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Entertainment Hits and Misses
By Ali Asadullah 26/12/2001
The Hits
Pan-Hellenic Council: Most news outlets glossed over the fact that the national coalition of African American fraternities and sororities, know as the Pan-Hellenic Council, was planning a boycott of Black Entertainment Television (BET), a division of media giant Viacom. Sometime in November, rumors of a boycott began to leak to the Internet, and by December there was significant popular support for such an action. However, in a
press release issued in early December, the Council announced that it would hold off on the boycott while internal discussions on the matter continued.
Of specific concern to the Council and many Black Americans is the type of content broadcast daily on BET. Many of the videos push the limits of propriety with strong themes of sexuality and violence being quite common. Additionally, there is concern that BET does not provide equal opportunity for advertising by African American businesses and organizations.
In draft release to BET CEO Bob Johnson that was leaked to the Internet, the Pan-Hellenic Council stated, "We raised concerns with you about the type of videos shown on BET that have negative influences on our community, particularly our youth. We believe that these videos are an exploitation of African American youth."
It's about time someone took a stand on this time of so-called "entertainment."
Tony Benn & Vanessa Redgrave: Academy Award-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and prominent British politician Tony Benn led a candlelight vigil Sunday near London's Trafalgar Square to mourn the recent deaths in Palestine and to call for a cessation of violence and return to peace talks. With 100 attendees listening, Redgrave read the names of the 1107 Palestinians and Israelis who have died in the past year.
Benn's comments on the current state of affairs, however, were some of the most strident words to come from the western political establishment in a very long time. "It really is a tragedy that people on both sides are going through what they are going through. What is being done to the Palestinians is a crime against humanity," said Benn. "The fact that George W. Bush has tried to call Yasser Arafat a terrorist has stopped the peace deals stone dead. I really feel we are going back into the dark ages and this a very, very dangerous period."
If only more members of the U.S. Congress had as much integrity.
The Misses
NBC: As if Will & Grace wasn't enough of an affront to decency, NBC has decided to go the extra mile and return to peddling booze on its network. This past Saturday, the network reneged on a long-standing policy to not advertise hard liquor on national television. During the popular sketch comedy program
Saturday Night Live, NBC ran an ad for Smirnoff vodka.
The policy-shift comes as ad dollars have dwindled due to the recent economic downturn.
This isn't the first time the almighty dollar has trumped social responsibility in the television industry. It's just too bad such a lethal drug as alcohol was chosen as NBC's cash cow of choice. What's next? Cigarettes?
Alicia Silverstone: It's always good to see Hollywood stars involving themselves in noble causes. To those that much is given, much is expected, right? Well for Alicia Silverstone, star of the teen cult classic
Clueless, her chosen path of social work has been the ethical treatment of animals. Lately, that path has led her straight into the current world terrorism crisis.
How is it that a blonde bombshell gets herself mired in the world of geopolitical conflict? It's easy if you oppose the killing of animals for human use. So when Silverstone, a strict vegan (someone who does not eat meat or meat byproducts or wear clothing derived from animals), found out that there was a tannery in Sudan that allegedly raised money for Osama Bin Laden, she sprung into action, launching a campaign that urges consumers to wear only fake leather.
Speaking to London's Daily Record, a spokesperson for Silverstone said, "Alicia's public display of wearing pleather - a synthetic fake leather - will help both fight Bin Laden and save animals being killed for their skin."
With all the people dying and suffering in Afghanistan and other parts of the world, it seems that Silverstone could have chosen something a little more substantive as her "pet project" (pun intended).
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