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Disclaimer: I want to be sure folks understand that my overview of Black Film history is extremely brief here and I do not profess to be a film history guru.  I will fully admit that many of the things stated here are generalized for the sake of brevity, and that an entire book could be written on this subject.  I simply tackled it for the big picture affect.  This idea was sparked from my last entry regarding my review of Red Tails, and the ensuing clamor I saw happening the weekend it premiered.  Enjoy.

George Lucas appeared in various places to promote Red Tails, a film paying homage to the Tuskegee Airmen. In a viral explosion, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and various other media quoted Lucas on how he couldn’t get financial backing from major studios for Red Tails because of its all Black cast. In the minds of major film studio execs, an all Black cast for any story would not generate enough sales domestically or internationally. Lucas shared the logic of the execs with blunt terms, and said that he put $58 million of his own money to distribute the film. Lucas had confirmed the racism within the Hollywood system, and it became a rally cry to support Red Tails with its dollars to disprove “the suits”. Various other Black writers and bloggers were skeptical as to why they should see the film, even using Lucas’ interracial relationship as fodder for their criticism.  Nevertheless, the primary voices seemed to shout, “We have to show Hollywood that Blacks have a voice!  If we don’t support this with our money, we can say goodbye to high budgeted, good quality films!”  It was  a call to action to prove the power of the Black audience and their desire for positive portrayals, that all black casts were just as equal to the primarily all White films distributed, as well as pay homage to these Black war heroes. If people didn’t see the film, it would prove the studios right and we would pretty much say goodbye to all Black films.  One must ask, is Black cinema truly in danger of extinction?  Through a brief look at Black film history we see that if extinction were possible, it would be less about the restrictions from major studios and more about the Black community that has diversified in many directions.

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After today, the 2010 Grammy Awards won’t be relevant,  so I wanted to talk about it before it faded in the wind (like most awards shows these past few years seem to do).

I recently asked myself:  “Why is art important?  Why should anyone care about any form of artistic expression, be it music, film, painting, etc. ?”

My answer:  All creative expressions serve to engage the mind…take people places in their imaginations…problem solve…address problems that we overlook…share history…unite people and bring our collective consciousness together…teach..and sometimes just relieve the stress of life through entertainment.

Those seem like important reasons, right?

Well, watching the Grammys this year, you wouldn’t get the impression that art or creativity were important.  It was a crying shame.  I can’t remember who won an award except Taylor Swift.  More on that later…

Last year there were a lot of acts I hadn’t heard of, but I was blown away by some of them.  For example: Sugarland.  I converted to liking Country music after their performance.  Watch their video for “Stay”.  Listen to the lyrics and tell me that it’s not a moving song.  Go ahead.  I’ll wait.

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin) won Album of the Year for Raising Sand.   My friends and I were like “Are you serious?”  We thought it was an act of favoritism mixed with racism…We were wrong.

Get the album Raising Sand.  It’s a piece of ART.

This year?  Well…

Lady Gaga- Pretty dope.  Duet with Elton John.  It was wild, unpredictable.  A bit creepy, but what else is new?

Pink- Can anyone name 3 of her hits?  Clearly she has fans, and every year she’s at award shows and performing…but I only know of “There You Go”.  She came out as the hip, edgy, “Black”-White girl.  Then it was kinda Rock.  Now I don’t know what it is.  I understand reinventing yourself and blending genres, but I never quite understood what she does, or where her fans came from.

I didn’t mind her body in that Cirque Du Soleil outfit!  Now, ask me what was the name of the song she sang, or what the song was about?  Can you tell me?  Let me know.

Jaime Foxx- Hype!  It was going good, but then his sister appeared, then Slash on the guitar out of nowhere, then I was just confused.  Fun though.  He said “Jay I had to bring the auto-tune.” haha

Black Eyed Peas- Their transformation over the years has stunned and bothered me.  Good for them making their money; but again, like Pink, I don’t know where their hearts lie.  You can tell me they’re being “artists” or “reinventing”, but there’s a point where I wonder: Are you doing this to stay with your “demographic”?  If your music is dope, I would prolly be able to overlook it; but, if you treat music like fashion, then you’re just as good and relevant as last year’s style.

And BEP’s background dancers were weird!  The homegirl ComputrBlu on Twitter said: “[My daughter] just said mom whats this? Turn it off…I don’t want to watch this *while shaking her head* lol”

A few hours later she tweets:  “Parents any advice in how to deal with night terrors in children? pls dm me”

News Flash- If you give kids nightmares, there’s a problem.

Michael Jackson dedication-  Too bad I didn’t know about that campaign the Grammys did for people to get 3D glasses at Target or in the newspaper.  File that under: “Marketing Fail”.  This isn’t Avatar.  Be original.

MJ’s kids-  As I said on Twitter, I think that whenever MJs kids speak they’ll silence a room.

Lil Wayne, Eminem, & Drake.  Pretty dope start.  But the instant Drake stepped on stage my boy Clarence said:  “He doesn’t belong up there with them.”

Drake is a long discussion.  All I’m saying is, every-time I hear Drake, I think “Lil Wayne” .  I don’t see him making a serious impact on Hip Hop music culture.  People will copy him because they want a record deal and to be famous, not because they idolize and respect him as an artist.  But hey, I could be wrong!

The most interesting moment was Album of The Year.  Oh the look in Lady Gaga’s eyes was priceless!   She wanted it so bad!  Then it went to Taylor Swift.  From a long-range shot from the stage, you could see Gaga’s Ice Queen hat, and feel her icy cold stare at the stage, as the Grammy fell into the clutches of oh-so-sweet Taylor Swift.

Ah yes, Little Miss Taylor Swift.  Even her name sounds like it’s from a Fairy Tale.  With her innocent smile and milky white glowing skin.  Mark my words, Gaga is now the villainess.  The Wicked Witch Vs Dorothy.

And for y’all sayin Taylor should thank Kanye, no she shouldn’t.  She’s been making a name for herself.  Kanye brought her name to the ‘hood, but that’s it.

Face it.  Country outsells Hip Hop & R&B (at least in the U.S.).  I can’t be mad though.  Like Ray Charles said, Country music has great stories in the lyrics.

Maybe some of you “Urban” acts could learn a thing or two from Country….

…but before that happens,  Lady Antebellum needs to change their damn name.