The best, most popular, and different posts of 2008 on Black Entertainment USA

For my last post of 2008 I wanted to look back and see what were some of the most popular posts I had written, and what I consider some of favorites. I know I am highly critical of things that displease me, so I thought I'd turn that same critical eye towards myself for a change.

I must say that in looking over the hundreds of posts I wrote on Black Entertainment USA alone this year, some just don't belong here. Some of the comments are far more political than anything else. And I can't use the excuse I have no where else to have said these things - I do own a political blog as well.

And I admit to having a few posts where I was just far too tired. I should have gone to sleep. Or taken that vacation all my friends have heard me speak about over the last 15 years (I've had 2 vacations in my life, none exceeding a week or involving travel). But instead I must apologize because they were really sub-par, even for a bad day.

Still overall I will say that roughly 80% or more of my posts were relevant and interesting. Many are topical and focused on the events of the day. Looking back some are not as important as I first thought they were, and others far more than I would give credit. And several posts were popular that I would not have expected to be.

Some of the top Black Entertainment USA posts of 2008, as viewed and/or commented by you my readers were:

So there is a Black guy in an elevator...
Audi television commercial says we are all not the same
OJ Simpson convicted - kangaroo court closed
OJ Simpson trial - injustice unreported
The new 90210 - is it cancelled yet?
NASCAR, Mauricia Grant, and my opinion
Is Robert Downey Jr funny as an African American?
Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman to return to cable television
VH1’s Top 100 of rap music celebrates the positives of the genre

It's an interesting group of posts indeed. And I think that I got it right in those posts. Not that everyone agreed with my view, just that they felt something after reading it. And that ultimately is one of my goals.

But I looked over the entire year and I saw a couple of other posts that I thought were very important, and/or meant something to me directly. Not all of them were relevant, given, but they said something important. And I want to present them again. Again you may not agree with my view, but I hope my top 10 will motivate some reaction. [Oh since 3 of my top 10 are in the above list that you my readers have found of interest, I will substitute 3 others]

NJ considers apology for slavery (part 1, 2, 3, 4)
Tiger Woods comment impacts Dr. Martin Luther King birthday (part 1, 2)
President Bush and Darfur now - not the movie
R Kelly - next stop Neverland Ranch
Janet Jackson: Intelligence, success, and fame are not enough
Black Americans - commodity, criminals, or something much more
Do you know enough about the 2008 Presidential election?
1st Annual Memorial Pig Roast for Madden A. Cordero - please read and donate if you can
50 cent sells a new opiate to the masses
Movie Review Iron Man

I also found the time to champion a couple of other causes that aren't the most popular or widely held:
Boycott 33 variations - Hanoi Jane Fonda
Levi's 501 jeans - promoting HIV and AIDS?

Found a video on Youtube I really liked - Try This with an Xbox360 or PS3 - and one I though was an abysmal joke - Snoop Dogg in Country Music: a bad experiment

And I achieved a great step forward for my company as well:
M V Consulting, Inc and TV One Announce Collaboration - Press Release
Introducing the first 2009 model Ashley

And of course I found the time to pick a fight:
Viacom (and maybe Jon Stewart) doesn't like Black Entertainment USA. Maybe.

So I wasn't just speaking about entertainment this year. But considering all the things that were going on, all the changes, and the things I felt mattered, I think I covered a lot of what you wanted to read about.

In 2009 I will try to stay on point a bit more. But as always I will share with you my thoughts and views about the important topics affecting all our lives as well as our entertainment. And I always look forward to your comments [yes even the dissenting views that are thought out beyond just cursing me out] about what I present.

2008 has been a tough year, no matter what country race or whatever you may be. 2009 will be different, and I hope that all of my readers, and those that will become my readers, their families and friends will share in a prosperous and peaceful year.

Movie Review: Transporter 3

$1.25 for gas
$20 for tickets to movie theater
2 hours of your life

"Are look upset?

But let me tell you why." - From the Birdcage

That I think aptly describes the experience of going to see Transporter 3. That isn't to say this was a bad film. It is to say that I should have waited for the DVD. Because the film is disappointing.

The Transporter series of films have come to make a few things expected. Great car driving, a couple of 5 or more on 1 fight scenes, Jason Statham changing his suits (and thus shirtless for the ladies in the audience), and explosions of large order. These are all very good things in a action film, which the latest does have. yet you feel somehow jilted by the end of the film.

The pace of the film is far slower in the feeling than the other prior movies. While the Audi has another staring role it seem to be held back from what you'd really like to see happen. Often you are just sitting waiting for something to happen. And you just never get a good payoff.

Part of the problem is the writing. And action fans are probably saying "what does that mean?" Action films are not known for their plots. Usually there are plot holes big enough to crash Mac trucks in. But the Transporter series has tended to be better than average in making it all make sense. Until this film.

Early in the film we are left with a big issue. Somehow our female lead is inexplicably asleep until a gentle touch from our hero. At this point one sorry soul has already failed to say 2 words that would have ensured his life. He said 4 or 5 other things, that make no sense to anyone out of the loop. But literally 2 words could have just kept him alive. And the lady also wastes time, and is highly insensitive to the situation, in cluing in Frank Martin (Jason Statham).

Later when Frank has ample time and opportunity to find out what is going on, the lady yet again is about as helpful as acid on your tongue (don't try it, it's just a bad idea). Had she been even slightly helpful everything would have changed. But instead we plod along.

I should mention that the relationship that develops between Frank and this young woman is unbelievable in virtually every aspect. Her whole purpose in the film seems to be to provide a love story so female viewers had a reason to buy the DVD. I felt it was a complete waste of film and did nothing for the story.

The 2 big fight scenes were decent, but not the best. The first movie had the best I think. The car scenes only had 1 that was really cool, and again I think the first movie was far better on this score as well. And when it comes to unbelievable actions, this film beats the other 2 in spades. I dare Mythbusters to try this escape-from-the-lake scenario and bust it wide open.

If you noticed I kept getting disappointed by the film. That includes the final bad guy fight, which ends stupidly. Perhaps one of the most believable parts of the film is Frank fishing with the ever so Columbo-ish French officer that seems to be is detached sidekick now. And that is not saying much.

For all these problems the film is not terrible. It's a decent action film and there are dozens far worse. It's just that I went to the theater for this. At $9 a ticket (and the Regal Theater in Binghamton smells bad by the way) I tend to want more than ok. especially from a film series that has done better than that in the past.

Jason Statham didn't have much to work with in this film. He tried and is just under par with his previous performances as Frank Martin. The French officer is exactly what he has been in the past. And the Audi excels as a top-end vehicle of choice for movers of questionable goods.

The problem is, in the middle of the film when the key bad guy says

"I just realized I don't need the best driver for this job. Any sucker that can drive can do it."

The audience has to say, 'He's right.' And then you wonder why you are watching this film anywhere but in your living room.

Audi television commercial says we are all not the same

Ah the holiday season. It’s a time of credit card debt, long lines at shopping malls and department stores, and occasionally a truly inspired television commercial. I recall somewhere in the back of my mind a time around now that would be called the Thanksgiving and then Christmas Holidays and family gatherings, but that’s a bit fuzzy and a long time ago. And it’s not my point.

The television commercials promoting the purchases you need to make to ensure the happiness of your loved ones are interesting. Often television can provide dramatic insight to the real mood and thoughts of the nation. This is never more true than during a holiday, or the Super Bowl. And Audi really made a statement early into the season.

Now I have to admit that I did not notice the problem in this commercial the first time I saw it. It was a friend of mine who saw it on Friday and asked if I had noticed something glaring in the commercial. I finally found a copy of it and I wonder if you will see the problem.



You only need to pay attention to the details of the commercial to get the message. It’s subtle and visual, and only on for 2 seconds.

Need help? I did at first too. Look at the road that each guy gets. It’s not the design of the road, it’s the size of it. And that says a lot, especially when each home is considered too.

The Black couple have a piece of the road, a very small piece. They have a decent if not plainly decorated home. There is no extravagance, and their clothes are neither new nor impressive.

The next couple is White. They have a far bigger piece of road. The style the room is decorated in seems to imply an apartment while the art, furniture, lamps, and books imply white-collar professionals. That means the apartment is a condo. And this implies a higher income than the Black couple.

The last couple are also White (or at least the man is, and the woman could be argued to have some Latina traits though I don’t see it). They have a huge home, and an equally large section of road.

I realize that Audi included middle-class African Americans in their commercial. I know they are projecting an image of success for them as well. And obviously they want African American customers. But that’s just a secondary thought. They really are saying that they want White customers. And that they value White customers over Black ones.

Some might say I am overly critical of the television commercial. I think not, because when you have only 30 seconds to make a statement everything that is seen is part of your message. There are teams of people making more than I do each, pouring over every detail in this commercial and then another group of even better paid people that approve the idea and pitch it to Audi. And then Audi’s really well paid people go over it all before it gets a greenlight.

Audi doesn’t care if Billy Joe working at the gas station likes the commercial. They don’t care if Santiago working at the printing company watched the commercial. They want people with money and tons of it. And that is reflected in the commercial.

What the commercial really says is if you are Black and can put some money together you might be able to own an Audi. If you are a yuppie in the city you can own their car, and if you relax at the country club you are a member of on the weekend and live in the suburbs you need to own this car. Because it’s the White guy with the big house that gets the car in the end.

Now I will say again that I didn’t pay attention to this commercial the first time I saw it. But I have watched it since a few times. And I’m happy that Audi has joined the growing number of companies targeting African Americans for their products. It’s nice to see that at least commercials are willing to acknowledge the existence of, and buying power controlled by, African Americans. They are ahead of television programming that continues to emphasize a view of the world more akin to 1960 than 2000.

But that does not mean I enjoy the message they are sending out. It’s not as bad as the insulting commercials that McDonald’s puts out that are obvious in their targeting of African Americans via stereotypes in the media. But the message is not as positive as it could have been either. Simply having all the pieces of the road the same size (hell they could have used the same piece for all it mattered) would have been enough. A simple statement that all the customers that could afford an Audi are equal in their eyes, and welcome. But that isn’t what they believe according to their commercial.

Again, commercials are the window to the thoughts in the back of the collective minds of the nation. It’s the backhanded compliment (like when Colin Powell and President Obama are called clean and articulate), or the obliviousness of using terms based on racial segregation and Jim Crow that thankfully stopped being used 25 years ago (Lindsey Lohan ring a bell?).

I’m not saying that every commercial has to include African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Indians (who you really never see at all) and every other group in America. But I am saying that when the majority of commercials exclude all these groups, and when the small portion that do show us imply imperfections and secondary status, I speak on it. It means to me that America still has a long way to go. That it’s not just people in Pennsylvania or West Virginia that have problems. That the world continues to feed upon the negative images our media provides, diminishing the nation by diminishing parts of our nation.

Do I like the Audi? Yes I do. Would I buy one after seeing this commercial? I might. But what I would rather see are commercials for whatever product that includes people just like me, in exactly the same manner as they target anyone else. Because I have the same Rights, money, and dammit I have earned it.