Are You Feeling Okay?

Apparently Monster's Ball wasn't a hit for Mos Def--hell, to Moore, it never existed.

lol, Mos Def is dope, especially in Something THE LORD Made. Just hip journalist trying to be interesting by saying controversial shit.

mannered and amateurish in The Woodsman

I hate it when people talk about movies they haven't seen...

I would say Mos is an average actor. I would say a lot of it is the result of casting. But give the poor guy a break. If you really must assassinate his character, at least get the story right and talk about some of his musical tendencies.

I haven't seen this and probably won't until I'm on an airplane somewhere, but Mos Def is a born performer. This guy is on crack.

Hey, I'm fed up with racist white people. Things are gonna start changing. Starting today.

Attached, please find my email to the dude in Orlando.
-------------------------


Your comments in reference to Mos Def only reveal you to be recessive
racist coward.

I'd be willing to bet that you wished that you were black and that you had an
film career.

When does your film short debut? Never?

What a pity.

And it's all the black rapper's fault who's been able to sucessfully segue his
music to film.

I pity you for being recessive. All you can ever do is hide behind the shield of
false racist journalism.

Mos Def, Denzel, Chiwetel, Morgan, Taye, Isiah, Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard,
Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx own you.

Too bad you'll never be able to run fast or jump high. I know that really wish
that you could.

But hey, you can still write, correct?

:)

-Black People

Come on, the guy may be missing the ball, but what *exactly* in that review points to the reviewer being racist? How do you even know that he's white?

And white people have never been racist?

What are you, 10 years old? Did I say that? There are racists of all flavors who warrant every bit of your scorn, but you can't pick out one single line of that review that a)shows the skin color of the reviewer and b)shows him furthermore to be a white racist.

Save your hostility for those who deserve it.

You sound like a pretty smart guy.

We like smart people.

Smart is good.

And you are white.

Do not generalize and try to say that racism comes from all flavors.

The dangerous racism that we suffer from today originated and is kept alive by white people.
All the racism all over the world is geared toward the people who are more "white like" (in looks and behaviour).

White people left western Europe after the Black Plague almost ate a hole in thier asses. They subsequently went all over the globe and fucked over all non-white people (australia, India, North, South America, Africa and Asia).

This is a fact.

One which white people hope that will be forgotten.

Now...
In this country the Media has always had a field day with Black People. Slandering and defaming at any given chance. Blackface anyone?
It is not in thier nature to portray black people in a positive light.

Was Dave Morse not in that pic? Could Mos Def have possibly ruined the entire experience?

And really, should Black People trust these writers any longer after taking a close look at thier track record?

Would you?
If you were black?

Hey, thanks for the history lesson, and for reminding me that I'm white. I had almost forgot.

All I'm saying is that you *still* haven't pointed at one single line in the review that indicates the reviewer's skin color or any racism at all. You say *I'm* generalizing? Man. Before you go and send someone a letter calling them a racist and calling yourself "Black People" (as if you spoke for everyone), you might want to consider whether or not they actually are, or whether maybe you're just reading in what you want.

And a side note: blackface was a hell of a lot more complicated than the way it is generally understood today. Not all of it was Amos & Andy bullshit, and a lot of it was performed by African-Americans themselves *for* African-Americans. But that's a whole other [complicated] discussion for another day. If you're interested, check out a book called "Just Before Jazz," by Thomas Riis.

You're right.

You've won.

I won't be checking out "Just Before Jazz," by Thomas Riis.

White people always have been racist and they always will be.

And I didn't make that up. White people did.

No book or email posting is gonna change that.

You've won.

Congratulations.

mos def isn't that bad, but he's not good either; just one of many mediocre actors. i saw him perform alongside jeffrey wright in topdog/underdog and the disparity between someone highly talented like wright and mos was readily apparent.

and to 'black people', your cluelessness is evident on two points: one, you list clowns like jamie foxx, taye diggs and eddie murphy alongside truly skilled actors like morgan freeman, denzel, and don cheadle; two, you attempt to disparage a critic's(!) opinion by asking where his body of work is -- take a sec. and ponder the silliness of a stament like that.

I saw Top Dog at the Public Theater when it was still Jeffrey Wright and Don Cheadle so I can't speak to that.. getting out-acted by Jeffrey Wright doesn't make you a bum though, that could happen to many good actors :) In general I think Mos is very good and charismatic on screen.

You're wayyyy off about Jamie Foxx though. His performance in Ray is on par with anything Denzel and co. have done.

(I agree "Black People" was way off-base, also)

I haven't seen Ray yet, but Foxx was also outstanding in Collateral.

gotta disagree with you jay (and all the foxx lovers). his performance in ray was a spectacular impersonation; quality actors portraying real figures bring something unique, from deep within, to their roles that goes beyond mere impersonation, however spot-on it might be (see denzel as malcolm for this distinction).

until foxx can demonstrate real chops, he'll always rank amateur to me.

Whew, you are setting the bar extremely high for who is considered a quality actor lol.. i was actually more impressed with Jamie as Ray than by Denzel as Malcolm.. to me Denzel usually has trouble coming across as something other than Denzel..

but for me he'd already showed real chops in "Any Given Sunday," that's when I became a fan..

Hey sorry for taking so long to get back to you guys. But I live in L.A. and every prodco, etc is having an Oscars something.

But you guys have made some interesting points. And your racism continues to shine through.

I know you're always gonna hate Jamie for getting his Oscar.

For your sake, I wish it woulda been Leo Dicap instead.

But anyways...

I need to address a few things.
--
"and to 'black people', your cluelessness is evident on two points: one, you list clowns like jamie foxx, taye diggs and eddie murphy"
--

How can you call Eddie Murphy a clown? How can the rest of you sit by and let this happen? Next he'll be saying that Richard Pryor was a hack.

If Eddie Murphy is a clown then what is Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Will Ferrell?

Oh, I know, they're cool because they're white? Your racism is showing again. But I understand. White people are your brand. You gotta pump your brand.

But not at the expense of Black people. Eddie Murphy set out to do comedy. Denzel set out to do drama. Both executed. Both are geniuses. However, I respect your racism. It made your people rich.
---

Next,
--
(I agree "Black People" was way off-base, also)
--
I kinda agree with you too, Jay. The base being Mos Def's performance in 16 blocks (BTW Running Scared is an instant classic. Seek it out.)
I'm sorta venting. When I see the smallest sliver of racism I have to go into everything. Like when I see Black people consistently dressed in orange in every commercial, TV show or film. It's not blatant racism but it's there. Almost like making Jews wear armbands with the David star.
---
"you attempt to disparage a critic's(!) opinion by asking where his body of work is"

I'm sorta sensitive when it comes to film review I think you have two groups: film lovers and film critcizers (film critic for short)
The latter tend to look for problems in a film and if their racism is not in check, they will heave it all on the "black guy". The former are more times then not usually jealous of their target's success. The guy who reviewed 16 blocks sounded like a film criticizer and not a film lover.

which leads me to my final point...

Small typo.
I meant to say that film criticizers are the ones who are jealous. Film lovers just enjoy cinema. They're never jealous.
Sorry.
Was rushing.

-Black People

to 'black people':

the point of this discussion, if at this point that label even applies, was the merit of mos def as a serious actor (a fairly legitimate topic of debate). your bringing eddie murphy into the discussion was pointless -- and as stupid as me bringing will ferrell or ben stiller into a discussion of the finest 'white' actors of our generation. no one's debating anyone's comedic chops, certainly not those of eddie or richard pryor (the fact that you construct argumentative straw men to tear down demonstrates your unclear grap of issues).

maybe for your next post you can cook up a venn diagram illustrating the underrated performative brilliance of soul plane.

run along.

Mos Def is an extremely good actor/hip hop artist. I can see an envelope with his name on it followed by a little gold statue within the next 5 years. Remember my name and email. So when it happens you can see why people call me Schwuamie.

DEAR "BLACK PEOPLE"

I DON'T WANT TO WASTE TOO MUCH TIME OF MY PRECIOUS WONDERFUL LIFE ON THIS BUT I JUST HAD TO DROP IN RIGHT HERE AND SAY:

I PITTY YOU. HOPE ONE DAY YOU WILL GET WELL.

You know there's people in this world who can help you out with these issues. I'm talking 'bout psycholigists and stuff.. And maybe if you're patient, you can get a black one...

THE WORLD DON'T NEED PEOPLE LIKE YOU.

Seems like you hate yourself, tryin' to defend your race like that.

You must have an empty life..

Really hope you get to read this in between all your hatin'.

Dadi