[scifinoir2] FW: What?! Chappelle Show Kaput?
Original Message- From: Mel Cragwell, II [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 5:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: What?! Chappelle Show Kaput? http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20050803/en_tv_eo/17075 What?! Chappelle Show Kaput? By Josh Grossberg 55 minutes ago Fans who were hoping that Dave Chappelle would soon return to work are not going to want to hear this. Charlie Murphy, a writer and actor on the funnyman's top-rated Chappelle's Show, dropped a bombshell to the New York Post Wednesday, saying that, to his knowledge, the hit Comedy Central series has officially run its course. I don't think Dave is going to do it anymore, Murphy told the Post. We shot about eight shows for the third season, and they're hilarious. They'll be released on DVD, I'm sure. But that's it. Murphy, the older brother of comic actor Eddie Murphy, has emerged out of his sibling's shadow thanks to his dual roles as both a writer and performeron Chappelle's Show. Viewers know him best in one skit, Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories, in which he played himself relating real-life tales of hanging out with his more famous brother and whooping funk Superfreak Rick James' ass. The segment caught fire thanks to Chappelle, who played James and turned I'm Rick James, bitch! into an instantly popular catchphrase, launching Chappelle's Show into the ratings stratosphere. Season three of Chappelle's Show was supposed to premiere May 31, but production ground to a halt last April after Chappelle disappeared on an impromptu South African spiritual retreat. According to Murphy, all was fun, very normal during shooting. One new skit they did for the new season was one of the funniest bits they ever came up with. It was hilarious, Murphy recalled to the Post. I was Frankenstein, Dave was the Wolfman, Donnell [Rawlings] was the Mummy. We were living together and experiencing problems, because we're monsters. But I thought it was because I was black that all these things were happening, not because I was Frankenstein. All for naught apparently. Chappelle's abrupt absence led wild press speculation as to why he went MIA. Newsweek was the first to take a stab, reporting that friends blamed a combination of too much partying, overwhelming pressure to make good on his $50 million contract and creative sparring with Comedy Central executives led to the meltdown. But Chappelle later said such suggestions were half-baked. I'm not crazy, I'm not smoking crack. I'm definitely stressed out, he told Time magazine in his only comments on the matter. The comedian added that it was only now beginning to dawn on him just how much of a pop culture sensation Chappelle's Show had become, and the trip was necessary to clear his head and mull the show's creative future. In late May, Chappelle eventually surfaced in his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio, before heading back to Los Angeles in early June and performing a series of surprise standup routines in area comedy clubs. In another interview with TV Guide, however, Murphy indicated that Chappelle decided to pull the plug because he wanted to work on the new stand-up material for a big show he'd like to take out on the road later this year. I'm disappointed it ended the way it did, but I'm not angry with anybody, he said. Chappelle's Show was like the Tupac of TV shows. It came out, it got everybody's attention, it was a bright shining star, but it burned out and for some strange reason, it burned out quick. But as far as network president, Doug Herzog, has previously stated, the door is wide open for the entertainer's return. The ball's in Dave's court, Herzog told the Hollywood Reporter recently. If you see him, tell him to phone home. The loss of its top show has turned out not to have done much damage. Comedy Central ratings are actually up a bit this season, though Herzog acknowledged they'd be higher with Chappelle's irreverent humor aboard. In any case, until they get an official confirmation from Chappelle as to what his plans are, fans will just have to be satisfied with the release of the first two seasons of Chappelle's Show on DVD, both of which have been selling like hotcakes and snagged the title for the fastest-selling DVD of a TV series ever. HOW-TO-JOIN: Join Boston Blacks Online via the World Wide Web at http://www.blackpeople.com/bbo HOW-TO-LEAVE: To stop receiving mail from this list, send an email message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a BLANK subject line and the message leave bbo Please note that NOTHING else should be in the message and the message must be sent in plain text. If your mail is being sent in HTML, the automated list manager will not be able to process your request. If you are not removed, send a copy of whatever you sent to the list manager to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that you will NOT receive any kind of personal assistance until AFTER you have attempted to remove yourself via the automated list manager at [EMAIL
[scifinoir2] Re: What does Sci-Fi have against Black people?
--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: i posted about this during Season one of Galactica and did a count of Blacks. I counted about three or four, incuding the comm officer and some nameless pilots (I assume) used in the background. I then found a lot of Blacks existed afterall: on the prison barge! When Apollo was sent over there to quell the riots, the place was lousy with Big Black Man, most of them dark-skinned as hell and bald... See, you guys have me ROFLMBAO! I'm gonna double-check for that when I get the Season 1 DVD in September, but you're probably right and IIRC, Saggiterion, where Zarek and his followers are from, is considered the ghetto of the colonies. Go figure. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ~-- font face=arial size=-1a href=http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12h2c7b8p/M=362335.6886444.7839734.2575449/D=groups/S=1705034827:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123255015/A=2894362/R=0/SIG=138c78jl6/*http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/arts_culture/?source=YAHOOcmpgn=GRPRTP=http://groups.yahoo.com/;What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater?Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good/a./font ~- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
RE: [scifinoir2] What will the future hold?
...someone's idea of Utopia will be someone else's idea of Hell... Great point, which makes the idea of a human race reaching harmony in the next century unlikely. Sometimes I still wonder if the only way we'll quickly pull together as a race is due to a threat that almost kills us all. Either a near-apocalyptic war which finally makes us get it, or perhaps an alien invasion scenario that makes us unite. But even then, I doubt it. One, humans, alone among God's creations, can lie to ourselves. Someone would always blame someone else for a nuclear holocaust, and it's possible centuries after healing we'd be at it again, forgetting or denying the realities of what came before. After all, didn't they call WWI The War to end all wars. Yeah, right. Two, from the scifi angle, I've always been a little uncomfortable with using aliens to unite us. It seems to me that is simply replacing certain existing prejudices--racial, gender, class, religious--with another, that against aliens. I remember how in the original Star Trek, Kirk always bragged of how racism was completely eliminated on Earth. Yet I noted plenty of dislike, even prejudice, against aliens, be it human discomfort with Vulcan Logic, or Kirk's innate repulsion to the reptilian Gorn. The one thing Enterprise did right was show how, even though human internal bigotry was all but gone, there was still plenty left over for aliens. Transferring hatred is not the solution. Catastrophic events *can* make us mature as a race, but the downside may not be worth it. Also, as we gain more technology, those events can be worse. The Civil War united many Americans into a stronger Union, but it cost thousands of lives, and Blacks still got screwed. World Wars I and II ultimately created some new, strong alliances, but they also created opposing alliances, killed millions, WWI helped spread a worldwide flu pandemic that killed tens of millions, the impoverished in many countries were even worse off, and some totalitarian governments used the chaos following the wars to establish themselves. The next catastrophic event to make us grow could be devastating due to the power of nuclear or biological weapons likely to be used. Not sure we can afford that. Can Man only grow through this type of suffering? Sometimes I think Scenario Two is the best we can hope for: muddling along slowly, slowly, crawling toward maturity and enlightenment, praying like hell we don't destroy ourselves before we can reach it. -Original Message- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Astromancer Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 00:33 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] What will the future hold? I think storieswe see usually end or start the way they do because...well, it seems the human tendency is to try to bring order to a universe that tends toward disorder rather than to harmonize with it...Why try to force it into your idea of perfection intead of embracing and working with its uniqueness? Also, all of humanity resists, though unsuccessfully, change. Even the most open-minded of us tend to resist change in some form or another...But for story writers, that's ok...It is conflict that makes the stories interesting. Any one of the scenarios are great to me although Utopia seems the most unrealistic to me...No matter how perfect a world, someone's idea of Utopia will be someone else's idea of Hell, i.e. 'Logan's Run' and 'A Brave New World'...However, I'd love to see a universe where reality shows are outlawed under penalty of death! LOL Keith Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:From a recent conversation. Which scenario seems most likely to you may reflect your current feelings about society, humanity, and the country in which you live: What will the world be like one hundred years from now? Hmmm...let's consult the ol' crystal ball... Scenario one: Utopia. Leaving behind the destructive depencies on fossil fuels and mechanisms, we have returned to Eden. We are one with the Earth, using holistic medicine, eating organic food (much of which is produced from giant kelp farms on the ocean). Solar and wind power provide most of our energy, along with safe, clean fusion. Travel across the world is possible via underground supersonic tubes; cars when used are electric, and use vast intelligent networks to drive you to your destination and avoid accidents. Cities are built with a mind to blend with the environment, rather than disrupt it. The rainforests, coral reefs, plankton, and the ozone layer are all on the rebound. Racism and religious intolerance have been replaced with an embrace of diversity. Worldwide cooperation in the life sciences has cured most disease and yielded phenomenal methods to heal injuries. The average human lives to be 110 years old. Luna and Mars have been colonized and are yielding valuable materials which can only be produced in low-G environments. Humanity is exploring the rest of the Solar
RE: [scifinoir2] What will the future hold?
I sure did, thanks! I meant to send a reply but probably forgot it. My wife is doing better, though it's still hard as hell of course. It has helped us in some ways: i've finally got her jotting down her thoughts in a journal, and I've been writing more consistenly. How you doin'? -Original Message- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Astromancer Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 00:35 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] What will the future hold? BTW, Keith, did you get my email?? I meant it to sooth some of the rough times you endured recently...I hope all is well with you now... Keith Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:From a recent conversation. Which scenario seems most likely to you may reflect your current feelings about society, humanity, and the country in which you live: What will the world be like one hundred years from now? Hmmm...let's consult the ol' crystal ball... Scenario one: Utopia. Leaving behind the destructive depencies on fossil fuels and mechanisms, we have returned to Eden. We are one with the Earth, using holistic medicine, eating organic food (much of which is produced from giant kelp farms on the ocean). Solar and wind power provide most of our energy, along with safe, clean fusion. Travel across the world is possible via underground supersonic tubes; cars when used are electric, and use vast intelligent networks to drive you to your destination and avoid accidents. Cities are built with a mind to blend with the environment, rather than disrupt it. The rainforests, coral reefs, plankton, and the ozone layer are all on the rebound. Racism and religious intolerance have been replaced with an embrace of diversity. Worldwide cooperation in the life sciences has cured most disease and yielded phenomenal methods to heal injuries. The average human lives to be 110 years old. Luna and Mars have been colonized and are yielding valuable materials which can only be produced in low-G environments. Humanity is exploring the rest of the Solar System in ships which ride the solar winds. Wal-Mart is no more. American Idol has been outlawed. Examples: Can't think of a single bloody movie or book at the moment--at least, not one that doesn't end with Satan crawling back into Paradise and ruining things Likelihood: Not sure how likely this future is. I'll ask the Easter Bunny and Santa what they think next time I see them... Scenario two: Status quo. The world goes on much the way it always has. Some good times, some bad. Good leaders, crooked leaders. Rogue states, and cooperative alliances. Lots of wars still being fought, just no world wars, no nuclear exchanges. Terrorism still a problem but the dreaded nuking of a city by fanatics never took place. (Okay, maybe one). Some people prosper, some starve. Some countries are rich, others are still poor. Technological improvements abound in terms of DNA research, AI, curing disease, etc. For many the world's a better place, but it's not Utopia. We go to work, to school, to the movies--which are now holographic--the same as previous decades. Kids learn more thanks to neural hookups that tie their brains directly into their computer ports, and phone calls are made and answered with circuitry implanted in the bones of the skull. None of it is any more out of the ordinary than iPods or PDAs are now. In short, it's more of the same, with humanity crawling slowly forward, with times of regression. It'll be a world much like ours, just with cooler stuff. Examples: Minority Report (minus the telepathy angle), Star Trek, Century City Likelihood: Highly probable. If we don't kill ourselves I think humanity will just muddle along... Scenario three: Big Brother as God. Technologically and materially we'll be much like Scenario two above. But socially, politically--ah, there's the rub! A world in which religious and philosphical views dictate our personal lives even more than now. Separation of Church and State is gone, replaced by virtual theocracies in which state views on religion and morality shape everything you do. Need a job? Worship the right god (or in some countries, none at all). Call yourself a Christian? Better be the right kind if you want to avoid harassment. Better watch the right TV shows, read the right books, surf the right Web sites, as the Patriot Act will have expanded to give the government the right to monitor anything you do, anytime they feel like it. School prayer is mandatory, Bible studies enforced as part of the curriculum, evolution not only not taught, but a criminal offense to discuss. Newspapers run by the state, reporters little more than hand-picked stooges to filter what info the public receives. In America the two-party system has died off, as only the Constitutional Conservative Christian Party is allowed to field candidates. Behaviour is closely monitored, from the type (and gender) of partner you pick, to the number of kids you can have, how
RE: [scifinoir2] Re: What does Sci-Fi have against Black people?
Like many of y'all have said--better than me, I might add--it ultimately boils down to us controlling our own. Between whites that are prejudiced, whites that aren't prejudiced but let market factors shaped by *other* whites influence their decisions, and whites that simply don't get it, we're always fighting an uphill battle. Why are so many Blacks in scifi often used as aliens that are either weird looking, or noble savages? I've complained more than once that Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis each use the noble savage in Teal'c and Teyla. Did you know that Rodney's character (the nerdy, grouchy, scary genius on Atlantis) was originally written for a Black man? The producers claim they couldn't find a Brother to really fit the role, so they brought in Rodney! Even then, what was odd was that the man they wanted was described as an elderly Black man. I have *nothing* against older actors. Indeed, I celebrate their usage, which is too infrequent. But it's strange that so often white geniuses (Daniel Jackson, Samatha Carter) are often depicted as young, vibrant, and attractive, but Black ones--when depicted--are often older, nerdier, unattractive. Strange. We could go on asking questions such as why someone like Will Smith still can't make a movie where he has a Black love interest, but again, it's back to us doing our own... -Original Message- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of DJ VIBE Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 09:16 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: What does Sci-Fi have against Black people? --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: i posted about this during Season one of Galactica and did a count of Blacks. I counted about three or four, incuding the comm officer and some nameless pilots (I assume) used in the background. I then found a lot of Blacks existed afterall: on the prison barge! When Apollo was sent over there to quell the riots, the place was lousy with Big Black Man, most of them dark-skinned as hell and bald... See, you guys have me ROFLMBAO! I'm gonna double-check for that when I get the Season 1 DVD in September, but you're probably right and IIRC, Saggiterion, where Zarek and his followers are from, is considered the ghetto of the colonies. Go figure. _ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS *Visit your group scifinoir2 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2 on the web. *To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] *Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ . _ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ~-- font face=arial size=-1a href=http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hercgds/M=362335.6886444.7839734.2575449/D=groups/S=1705034827:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123259846/A=2894362/R=0/SIG=138c78jl6/*http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/arts_culture/?source=YAHOOcmpgn=GRPRTP=http://groups.yahoo.com/;What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater?Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good/a./font ~- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
RE: [scifinoir2] What will the future hold?
I'm trying hard to get some writing done also...However, I have found that either my short stories are too long or too explicit for the mainstream mags so as of now, I can't find anyone who would publish my stuff...That's ok...I'm trying hard to get my stuff to market as well as getting back in school...I took an assessment course for a veteran upward bound program here in Chicago. It is a refresher course designed to prep you to go on to college...they will place me on a level to best prepare me. After looking at my scores, I think they will be starting me at second grade! lol I am looking forward to the stimulation though. I wish you and your wife well and I look forward to seeing your work on the market soon... Wayne, a.k.a Astromancer Keith Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I sure did, thanks! I meant to send a reply but probably forgot it. My wife is doing better, though it's still hard as hell of course. It has helped us in some ways: i've finally got her jotting down her thoughts in a journal, and I've been writing more consistenly. How you doin'? -Original Message- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Astromancer Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 00:35 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] What will the future hold? BTW, Keith, did you get my email?? I meant it to sooth some of the rough times you endured recently...I hope all is well with you now... Keith Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:From a recent conversation. Which scenario seems most likely to you may reflect your current feelings about society, humanity, and the country in which you live: What will the world be like one hundred years from now? Hmmm...let's consult the ol' crystal ball... Scenario one: Utopia. Leaving behind the destructive depencies on fossil fuels and mechanisms, we have returned to Eden. We are one with the Earth, using holistic medicine, eating organic food (much of which is produced from giant kelp farms on the ocean). Solar and wind power provide most of our energy, along with safe, clean fusion. Travel across the world is possible via underground supersonic tubes; cars when used are electric, and use vast intelligent networks to drive you to your destination and avoid accidents. Cities are built with a mind to blend with the environment, rather than disrupt it. The rainforests, coral reefs, plankton, and the ozone layer are all on the rebound. Racism and religious intolerance have been replaced with an embrace of diversity. Worldwide cooperation in the life sciences has cured most disease and yielded phenomenal methods to heal injuries. The average human lives to be 110 years old. Luna and Mars have been colonized and are yielding valuable materials which can only be produced in low-G environments. Humanity is exploring the rest of the Solar System in ships which ride the solar winds. Wal-Mart is no more. American Idol has been outlawed. Examples: Can't think of a single bloody movie or book at the moment--at least, not one that doesn't end with Satan crawling back into Paradise and ruining things Likelihood: Not sure how likely this future is. I'll ask the Easter Bunny and Santa what they think next time I see them... Scenario two: Status quo. The world goes on much the way it always has. Some good times, some bad. Good leaders, crooked leaders. Rogue states, and cooperative alliances. Lots of wars still being fought, just no world wars, no nuclear exchanges. Terrorism still a problem but the dreaded nuking of a city by fanatics never took place. (Okay, maybe one). Some people prosper, some starve. Some countries are rich, others are still poor. Technological improvements abound in terms of DNA research, AI, curing disease, etc. For many the world's a better place, but it's not Utopia. We go to work, to school, to the movies--which are now holographic--the same as previous decades. Kids learn more thanks to neural hookups that tie their brains directly into their computer ports, and phone calls are made and answered with circuitry implanted in the bones of the skull. None of it is any more out of the ordinary than iPods or PDAs are now. In short, it's more of the same, with humanity crawling slowly forward, with times of regression. It'll be a world much like ours, just with cooler stuff. Examples: Minority Report (minus the telepathy angle), Star Trek, Century City Likelihood: Highly probable. If we don't kill ourselves I think humanity will just muddle along... Scenario three: Big Brother as God. Technologically and materially we'll be much like Scenario two above. But socially, politically--ah, there's the rub! A world in which religious and philosphical views dictate our personal lives even more than now. Separation of Church and State is gone, replaced by virtual theocracies in which state views on religion and morality shape everything you do. Need a job? Worship the right god (or in some countries, none at all). Call
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: What does Sci-Fi have against Black people?
Tiny as this audience is, it has the nerve to be extremely fractured and segmented. - You choice of words seem pretty harsh. How about us being more diversitfied in our tastes? That is simply one more challenge...It means you can keep serving up vanilla if you know that they crave a little butter pecan as well... Kelly Wright [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:The problem with this is amply illustrated on the various black sci- fi and fantasy lists I subscribe to: all the black folks on those lists like sci-fi, fantasy, anime, comic books and horror, but all of those black folks don't like the SAME sci-fi, fantasy, anime, comic books and horror. Tiny as this audience is, it has the nerve to be extremely fractured and segmented. It has become crystal clear that what floats my boat, won't necessarily float anybody else's boat. In fact, sci-fi and fantasy constitutes a very small part of my current reading or viewing. I would much rather read a good detective novel than a good sci-fi book: I am more apt to read Walter Mosley than Brandon Massey. My heavy SF reading was almost a quarter century ago. I remain in these groups because the people I have met there tend to be interesting and intelligent but when it comes to satisfying our diverse tastes, I don't believe we can all get along! ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, md_moore42 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: That's why I mentioned editing and supporting the writers with our cash. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, tetsuwanatom1 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: star. You pitch it to the studio . . . and they say no. Just because we write the movie doesn't mean it will get made. I suppose then you could say, Well, we have to make the movie. Uh, okay. I need 100 million dollars. Im taking collections . . . - YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS Visit your group scifinoir2 on the web. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. - __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ~-- font face=arial size=-1a href=http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hvum7mg/M=362335.6886444.7839734.2575449/D=groups/S=1705034827:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123286962/A=2894362/R=0/SIG=138c78jl6/*http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/arts_culture/?source=YAHOOcmpgn=GRPRTP=http://groups.yahoo.com/;What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater?Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good/a./font ~- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[scifinoir2] Re: What does Sci-Fi have against Black people?
Point taken. However, if all of those trashy Ghetto Love books can sell off trucks, I wouldn't mind seeing some self-directed Black SF. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Kelly Wright [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The problem with this is amply illustrated on the various black sci- fi and fantasy lists I subscribe to: all the black folks on those lists like sci-fi, fantasy, anime, comic books and horror, but all of those black folks don't like the SAME sci-fi, fantasy, anime, comic books and horror. Tiny as this audience is, it has the nerve to be extremely fractured and segmented. It has become crystal clear that what floats my boat, won't necessarily float anybody else's boat. In fact, sci-fi and fantasy constitutes a very small part of my current reading or viewing. I would much rather read a good detective novel than a good sci-fi book: I am more apt to read Walter Mosley than Brandon Massey. My heavy SF reading was almost a quarter century ago. I remain in these groups because the people I have met there tend to be interesting and intelligent but when it comes to satisfying our diverse tastes, I don't believe we can all get along! ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, md_moore42 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: That's why I mentioned editing and supporting the writers with our cash. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, tetsuwanatom1 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: star. You pitch it to the studio . . . and they say no. Just because we write the movie doesn't mean it will get made. I suppose then you could say, Well, we have to make the movie. Uh, okay. I need 100 million dollars. Im taking collections . . . Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ~-- font face=arial size=-1a href=http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12h0ln570/M=362335.6886444.7839734.2575449/D=groups/S=1705034827:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123300587/A=2894362/R=0/SIG=138c78jl6/*http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/arts_culture/?source=YAHOOcmpgn=GRPRTP=http://groups.yahoo.com/;What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater?Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good/a./font ~- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
RE: [scifinoir2] Re: What does Sci-Fi have against Black people?
Oh yeah, I'm aware of it. I follow the videogame industry quite closely. I've even posted some articles on it here, such as the new phenomenon where actors, musicians, and atheletes now count starring in games as being as important as getting good endorsement deals. The issue of race is a huge one in gaming, and, as this article says, worse than that of gender. It's a male-dominated industry, true. But at least in RPGs--notably the Japanese ones--you get women used as heroines. Often part of a team, many times as the stars. Blacks are rarely seen in traditional RPGs: funny that you can have elves, giants, orcs, fairies, dudes with purple hair, etc., but no Brothers. And when Blacks are featured in such games, they're invariably shown as huge and hulking. Look at many fighting games, a genre which does feature Blacks. From the classic Street Fighter, to Streets of Rage (Bare Knuckle in Japan), to Soul Calibur, the Asian and white characters usually have skills such as speed, dexterity, flexiblity, agility, and are masters of a number of impressive martial arts. Black fighters are almost always rated high on size, strength, and cruder, more brutal fighting, such as boxing. A classic example is the Mike Tyson-like character in Street Fighter 2 who fought in a Vegas scene which was filled with Black pimps and prostitutes. The other characters had speed, superhuman skills and powers, he was just a big brawler. For years, the Big Black Guy has been a staple in gaming. We never get the slicker abilities. With the advent of the more realistic games like Grand Theft Auto, designers opened a new world in which games are based more on real environments. Unfortunately the realities they've chosen to portray have often been the inner city, gang-ridden, crime overrun ghettoes. Hence the Brother in GTA San Andreas, the roster of rappers starring in the fighter Def Jam Vendetta, and others. Oh: we also star in a host of football and basketball games, and show up as soldiers too--always subordinate to a white commander. Video games are becoming a huge part of our culture. They're as entrenched as TV and the Internet. The gaming industry is making money that meets or exceeds that of the film industry, billions of dollars. A single game like GTA or Halo can sell millions of units and be seen the world over by people from several cultures. What a sobering thought that the image of Blacks as hulking, graceless, thuglike pimps and gangsters is what Japanese and European gamers are seeing. -Original Message- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of g123curious Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 16:02 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: What does Sci-Fi have against Black people? [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Like many of y'all have said--better than me, I might add--it ultimately boils down to us controlling our own. Between whites that are prejudiced, whites that aren't prejudiced but let market factors shaped by *other* whites influence their decisions, and whites that simply don't get it, we're always fighting an uphill battle. Why are so many Blacks in scifi often used as aliens that are either weird looking, or noble savages? Don't forget how we are portrayed in video games, where we now seem to be getting more and more leading roles like CJ. See below. That's part of the problem, too. It's good to read about this brother, Armstrong, who is taking action. George - - - - - - - - - http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/fun.games/08/05/minority.gaming.ap/index .html Drawing minorities into gaming Push for more black, Hispanic heroes in video games Friday, August 5, 2005; Posted: 12:07 p.m. EDT (16:07 GMT) [Photograph. Caption: Urban Video Game Institute co-founder Joseph Saulter, demonstrates 3D animation software.] ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- In the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, players assume the lead character of Carl Johnson, a down-on-his-luck criminal who roams city streets, stealing cars and helping gang members knock off rivals in drive-by shootings. CJ, as he's known by his pals, is black -- and to some in the video game industry, that's a problem. A growing number of people in the booming industry believe there should be more black and Hispanic heroes and heroines instead of hoods and hoodlums. Not everybody goes outside with bling-bling and listens to rap music all day, says Amil Tomlin, a black 15-year-old from Baltimore who plays hours of video games each day. Among those trying to paint a different racial picture is Mario Armstrong, who hosts a weekly National Public Radio program on technology. He and two fellow black colleagues have started the Urban Video Game Academy, a virtual programming boot camp for minorities. It's been said that a bunch of nerdy white guys are creating these games, Armstrong said. The problem with a bunch of white guys creating the games is that the story isn't being created with
