Dreamworks is racist. I don't actually believe that, but I think a) I have your attention/you're curious now and b) it's somewhat relevant to the thoughts I'm about to discuss.
Besides the fact that I don't like 3d animation, I don't watch any Dreamworks movies because they are all about white people. Most are about males. What I'm saying is Dreamworks seems capable and/or interested in only telling stories about a white perspective and I'm bored. When I saw trailers for "The Crudes," I was preparing to sigh in disappointment and exhaustion. Then I saw how typical the humor was so I sighed with disappointment and exhaustion twice.
For those of you who believe in science, we know that the first human beings were black. The Crudes are white. Does anyone share my disappointment both for the misrepresentation of science and for a missed and appropriate opportunity to make a black cast? This is America, the big melting pot. It's about time main stream media does something with the other 99 sub-cultures present in America. It's 2013. This is embarrassing.
This is a country full of people who are not white and male, yet, when was the last time you saw a theatrical release about a hero who was anything but? The problem is not obvious to white people, but for everyone else it's a matter of a fish out of water. Imagine looking around your home land and not seeing yourself represented in your overall culture? I can only speculate how this effects others, maybe it causes some people to have difficulty with their self-identity. Maybe it even has the effect of causing some resentment, perpetuating ignorance, and dis-empowering some. At the very least, you can speculate that there are too many people who aren't being acknowledged. I believe this causes issues for everyone. With people continuing to live comfortably with an unchallenged perspective, progressiveness is hindered.
So why is it that Dreamworks can't make a movie about anything but white people? The simplest answer is that the producers, writers and directors of each movie are white and it's difficult to understand, much less take an interest in telling a story from a completely different perspective. The day Dreamworks gets a gay black woman in charge is the day we see something fresh.
Additionally, the free market dictates art. Movies about white stories are so popular because there's an overwhelming market for it. If people wanted to see Green Vacuum Cleaners vs Blue Chairs, we'd have it. Still, Dreamworks broadens no horizons.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Art Belongs in the Public Domain
Upon my death, any and all art I create, all writings done, all ideas I produce, etc., shall go to the public domain.
Art is something special. It's a universal means of communication. What do I mean? I had a teacher named Pitts. He used to work for the United Nations. He has an assignment once that involved taking 20 people from 20 different cultures and showing them a good time. Some of them didn't speak english. They went to a movie theater and watched a french movie. According to Pitts, one or two people understood the language, but everyone cried when it was time to cry and everyone laughed when it was time to laugh.
Art can express ideas and sensations, can preserve pieces of history, personal experiences, and the human experience. Through art, you can learn and you can teach. You can help influence people and change cultures. You can give comfort to people.
Art is a powerful thing, because of this I believe that at some point the artist is responsible for relinquishing creative rights to everyone. Perhaps artists should do it when they're finished or when they die. Limiting permission to use or rights of ownership to a select few is limiting the potential of the art. It limits the effect of the art. It limits who can enjoy it and how. Who can learn and who can't.
I know we like to own our ideas. I want to too, but for how long? What happens when you die? Are you taking your ideas with you or passing them off to the next selfish person or entity so they can hog it? Give it up. Share it. Let people play, explore, create, with it freely.
What's the problem? Afraid someone else will cash in on your idea? So what? Does that fill you with regret over a lost opportunity? Is someone gonna make fun of you for missing out? If someone has taken another persons' idea and improved it, making it more accessible or potent, that's a good thing, right? Feel good knowing you had a part in something bigger. What if they did something bad with it? It happens. Get over it. People forget that kind of stuff in time. Remember the movie Fluke?
Art is something special. It's a universal means of communication. What do I mean? I had a teacher named Pitts. He used to work for the United Nations. He has an assignment once that involved taking 20 people from 20 different cultures and showing them a good time. Some of them didn't speak english. They went to a movie theater and watched a french movie. According to Pitts, one or two people understood the language, but everyone cried when it was time to cry and everyone laughed when it was time to laugh.
Art can express ideas and sensations, can preserve pieces of history, personal experiences, and the human experience. Through art, you can learn and you can teach. You can help influence people and change cultures. You can give comfort to people.
Art is a powerful thing, because of this I believe that at some point the artist is responsible for relinquishing creative rights to everyone. Perhaps artists should do it when they're finished or when they die. Limiting permission to use or rights of ownership to a select few is limiting the potential of the art. It limits the effect of the art. It limits who can enjoy it and how. Who can learn and who can't.
I know we like to own our ideas. I want to too, but for how long? What happens when you die? Are you taking your ideas with you or passing them off to the next selfish person or entity so they can hog it? Give it up. Share it. Let people play, explore, create, with it freely.
What's the problem? Afraid someone else will cash in on your idea? So what? Does that fill you with regret over a lost opportunity? Is someone gonna make fun of you for missing out? If someone has taken another persons' idea and improved it, making it more accessible or potent, that's a good thing, right? Feel good knowing you had a part in something bigger. What if they did something bad with it? It happens. Get over it. People forget that kind of stuff in time. Remember the movie Fluke?
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