Good Riddance

Today, Orenthal James Simpson was sentenced to 15 years in prison for various charges including...well, let's not kid ourselves here folks, the is really just a revenge sentence that many people (white people) feel that O.J. dodged back in 95' for the murder of his wife and her "friend".

I for one will not be missing O.J. I was one of many, many a black folks that did a proverbial back flip when O.J. got that not guilty verdict. Like many have stated, this was a kick in the ass to the system that had manipulated evidence and sent thousands of innocent black men to prison. I don't think that anyone cared about O.J. Simpson, per say, but he went from football hero/Hertz spokesman to a representation of black justice.

So what did O.J. do after his release? Did he go to inner-city schools to educate the youth on the value of getting an education? Did he reach out to up and coming athletes to school them on how the NFL and NBA manipulate young men just like them to fill arena seats? Did he do anything whatsoever to contribute to the community that threw their support behind him after he'd spent the bulk of his career ignoring them, and trading his black wife in for paler, blonder model? NOPE. He went back to the golf courses and the country clubs. He did manage to learn one lesson though...this time, he made sure that his replacement white girlfriend was a brunette and not a blond.

So to the Uncle Tommin', suitcase jumping, white woman loving, If I Did It writing buffoon known as O.J. Simpson: au revoir, and don't drop the soap.

You Should Be Watching This

The Game is a television show that airs on the CW network on Friday nights at 8:30/7:30c. It features a diverse cast, and is centered around professional football players and their relationships with the business, their family, and significant others.

Yes, I know, it’s a black cast and it's about sports, and it's also from the bastard child of the networks that brought us The Wayans Bros., The Parkers, and other step n fetchit shows, but don’t let that deter you. The Game was spun off from Girlfriends, the other brain child of creator and writer, Mara Brock Alil, who in my opinion, has definitely stepped her game up with this series, no pun intended. It’s been given a death sentence by being moved to Friday nights, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will survive a little while longer.

Here are a few reasons why you should be watching The Game:

1. They aren’t glamorizing athletes or their lifestyles- It is apparent from watching this show that the main characters are all wealthy, perhaps too wealthy, but unlike The Real Housewives of Atlanta, this show is not about glorifying greed, but presenting the real issues that athletes live with. Love, loss, misogyny, infidelity and failure are all constant themes in this series. Wealth and materialism remain in the background, while realistic characterization remains in the foreground.

2. The cast can act- I don’t know where they found some of these actors at, but they do an amazing job. Some of the faces are familiar, like the one half of Sister/Sister, or Regina from The Steve Harvey Show, but others are relatively unknown.

Now, be forewarned that the women steal the show, but the male actors are quite impressive as well. They manage to maintain their athletic frames while being able to convey the emotions of living through such situations as steroid addiction, becoming a baby daddy, and bearing the weight that “NFL” owners put on their players.

I’d like to give a special nod to Tia Mowry-Hardwick. I’m not sure what she was doing in that off-time in between Sister/Sister and this, but she knocks it out of the park on a weekly basis. Between me and you, I think she has been taking some pointers from Tracee Ellis Ross. Hell, they’re even able to make the impossible, possible by pulling a solid performance out of Robin Givens.

I know this may sound ridiculous, but this cast blows the cast of Friends out the water. If this were an all-white cast, Mowry would be considered as the next Jennifer Anniston.

3. It’s real- From the black athlete with the white wife who can’t figure out how to do her mulatto child’s hair, to the over-bearing mother that is the first to pop a neck roll if she feels like someone is trying to take advantage of her “baby”, all of the typical sports personalities are here and accounted for. While the story arcs are multifaceted, this show has managed to put a twist on all of the stereotypes.

4. Wendy Raquel Robinson- She must be on the same stuff that Vanessa Williams is on. I remember Robinson from when I was in high school and she was the playing the role of the stiff but sexy principal on The Steve Harvey Show. That show went off the air in 2002 after 6 seasons, and Robinson looks better now than she did back then. Women like her, Angela Bassett, and Jaleesa from A Different World are definitely proving that theory that “black don’t crack”.

5. Mara Brock Alil- This woman is a terrific writer. While Girlfriends was a bit overdramatic at times, and their weave budget was apparently larger than it should’ve been, it was a pretty good show. Now that Alil has added this wonderful show to her resume, I wonder why she hasn’t blown up like Tyler Perry. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t always have a need to give her projects a religious overtone, or there’s no one parading around in drag, but Perry could learn a thing or two from Ms. Alil. Whatever it is that you’re doing, Alil, please keep it up.

The Game has a season pass on my DVR, and as long as they keep writing realistic and interesting storylines, it’s going to stay there. I’m just hoping that the CW doesn’t cancel them in order to show reruns of Gossip Girl, or worse, replace it with another version “Hey Professor Oglevee!”

White Is Right!

This week, Britney Spears released her 6th album, Circus. The “singer” has faced various forms of controversy and criticism, and like a phoenix, has arisen from her self-imposed ashes.

Ever since her infamous performance at the VMA’s where she fumbled and bumbled all over the stage with a look on her face that said “I just left Walgreens with Mariah Carey’s prescriptions”, the media and her fans have been anxiously awaiting the return of Brit-Brit.

Now I’m first to admit, the media and the tabloids savaged Britney. I would go crazy too if I had a dozens of cameras in my face every time I left my house or ate a bag of chips. The problem I have with Ms. Spears is what she represents: the precious flower of white womanhood that is allowed to fall, but by all means, must be allowed the opportunity to return to their rightfully deserved thrones.

If you question my theory, let me ask you a few questions. What do you think would happen to Rhianna’s career if she was photographed getting out of a car sans panties, with her legs spread, and then followed it up by celebrating her birthday at a club while lifting up her skirt and smashing her ass against the window? What do you think would happen to Beyonce’s career if she, instead of marrying a successful rapper/entrepreneur, married one of her back-up dancers (whom she stole from his pregnant wife)? What do you think would happen to Mary J. Blige’s career if she had children and fed them Kool-Aid instead of Similac, took them to her dentist to get their teeth whitened, and then lost custody of them? We all know that Mariah is crazy, but what would happen to her career if she actually shaved her head bald, and was photographed stabbing an SUV with an umbrella? Well here’s the answer: Rhianna would be labeled as a “slut”, Beyonce would be labeled as a “home wrecker”, and Mary would be labeled as “ghetto mama”. All five of their careers would cease to exist as we know them, and we would no longer have the opportunity to see Mary wailing in furs, Rhianna lip synching at awards shows, or Beyonce and Mariah’s weaves being fanned while they belt out power ballads. There would only be abandonment, embarrassment, and public humiliation.

Ever since the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, the white woman has been heralded as the purest, most desired and most beautiful species on the planet. Wars have been waged because of them, men have died simply for glancing at them, and multiple businesses have been created for other women to look like them (I’m looking at you Lee’s Beauty Supply). Because of this mentality, white women have been given the subconscious theory that if you no longer want your kids, you can simply drive them in a river and say that a black man did it, or if a crime has been committed, and you’re unsure about the perpetrator, just say “he was tall, kinda stocky, and dark complexioned.”

We can simply look at the affect of society’s view of the white woman by looking at the NFL and NBA. White women are “NBA/NFL wives” while black women have been relegated to the roles of “baby mommas” that stay in the judicial system fighting for black athletes to take care of their own children.

In retrospect, can we really blame Britney for this? She is simply following in the footsteps of her idol, Madonna, who has been able to retain the title of “Queen of Pop” after spending most of the 90’s participating in videotaped orgies and entering public sexcapades with rappers and athletes. Let this be a lesson to you Beyonce, Condoleezza Rice, and Penelope Cruz; don’t slip up, because unlike the Lindsay Lohans, Sarah Palins, and Pamela Andersons of the world, you’re not as worthy of a second chance as our Anglo-Saxon princesses.