Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 990

Chasing History: Nathaniel Montague Collects Blackness

from CNN: Nathaniel Montague spent more than 50 of his 84 years chasing history, meticulously collecting rare and one-of-a-kind fragments of America's past. Slave documents. Photographs. Signatures. Recordings.
Montague -- Magnificent Montague, as he's been known since his days as a pioneering radio DJ -- amassed an 8,000-piece collection reflecting names from the well-known to the forgotten to those history never thought to remember. It's valued in the millions; some call it priceless. One assessment of just five of the pieces puts the total value of those treasures alone somewhere between $592,000 and $940,000.

Ill Doctrine: The Last Word on That Word

Ill Doctrine: The Last Word on That Word from ANIMALNewYork.com on Vimeo.


Jay Smooth following up on "Why Gwyneth Paltrow Should Just Say 'Nuh'," to debunk the oldest and worst argument ever heard about the good old "N-word"[image error]

Dance Scholar Thomas F. DeFrantz on Combining Art and Technology

Duke University:  Thomas DeFrantz and his students are exploring new art forms that combine dance with computer science, computational design, filmmaking and other perspectives.

Learn more. Thomas F. DeFrantz discusses dance, technology and African American culture.
http://today.duke.edu/2012/03/thomasdefrantz[image error]

i am OTHER: Are You a Hipster?

from iamOTHER:
Do you consider yourself a "hipster"? Answering "NO" to this question may actually be proof that you are.[image error]

Rhythm & Basketball: Sam Cooke and Kevin Durant

The Melissa Harris Perry Show: The Politics of Black Hair

Actress Nicole Ari Parker, Cultural Critic Joan Morgan, Scholar Anthea Butler and Nikki Walton of CurlyNikki.com discuss the politics of Black Hair on the Melissa Harris Perry Show.

Covering the #Fail: The NBA, Sports Reporting & the United Hater Nation

Covering the #Fail: The NBA, Sports Reporting & the United Hater Nation by David J. Leonard | NewBlackMan
I have lost that lovin' feeling.  Already a recovering baseball, football, and college sports fan, I am slowly starting to hate the NBA.  Don’t get me wrong – I love the game; there is nothing like a crisp bounce pass, a thunderous dunk, an ankle-breaking crossover, a fadeaway jumper, and a last second shot.  Nothing compares to the beauty of the NBA game, or its excitement, competitiveness, and unpredictability.  No other sport can compare when it comes to artistry and memorable moments: MJ’s jumper over Bryon Russell, Magic’s baby hook, Reggie’s 8 points in 9 seconds, Kobe’s alley-oop to Shaq, Robert Horry/Derek Fisher, and that is just a few playoff moments.  Just think: Iverson’s crossover, Duncan’s bank shot, the Dream shake. Shaq’s rim tattlers, Ray Allen’s jumper, Gervin’s finger roll, and MJ/Kobe’s baseline jumper.  The sight of LeBron James or Kevin Durant getting in the zone is not simply greatness personified but pure beauty.  Perfection, beauty, and timeless are the words I would use to describe the NBA yet I have lost that lovin' feeling. 
My waning love isn’t about the hypocrisy of a league that sells its products through hip-hop at the same time it disparages and regulates its presence.  It isn’t about an overzealous commissioner who vetoes trades for basketball reasons or even the league’s racial and class politics.  It isn’t about greedy owners and the treatment of players.  I have long come to grips with my discomfort, remaining a fan in spite of these troubling realities for the love of the game.  Yet, that love doesn’t feel eternal.
The last week of the playoffs has highlighted my growing unease with basketball, which has nothing to do with the players, the league, or even basketball.  I am starting to hate watching the NBA (and sports in general) because of the media, fans, and the cultural politics of blame.  Upon the conclusion of several playoff games, commentators and fans alike immediately took to their respective platforms to blame players for a loss, to disparage, mock, and otherwise ridicule these great athletes.  It is not just the glee the results from THEIR loss, but the pleasure in denigrating and disrespecting another person’s hard work and artistry that is killing my love softly and slowly, especially during the playoffs.  
Even James’ historic performance in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals did not silence every critic with questions raised as to whether he could play at the level in a 4th quarter with the score tied, or whether or not he had the mental toughness to make that last 2nd shot.  I am surprise he wasn’t criticized for not having 25 assists along with his 45 points.  Where is the love?
The postgame commentary following game 2 (and likely game 4) between the Lakers and Thunder was no different in terms of the blame game, although it included death threats directed at Steve Blake.  With debates about who was responsible for the Lakers inability to close and secure in those games (Kobe, Pau, Bynum, Coach Brown, role players; Jim Buss??) few even acknowledged the execution from the Thunder.  The Thunder won that game and would ultimately win 4 games.  The Thunder execution when it counted was amazing, especially for the young and untested team from OKC.  That continued into the Spurs series.  Yet, in many instances, the exceptional play of the Thunder and all its players hasn’t been the focus from the media and fans on social media given the dominance of the culture of blame, uber criticism, and the haters that dominate the NBA landscape. 
What is worse and certainly more corrosive to sport culture is the joy and pleasure fans and even sports media pundits take from watching others fail.  The number of tweets and online cheap shots that pop up at the conclusion of any number of games devalues the game.  At the conclusion of the Heat and Lakers’ games, non-Heat and non-Thunder fans have taken to twitter to celebrate the loss; that is, their failure to win combined with individual struggles (missed shots; not taking shots), seems to the basis of fandom.  Pleasure increasingly comes from calling LeBron a “choker” and “mentally” weak leaves me to wonder what will commentators and fans talk about on those when he delivers 40 and 18.  When Kobe scored 81 against the Raptors many critics chastised him for shooting too much and only getting a few assists; surely some even scoffed on fact that he didn’t score 82.  No time to praise and celebrate when there is criticism to be leveled.
If LeBron and Kobe ended world hunger, these folks would criticize them for taking too long.  Combine the blame game and name-calling with the joy and pleasure derived from other’s pain and suffering and you can see not only everything that is wrong with what surrounds today’s NBA culture but our mean-spirited culture.
Haters are nothing new; fans and media that power and power pleasure in criticizing is as old as the game it self.  Yet, with 24-7 sports networks, countless debate shows, and talk radio, the blame game rules the day.  As with America’s political culture, defined by partisan commentators blaming politicians for societal problems and politicians scapegoating other politicians and the people themselves for larger issues, the politics of sports blame creates a climate where the post-game commentary has become more important than the game itself.  The similarities are striking and disturbing at so many levels.  Whereas Republicans blame regulation and government for unemployment; whereas the Right blames a culture of poverty or the lack of a work ethic for persistent poverty; whereas the GOP blames teachers for educational shortcomings, unions for budgetary issues; and the Left for value changes; and whereas society blames hip-hop and scapegoats community of color for __________ (fill in blank with any social ill or problem), I want sports to be something different. 
But in many ways it is not any different.  In terms of its replicating society’s ills, embracing its politics, its celebration of victory/$ over anything else and embracing of a politics of hate and blame, sports is no escape.  In absence of something to hate on, a player to blame, it is almost as if sports cannot exist just as the game itself. 
In an effort to reclaim my love for basketball and avoid the trap of blaming others for my changing relationship with my national pastime, I have decided to make that change.  No more debate shows; no more Sports Center spotlight segments, and no more commentaries – post-game twitter is now off limits.  Nothing but the game and me.  I may even begin to watch the game on mute so that the beauty of the game, the greatness of the players, and their commitment to excellence will be fully visible without the corrupting voices of sensationalism and haters.  Just basketball and me. 
Just me and CP3’s competitiveness; just me and Kevin Durant’s clutch 3; just me and the beauty of the Spurs versatility; just me and LeBron James dribbling through defenses, powering up for another layup; just me and the Pacers defense; just me and KG’s longevity; just me and harden’s sweet left hand; just me and the potential of Dru Holiday, Darren Collison, and Russell Westbrook; just me and Kobe’s and Wade’s greatness.  Just me and clutch shots from “The Truth” and James Harden.  Just me and LeBron in the zone. Just me and those post-game glasses; just me and a fantastic game. 
The game is too beautiful, and the game is too exciting, unpredictable, and unscripted to do anything but just sit back and love this game.  Let the haters hate, the blamers blame, and those whose very existence is predicative on telling people what to hate, ridicule, and fear, because I will be watching the NBA, a beautiful game indeed.  Just in the couple days since putting the blame game and the haters on mute, I already got that lovin' feeling back.  Silence is golden!
***
David J. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. He has written on sport, video games, film, and social movements, appearing in both popular and academic mediums. His work explores the political economy of popular culture, examining the interplay between racism, state violence, and popular representations through contextual, textual, and subtextual analysis.  Leonard’s latest book After Artest: Race and the Assault on Blackness was just published by SUNY Press.

Audra McDonald & Tony Nominee Norm Lewis Perform "Bess, You Is My Woman Now"

Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis Perform "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" on The View.

'Stick Fly' Actress Condola Rashad Discusses Tony Award Nomination

Condola Rashad on being nominated for a 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for Stick Fly (written by Lydia Diamond; dir.  Kenny Leon).

Moyers & Company: Big Money, Big Media, Big Trouble

Marty Kaplan on Big Money's Effect on Big Media from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.


Moyers & Company:
Big money and big media have coupled to create a ‘Disney World’ of democracy in which TV shows, televised debates, even news coverage is being dumbed down, just as the volume is being turned up. The result is a public certainly more entertained, but less informed and personally involved than they should be, says Marty Kaplan, director of USC’s Norman Lear Center and an entertainment industry veteran. Bill Moyers talks with Kaplan about how taking news out of the journalism box and placing it in the entertainment box is hurting democracy and allowing special interest groups to manipulate the system.