By: Angela “Miss M” Morrissey From the CollegeHipHop.com Australasian – Oceania Desk |
It seems to be the case these days that the media has to have a “bad boy” or “bad girl” each week to sell their product.
The tactic applies to newspapers, magazines or radio and television stations seeking to gain listeners or viewers.
More often than not, the “bad guy” seems to be black.
A prime example is when Janet Jackson was forced to apologize over a “wardrobe malfunction,” after Justin Timberlake tore open her costume. The act exposed her right breast at the Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004.
Janet said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that the whole controversy was “hypocritical” since there was heaps of violence and sex on TV. She pointed out that there was more going on in the world like the war in the Middle East.
There are images of cities being bombed in Syria and Iraq, children sitting in squalor throwing ashes on their heads in Palestine, and refugees sitting helplessly in refugee camps throughout the world. Yet, the sight of an exposed breast caused an outcry.
We are all born naked and leave the world naked. Besides, the living, naked body is a beautiful thing. But the media did not care about this. In the words of Bob Dylan, it “went along for the ride” and milked it for all its worth.
It was all about making the “bad, black girl” apologize.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s8gLSldKM0 |
In 2009, Champion golfer Tiger Woods apologized for his various infidelities – not once nor twice but thrice! Again, it was all about making the “bad, black man” apologize even for something that was his business and none of anyone else’s.
Rapper Tyler, the Creator, was recently banned from entering the United Kingdom. His appearances in Australia have also been met with hostility over the past few years.
Most recently, Tyler was forced to scrap a series of gigs in Australia thanks to the outcry over his coming.
Critics claim he condones violent physical abuse and rape and murder described in graphic terms that appear to “glamorize” this behavior.
All of this despite the fact that “Fifty Shades of Grey,” a novel that contains sexual violence, was a best-seller in the UK and Australia and has sold 100 million copies around the world.
Furthermore, several critics and scientists have expressed concern that the nature of the main couple’s relationship in the novel, is not BDSM at all, but rather is characteristic of an abusive relationship.
The biggest irony? “Fifty Shades of Grey” was originally an e-book published by a small Australian company called Writer’s Coffee Shop, in May 2011. The book, written by British author E.L. James, was then republished and marketed globally by U.K./U.S. based company, Vintage Books.
In the U.K., the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series has sold more than the “Harry Potter” franchise of books on AmazonUK to become the best-selling series of all-time.
Seems like there is one rule for a black rapper and another for a rich, white woman.
It was feared that Tyler, the Creator’s music might be a bad influence on young people. For decades music from Rock&Roll to Rap has been considered “evil” or “the work of the devil” by many conservatives and religious extremists.
Some people are looking for someone to blame.
Tyler, the Creator’s ad for Mountain Dew features a goat that is the “scapegoat” in a police lineup of black men. The message is clear: black men are the scapegoat in Western society.
Just look at America’s long-running TV shows like “COPS ” which showcase black man after black man being arrested for various street crimes. Its TV shows like these that portrays black men as something to be “feared.”
There are real and genuine problems that face society such as unemployment, drugs and homelessness that may potentially lead to crime. Anyone who labels a rock star or rapper as the cause of crime is looking at the issue too narrowly. When one considers why people commit crimes, the reasons must be examined fully.
In our enlightened and liberal society, free speech is important and to impose censorship is not democratic.