Author: k allisse

This journal is my exploration of all things: social, political, faith based, artistic, popular and of course, uselessly random.

We Get It: Police Lives Matter

In the wake of the police protests in NYC and the fatal, senseless shooting of two NYPD officers, I’ve noticed the shift in tone of the media: from hearing a protest described as ‘anti-police’ to news stories that remind us about the risks facing officers (because we didn’t know that law enforcement was a dangerous career), the tide is turning. All of this to detract from genuine concerns about police use of force especially against black men. Support of police and critical analysis of their performance can exist in the same world. The accusations from the PBA that the blood of the aforementioned police officers are on the hands of the mayor (because of DeBlasio’s apparent unwillingness to blindly support police), ignores the fact that people are angry because unarmed black males are being killed by those sworn to protect them and perhaps underscores how wide the chasm is between NYPD and civilians. If you’re seeking to find out government (local, state or federal) issued statistics regarding how many civilians are killed by police, the closest thing you’ll find is this, but if you want to know the names of officers killed in the line of duty, you can find a comprehensive list here, going as far back as 1791. The query on the site allows you to search by state, year and cause of death. The site also includes a detail of the incident and allows visitors to leave reflections. If this is possible for officers, then it should be done for citizens. As a matter of fact, Congress through the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, authorized the Attorney General to keep statistics regarding excessive force by police, but just try finding that anywhere online. There is likely understandable concern that such information might inflame tensions between regular people and police, but such knowledge might instead inspire empathy on both sides and that’s when real healing can begin.

If ‘Only’ We Could Do That With Judaism

The recent attack on the offices of the French satirical paper, Charlie Hebdo, has ignited conversations about free speech and inspired a variety of publications to take a stand and reprint some of the offending images. In light of the current events, I wanted to revisit the stir Nicki Minaj caused when her lyric video for ‘Only,’ off her latest album the Pinkprint, dropped. What followed was a firestorm of criticism for imagery that evoked the Third Reich: red flags emblazoned with a stylized black and white Young Money logo, Minaj strolling through lines of rank and file soldiers straight out of a Leni Riefenstahl film. The Anti Defamation League responded by saying that, ‘the abuse of Nazi imagery is deeply disturbing and offensive to Jews…’ Minaj gave what read like a rote apology, but the director Jeff Osborne was beautifully defiant in the face of the wagging fingers: ‘First, I’m not apologizing for my work… nor will I dodge the immediate question. The flags, armbands, and gas mask (and perhaps my use of symmetry?) are all representative of Nazism. But a majority of the recognizable models/symbols are American…What’s also American is the 1st Amendment, which I’ve unexpectedly succeeded in showing how we willfully squeeze ourselves out of that right every day.’ Right to free speech is often the first justification for the protection of offensive language/imagery, but only a few months prior, it wasn’t enough. Osborne’s comments perfectly align with supporters of the French journalists and cartoonists. If drawing an image of the Prophet Mohammed is fair game, so should the use of Nazi imagery.

Break the Internet…with Porn?

What’s so special about these Kim Kardashian pictures that they’ve been the talk of the town for the past 24 hours? Ok, I’m not blind; I get it; it has that ‘roadside accident that you can’t look away from’ quality to it and it’s supposed to, but doesn’t anyone remember that she already posed nude for W magazine four years ago? It’s the same stunt but less artistic; in Paper, she looks like she showered in Canola; ‘W’ re-imagined her as a living Balloon Venus, painted silver and looking, honestly, quite stunning. Why this magazine thinks a naked woman is earth shattering in 2014 is beyond me, but when’s the last time the publishing industry did something revolutionary?

Fast Acting, Slow Thinking

There’s currently a lot of brouhaha following an op-ed piece in the New York Times about Shonda Rhimes’ tough, black female characters including Viola Davis’ Annalise Keating on ABC’s new drama, How to Get Away With Murder. The negativity surrounding the article comes down two sentences (in a nearly 1,500 word piece): the opening line, “When Shonda Rhimes writes her autobiography, it should be called “How to Get Away With Being an Angry Black Woman” and the real fire-starter,  ‘Ignoring the narrow beauty standards some African-American women are held to, Ms. Rhimes chose a performer who is older, darker-skinned and less classically beautiful than Ms. Washington, or for that matter Halle Berry…” Some have referred to the comments as ‘racist’ and ‘offensive’. I have a feeling they did that without reading the article, but focusing on incendiary tidbits fed to them through the social media machine. I found the whole piece to be flattering (to Rhimes) and truthful (re: Davis). The author, Alessandra Stanley, smartly writes how Rhimes flips the ‘angry black woman’ stereotype on its head, giving us black female characters that seethe out volcanic monologues, but somehow never come across as cliched or playing into tired archetypes; she writes and creates tough and sometimes unlikeable black women without dealing with the societal burden of promoting nice black role models because ‘there’s only so many black characters on TV’. If folks had bothered to read what was written, they would have found the writer stating it more eloquently, “Ms. Rhimes has embraced the trite but persistent caricature of the Angry Black Woman, recast it in her own image and made it enviable. She has almost single-handedly trampled a taboo even Michelle Obama couldn’t break.” As for Ms. Stanley’s point about Viola Davis being “less classically beautiful” than Kerry Washington, she has a point. Let’s not pretend that Hollywood, advertising and magazines don’t have a preference for certain types of beauty that skews lighter and thinner; it is these outlets that have framed our understanding of classic beauty, as well as Ms. Stanley’s. A couple of years ago, when asked why The Help was her first starring role, Davis replied, “There just aren’t a lot of roles for—I mean, I’m a 46-year-old Black actress who doesn’t look like Halle Berry—and Halle Berry is having a hard time.” If Ms. Davis doesn’t have a hard time speaking and facing the truth, why do we?

The Biggest Loser Loses

If you didn’t watch the live finale last night, check the video to get caught up.

 I’m a fairweather fan of the series, watching when there’s an interesting contestant or twist. This season had both with Ruben Studdard (American Idol Season 2 winner) and the theme of second chances, which allowed eliminated players opportunities to get back in the game. However, all of the peaks and valleys of the season were quickly overshadowed when eventual winner, Rachel Fredrickson, revealed her 155lb weight loss, setting a new show record for weight loss percentage at 59.62%. Such a feat would usually be showered with effusive accolades, but this time, this season’s champion looked skeletal and unhealthy, in stark contrast to her fellow contestants. When she made her big entrance, the looks on Jillian and Bob’s (the team trainers) faces said it all; an ‘oh my God’ was clearly visible coming off of Jillian’s lips. Even Allison Sweeney, the show’s host, couldn’t keep the look of concern hidden, quickly switching on a painted grin when Rachel turned to hug her after the big win. The show’s Facebook page was lit up with activity during last night’s finale, many commenting on the possible backlash that might follow TBL if changes aren’t made to ensure that competitors lose weight in a healthy way, perhaps by maintaining an appropriate BMI. In the midst of the controversy, there’s been no comment from the show or trainers outside of the typical congratulations, so I looked forward to the Today show interview with Fredrickson, hoping that they might ask her about the feedback some fans have been giving, but no such luck. I’m not sure what was worse, the possible health issue this woman might be having or the complete lack of journalistic inquiry that the Today show hosts showed; the conversation never veered from compliments and the cliche. I shouldn’t be surprised since the Biggest Loser airs on the same network (NBC) as Today, so they likely wanted to avoid controversy. And in an effort to avoid rocking the boat, NBC, Today and the Biggest Loser missed an opportunity to build interest based on how well they could handle such a sensitive issue opting instead for the ‘company line’ and possible lost viewership.

#TeamKate

I listened, read and watched the media barrage after Kate Gosselin and her 13-year old twins, Mady and Cara, were interviewed on the Today show and I guess I must’ve been watching something else. Did I think Mady’s slow answers and Cara’s non-answers humiliated their mom? Yes. Did I think that Kate snapping her fingers at Mady and telling her to, ‘use her words,’ was inappropriate? Absolutely, and in hindsight, all of them may regret their actions, but I also think (as a former fan of Jon and Kate Plus Eight) that Cara is not the most talkative child, which might be why Kate focused on Mady speaking so much. Were we watching evidence of the ‘damage,’ as Samantha Guthrie (of the Today show) put it, from years of being in the spotlight or simply two teenagers acting like, well, teenagers?

I felt terrible for Kate, for the way she was being vilified and the for the way Guthrie implied that her children were being harmed by her actions. What’s curious to me is that there’s all this talk of Kate pushing her kids to be in the spotlight, but there was no talk of upcoming TV opportunities or the kids signing with agencies or management. I don’t know what’s going on in the Gosselin household, but I do know that Kate is the primary caregiver and custodian of eight children, none of whom we hear or read about in the press, acting up in school or being all-around terrors. Everyone’s talking about her People cover and her apparent hunger for fame, but no one’s talking about the likely impetus for her doing the cover story: Jon’s exclusive with InTouch Weekly about their children living in a ‘House of Horrors,’ with a pissed-off looking Kate on the front page.

The minute Jon files for custody, maybe I’ll believe that his concerns are genuine; or if Child Services comes a-knockin,’ I’ll reconsider, but until then, Kate Gosselin is a stand up mother who is dealing with tremendous pressure from outsiders, which can crack even the steeliest of individuals. It’s a shame that a five-minute moment on TV has somehow come to define her as a parent. If TV can make or break a reputation, then I submit the family’s last appearance on Celebrity Wife Swap (ok, a bit ironic, I know): Kate runs their home like a well-oiled machine, maybe strict, but her children appeared disciplined and thrived under the structure and what was most touching was how much she loves being a mom; she takes it seriously and it’s the primary description that she has for herself. When she was reunited with her children after the swap, you could see that the love in this family was reciprocal and effusive.

Come again, say what?

So, let me get this straight: There was apparently a HUGE hack of Target’s point of sale systems, nationwide, during a period of about two weeks (November 29-December 16). If you shopped there at that time, your credit/debit card information is at risk. The theft was serious enough that the Secret Service is investigating. So far, Target had this to say:

That’s right, nothing. Something this serious and they’re silent, likely worried about losing money during the Christmas shopping season. Tsk, tsk!

A Tale of Two Series

I just finished watching the latest episode of Two and a Half Men and I turned off the television and briefly contemplated taking a quick shower to wash it off. I can see why former series regular, Angus T. Jones lambasted the show as ‘filth’. I’m pretty forgiving when it comes to comedy, my only rule: be funny. I watched a man get is taint waxed, a women get drunk over an impending date and a straight man date a transgender female (that’s not the issue; I could care less), BUT IT WASN’T FUNNY. The writers play to the cheap seats, scraping the bottom of the barrel, like their digging for gold, but it’s not good. It’s not groundbreaking. It’s not even risque. It’s desperate. And then, I turned the television back on because Scandal was starting. And it was a good thing because I would have missed Joe Morton (aka Command) in a delicious scene, verbally ripping Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) a new one. It was so entertaining, I broke my promise to my husband to watch it with him. This is what skilled writing is: interesting characters in interesting situations and sometimes the situation doesn’t even matter. The contrast was so stark between the two shows, it startled me into writing for my neglected blog. : ) 

SNL’s Real Problem

Just watched Kerry Washington do a stellar job hosting SNL and was even more impressed by the slick tap dance that execs and writers at the late night staple did skirting around the ‘no black female cast member’ issue. It was smart; by making it into a joke, and better yet, having a black woman help tell it, the problem was suddenly neutralized. It’s like that friend that does wrong, but they’re so apologetic, you can say much or be too mad because it’ll make you look oversensitive. The focus on casting, however, is the red herring meant to shift eyes from the lack of diversity behind the scenes at SNL. Say they hire a black women in the near future, once the cries of tokenism die down, then what? This poor woman will have a tremendous weight on her shoulders: to be outstandingly funny without the material. Sure, talent is the foundation, but good writing is the steel, concrete and brick. Maybe it’s not PC, but I have found white men to be terribly inept at writing non-white characters without dipping into stereotype. And, of course, one dimensional characters are right at home in comedy, but that shouldn’t be the full spectrum, which it tends to be on SNL…unless you’re a white male.