1. Lady Gaga's cancelled DC shows.
How much uproar have I heard about this? Or rather the question should be, how much do I really need to hear. Yes, the Christ of glam/indie/electro god seekers cancelled her sold out DC shows to be on American Idol. Since the canceling, people have been going into Gaga hysterics, calling for a boycotting of Lady Gaga and all her music.
My, aren't we fickle lovers.
The gays are especially bad. An email from a popular "indie" gay party (i.e. those who claim not to serve Satan and her minions aka Britney Spears (et al) . . . even though they still probably really like "Slave 4 U" and have it hidden in the corners of their iPods even though Mac products are "douchey") called her act of American Commercialism blasphemous in the eyes of all that is "cool" i.e. non-main stream. They grabbed their pitch forks and torches and stormed up to 18th street to root out all the evil that is Gaga from D.C. and search for a new lightning bolt clad goddess. And to them I say god speed.
And I also say get over it. Lady Gaga has a life outside you and of DC. Yes, it is disappointing. Yes, American Idol is not exactly the standard when it comes to producing pop sensations or even talented artists. Yes, it is all about money. But then again that is the whole Recording Industry. If Lady Gaga was truly a maverick in that area she wouldn't have signed with a major record label and she wouldn't be producing glitzy videos and she wouldn't be doing . . . well . . . anything except sitting outside of Penn Station in spandex holding out an upside down wig begging for some change.
But hey, we all gotta make a living.
And yes, I heard "Just Dance" last summer, almost a year before it became mainstream, mostly because I was in San Francisco, where everything cool materializes as if it was being beamed down from Planet Out. However, I don't really see how "grassroots" played any part in her success. I see it mostly as how most artists get famous: some people like them, who turn them onto other people who like them, who turn them onto other people who like them and so on. I didn't see a Lady Gaga non-profit spring up or a Lady Gaga petition being handed out so that she can serve her fans with disco-clad music. No, I only saw a talented young woman trying to make it big. And make it big she has. So for those who were giving her the big "f*ck you," I hope you made one big gesture. I'm sure I'll see you at the concert when she reschedules it and sing along at the top of my lungs by your side.
2. White Men Playing Asians
Yes, I hear the cries of the blacks saying they are both under and misrepresented in movies. But hey, when you think y'all have got it bad, just think of the Asians. I mean, y'all haven't had white guys pretend to be black in movies for at least, what, a good 50 years? Maybe more? And yet today, as I watched the Dragon Ball Z trailer (hey, I was bored) I see some white kid being cast in the main role of a JAPANESE anime turned live action movie. Really? Are we short on Asians recently? Because last I checked, in the JAPANESE anime, Goku was, well . . . JAPANESE.
Yes I know that I know his name, you don't have to remind me.
And then the only Asians in the entire movie were the old "kung fu mentors" who spoke in accents or the fetishized "hot asian female who can kick your ass." The other main female character in the movie was white also.
Now, even if this was your run of the mill Hollywood movie who cast all white people, I would say "hey, you know what? I know Hollywood is racist. I know the race relations in this country. I know that people in Nebraska and Oklahoma are much more comfortable seeing someone in a movie named Jim or Bobby than Zhang Wei or Jamil Okunyka."
But this is a movie, based on Anime from an Asian country, where the majority of the people are Asian. Is it too much to ask that they at least be represented by their own racial identity?
And just when I thought I hated Clint Eastwood movies, at least he had the balls to make Letters From Iwo Jima with actual Japanese actors.
3. Upcoming Movie Season
And speaking of movies, aside from Dragon Ball Z or excuse me, Dragon Ball Evolution, I was perusing the Apple (douchey) movie trailers (instead of doing the massive amounts of work I have to do) and there are a lot of movies coming out the next few months that look really really good. A lot of indie and foreign films are now getting the chance to be seen thanks to that of Slumdog Millionaire et al and I think the world will be a better place for it. You know, learning about other people's cultures and ideas is always a good thing, despite what Rush Limbaugh might tell you.
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