things that way.