But when King James apes King Kong it is a terrible blow to the perception of black men.
Would we be having this discussion if LeBron struck the same pose on the cover of Ebony while holding Selita Ebanks? Think about it. And if we wouldn't be having the discussion, what does that say about us? Are we only bothered by negative images of black men when the primary/sole consumer of the image is white people?
Vogue ain't for us. Tyler Perry's new movie, Meet the Browns, was produced with us in mind. It had a great box-office debut, coming in at No. 2 with a take of more than $20 million. It also broke records for negative black stereotypes and simple-mindedness.
We ate it up, and I've yet to hear much of an outcry about a romantic comedy built around a single mama with three baby daddies, her loud-mouthed, weed-smoking, gun-toting Latino best girlfriend, a deadbeat daddy, a drunk sister and a deceased father who was a pimp-turned-preacher. I could go on. This list is endless.
Rather than reading and hearing universal condemnation of Tyler Perry, the drag-queen moviemaker is being hailed as a genius for recognizing what attracts us to the movie theatre.
I'm telling you we need a handbook. We need something athletes, entertainers, black and white folks can easily refer to when deciding how to react to the images we choose to project. The chapter on rap-music videos could be studied at major universities across the globe. I'd like for Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Exploitation Television, to pen that section when he comes off the Clinton campaign trail.
LeBron James is a kid, and his talents as a basketball player and absence of a father allowed him to "grow up" rather than be "raised." His stated goal is to be one of the richest men in the world. Like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, he is a child celebrity interested in increasing his fame and little else.
He's in very good and very deep company when it comes to being unconcerned with and unqualified for the job of representing black men in a positive light.
Hell, given our current state of confusion, I'm not sure Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could handle the job.
If he wasn't black, would we be having this conversation?
I don't think so, cause apparently he needs to be smiling and in a goddamn suit for people to feel he's "safe".
I don't know if this was directed at me (I'm guessing it was), but it is a fashion magazine, right? So seeing dude in a suit is not a far stretch or racist or whatever, it just seems like the logical move.
No...just at the discussion in general. If memory serves - on the rare occassions Vogue has had men on the cover, they have not been styled in a fashion vein, but kept the look of whatever their profession/image was. Why Robbie Williams had to appear naked a few years ago (also with Gisele), I'm not sure...but that's another discussion.
Isn't that the expression LeBron makes after great plays? I'm sure I've seen it in the course of many games... Talk about can't win; that's the bitch of being stereotyped - no matter what you do, people are going to find fault with it.
James told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer he was pleased with the cover, saying he was "just showing a little emotion."
"Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or bad way," James told the paper. "Who cares what anyone says?"
It would have been interesting to see the reaction had Puffy (in a suit) appeared on the cover with a white model instead of Naomi Campbell.
To be honest, I don't know how I feel about the cover.
If he wasn't black, would we be having this conversation?
I don't think so, cause apparently he needs to be smiling and in a goddamn suit for people to feel he's "safe".
I don't know if this was directed at me (I'm guessing it was), but it is a fashion magazine, right? So seeing dude in a suit is not a far stretch or racist or whatever, it just seems like the logical move.
No...just at the discussion in general. If memory serves - on the rare occassions Vogue has had men on the cover, they have not been styled in a fashion vein, but kept the look of whatever their profession/image was. Why Robbie Williams had to appear naked a few years ago (also with Gisele), I'm not sure...but that's another discussion.
Isn't that the expression LeBron makes after great plays? I'm sure I've seen it in the course of many games... Talk about can't win; that's the bitch of being stereotyped - no matter what you do, people are going to find fault with it.
James told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer he was pleased with the cover, saying he was "just showing a little emotion."
"Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or bad way," James told the paper. "Who cares what anyone says?"
It would have been interesting to see the reaction had Puffy (in a suit) appeared on the cover with a white model instead of Naomi Campbell.
To be honest, I don't know how I feel about the cover.
Whe i first saw the cover, the King Kong motif instantly came to mind, but i didnt dwell on it. Then a week later im reading that many others had a similar read of the image. I brought it here to test its catnippability.
(FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS) ??? A&E has announced that Dog the Bounty Hunter will be back this summer for a fifth season. The popular cable reality show was pulled from the air last November, following in an incident in which its star, Hawaii-based bounty hunter Duane ''Dog'' Chapman, used a racial slur in a taped telephone conversation. But on Wednesday, Chapman was flanked by his family and a civil rights organization representative when A&E announced his comeback in a carefully orchestrated press conference. Said A&E spokesman Michael Feeney, ''It's not about ratings.... We know his heart. We know him and know he's not a racist.''[/b] New episodes, including some from the show's fourth season that have yet to be aired, are expected to be ready after June 25
Comments
This whole thread = GTFOHWTBS
Needs Ebonics translator while listening to Dionne Warrick
No...just at the discussion in general. If memory serves - on the rare occassions Vogue has had men on the cover, they have not been styled in a fashion vein, but kept the look of whatever their profession/image was. Why Robbie Williams had to appear naked a few years ago (also with Gisele), I'm not sure...but that's another discussion.
Isn't that the expression LeBron makes after great plays? I'm sure I've seen it in the course of many games...
Talk about can't win; that's the bitch of being stereotyped - no matter what you do, people are going to find fault with it.
James told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer he was pleased with the cover, saying he was "just showing a little emotion."
"Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or bad way," James told the paper. "Who cares what anyone says?"
It would have been interesting to see the reaction had Puffy (in a suit) appeared on the cover with a white model instead of Naomi Campbell.
To be honest, I don't know how I feel about the cover.
Whe i first saw the cover, the King Kong motif instantly came to mind, but i didnt dwell on it. Then a week later im reading that many others had a similar read of the image. I brought it here to test its catnippability.
And to call anybody not offended by it British, don't forget ...
Do I hear a slight accent?
Don't let the dental work fool you -
I'm from the good ol' racism-free USA
Ha-ha
Talmbout New England....
Happy Anniversary[/b]
(FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS) ??? A&E has announced that Dog the Bounty Hunter will be back this summer for a fifth season. The popular cable reality show was pulled from the air last November, following in an incident in which its star, Hawaii-based bounty hunter Duane ''Dog'' Chapman, used a racial slur in a taped telephone conversation. But on Wednesday, Chapman was flanked by his family and a civil rights organization representative when A&E announced his comeback in a carefully orchestrated press conference. Said A&E spokesman Michael Feeney, ''It's not about ratings.... We know his heart. We know him and know he's not a racist.''[/b] New episodes, including some from the show's fourth season that have yet to be aired, are expected to be ready after June 25