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The Economics of Holly'hood

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The Economics of Holly'hood:
Why Hollywood Ain't Talkin' to Me:

                      Min. Paul Scott

I ain't gonna front. I've been feinin' to see "Talk to
Me" since I peeped the preview when I went to see the
Fantastic 4 months ago. So when July 27th  rolled
around I was really hyped to see the film. I wiped
down my sneakers and even brought a brand new fitted
baseball cap, just for this auspicious occasion.  So,
I loaded up the fam and rolled around town preparing
to stop at the first theater that I saw with a poster
of Don Cheadle. But at every theater,  instead of
Petey Green, there was a poster of a Black man with a
diamond earring and loud, tacky golf shorts...

I know those who are going to accuse me of hatin' on
"Who's Your Caddy" are  saying "well, at least it
doesn't show a young black Brotha blastin' a store
owner because his 40 oz bottle of malt liquor was too
warm." But you have to admit that to have "Caddy"
playing in every hood and hollow in America while you
have to hop a commuter flight to see the critically
acclaimed "Talk to Me" is outrageous.

According to that one cool white dude with the Barry
White voice who talks over the trailers for all the
hood flicks, the movie is about a rejected rapper who
turns a lilly white golf course into a Hip Hop strip
club. It's not like we haven't seen the "there goes
the neighborhood" plot a miliion times before. So,
it's kinda like a hip version of "Guess Who's Coming
to Dinner" with fart and phallic jokes.

Hell has no fury like a rapper scorned...

Hollywood has also had questionable standards in
regards to what it chooses to show Black folks as
entertainment. I remember back in the early 90's films
such as "Daughters of the Dust" and "Sankofa" couldn't
find a home in the same theatres that had no prblems
finding room for the Boyz in the Hoods and Menace to
Socities. I can't remember last fall's "Color of the
Cross" playing in too many places, either?

Black television shows haven't faired much better, as
I can recall the protests over the cancellation of
quality black shows such as "Frank's Place," "Roc" and
"NY Undercover."

Pop Quiz.

Can anyone name one program that paints a realtistic
portrait of Black America? (And no, wise apple, BET's
reruns of "The Wire" don't count.)

Is this a case of racism? Does white America have a
fear of showing a film about a member of the "lumpen
proletariat" who rises from the ashes of prison to
become an important media personality who challenged
the system?

I remember how white folks thought that Spike Lee's
"Do the Right Thing" was going to spark a mass
uprising in an America where Black folks were still
ticked off about Howard Beach and Virginia Beach?

Or is it more a case of stupid-ism, where the theater
owners feel that the social relevance of "Talk to Me"
may float high over the corn-rolled, bandana sportin'
heads of the audience while the slap stick comedy of
"Who's the Caddy" might strike home?

Also, I've heard that the real money in theaters is
made from the concession stands.

Maybe they think that the people who watch dumb movies
eat more popcorn and juju beans than intellectuals.

Well  I,  for one, am not going to take this laying
down!

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