Oh, sure, we elected a black President (or is this our second black President?  That whole Clinton-as-first-black-President thing always confuses me).  And yes, our biggest sports, TV, music and film stars tend to be black.  And sure our past Secretaries of State, National Security Advisers and the current Chairman of the Republican Party are all black.  But this proves nothing, NOTHING!

If you ever wanted more proof that America is, at its heart a racist society, Universal has provided us with the perfect smoking gun:  They re-designed a film poster for overseas distribution and in re-designing it, they removed two black actors.  I will let the horror of what they did soak in for a moment while you read the report from London’s Daily Mail:

The American advert for Couples Retreat, a comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Kristin Davis, show all eight principal actors – six of whom are white and two black.  But the poster in Britain, where the film is on general release, omits actors Faizon Love and Kali Hawk.

That’s right, Kali Hawk is our generation’s Rosa Parks.

Take a look at the  American Poster which includes Love and Hawk:

And now, take a look at the poster in question which was used in the UK:

Set aside for a moment that the second poster is cleaner and more effective.  The fact that an American company would remove these two actors from this poster SOLELY on the basis of their skin color is proof positive that the country that spawned this movie, this studio and yes, even this industry, is racist to the core!

Let me tell you a little secret we use in the theatre world when negotiating contracts with actors (I suspect it is used in the film world, as well — actors are actors, after all).  Whenever you want to get an actor to take less money than they want and you still need to make their agent look good, you give them as many things as you can that won’t cost you anything.  The number one thing in this category is:  Billing.

Billing costs the producer NOTHING, yet agents have convinced their clients that it is priceless!  It’s the perfect storm in negotiating a deal.  Take a look at that first poster again.   Look at the billing and the location of Hawk and Love in the poster.  Does anyone really think they are included because they help sell tickets to this thing?  If you are stumped, ask yourself this:  If it were Jamie Foxx and Beyonce’ do you think they would be positioned on the poster in the same way?

I see billing like this (for relatively unknown actors like Hawk and Love) and I think one thing:  They got that billing instead of more money.  But, clearly, the billing arrangement was only limited to the domestic release of this film. (Thus further proving that their inclusion in the US poster was a vanity move, not a marketing move).

But the Politically Correct industry sees this and jumps to one conclusion: They were taken off the poster because they are black.  They reach this conclusion because the Politically Correct industry views the world as a collection of different groups of people all defined by their skin color.  In short:  Politically Correct people are racist.  Isn’t this the purest definition of a racist?  To immediately categorize Kali Hawk as a black actress who must have been discriminated against because of her skin color instead of what she really is:  a promising, young actress whose biggest credit last year was as “Nurse” on an episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (and who happens to be black, by the way).

So, of course, Universal’s response to the racists was to appease them.

A spokesman for makers Universal Pictures confirmed the poster had been changed to ‘simplify’ it for the UK and international market outside America. The studio said it regretted causing offence and has abandoned plans to use the revised poster in other countries.

You know who should really be pissed?  Jean Reno.  He’s in this movie and he’s a better actor than all of these people combined… why isn’t HE on the poster?  I suspect it’s because folks in the UK and America aren’t too fond of the French.

I don’t know about you, but I long for a simpler time when we can root out the REAL racists in our society… you know, the people who are against the President’s Health-Care Agenda.  In the meantime, corporations like Universal will have to do the yeoman’s work in purging the racists from their own ranks and empowering the truly offended who have been forever damaged by a poster being released without an image of the fat guy in “Elf“.

When Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” it was rightly seen as a brilliant allegory to the House Un-American Activities Committee.  It was a brilliant piece of drama about the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th Century with obvious corollaries to the political climate of post-World War II America.  And no matter where you fall on the political spectrum you must recognize the play as a classic in the canon of American drama.

My admiration for much of Miller’s work gives me enough confidence to say that he would view the current efforts to ham-handedly inject political statements into television sitcoms as absolute crap.  It takes a deft hand to send a message without it seeming like you are sending a message… and the writers of “The Office” and “30 Rock,” as glib as they may be, are no “Arthur Millers”.

I love “The Office.”  I’m one of those apostates who actually like the U.S. version better than the original (must be my knee-jerk patriotism at work).  But I saw my very first example of lousy (and I mean REALLY lousy) writing this season when they tried to force the issue of “Volunteer-ism” into the storyline.

–

And remember what genius came up with the idea for this storyline?  According to the memo revealed by Big Hollywood it was inspired by a call to action by the “most powerful writer since Julius Caesar.” And now, to paraphrase the words of a truly great leader…“well, here they go again.”

The left-wing flavor of the month is Green Week, on GE owned NBC.  We have already reported that our children have to suffer through “Sustainable Living” storylines on “Sesame Street” and now NBC is preaching to the parents how being green is easy.  Unfortunately, it’s probably not going to be too entertaining.

Maybe the AP description doesn’t do it justice, but this doesn’t sound very funny to me:

This year on “30 Rock,” corporate boss Jack Donaghy tells the late-night show’s staff it has to cut its carbon footprint by 5 percent, and puts Kenneth the Page in charge of getting it done.

In the comedy “Community,” the college is renamed “Environdale.” College students think they’re hiring the band Green Day for a gig, and instead gets the Celtic combo Greene Daeye. Dwight in “The Office” takes the role of “Recyclops” in that comedy. “Heroes” features cast members filling a truck with recyclables and talking about the importance of giving back to the earth.

If the end-product is anything like the embarrassing “Volunteer-ism” thread from “The Office” we might actually see a four-way Shark Jump that Evil Knievel would admire.

I know a lot of writers.  And they all have a rebellious streak.  They love marching to the beat of a different drummer.  In fact, one of the main themes of “30 Rock” is the constant battles between the Bohemian writers and the corporate demands from the network.  So, why in hell do they go for this stuff?  It’s probably because they believe it.

That’s why we rarely see a storyline on a crime drama where a gun owner prevents a crime and saves a life.  Or why we rarely see a storyline about a teen in trouble choosing to give her child up for adoption rather than be an un-wed mother or extinguish the nascent life she is carrying (although I have high hopes for “Glee” and the storyline they are pursuing).

And over on HBO, if you really think about the notorious scene where Larry David is relieving himself with offensive results.  Objectively speaking, wouldn’t it have been MUCH funnier if his assistant had been black and the urine splashed on a picture of President Obama and the assistant thought it was a divine miracle and began devoting her life to worshiping Barack?  It would have been funnier and it would have been a more contemporary comment on American Culture rather than a tired joke about Latino culture.  But, Larry David would never have thought in those terms because it’s not what he believes.

The biggest crime in all of this is that these stories will suffer due to this obnoxious attempt at preaching.  And the audiences’ enjoyment will suffer as well.  In the same way the audience is jarred out of their enjoyment of the musical “Wicked.”   The producers spent millions of dollars in costuming and special effects to transport the audience to the magical Land of Oz.  When the house falls on the Wicked Witch of the East in Act 2, the character of Glinda refers to it as “Regime Change.” It is supposed to be a laugh line.  But given the juxtaposition of Glinda in the story and her role as propagandist for the malevolent Wizard’s government, the majority of ticket holders who supported President Bush and the war in Iraq were sure to feel like they were being mocked from the stage.

If you’re Arthur Miller and you can tell me a story with great characters and great dialogue, I barely care that you’re criticizing the industrial war complex (”All My Sons“) or commenting on the post-war “American Dream” as a myth (”Death of a Salesman“).  Good writing is good writing and great entertainment is great entertainment.  Green Week on NBC, is doomed to be neither, so they should just stick with what they do best and leave the political propaganda to Valerie Jarrett.

As another example of the show’s forward thinking, Davis said, the new Sesame Street season that begins next week will introduce children to the basic ideas of sustainable living.  “It’s a curriculum about nature and caring for the world that is just right for today,” he said.  ”This show continues to stay very current with ideas that are in the zeitgeist.”

Sustainability.  Makes you feel smart just reading that word, doesn’t it?  Who doesn’t want sustainability?  This is a great new tactic of the Left; the raping of our language and the use of beautiful sounding, unassailable words to represent an agenda with far more controversial ideas.  Sustainability.

Sustainability is not just about putting your empty beer bottles into a special bin to keep them separate from your other trash.  It’s also more than driving a car with a giant battery in it (which will eventually poison our water system after all of these “Hybrids” end up in a landfill… didn’t think about THAT, did you Mr. Begley?).   It’s also more than building giant solar panels which require preciously scarce water to stay constantly clean and efficient or giant windmills which end up killing endangered birds.  No, sustainability is not any of those ineffective yet relatively benign efforts at “saving our planet.” Sustainability, as a National policy, is the most regressive and dangerous idea the Green-Left has ever put forth.  Sustainability is the death of the West’s economic dominance.

Spend just ten minutes reading up on the various aspects of sustainability, sustainable living, sustainability and de-growth, sustainability and population control… These concepts all start with the same basic premise:  We humans, are the problem.  There are too many of us, we are exploiting the earth’s resources… If we don’t radically change how we live, the earth will not be able to sustain us.

And now, it’s the new concept being pushed on our kids through those fuzzy little monsters on Sesame Street.  We’ll be watching to see how this philosophy manifests itself and what little green seeds will be planted into the fertile minds of our pre-schoolers who were placed in front of the show by their parents hoping they’d get a head-start in phonics and counting.

Radical environmentalism, demonization of capitalism and corporations, social justice through environmental security… these issues, of course, will not be part of Elmo’s World…  But, as PBS Ombudsman Michael Gelter said last week about Sesame Street’s Fox News parody:

I don’t know what was in the head of the producers, but my guess is that this was one of those parodies that was too good to resist. But it should have been resisted.

Let’s hope that radical environmentalism doesn’t turn out to be one of those ideas that the producers find “too hard to resist.”

Addendum:  You think I’m exaggerating about this whole “Sustainability” message to our kids and how it will affect our economy?  Take a look at the blog page that is associated with the National Geographic / Sesame Street article.  They suggest that instead of buying a new Halloween costume, kids should swap old costumes with their friends.  What kid of insignificant impact on our environment would such a move make?  But, ask the poor guy who owns the Halloween costume shop in your town… what kind of impact will it have on him?

Just as I suspected, it has happened.  They are trying to “Falwell” me and my colleagues here at Big Hollywood for raising concerns about “Sesame Street’s” description of Fox News as “Trashy.” We are “stupid,” “idiotic” and we are whining and pathetic (impressive debate tactics there, Mr. Socrates).  And, according to PBS’ own Ombudsman, Michael Gelter, we are….  right:

I don’t know what was in the head of the producers, but my guess is that this was one of those parodies that was too good to resist. But it should have been resisted. Broadcasters can tell parents whatever they think of Fox or any other network, but you shouldn’t do it through the kids

I was planning on letting the issue die after being romanced by Media Matters, but I noticed something fascinating.  I’ve written here about a lot of subjects.  Mostly about theatre and the arts, and I also defended that “racist-fascist” Rush Limbaugh,  but, never has a post of mine gotten the kind of hate-filled comments this one did.  Also, for the first time I started receiving hate e-mails… the long, rambling, Holden Caufield kind of e-mails (you can forgive me for feeling a little “Grouchy”).  What gives?  Why was this post different?

I think many people either don’t believe there is anything wrong with some playful jokes at the expense of Fox News on a children’s network, or they don’t WANT to believe that the writers of “Sesame Street” are deliberately injecting attitudes that plant seeds in children for future growth.  To me,   it doesn’t matter.  Gelter’s words say it best:  “You shouldn’t do it through their kids.”

I am very tired of being lectured by the left (and fellow denizens of the right) about “manning up” and growing a thick skin and taking it in stride.  Listen, I’m a conservative in the theatre business… You don’t think I have a thick skin?  But when it comes to my kids, I am ferocious in protecting them and in protecting my influence over them.

If my kid came home from a neighbor’s house and told me that “Jimmy’s Daddy said Fox News was trashy news,” you better believe that I would have a word to say to Jimmy’s Daddy.  It’s inappropriate and tasteless to inject your personal beliefs onto someone else’s kids.  Why is this position controversial?  And, to add insult to injury, PBS used my money to do it.  Am I really going out on a limb in crying foul?

But, the vitriol and sheer volume of criticism of this post has intrigued me and I have begun to look further into “Sesame Street,” the Children’s Television Network, and the educational advisers who shape the message and curricula injected into these shows.  There’s more to discuss.  Much more.

And, for those of you mocking this whole concept as to whether a children’s TV show can have that kind of influence over a child, ask yourself:  Did Morgan Freeman and Rita Moreno have as much influence on your use of compound words as your first grade teacher did?  Did you learn the preamble to the Constitution from school, or from “Schoolhouse Rock”?  Do you remember “Free to Be, You and Me”?

If children’s TV could influence you with those shows, don’t you think it can influence your kids today?  Since you’re paying for it, shouldn’t you know a little more about what you’re buying?

One of our ongoing segments has been to read aloud (in suitably dramatic fashion) Yosi Sergant’s twitter feed.  (It really is quite entertaining).  It became such a popular segment with the handful of friends who listen to our practice shows that Moxie decided we needed a “Yosi Update” theme song.  She “Volun-Told” our friend and musician, Gary Eaton to write the diddy and within twenty four hours he had completed his masterpiece.

We hope that you, our the loyal readers of Big Hollywood, who are well-versed with the players involved in this story, will appreciate our “Yosi Update” song:  

YOSI NEEDS A HUG — by Gary Eaton

Barack and Kalpen, Buffy, Rahm, Rocco and Yosi
You can look all you want,
But you’ll never find a Doug
Then  Yosi got caught ‘cause he got too cozy
Now he’s out on his ass
Poor Yosi needs a hug

Blame it on Glenn Beck
Blame it on Faux news
If that doesn’t work
You can blame it on the Jews

Barack and Kalpen, Buffy, Rahm, Rocco, and Yosi
They want to change the world
Whether we like it or not
But someone named Patrick whose last name I can’t pronounce
He went rogue
And they all got caught

Blame it on Glenn Beck
Blame it on Faux news
If that doesn’t work
You can blame it on the Jews

Last week, in a re-broadcast of an episode that originally aired two years ago, Oscar starts his own news network, GNN (Grouchy News Network).  An irate viewer calls in to berate him that the news is not grouchy enough:

“I am changing the channel. From now on I am watching ‘Pox’ News. Now there is a trashy news show.”

–

Later in the episode, Anderson Cooper from 4th place CNN, guest stars as a reporter for GNN.  He interacts with “Walter Cranky” and “Dan Rather-Not” —  Muppets representing real-life liberal news personalities — and they talk about “Meredith Beware-a” and “Diane Spoiler.” But no affectionate nicknames for Fox News personalities; no Spill O’Reilly or Brittle Hume — nope, and the only disparaging characterization of real-world news is reserved for Fox:  Fox is a POX.  It is trashy.  They didn’t even attempt to try “MessyNBC.”

If Mom and Dad watch cable news, it’s better than 50/50 they watch “POX News.”  So what gives? PBS — a network partially funded with my tax dollars — has the right to tell my kids that their parents watch “trashy” news?  The message is clear, I can’t even sit my kids in front of “Sesame Street” without having to worry about the Left attempting to undermine my authority. And don’t tell me, “If you don’t like it change the channel.”  There are no channels left! It’s everywhere. Just last week I had Obama’s service and volunteerism promoted on every single major network, including Disney and Nickelodeon.

…by the way, why SHOULD I change the channel?  This is MY channel, I’m paying for it!

The fact that this is a re-run from an episode written during the Bush Presidency only reinforces that this is nothing new.  The Left has been doing this for years now. All of us have seen it and felt powerless to mention it, because if we do, we’re ridiculed and dismissed (thank you, Mr. Alinsky).

No, this is nothing new.  In Julia L. Mickenberg’s book “Learning From the Left” the history is plainly spelled out.  Radicals drummed out of mainstream culture in the late 1940’s turned to children’s entertainment for opportunities not just to work, but to influence.  In her introduction, she quotes folk singer Pete Seeger about those artists:  “I think many of them are thinking more on the lines of, ‘If we’re going to save this world, we’re going to have to reach the kids’.”

Now this is always a slippery argument for us to make from the right, because we run the risk of being caricatured in the way the late Jerry Falwell was in the infamous “Tinky-Winky” incident.  But with this ever-growing list:

• Television shows steering children to left-infested “volunteer” web sites.
• The NEA and White House Office of Public Engagement getting caught RED-handed rallying artists to the cause of Obama-led initiatives.
• An onslaught of public schools teaching their students songs of praise for Barack Obama.
• The simulcast speech by the President to school children with an attached lesson plan to teach our children how they can “help” the president.
• The effort by the President’s top advisers to turn news agencies against the sole-voice of skepticism within the television media.

…One can be forgiven for taking a second look at that Teletubby with the purse… He DOES seem a little gay, doesn’t he?

The insidious nature of left-leaning artists involved in altruistic artistic endeavors always carries the cloak of unassailability:

“How can you fault them for wanting to teach and entertain our children?”

“You must be a conspiracy-theorist to think that all of these people have a master plan to brainwash your children.”

But no one here thinks that in one fell swoop the Left will pass laws against the free expression of dissenting political or cultural views.  That’s not how it’s done.  First you “educate” children from your perspective.  The rest will follow — just like the proverbial boiling frog … is everyone enjoying the Jacuzzi?

But the difference now is that a Saul Alinsky-trained, William Ayers-influenced, Annenberg Challenge Board Member is now our President, and his influence, tactics and worldview (not to mention the power of your federal tax dollars through NPR, PBS and the NEA) now influence our culture at such an accelerated rate that the frog is no longer on a slow simmer but at a rapid boil.

Irony is a wonderful thing.  Just as the Left elected the perfect Propagandist-in-Chief, their opposition (you and me) got wise, agile and pretty entertaining. With every lame attempt to turn our kids against us, we now call them on it and point out how ham-fisted, clumsy and square they are. The Left’s worst nightmare came true:  The conservatives are the hip ones.

“Sesame Street” can awkwardly slam FoxNews from the comfort of their stodgy old PBS studios… Meanwhile, we have the cool kids on our side: Dennis Miller, Greg Gutfeld, Andrew Breitbart and yes, even Glenn Beck. And our cool kids are pointing out just how boring, lame, predictable and lazy the other side has become.  No longer will middle-America sit back and feel powerless as these snobs pass judgment on what we find to be informative and entertaining.

We no longer  NEED their approval. We see them for what they are: bitter, pompous and desperate.

When Broadway Producer/Theatre Owner Rocco Landesman took the reins of the National Endowment of the Arts last August, he told the NY Times:

“I wouldn’t have come to the N.E.A. if it was just about padding around in the agency,” he said, and worrying about which nonprofits deserve more funds. “We need to have a seat at the big table with the grown-ups. Art should be part of the plans to come out of this recession.  If we’re going to have any traction at all, there has to be a place for us in domestic policy.”

An odd assertion considering the job description of the role he’s filling at this non-partisan, independent, government agency is, basically to “Worry about which nonprofits deserve more funds“.  Seriously, that’s the job, always has been.  And when one reads the original legislation creating the agency Landesman now runs, there is nothing to be found about being a part of domestic policy.  But, the same party who can read “Promote the General Welfare” in our Constitution and re-interpret it to mean that Barbara Boxer can decide which doctor I can visit, can easily over-reach with the NEA legislation too, I suppose.

It seems that in 1965 the Congress decided to create the agency for a variety of reasons, my favorite one being:

The world leadership which has come to the United States cannot rest solely upon superior power, wealth, and technology, but must be solidly founded upon worldwide respect and admiration for the Nation’s high qualities as a leader in the realm of ideas and of the spirit.

Ha!  American Exceptionalism was one of the reasons for the creation of the NEA?  Funny that Rocco’s new boss probably wouldn’t agree with this premise.

I made one prediction back in August when I commented on Rocco taking the reigns of the agency.

He will have the highest profile of any NEA Chair before him. It has often been said that the most dangerous place on Broadway is between Rococo Landesman and a microphone.

Jeez.. when I’m right, I’m right.  The past 12 weeks have seen this NEA Chairman granting more interviews than Balloon Boy’s dad.   In light of Rocco’s recent debacle of a speech in Brooklyn to “Grantmakers for the Arts” and the ongoing obfuscation regarding the NEA Conference calls exposed by my colleague Patrick Courrielche, we here at Big Hollywood felt this was a good time for a quarterly evaluation of Rocco’s first 12 weeks as the Chairman of the NEA.

A report card, if you will.

Subject:  ENGLISH

His use of the language is halting if not grammatically correct.  He still speaks in the vernacular of a Broadway Producer, so I’m used to his inherent, knee-jerk narcissism. (In trying to explain the “Facts” regarding the NEA Conference Calls, he felt compelled to add this paragraph):

Although my time here has been brief—in fact I arrived at the agency on August 11th the day after the conference call—I am proud to lead the National Endowment for the Arts, proud to work with its capable and energetic staff, and proud to play a role in enhancing the quality of life for the people of our great nation.

Pssst:  Hey, Rocco… It’s not all about YOU! My big bone to pick comes in the form of his slogan for the agency:  ”Art Works.” It’s as elegant as Tom Delay on “Dancing With the Stars.” I thought the Lefty Boomers were supposed to be the hip and creative ones.  ”Art Works” sounds like something a bureaucrat from the New Deal would come up with.  Couldn’t Yosi think of something a little more “Hip-Hop” before he was forced to leave?

GRADE:  C

Subject:  HISTORY

Much has been said about Rocco’s assertion that President Obama “is the most powerful writer since Julius Caesar.”  He now contends that this was a joke (I will take issue with this claim when we discuss his grades in the “Citizenship” category).  For him to sycophantically joke about something like this, knowing that the obnoxious delusion of grandeur President Obama holds (or is thrust upon him by his most fervent, cult-like followers) is probably the most widely-recognized Achilles’ heel of his personalty, shows either an error in judgement or just plain ignorance of not only history, but Obama’s place in it.

GRADE:  F

Subject:   MATH

In Rocco’s first interview (with the NY Times, naturally) he lamented the NEA’s budget size:

Though he would not put a dollar figure on his own fiscal goals, he called the current appropriation of $155 million “pathetic” and “embarrassing.” ….  “We’re going to be looking for funding increases that are more than incremental,” he said.

$155,000,000.  Pathetic and embarrassing.   Hey Rocco:  Take it from a Republican who actually FAVORS the NEA (that would be me)… when your President is calling this economy the worst since the Depression, unemployment is hitting 10% and we have the largest deficits in the history of our great nation… don’t refer to $155,000,000 as pathetic and embarrassing.  It suggests you don’t have a good handle on numbers.  Feel free to lobby for more funds, just don’t do it through the NY Times, it actually HURTS your cause.

GRADE:  D

Subject:  SOCIAL STUDIES

Rocco seems to have a penchant for talking down to small-town, rural America (I know, seems shocking that someone associated with President Obama would come across as an elitist, urban snob, but just go with it for the sake of argument). In explaining his plans to move away from the Bush Administration’s policy of even-handedly and democratically spreading NEA grants out across all congressional districts, Rocco said:

“I don’t know if there’s a theater in Peoria, but I would bet that it’s not as good as Steppenwolf or the Goodman,” he said, referring to two of Chicago’s most prominent theater companies.

This caused a bit of a firestorm from small-town Illinois as I reported back in August.  Rocco’s oh-so-clever response was to announce that his upcoming Art Works Tour of regions of the USA would kick-off with a viewing of “Rent” in the afore-maligned Peoria.  Even though this reeks of the “Big Broadway Producer” deigning to grant an audience to the little people of Peoria, he seemed to stifle the impression of elite snobbery, until last week’s speech:

I know firsthand that great art can come from the unlikeliest of places. A few years ago, I visited Eric, Oklahoma, where a museum was being dedicated to one of my idols, the great country music songwriter and singer, Roger Miller. He wrote the music for my first show, “Big River.” While driving the 140 miles from Oklahoma City to Eric, you pass the hometowns of Sheb Wooley, one of the creators of rock and roll, the songwriter Jimmy Webb, and Garth Brooks. What is in the water there? There are certainly no music conservatories, probably precious few music teachers, no colleges, no arts centers, nothing. Just an inexplicable concentration of genius.

Seriously, does ANYONE from the middle of our country proof these speeches?  (I know, I know, Rocco will be the first to tell you he is from Missouri.. listen real close:  He’s a New Yorker, OK?) Oklahoma Blogger Meredith Dake at her Pointed Observations blog does a thorough, Oklahoma-style fisking of this paragraph, including an actual explanation of what IS in the water there.  My favorite observation:

The next point that he makes is that he didn’t find anything from his drive from Will Rogers to Eric, Oklahoma. To be quite honest, he didn’t pass through the major metropolis areas (though, having been through the Brooklyn area, I’m not sure how much of Brooklyn has “artistic merit”). He was driving to a place that has a population of 1,076 people and maybe has 3 stoplights. But, what he did pass by was USAO. Rocco, if you would have looked to your right, you would have seen the University of Science and ARTS of Oklahoma!

She also points out that in describing the amazing wonder of great musicians coming from this “unlikeliest of places” Rocco seems to be providing the best argument for the disbanding of the NEA:

We also have the Oklahoma Arts Council, which is locally funded and receives few federal dollars. The only federal dollars that I found that the OAC received was from the stimulus. Do you know what this means, Rocco? We don’t need you.

GRADE:  F

Subject:  ECONOMICS

Rocco seems to be all about the arts as “Anchor Store” in the great “Mall” that is “Downtown America“:

Any discussion of policy for coming out of this recession, any plan that addresses economic growth and urban and neighborhood revitalization has to include the arts. We know, and we can prove, that when you bring art and artists into the center of town, that town changes.

I’m going to be generous here, because this concept is actually reflective of supply-side philosophy straight out of Jack Kemp’s playbook (dare I say “trickle-down” arts policy?).  But, the big problem with this whole approach is:  It’s not the JOB of the NEA!  I’m sorry that Rocco is already bored with the position that he admits he lobbied to get, but just because he has professional ennui’ doesn’t mean we need to grant new powers to the NEA that the Congress never intended. Rocco, YOU take the grant money and give it to the most worthy grant recipients.  CONGRESS decides if urban revitalization needs to occur via the arts… or, more correctly, LOCAL governments will make those decisions, not the producer of “Carrie: The Musical” who happened to get a new gig because his friends bundled a big pot of donations for the President.

GRADE:  Incomplete

As with any report card, the student isn’t just graded on his ability in the academic demands of the school.  He also must excel at the basic citizenship requirements; sharing, truthfulness, playing well with others, etc.  How is Rocco doing in CITIZENSHIP?

• In responding to Mitt Romney’s criticism of stimulus money going to the NEA, Rocco said:  ”“The arts are a little bit of a target. The subtext is that it is elitist, left wing, maybe even a little gay.”  I see.  Is this a new spin on an old tactic?  If you are against the President’s health care plan, you are a racist.  And if you are against stimulus money going to the NEA, you are a homophobe.  Love it, Rocco, love it.
• In reacting to the NEA conference call debacle, Rocco issued a smarmy recitation of “Facts” which dripped with condescension and intolerance toward anyone who thought that perhaps the calls were slightly irregular.  His “Facts” never mentioned his employee, Yosi Sergant, by name, only that he had been re-assigned.  He never explained what his new job was, and within two weeks, Yosi was gone.
• When recently ridiculed for his sycophantic suck-up of the President he claimed he was only making a joke and he doesn’t REALLY think Obama “is the most powerful writer since Julius Caesar.” OK, Rocco, we believe you, why would you lie?
• He recently lashed out at critics in newspapers, the Internet and on cable news as “quote-un-quote journalists“.  Now, the left-wing choir he was preaching to took him to mean Glenn Beck and me and my colleagues here at Big Hollywood.  What Rocco and his devotees aren’t acknowledging is that journalists (without the quotation marks) at the Washington Times, Wall Street Journaland NY Post have also criticized the call and the NEA’s efforts associated with it.  Now, I understand that Rocco’s folks don’t LIKE these newspapers, but does that mean they can just reject them and question whether they are “real” journalists?  Oh, well, since that’s what the administration is doing to Fox, I guess the answer is “yes.”

These incidents and Rocco’s reactions to them call into question his ability to “play well with others.” But, knowing Rocco, I suspect he will wear this particular critique as a badge of honor.

Given his performance over the first 12 weeks of his chairmanship, his overall grade for the 1st quarter is, unfortunately, less than impressive.

OVERALL GRADE:  D-

But, how do things look for the future?  Is Rocco interested in turning his grades around?  I don’t hold out much “hope” for that “change.” Let’s take a look at his wrap-up of last week’s speech:

And will we “advocate” for the President’s agenda as well? If it’s a particular program – e.g. health care reform – no, of course not. But the President picked me for a reason and I decided to go to Washington and sign on with a federal bureaucracy – ugh! – for a reason. And that reason is that within the ethos of this White House, where words like change and hope and aspiration have real meaning, the arts can play a starring role.

If I read this correctly, Rocco is saying that he and the NEA won’t advocate for policies per se, but because of his belief in Obama and what Obama stands for (”where words like change and hope and aspiration have real meaning”) he intends to have his agency “play a starring role” in promoting the IDEA of Obama.  Advocating for the White House itself, if not for their individual policies. He defiantly continued:

“Whatever might be said on television, radio or blog sites, I have no intention of walking away from the compelling themes of this presidency…”.

Rocco, if you are hell-bent on re-defining your role from “Chief Grant Maker for the NEA” to “Chief Advocate for the Obama White House,” you better start caring about what might be said on the Internet and television.  

Don’t believe me?  Ask your former employee, Yosi.

Back in February, my Big Hollywood colleague and super-funny-dude Tim Slagle wrote a series of posts on the Broadway musical “Avenue Q”.  The show was going through a mini-crisis/publicity stunt because one of the big punch lines to the song “For Now” was no longer valid:

A song called “For Now” has the puppets reassure each other that most things in life are temporary, like hair and sex. Until recently, one of those temporary things was “George Bush.” Knowing that Obama was to be shortly inaugurated, the producers and writers were perplexed for a replacement. I know it should be obvious to everyone else, but Broadway producers don’t think like you and I. So they threw a contest to decide a better verse.

Two weeks later, Slagle followed up with the big announcement of the new lyric:

So what did they decide to use? The winning lyric is: ”George Bush WAS only for now.”  Brilliant. I guess like “South Pacific” and “Bye-Bye Birdie,” some vintage musical theater is better when presented in the time frame that it was originally written. “Avenue Q” will now be forever remembered as a Bush-era production, although the impact has noticeably waned. ”We now know that although George Bush’s presidency was only for now,” show creator, Robert Lopez noted, ”the comic potential of ‘George Bush’ seems like it may last forever.”

Not so fast. This week, “Avenue Q” did something that Broadway shows rarely do.  They closed their production and re-located to an Off-Broadway house.  During the process of re-opening the show in a smaller venue, the writers took the time to really give some thought to the “George Bush WAS for now” lyric and they have finally found their perfect replacement.

It seems that the real purpose of this line is not to get a huge laugh.  No, it seems that the real purpose is to find the worst possible, evil, racist, homo-phobic, war-mongering, lying, right-wing boogie man and insert their name into the lyric to ridicule and diminish them.  Circa 2004 that person was President Bush. Today, the only person that fits that description is, well, not really a person at all.  You see, the writers of “Avenue Q” have apparently been paying very close attention to the White House’s latest full-court press against… the press!  The new lyric is:

“Fox News is only for now.”

I’m waiting for you to stop the hysterical laughter and applause at this brilliant, Sondheim-like lyric.

Fox News, the highest rated news outlet for over a decade.  Fox News, the network whose 3 AM show out-ranks CNN’s prime time fare.   Fox News is only “for now.” But “Avenue Q” is forever.  Uh, huh.  I expect that Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly will be reporting on the tenth anniversary of “Avenue Q”’s closing.

Let’s face it folks, after having to close its Tony Award-winning production on Broadway, revamping the financial structure of the show, begging the actors’ union to allow them to reduce the performers’ salaries (which the spineless union allowed) and moving to a theatre half the size of the tiny little Golden which housed the show for the last five years, I think it is clear that “Avenue Q” is only for now…. BARELY!

Ever wonder why you can’t just skip over those FBI warnings at the start of every DVD?

Ever wonder why “piracy” is always such a big issue for Hollywood when discussing our economic relationship with China?

It’s because writers, actors, directors and producers all live and die from royalties and residuals (payments for the repeated use of a copyright protected piece of intellectual property).  I know most people don’t want to hear this, but being a writer, director or actor is usually not a great life.  Until (or unless) you are lucky enough to make it big, it is fiscally challenging to say the least.  So many actors who are not stars are lucky if they get one or two weeks’ worth of work in Hollywood per year.  How does an actor survive on only two weeks’ pay?  They don’t.  But, one thing that helps them is they get paid for every subsequent use of the show they were on.  Same with the writer and the other creative folks working on the show.

But, as you can imagine, if their work could be legally duplicated and distributed without any payment to them for their work, it would seriously disrupt the financial life of these artists.  That is called copyright infringement, or piracy.  The adherence to the fundamental belief that an artist’s work is protected, a writer’s words and stories are protected, and an actor’s image and performance is protected from duplication and piracy is fundamental to the economics of the artist’s business.

Enter Shepard Fairey.

Shepard Fairey is often referred to as a street artist.  He made a name for himself by creating large posters and sticking them up by the thousands on public places.  Others would call this vandalism, but I digress.  He is heralded as the creator of the Obama “Hope” poster which is seen as a major influence in rallying devoted support to the Obama candidacy.  The “Hope” poster conveyed in one image and in one word everything that the campaign wanted its most fervent allies to embrace, champion and (most importantly) to perpetuate to their friends who might not have been quite as fervent.   The poster has been described as “the most efficacious American political illustration since ‘Uncle Sam Wants You.’” There is no denying its efficacy, even if its message doesn’t send a “thrill up your leg.”  Only problem with it:  It appears to be pirated.

I’m sure that this revelation has sent many of Fairey’s admirers into the same depression that George Harrison fans felt when it became clear that “My Sweet Lord” was just a rip-off of the Chiffons’ hit “He’s So Fine.”  (Seriously, the fact that George Harrison may have ripped off another tune is one thing… but “He’s So Fine”???)

In February (a convenient two weeks after the inauguration), the AP announced a copyright infringement lawsuit against Fairey claiming that the image Fairey used was copyright protected intellectual property owned by the AP.  Fairey’s response was two-fold:  First, he claimed protection of his poster under the “Fair Use” guidelines of the copyright laws, and, second,  it doesn’t really matter anyway because the AP is wrong; the image used as the basis for the poster was not the image AP claims ownership of, it was another photo. Any reasonable examination of the original AP-owned photo and Fairey’s poster would seem to favor the AP’s argument — and just this last Friday, Fairey not only admitted that the AP’s image was, in fact, the image he used, but he also admitted lying, submitting false images and destroying others during the discovery phase of the lawsuit. He still clings to his over-riding defense that his art and use of the photo is not piracy as it falls under the “Fair Use” guidelines.

Now, I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t even play one on TV (although I think I would do a better job than some of those replacement actresses in the last season of “Boston Legal…”  Geez!), so I am not here to argue about the “Fair Use” provisions in the copyright laws.  But, I do suggest you read the provision and consider the issue for yourself.

OK, back to Hollywood and Broadway.

Those actors on stage during act one who see a red light in the house indicating a video camera is on them….  They will go right off stage and demand that the stage manager do something. The stage manager then tells the house manager, the house manager tells the usher, and THAT’s why you are being distracted by a seventy-year-old woman climbing over three rows of seats trying to wrestle a camcorder from an unsuspecting patron during “Phantom of the Opera.” It’s not because the red light is distracting them… it’s because they are protecting their performance and their image from being duplicated and distributed without their permission.  It is their right.  Just as it is the right of a professional photographer to protect their product from being copied, slightly altered and re-distributed without THEIR permission.

So imagine my surprise when I didn’t see one person from the Writers’ Guild or from SAG cheering on the AP.  How could they not?  The writer’s just endured an industry-crippling strike and the major issue was residual payments for use of their product on the Internet.  Though Internet re-plays of “30 Rock” is not exactly the same as barely photo-shopping a photo and distributing it as art, but the core principal is the same:  A work of art or entertainment must be protected from duplication or re-distribution or the entire copyright edifice will begin to crumble.  Michael Moore was so thrilled with the WGA in their unwavering position on the webcasts, that he gushed to the LA Times: 

“This is an historic moment for labor in this country, …To have the writers union stand up like we did, not give back a single thing and make them give — it was a really great moment to sit in there and listen to everything.”

So why are Moore and other left-leaning artists, writers and directors relatively silent on the Fairey issue?  You would think that the protection of intellectual property is something they would champion.

The question answers itself. Fairey is an artist who uses his art for the right reasons. He helped get Obama elected.  He made a great poster in support of same-sex marriage.  He gave President Bush fangs and a trickle of blood down his chin in another poster.  “So what if he broke copyright laws… his art is effective, he’s cool, and he thinks like us, we will look away.”  I love the smell of cognitive dissonance in the morning.

Before you lefties start flaming the comments with claims that Fairey made no money off of the poster so there is no infringement…  understand one thing:  Whether Fairey made money or not, it doesn’t matter with regard to copyright laws.  I can’t put on a production of “Wicked” at the local high school gym as long as I don’t charge any money for tickets.  I can’t make copies of the DVD of “Titanic” and start handing them out for free on the street.  You MUST know that, right?

And by the way, to suggest that Mr. Fairey has not benefitted from his association with the “Hope” poster is disingenuous at best.  Mr. Fairey is currently enjoying the honor of having a special exhibition of his work at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.  A hand-crafted collage version of the “Hope” poster is now in the Smithsonian.  If you think that the sale of future Fairey works will not be influenced by this, you don’t understand market economics.  Also, just because Fairey might not have made any direct income from the poster, does not mean that someone didn’t make any, most notably, the Obama campaign and transition teams.

In all of my searching for some sort of outcry over Fairey’s use of protected work for his poster, I did find an interesting trend.  It seems that in the past, one of the champions of copyright protection with regard to these types of images and artwork has been none other than Shepard Fairey.  You see, before “Hope” there was “Obey,” Fairey’s breakout poster in which he used a photo of wrestler Andre the Giant, modified the image, and affixed the word “Obey.” The iconic image was adapted recently by artist Baxter Orr.  Orr gave Andre a SARS surgical mask and gave it the caption, “Protect Yourself.” What did “Fair-use Fairey” do?  He sued Baxter Orr.  Orr cries hypocrisy:  “”It’s ridiculous for someone who built their empire on appropriating other people’s images,” he said. “Obey Giant has become like Tide and Coca-Cola.”  Fairey’s gentlemanly response?  He called Orr a “parasite.”

But this is only Fairey’s protection of his famous “Obey” icon, right?  He doesn’t care what people do with his “Hope” poster…  that was all done for free and to benefit the Obama campaign, right?  Well….  It seems that many of the posters that got distributed to Obama supporters at events were found on eBay auctions (those damn capitalists) and Mr. Fairey was not amused.  He demanded that eBay take down the auctions, his website called the people engaged in the sale as “greedy” and he subsequently opened up a page for the exclusive sale of signed “Hope” posters.

Any director, writer or actor interested in making long-term money in the entertainment industry should be calling Fairey what he is:  A plagiarist.  But they won’t.  And they won’t protest for an end to the Afghan war even though casualties are mounting under President Obama’s watch.  And they won’t claim President Obama is taking away their freedoms even though he extended President Bush’s declaration of national emergency this past September 10th (something the left continually criticized President Bush for). 

One wonders what fault, if any, the left will find in this President or his loyal supporters like Fairey.

“And the game done chose me to bring pain to niggas and pussy holes, they one in the same.” - I’m Real, co-written by Jennifer Lopez, minority owner of the Miami Dolphins.

Amidst the uproar over Rush Limbaugh having to step aside from his participation in the bid to purchase the NFL’s St. Louis Rams over racially insensitive statements he never actually made, is the fact that current ACTUAL owners of an NFL team have said much worse than the false and the left says nothing.

Fergie: NFL Owner

Jennifer Lopez, whose Sondheim-like lyric genius is on display at the top of this post, holds the same status with the Miami Dolphins as Limbaugh would have with the Rams.  And, not only does she have co-writer credit on this offensive drivel, she also recorded and performed it live.  She continues to earn money in royalties for her genius use of the “N-Word.” My guess is that those who took issue with Limbaugh’s imaginary racial slur are OK with J-Lo’s actual racial slur because she looks a lot better in tight pants.

–

Meanwhile, another minority owner of the Dolphins has some controversial issues with public statements as well.  Recently, Dolphins minority owner Serena Williams broke quite a few FCC laws by letting loose an “F-word” filled tirade on live television during the US Open.  Then she menacingly threatened a side judge and was subsequently disqualified.  This kind of behavior and speech seems to be right in line with the NFL’s standards since I missed the press conference from Commissioner Roger Goodell condemning it.

Finally, we get to Fergie, some-time member of the Black Eyed Peas and some-time solo artist.  You betcha, she has also been approved as a minority owner of the Miami Dolphins. Fergie is a huge Obama supporter, so I guess the NFL thought it was pretty cool that she just performed her song “Glamorous” at the White House Easter egg hunt… an event for children. Here’s how the DC Examiner reported the event:

Lines like “wear them gold and diamond rings” and “I’m not clean, I’m not pristine” may not be the dream lyrics for their daughters to emulate, but the song’s repetition of the line “If you ain’t got no money take your broke a** home” made a few parents cringe. She did of course edit the curse word from the song Monday — but some of crowd members helpfully filled it in for her.

It gets better. Earlier this week, Goodell said of Limbaugh’s potential ownership, “Divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about.” Is he splitting hairs between “comments” and “lyrics?” Because these lyrics from a 2003 Black Eyed Peas song sounds pretty divisive to me:

Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin’
In the USA, the big CIA …

A war is goin’ on but the reason’s undercover
The truth is kept secret, it’s swept under the rug

Nothing like accusing the CIA of terrorism and our government of lying to bring people together. Goodell also said, “We’re all held to a high standard here.”

Really? Does this meet his high standard?

Whatcha gonna do with all that junk
All that junk inside your trunk
I’ma get get get get you drunk
Get you love drunk off my hump
My hump my hump my hump my hump my hump
My hump my hump my hump my lovely little lumps

How about drinking so much that you wet your pants, mid-song, on stage, in front of a live audience?

This week the NFL did more to silence conservative political perspectives on the radio then liberals and their “Fairness Doctrine” could ever dream of doing.  By bowing to shrill political pressure they forced a group of potential buyers of the St. Louis Rams, headed by Dave Checkett, to drop Rush Limbaugh from the ownership team.  Forget for a moment that the heinous statements attributed to Limbaugh were never sourced or substantiated and completely false.  Also forget that Limbaugh, as a minority owner, would have no actual control or real influence over personnel or management decisions with the team.  None of that matters.

The left hates Limbaugh. He had to be stopped.

But Rush will be just fine.  They can’t shut him up; he’s too big.  And even if they do pass the “Fairness Doctrine,” he will move to satellite radio and finally give Mel Karmazin a healthy balance sheet.

No, the real danger in all of this is the chilling effect it has on the rest of the conservative world.  Those of us articulating our points of view and trying to persuade others.  Just like Rush has done for over two decades.  And now, the seed has been planted.  Someday, we might want to own a football team.  Hell, we’re capitalists!  Will something we say or write now be twisted around or even made up to smear us and keep us from fulfilling our dream?

Yes, the seed has been planted.  They’ve done what the intended to do.  It wasn’t about stopping Rush… it was done to stop all of us.  And they will lie if they have to, to get what they want.

Change? Yes.  Hope?  Not so much.