Thursday, January 19, 2006

Morning Edition - 1/19/06

Idol Ignorance
Now in its fifth season, American Idol aired Tuesday night to much fanfare. Truth be told, I was there front-and-center with a group of friends and we laughed at most of the talent-less kids who ran through the audition process. The laughter quickly turned to smirks, and then angry frown lines when Simon Cowell, the British judge known for his mean streak and esteem-demolishing wit, began an even crueler and bigoted line of verbal lashing on several contestants. What it boiled down to was homophobia at its worst and an obvious disdain for the overweight participants. With a Nielsen audience well in the millions, Cowell gave America the impression that it’s okay – even hysterically funny – to suggest a young man shave and become a woman and that his hope for season five is that the stage is larger to sustain the girth of the new, meatier contestants. At a time when 2/3 of Americans are overweight and homophobia is at an all-time high for such a progressive country, this behavior is intolerable. It is not okay to blurt out comments that are hurtful, bigoted, small-minded and ignorant for the sake of laughs – especially when impressionable teens are watching. As a fan of the show I was at best, disturbed and disappointed that someone didn’t step-in and set Cowell straight.

Memoirs of A Geisha; Love Waits
If you have a soft-spot for love, Memoirs of A Geisha will win you over and leave you teary eyed. Ziyi Zhang is Chiyo, sold to a Geisha house at the age of nine as a servant who is transformed into Sayuri, the most coveted Geisha in Japan. The story takes place in depression-era Japan and shows the cruelty endured by the youngster on her road to the prominent position of becoming a Geisha. It is her childhood encounter with The Chairman, Ken Watanabe that changes the youngster and gives her hope and strength to overcome the many obstacles on her way to stardom. Sayuri vows to lock away her heart for the Chairman and at the end of the film it is revealed whether their love can withstand all things and live on forever. The film is completely in English – no subtitles - and this sometimes leads to cheesy translations. If you’re not into romantic drama, wait for the DVD, but if you could use a film that pulls at the chords of your hopeful heart go ahead and spend the big screen cash.

On Blast
Children are impressionable. What powerful negative impression did an adult make in your life that you feel/felt you needed to overcome? How did that impression change your interaction with your children? What words or comments have you vowed never/always to use when interacting with your own children?

Keep passin’ the open windows…

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I promised myself that I would never consume alcohol. My mother and father use to drink on a daily basis and the hurt that it caused me and my siblings will never be forgotten. To this day, I can't be around people who can't handle their drinking. I refuse to even entertain dating or even a real friendship with a person who consumes more alcohol than they can handle. I will attend a party but I will leave soon after if alcohol is being served. I can't even stand bars with nothing but drinkers and alcohol. I know that I will harbor these strong feeling all of my life and it all comes from how my parents disrespected that brew.

Just Me...

Anonymous said...

Dear Administrator,

I've read your comments on AI and urge you to voice your distain on AI's website. This is only a small forum to voice your opinions. Truth be said, I thought that Sea-Monkey Simon was gay.

Unknown said...

Sadly, my dad probably did the most damage to my self esteem growing up. As the first-born male child, I was expected to be my dad’s mirror image and the epitome of Hispanic machismo. Unfortunately, following my rough-and-tumble 2-5 year old stage, I exhibited some flamboyant and less-than-masculine traits (well, as far as he was concerned) and was constantly berated about my behavior in public. His disapproval and consistent put-downs made me more self-conscious of the behavior he disliked and only served to exaggerate it. Ultimately, I gave up on trying to please dad and he gave up on expecting much from me. Our relationship suffered tremendously and to this day we’re pretty tense around each other. I love my dad and have no doubt he loves me, but it made me very aware of how children should be spoken to. To this day, I make it a point to be stern and clear with my nephews, nieces and siblings, but never highlight traits about their appearance or behavior that will only serve to diminish them. For the record, I’m completely comfortable in my own skin today, but it was a tough journey made tougher by cruel and unnecessary comments by an adult.

Anonymous #2 – I sent a complaint letter to Fox directly yesterday. It may not mean much, but it made me feel I did my part, rather than sit-by idly and watch ignorant behavior/comments go unchecked. Like yourself, I believe Simon is a prime example of the guy who yells “Faggot” the loudest… enough said.

Tammy…Simon may have made comments that were cruel in regards to weight issues in the past (ie. Frenchy) but his comments of late are even more cruel and uncalled-for. His homophobic remarks are especially insulting because they have nothing to do with the talent competition and what it stands for. The “business” is known for being a melting pot of straight, gay and bisexual artists anyway, so where does he get off pushing that hatred?

Whew… well that was a much needed break for me…. LOL

Anonymous said...

I personally have a strong love and respect for children. They are the one of the greatest gift God has given us. Hence is the reason why I love my very own to no end and will never abandoned them like my mom did to me. On another note with regards to Simon and his view point. No one should be overweight if they can help it!!! That's the bottom line!!!

Unknown said...

Three cheers for Anonymous (10:14a.m.)! I'm glad you love your children...hopefully they'll never develop a weight issue - since you agree with Simon that, "No one should be overweight if they can help it!!!" Now if they develop a weight issue, I say you go on national TV in front of millions and humiliate them for it. That always does the trick for making folks drop weight fast. ::::Bridge for sale, today only.:::::

Unknown said...

Yeah... well, what can you say? Ignorance will see itself and ....

I'm taking my fat azz out to lunch... luv ya' Tam! :)