By C. Jeffrey Wright
November 12, 2009
The elevation of Black dysfunction and the invisibility of positive Black images are sending destructive messages about the reality of Black life, both to our young people and to those outside the Black community.
This edition of Pop & Circumstance is all about the "youngins" -- from the tragic tales of Precious Jones in Lee Daniels' latest film and Rihanna's triumph over domestic abuse, to the underage vixens of Gossip Girl. Join us as we take a look at the young stars who are making headlines -- and, at times, making many of us adults a little nervous.
After a few weeks off, Pop & Circumstance is back! (Did you miss us?) As you probably suspected, we've got plenty to talk about, including the return of BeBe and CeCe, Mary Mary's questionable new pursuits, and a new book that will rock your world. But first, let's check in with our favorite born-again sister from The View.
As fans get ready for the eagerly awaited Michael Jackson concert film, an African American pastor reconsiders the Black church's dubious embrace of the King of Pop.
Before I begin, I want to make sure that you all know I am 100 percent against what Kanye West did at MTV's Video Music Awards last week. Storming the stage during Taylor Swift's victory speech to rebuke the audience for not selecting Beyonce -- and, in effect, for selecting Taylor Swift -- was not cool.
But, like many people who watched that painful drama unfold on the air and then on Twitter and Facebook in the minutes that followed, I felt there had to be more to the story than just an intoxicated rapper making a scene on national TV.
Putting BET's Business in the Street
Andreas Hale, former Executive Editor of Music for BET.com, got the pink slip this week and tried to take the company down with him. After nearly a year at the urban entertainment network, the executive left his post by sending a fiery email to industry friends confirming what many critics of the network have long suspected: BET is a hot mess.
If the stories in this edition of Pop & Circumstance have a common theme, it's the call for audiences -- viewers, listeners, and users of media -- to exercise more compassion, discernment, and responsibility in the way they interact with pop culture. Come to think of it, those are themes found in many editions of P&C. Anyway, we talk about them more explicitly this time around. So let's get started.
Every now and then a week comes along in pop culture that leaves us feeling entertained, inspired, and hopeful. And then there are those weeks that leave us completely befuddled, scratching our heads in confusion while mumbling, "What is this world coming to?" Last week was one of those weeks. Here is a sample of some of the pop culture questions that left us stumped.
This week's Pop & Circumstance is all about returns -- the return of a compelling show, the return of an iconic magazine, the (surprising) return of a reality-show diva, and the return of BET's fishy programming.
Here's this week's rundown of pop-culture stories. Lots to talk about, so let's get started.
This week's installment of Pop & Circumstance is heavy on the reality TV, since the summertime seems to carry an inordinate number of these programs. It makes sense. Reality shows are cheap to produce, and not as many people are watching during the summer months anyway, so the networks can get away with a little more mediocrity. Ah, but the mediocrity is often so addictive.
