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In an attempt to summarize a dining experience I had that didn’t exactly rub me the right way, I explained to a friend: “You know how white people will come home after work and turn on the blues? … It was kind of like that.” Music for me can be a touchy and [...]
Mad Men episode with Don and company at the CLIO awards airing the same night the Emmys? Thanks for the synchronicity, AMC!
Kenny inspired a lot of inappropriately racist, pimpish nicknames, like chocolate bear and big daddy, and, when he was kicked off, an unfortunate number of outdated South Park jokes (I think you know the one). But mostly he was a gregarious, lovable self-promoter; fans believed he was the big cheese because he said he was every week. In truth, his cooking skill seemed uneven. But whether you think he deserved to go or not, his absence highlights a longstanding problem with the show: there hasn’t been enough diversity, and it is particularly problematic in the way it portrays its black chefs. Diversity on a reality TV show might not seem the most important topic, ever, but it evidences two things: one, the dearth of people of color at the top of many fields extends to reality contests that purport to propel novices to the top of those fields; and two, shows like this in which contestants are judged subjectively still often pick white male winners. First, some by-the-numbers history. The premiere season wasn’t bad: of 11 chefs, two were Asian, two were black and one was Latino. Only one, Lee Anne Wong, made it close to the top. The second season was worse: of 15, only three were of color. Cliff, a black chef from New York City, finished fifth, but his finish is the important part: he was the only person ever kicked off the show for becoming physical with another contestant. That season, all the chefs picked on a scrawny, whiny kid named Marcel, and on one of the last nights Cliff and the other finalists decided they were going to shave Marcel’s head. In fairness, head judge Tom Colicchio wanted to kick off all the other conspirators, too, who were just as mean to Marcel that night, and make Marcel the winner by default. But Cliff actually wrestled Marcel down to the floor, and was the only person to explicitly break the rules against physically fighting another contestant. In the third season, the only black chef, Tre, a favorite in the beginning, was voted off after the Restaurant Wars episode because he didn’t lead his team well enough. (A Vietnam-born chef named Hung won that season). The next season, the only black chef was out so early I don’t even remember her, though, in a bright spot, a woman won for the first time that year. The fifth season marked the first Indian American chef, Radhika, and Carla, a black woman from D.C. who made it to the finale and who has had a real career-boost since the show. Season 6 brought us another Indian American and a chef from Haiti, both of whom were out in the middle of the competition. Of the six winners, five have been white and all but one was a man. That brings us to the current season and its surprising diversity buffet. When it started, Kenny had three fellow black chefs, two Latinos and one Asian chef, which means that nearly half its contestants were people of color. It could be that the show’s producers, who chose to film in D.C. this season after the arrival of the Obamas gave the city a short-lived sizzle, became more cognizant of its diversity needs, or it could be that it’s been on so long now that it’s luring a more diverse applicant pool. Either way, Kenny’s timer wasn’t the first to go off early: Kevin, Angelo and Tiffany are the only chefs of color left. So, what’s the problem? When a woman won for the first time in the fourth season, Colicchio wrote pretty elegantly about the problems women face in professional kitchens, which aren’t too different from the problems women face in many careers. The balance of work and life falls squarely on women’s shoulders, and a lot of sacrifice is demanded of top chefs. I don’t think anyone’s surprised to know that the challenge of overcoming discrimination in high cuisine is similar to the challenges people of color overcome in other fields.
At the beginning of Creek, Lee focuses on the broken New Orleans school system. There is a brief, uplifting story of community activism, in which citizens got together and gutted Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School themselves to begin restoration. Sadly, this is one of the few uplifting moments in Part Two. Using the story of this school as a springboard, Lee begins interviewing people who have contradicting opinions about Paul Vallas, the man brought in to revamp the school system, and the man largely responsible for all of the charter schools that have sprung up in the years following Katrina. It is painfully apparent that more high-quality schools are needed; Part One of Creek touched on this fact when Catherine Montana Gordon mentioned how she couldn’t go back to New Orleans because of the lack of educational programs for her autistic son. However, it is also clear that school employees are currently ill-equipped to handle the students who are still struggling to cope with their psychological trauma. Several interviewees emphasized the need for teachers who aren’t afraid of the students and the community, especially of their black male students. They also emphasized the need for teachers to put emphasis on their students’ self-worth. Violence has also skyrocketed in New Orleans, compounding the effects of the psychological trauma its citizens are experiences. The murder rate is 20% higher rate than the rest of the country, with 210 murders in 2007 alone. Those who watched When the Levees Broke may recall Dinerral Shavers, the bright-eyed young man who give a tour of his devastated neighborhood while recounting the horrors of all the dead bodies left to rot in homes. In the years after Katrina, Shavers was a positive role model for his community, teaching at Robert Wayne High School and creating the Hot 8 Brass Band. In 2006, Shavers was shot in the back of the head and killed by a 15 year old. Another person that viewers may recall from Levees is Donnell Harrington, one of the victims of a violent racial hate crime in Algiers Point committed by white men just days after Katrina hit. Though the man who shot him has since been convicted and sentenced, Harrington is still traumatized by the gunshots. Since Levees, Harrington was shot again, this time by a black man with an AK-47; it was a random act of violence, and Harrington lost part of his leg as a result.
We love to see the underdog persevere. It makes us feel good, and like all monumental sports wins, it glosses over truth and makes it seem like progress is immediately possible. It’s telling that Spike Lee begins his Katrina documentary If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise with the Saint’s Superbowl win. There’s no better example of local pride then watching their team win it all. But when the fervor of winning is gone and the parades are over, post-Katrina New Orleans is still mostly the same. Some people came back, some people didn’t, some just won’t and others simply can’t. Either way, everyone is looking to rebuild, but as always, in their own image. There’s a level of intensity in Creek and urgency to pack in as much detail and story as possible. It’s seen in the aforementioned Saints game; the BP oil spill; reliving the Bush administration’s response (or lack of); the tearing down of housing projects; the rebuilding of homes; the high levels of formaldehyde found in FEMA trailers; the lawsuit and eventual monetary victory over the Army Core of Engineers; the displacement; the class wars; the government response to the comparable natural disaster in Haiti (a response that I remember several people, including me, referencing as having come from a kind of “Katrina-guilt”). As always, it’s the individual stories, the characters, that add texture and nuance to Creek as it did with its predecessor When the Levees Broke.
I understand there’s been some talk about Betty ’round these parts before. Let me just go on the record as saying that I find Betty Draper to be a terrible human being and an utterly compelling character. Her character was in classic form yesterday. But we’ll get to that. More… Every couple of years or so, we seem to get drawn into national conversation about niggers and niggas – or n-words, if you prefer – and which group of people should and shouldn’t be able to use the word. We’re now a week into this silly debate following Dr. Laura’s racist on-air rant without [...] This article was written by seansmyph, co-creator of our blog Splackavellie Central: Ridiculous Moments in R&B and Beyond. It’s part of a series of posts called “The Worst of MC Hammer,” which is part of a series called “Worst of the Best,” which probably doesn’t make much sense the first time you read [...] With at least 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches of newborn to care for these days, our blogsister Stacia has a lot on her hands and heart and mind. And because we never miss a chance to do it big when it comes to celebrating milestones – as she once said in advance of my big day earlier this year – we’re devoting this Friday’s Random Ten to songs in honor of Stacia and the lovely Story Jean. Below, you’ll find a medley of tunes about mamas, babies, baby mamas and baby babies. As always, be sure to add your own blessings, plaudits and/or suggestions in the comments section. Because it takes a village and all that jazz: 1. If I Could by Regina Belle (Brokey)
Last year, G.D. and I disagreed on how the Drapers judged the quality of their marriage. He called it objectively bad and thought both viewed getting out as a blessing. But I thought the Drapers, or at least Don, wouldn’t necessarily have thought of marriage in the same way we would [...] Campus Progress is hiring staff writers for September-December, and applications are due next Tuesday, July 20. Writers can be based anywhere (one of our writers is currently in China), they don’t have to be current college students, and best of all, they’ll get some great clips to take with them after their time is [...] Endless sun. Beautiful, scantily-clad women. Joe’s Stone Crab. David Caruso. If Miami doesn’t have it all, then it’s probably not possible to survive the city that does. Orson Swindle summed it up so well: “Why is this beautiful place also repulsive? Because it’s Miami, that’s why, which somehow always manages to show up to dinner looking stunning in a white suit, sits down, and then watches nonchalantly as a cockroach climbs from its pants leg and scuttles across the floor.” Thus, LeBron really didn’t have much of a choice. Who among us would volunteer to spend their winters in Cleveland? Right. And not only that, the Teflon Don will be watching courtside. It’s deeper than ball. So you already know where this weekend’s soundtrack is coming from: 1. Miami Life by Ras Kass (G.D.) (Spoilers.) After much prodding from G.D., I finally watched Avatar: The Last Airbender well before the disappointing reviews of the film based on the Nickelodeon series came out. If I hadn’t known what a phenomenally good cartoon it was from the start, I definitely would have figured it out by Chapter 12 of [...] Lenny Kravitz was walking down the street in the N.O. when he heard a church choir playing his song. So he decided to join them. (via Alexander Russo.) |
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Say what you will about Spike Lee’s polemics; the man knows how to craft a powerful narrative. Whereas Part One of If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise opened with the excitement of the Saint’s Superbowl win, the opening montage of Part Two—filled with footage of the havoc wreaked by the oil spill—set the somber tone for the final chapter of the two-part documentary series. The footage especially set the tone for the last hour of Lee’s documentary, which serves as a scathing indictment of British Petroleum and the government’s handling of the crisis.
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