On Racism

People entertain me so much these days. Today has been a relatively entertaining day in relation to people’s views on racism and I’ve concluded that some people are simply prejudiced or dare I say it, stupid.

Dispatches: In God’s Name
Channel 4 is one of my favourite television channels, not just because it shows some of my favourite American shows (ER, Scrubs ect) but because it also shows the fantastic show, Dispatches. Channel Four is the British TV channel that’s probably the most left field. One of the ways the difference between Channel 4 and other channels is expressed is through Dispatches where a various issues ignored by other channels and often the government are expressed.

The episode of Dispatches I just watched was not one of the hard-hitting, gritty stories about what’s really going on in society, it was not one of the episodes that points a finger at the government, what I consider it to be is an examination of a rising sub-culture. The focus of the episode was Christian fundamentalism. I say sub-culture because this is not representative of Christianity, most Christians are not like this. Some of these people really scare me. During the course of the show they indirectly stated that anyone that disagreed with them was evil. This means, as a result of my support for abortion, gay-marriage and acknowledgment of Islam (I’ll get back to that) I would pretty much be evil. The main thought that went through my head was, “this is none of their business”. I don’t understand why so many people believe that they have the right to attempt to change the lives of others.

Now, to the main reason why I felt the need to comment on this show. There was this man and in addition to protesting about Jerry Springer: The Opera, he, and a group of others took it upon themselves to protest about the opening of a Mosque in East London. They basically stated that Islam was not a religion, all Muslims are the same, they are not peaceful people, Allah is Satan and then proceeded to give thoughtless “explanations” as to why they thought they were right. All religions are based on faith, belief without proof, this, in turn means that no religion can be proved or disproved. No-one of any religion has the right to say that another is wrong.

Tropic Thunder
Now, you just read an account of what is definitely racism in modern day society. However, there are always those who blow issues waaaaaaaaay out of proportion. For those who haven’t seen the trailer for Tropic Thunder firstly, shame on you, and secondly, here it is:


Okay, fun wasn’t it. And yes, that really was Robert Downey Jr and this is also the “issue”. People have stated that Robert Downey Jr’s playing a character, playing a character who is black is racist. If anyone believes this, please, give me a logical explanation why. I mentioned a REAL account of racism previously, THIS, however, is foolishness, It’s not racism, it’s entertainment (I do understand that entertainment can be racist but this is not one of those cases). The strange thing is, this has happened in reverse on several occasions, White chicks (which committed sins against cinema for even existing) and various Eddie Murphy films. I just hope that people don’t take out their foolishness on Robert Downey Jr, it’s his year, don’t mess it up fools.

Let’s leave this on a fun note


Hehehe, Albino Shape-Shifting Lizard Bitches-Classic

Ooo, I just read this, it really doesn’t sound eloquent, drat. Oh yeah, where it says Dispatches: In God’s Name, I’m not being blasphemous, In God’s Name was the name of the episode of Dispatches.

The Most Overrated Films of all Time

Every year people throw quotes around like “the best film of all time”. Are they really? So many films get an overwhelming amount of credit for being great when they are in actuality, average. These are the films overrated films. I shall name a few of these such films, please don’t hunt me down.

Titanic

James Cameron’s deviation from the sci-fi genre is a film that many take great pleasure in. Its greatest strength is in something that James Cameron is great with, the aesthetic. The film is visually stunning; at no point does the audience not believe that they are on the Titanic. Unfortunately this strength does not outweigh the crushing disappointment that is the other aspects of the film. The focal point of the film is the love story between Jack and Rose, a story we have seen many times before; boy meets girl, they fall in love, they can’t be together but they try to be. So very unoriginal. This was the point in Leonardo DiCaprio’s career where he was often in films to make young girls swoon. His performance was acceptable but not tremendous. Kate Winslet is an amazing actress but Titanic is most certainly not her best performance. A combination of satisfactory acting, an okay storyline and an unoriginal love story line make Titanic a greatly overrated film.

High School Musical

What happened to this world? Disney’s live action musical took the world by storm prompting sequels and tours. My main question is, why? High School Musical is clearly a musical for children yet many attempt to dress it up as something more profound. The storyline is almost non-existent. From the beginning of the film to the end there is hardly any character progression and at no point is the emotional tone at a low. Like any musical, High School Musical is reliant on the songs; this is one of the biggest flaws. The songs are mediocre. The dance sequences are impressive and this is one of High School Musical’s saving graces, the choreography is amazing but does it cancel out the lack of storyline and tremendous amount of cheese, I think not.

Crash

Number 156 in imdb’s top 250, winner of the academy award for best picture, Crash. A film that at the time of it’s release and still is, depicted as an enigmatic story about an untouched subject. The story is not enigmatic at all, to be fair, it’s quite simple and to say it is complicated or enigmatic is to insult the audience. The untouched subject? Racism. Shocking isn’t it. A film about racism; never heard that one before. American History X, Do the Right Thing-aren’t they films about racism? So why did everyone make such a fuss about Crash, a film that pales in comparison to the named examples. Crash’s clear lack of originality and shocking amount of credence makes Crash one of the most overrated films of all time and the most overrated film of 2004.