The Truth About Imus, LOST, and MORE~!

Happy Friday the 13th ... bwahahahahahaha ....

Yeah, Grindhouse probably should have been released today.

Some random things to start out with:

- Okay, for all of you wondering what to make of Don Imus. I want to say a few quick things on this whole debacle.

Firstly, I don't like the idea of firing him over this one specific incident. What he said in and of itself should not have been enough to get him fired, especially when his whole M.O. is that he is a "shock jock" who for years and years has had a history of making comments that could be construed as rascist, anti-semetic, and just plain bigoted. While I'm not sad to see him fired, per se, I don't like the precedent it sets -- because, while few people are really sad to see this guy get the boot, the inherent hypocracy of the whole thing kind of annoys me. You turn on the TV and you see people like Jesse Jackson and Pat Buchanan criticizing Imus, despite the fact that men like Jackson have a well-documented history of making offensive, bigoted comments themselves. So why after all this time is Imus suddenly the posterboy for racial insensitivity? Simple - this was an opportunity that everyone jumped on to EXPLOIT THEIR OWN AGENDA. If there wasn't so much money at stake, he wouldn't have been fired. If it had been a more packed news day, this wouldn't have gotten so much attention. And you know what? If Imus was younger, hipper, or funnier - few would have cared. The absurdity is that all of these students and athletes at Rutgers don't even know who this guy is - so basically they are forced to act hurt and distressed at his comments with ZERO context about who the man is or what he said.

I mean, look at a guy like Howard Stern, who is hilarious and well-liked despite being a controversial figure. If he had called someone a "nappy-haired ho' ", would ANYONE bat an eyelash? Nope - and I'm sure that in the context of his particular brand of shock humor, Stern has said many comparable things. Context is everything, and it just happened that Imus made a comment that played poorly with his particular audience, one that was not softened by his trademark bitter delivery. Even funnier is how all of these middle-aged pundits are weighing in on the inappropriateness of "nappy-haired ho'." Here's the thing - the phrase was clearly said with a mean, malicious inflection - so it's justified to call out Imus on his stupidity. But taken out of any particular context, is this phrase, in 2007, even that offensive? Honestly, I have NO idea if most people consider "nappy-haired" to be an insult. I've mostly only heard it used by African-Americans talking baout other African Americans. The word 'ho is a word that you hear a million times a day now in music, comedy, etc. I mean, do the words "pimp" and "ho'" really have the same connotation they used to? When MTV has a teen-oriented show called Pimp My Ride, hasn't much of the bite been taken out of the word "Pimp?" I'd say so. Most of the time, in 2007, the words pimp or ho' are used only in a flip, joking manner, having long ago lost their sting thanks to the proliferation of Jerry Springer and the mainstreaming of ghetto slang.

But yeah, all the talk about semantics in the world doesn't change the fact that a man like Don Imus, calling anyone what he did, comes off as nothing but creepy, bigoted, and just plain wrong. It's like how at a party, there's always that one guy who can seemingly do or say anything and everyone will just smile, laugh, and say "oh, that's just what he does." Whereas, if I tried the same schtick at a party, people would look at me and say "hmm, Danny is acting pretty creepy." Well, Imus was THAT GUY.

Now, is there a larger problem here with offensive and derogatory phrases like "ho" being tossed around so casually in black culture that their use is beginning to have a very real, negative effect on our mainstream sense of decency and respectfulness? Yes! This is a HUGE problem that activists like Bill cosby have talked about for years! But are all rappers just going to revert back to the days of the Sugar Hill Gang and start rhyming about family-friendly subjects again? No, not now, maybe not ever. So what we are left with is a mess of a situation - the average guy now has no clue what is and isn't appropriate. And there's a totally different standard depending on your race, age, and Q-rating. Look, racism is wrong, always has been wrong, and most people don't want to ever be labeled a rascist. At the same time, Quentin Tarantino movies are filled with characters using the N-word in a way where being able to say it with laid-back nonchalance is depicted as the epitomy of post-modern cool. And I'm in no way faulting Tarantino or other movie directors for this - it is what it is. Art reflects society and vice versa. But seriously, who knows what is and isn't appropriate anymore? Again, it's all in the context.

All that being said -- good riddance to Imus. Fact is, he never had enough cred to get away with making any kind of borderline-rascist remarks, and his history of being a bigoted blowhard makes his remarks all the more disturbing and begging for some kind of outcry he got. But there's two things that I hate to see happen - 1.) I hate that all of these critics are coming out of the woodwork to condemn, when they themselves have done plenty that's worthy of condemnation. 2.) I hate that people never look at the bigger picture. All of these corporations that ousted Imus were the same ones that ran his program for YEARS with zero problems, all the while laughing as the money flowed in. Oh what's that? The sponsors have pulled out? That's it - can his ass. From a business perspective it's a no-brainer, but you know what - if we start going through the ranks of the media and the political world and weed out all of those who have made similarly offensive comments, well, let's just say that people have very, very short memories.

It really is amazing though - our culture is so utterly and totally confused. On one hand someone like Sarah Silverman goes out and puts out subversive, racially-charged humor and is lauded as a daring comedian. But man, Imus goes out there - what he says falls flat and touches a nerve with his audience - bam, he's the new poster child for rascists. I'm not saying that someone like Silverman gets a free pass, and I'm not saying Imus was unfairly villified. Like most people who aren't prone to hasty proclamations - I too am pretty confused about the whole thing and what it says about our country. All I know is that this is a complex issue being way oversimplified for the consumption of the masses - something I never approve of.

Okay, shifting gears ...

- LOST.

Wednesday's episode was pretty excellent, but man, it JUST straddled the line between "great twist" and "stop jerking me around already." I mean, Elizabeth Mitchell is great as Juliette, and even though, as I've said, I hate when shows recycle old footage, I actually loved seeing that whole "Downtown" mirror scene again because she's so good in it. That scene alone in my mind makes her very Emmy-worthy. The flashbacks in this episode were pretty intriguing as well, with a lot of interesting backstory given, and a lot of forward momentum, which on a show like this is much-appreciated.

One thing I disliked about this episode - the reuse of one of Lost's biggest cliches - the annoying, schmaltzy montage sequence where everyone on the island rejoices about something except for the one guy who gives an ominous look of dread / anxiety. In this case it was everyone going all spazzy for Jack's return, with slow-motion shots a plenty of him getting hugs and high fives, as all the while Sawyer stands alone and stares at Kate all angsty and mopey-like. Way too cheesy of a tactic for a show that in general is so good.

Now, the twist ending was pretty badass, I admit. But man, this is about IT, this is the breaking point, for how many times they can swerve us by teasing Juliette's alliegances as being for one side or the other. If it turns out that Juliette is, in fact, manipulating Ben and the Others, then this entire twist ending will have been one giant red herring. Sorry, but a twist on a twist is probably one twist too many in this case. As it stands though, Juliette stole the show this week, though Elizabeth Mitchell be warned - you can only get away with doing that ambiguous half-smile thing so long before it becomes annoying. For now though, it's all good.

My Grade: A -

- Last night, THE OFFICE had a really, really good episode. Maybe even a classic. Not only was it very funny, but it was pretty brilliantly plotted as well. Michael Scott's gradual transition from gleefully staging a fake suicide attempt to actually contemplating going through with the real thing was one of the darkest, most bitingly clever, and hilariously disturbing things I've seen on a TV comedy in a long while. This was a memorable episode, one for the books.

My Grade: A

- 30 ROCK last night had another home run. There was some good absurdist humor courtesy of Tracy Morgan and Rip Torn, and at the same time, Liz Lemon began to feel more fleshed-out as a character than she has to date, and ditto for Jack Dauneghy as played to perfection by Alec Baldwin. I hope that in its effort to become a sitcom with more mass appeal, the show manages to retain its left-field craziness and warped sensibilities. At the same time, those random jokes are always funnier when we care about the characters, so I appreciate the shows steps to have that be the case.

My Grade: A -

Some random new / new-ish movies I want to see: any thoughts?

- Year of the Dog
- The TV Set
- The Host
- the Hoax
- Meet the Robinsons

And yes, I forget when it comes out, but The Condmned looks badass!

- Man, one of my fave bands, RUSH, is coming to the Hollywood Bowl in June. And I've never seen them live and have alway wanted to. Only problem is, I know no one else who is a fan! Anyone? Anyone? McFly?

- Alright, I am outta here.

PS - True Romance = kickass movie. One of Tarantino's best scripts ...?

PPS - Is Sam Eagle of the Muppets at all based on Don Imus? I vaguely recall hearing this at some point but it's probably just an urban legend or something due to their aesthetic similarities. If so though, it'd be a darn shame to have a beloved Muppet forever tainted due to his real-life inspiration's shameful scandal.