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[lightless_shado]

I'm sorry this thread isn't as awesome as the last one. I dunno what to do with it aside from bring up different topics in black culture.

Hey man its an alright thread. It will come into its own. There are a lot of things we can talk about. I'll keep posting in here as long as there are people bringing up interesting topics.

Pick up "freakonomics". there's an entire chapter based solely around why Parents seem to give kids names that are either nonsensical or detrimental in the long run.

there's an excerpt of it http://www.slate.com/id/2116449/

the short story is that lower income and lower educated parents of all races have a habit of making extremely poor name choices- black parents in particular choose "unique" names out of a sense of solidarity with the community and/or pride in one's roots.

You know it seems to me that the last people to be giving their children such names would be the poor. I mean what is an employer going to think when he or she sees that name? I think its especially problematic for black people because one could immediately guess that a person is black based on their name and a possibly racist employer will just skip the person altogether. Latishiqua could actually be someone with a very strong work ethic and high aspirations.

 

[Salazar]

I'm sorry this thread isn't as awesome as the last one. I dunno what to do with it aside from bring up different topics in black culture.

Does Johnny Cash get a black pass ?

 

[DY_nasty]

Does Johnny Cash get a black pass ?

It'd be a crime if Marky Mark had one and Cash didn't

 

[Manmademan]

Hey man its an alright thread. It will come into its own. There are a lot of things we can talk about. I'll keep posting in here as long as there are people bringing up interesting topics.



You know it seems to me that the last people to be giving their children such names would be the poor. I mean what is an employer going to think when he or she sees that name? I think its especially problematic for black people because one could immediately guess that a person is black based on their name and a possibly racist employer will just skip the person altogether. Latishiqua could actually be someone with a very strong work ethic and high aspirations.

There's a very well known bias towards employers to select white names over "black" names, even when the resumes in question are exactly identical. the book goes into this- so I don't want to repeat the whole thing here.

surprisingly though, a name itself doesn't really have much effect on whether or not a given person is successful- success is far, far more dependent on the economic circumstances one is born into. The name just tends to be an indicator of this.

again, the poor name choices thing isn't limited to blacks by any means: I found the names poor white parents were giving to kids equally hilarious, but for different reasons.

 

[i_am_ben]

gaygaf feels your pain negrogaf

it's just not the same.

 

[spindashing]

Spindashing's mournful groans of agony shall deafen us all.

Wtf guys. Keep my name out'cha mouths. I've been good. :lol

BlackGAF, NegroGAF, whatever you call yourself these days. Do any of you or have any of you celebrate/celebrated Kwanzaa? I remember last year an acquaintance ignorantly telling me "Happy Kwanzaa."

"No, I celebrate Christmas you dick" was all I thought of. I simply smiled and said, "No, I celebrate Christmas." -- to which he smiled awkwardly at.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

It'd be a crime if Marky Mark had one and Cash didn't

When did Marky Mark get a "Black Pass" in your mind?

I hope wasn't for that shitty ass "Good Vibrations" song.

If you're giving out hypothetical passes, it goes like this:

Paul Wall gets a pass.

Eminem gets a pass.

Robin Thicke gets a pass.

Daryl Hall gets a pass.

Michael McDonald gets a pass.

Marky Mark doesn't get a pass.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Wtf guys. Keep my name out'cha mouths. I've been good. :lol

BlackGAF, NegroGAF, whatever you call yourself these days. Do any of you or have any of you celebrate/celebrated Kwanzaa? I remember last year an acquaintance ignorantly telling me "Happy Kwanzaa."

"No, I celebrate Christmas you dick" was all I thought of. I simply smiled and said, "No, I celebrate Christmas." -- to which he smiled awkwardly at.

I don't know a single Black person that celebrates Kwanzaa.

Not a single one.

 

[soundscream]

Kwanzaa is the dumbest holiday created.

.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Since we're going over passes, does Darius Rucker have a White pass?

What about Oprah?

 

[spindashing]

When did Marky Mark get a "Black Pass" in your mind?

I hope wasn't for that shitty ass "Good Vibrations" song.

If you're giving out hypothetical passes, it goes like this:

Paul Wall gets a pass.

Eminem gets a pass.

Robin Thicke gets a pass.

Daryl Hall gets a pass.

Michael McDonald gets a pass.

Marky Mark doesn't get a pass.

How about...

Rick Astley?

And good @ Kwanzaa. I did not know a single soul who celebrated that holiday. I was almost convinced that it was created by the media or something. Shit is ridiculous that barely anyone celebrated it when sitcoms sort of glorified it.

 

[Manmademan]

I don't know a single Black person that celebrates Kwanzaa.

Not a single one.

my parents did back in the 80s. there may still be some kwanzaa stuff hanging out somewhere, but if there is I haven't seen it in decades :lol

 

[lightless_shado]

Wtf guys. Keep my name out'cha mouths. I've been good. :lol

BlackGAF, NegroGAF, whatever you call yourself these days. Do any of you or have any of you celebrate/celebrated Kwanzaa? I remember last year an acquaintance ignorantly telling me "Happy Kwanzaa."

"No, I celebrate Christmas you dick" was all I thought of. I simply smiled and said, "No, I celebrate Christmas." -- to which he smiled awkwardly at.

You misunderstand. You probably loved Negro-age more than anyone.

Does Rick Astley get a pass? I remember reading something about when he was being discovered that the head of the label that signed him didn't think he was white until he saw him.

And any biologists in here? one thing that puzzles me is how we are the only people on earth with hair that is curled so tightly. Other people share our supposedly distinct traits(nose, and lips and hell even some people who are not black have skin tones that approach the average black person's tone) but nobody seems to share our hair. Why is that?

I think I could spend all day asking about how we can look so different but I don't know if that would be in keeping with our discussion parameters. I saw an episode of Maury where a man came on the show and was certain that a woman who claimed he was the father of her two children was wrong. Why? because they looked completely hispanic. The woman was hispanic, but the kids did not look black at all. Turned out they were in fact his children.

EDIT: Someone already beat me to rick astley:lol

also I laugh at Kwanzaa

 

[Salazar]

Since we're going over passes, does Darius Rucker have a White pass?

What about Oprah?

No and maybe.

 

[Manmademan]

No and maybe.

Wayne Brady totally does.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Teena Marie has the ultimate black pass though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYVWoi72Ow4

How about Fergie Ferge?

 

[eternaLightness]

We must spread Umoja my brothers and sisters.

 

[lightless_shado]

Wayne Brady totally does.

We all know why he would.

EDIT:

Wayne Brady doesn't get one after the Chappelle skit.

Almost forgot about that:lol

 

[DY_nasty]

I don't know a single Black person that celebrates Kwanzaa.

Not a single one.

Marky Mark was a pioneer!

Paul Wall doesn't get one.

I remember they tried to throw a mini-Kwanzaa celebration at my college... we lol'd

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Marky Mark was a pioneer!

Paul Wall doesn't get one.

Is this Bizarro-GAF?

 

[lightless_shado]

Marky Mark was a pioneer!

Paul Wall doesn't get one.

I remember they tried to throw a mini-Kwanzaa celebration at my college... we lol'd

Disagree.

While we're at it, Justin Timberlake gets one too.

 

[spindashing]

You misunderstand. You probably loved Negro-age more than anyone.

I have not been a member of GAF long, but yeah, it was honestly my favorite thread ever.

But I digress. What's scary is that I did not know Rick Astley was white until the Rickroll fad came into fruition. I even knew Michael McDonald was white. Shit.. :lol

I recall you guys talking about black rock and I didn't see Living Colour being mentioned. Shame on y'all.

I'm looking to get into more Funk. Any other suggestions than Funkadelic/Parliament/Parliament-Funkadelic?

 

[dr_octagon]

Just wondering if you guys think black culture is represented fairly in the media (in your respective countries). What would you like to see more of?

People like Richard Pryor / Dave Chappelle are funny and they draw on their culture rather than just playing a black stereotype. I mention comedy cos that can break down barriers in terms of learning about a culture.

 

[Manmademan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IfHDi-2EA

Listen to that voice.

Yes.

Teena Marie has the ultimate black pass though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYVWoi72Ow4

Holy shit @ Teena Marie. I'm in love here :lol :lol :lol

 

[DY_nasty]

This all reminds me of how Jennifer Lopez just knew she was down until she caught that epic backfire :lol

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Holy shit @ Teena Marie. I'm in love here :lol :lol :lol

Thank Rick James.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

This all reminds me of how Jennifer Lopez just knew she was down until she caught that epic backfire :lol

Jennifer Lopez hasn't been attractive since In Living Color.

Fact.

 

[lightless_shado]

Just wondering if you guys think black culture is represented fairly in the media (in your respective countries). What would you like to see more of?

People like Richard Pryor / Dave Chappelle are funny and they draw on their culture rather than just playing a black stereotype. I mention comedy cos that can break down barriers in terms of learning about a culture.

In Canada its pretty hard for us I would say. Because Canada is mostly exposed to American culture, the same black stereotypes carry over here so people expect you to be like the blacks they see on the TV and they're shocked when you aren't, but this is usually in places where there is no strong black presence.

I also feel that there is really a lack of some serious black actors. I can only think of a few that can do serious roles. I can't really think of someone who is on the same footing as the likes of Denzel washington or Sidney poiter except for maybe blair underwood. Will smith proved he can do drama in 2 films but I think he's going to be forced into that Action hero mold.

With regards to TV comedy I can't believe we've gone from this:

to just nothing else basically.

 

[Manmademan]

You're kidding me. Never heard of Teena Marie?!?!?! Teena Marie is a total sistah. She has so much soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZg46VqEk1s

Its one of those rick astley type of things where I've heard the song, but never saw the performer.

no idea she played that guitar, looked like that, or moved like that. craziness.

 

[TGateKeeper]

I posted this in the other thread.

One of the best if not the best documentary i've seen on anicent african history. Dr Gus Casely-Hayford did a great job on narrating.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp6P_hBnF1s&feature=fvw

Anyone else saw this documentary before?

 

[Manmademan]

In Canada its pretty hard for us I would say. Because Canada is mostly exposed to American culture, the same black stereotypes carry over here so people expect you to be like the blacks they see on the TV and they're shocked when you aren't, but this is usually in places where there is no strong black presence.

I also feel that there is really a lack of some serious black actors. I can only think of a few that can do serious roles. I can't really think of someone who is on the same footing as the likes of Denzel washington or Sidney poiter except for maybe blair underwood. Will smith proved he can do drama in 2 films but I think he's going to be forced into that Action hero mold.

With regards to TV comedy I can't believe we've gone from this:

to just nothing else basically.

eh? you need to watch more TV. there have been plenty of good black sitcom performers and shows since then.

besides the OBVIOUS (A different World)

there was also (Girlfriends)

and (Living Single)

and (Roc)

and (everybody hates chris)

and, er...(obvious)

all of the above ran for multiple seasons. I can probably name another dozen that only got one or two. Roc you may not know (especially if you're from canada) but it's notable for being not only a live fox sitcom that got more than one season, but the last couple of seasons it was performed live in front of a studio audience, with no retakes.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

[/IMG]

Man, I had it baaaad for Cree Summer (Freddie)

 

[Manmademan]

Man, I had it baaaad for Cree Summer (Freddie)

she was cute. she went on to do a lot of voiceover work in kids shows (tiny toons, animaniacs) and it really messed with me

 

[eternaLightness]

I was just gonna say the same thing about Everybody Hates Chris. Such a genius show. I just posted 2 cents worth of black culture.

 

[Manmademan]

Everybody Hates Chris is so under appreciated.

Also, people fail ONCE AGAIN for not posting Dwayne's dope glasses.

I actually had a pair of these. This did not help in convincing people that I was NOT a nerd.

"hey, how would you like to get with a brotha who got a perfect score on his math SAT's?" :lol

 

[lightless_shado]

eh? you need to watch more TV. there have been plenty of good black sitcom performers and shows since then.


all of the above ran for multiple seasons. I can probably name another dozen that only got one or two.

I should have probably rephrased. The cosby show ran through into the 90s if I'm not mistaken and I meant for it to illustrate my point that after the 80s and 90s we had pretty much no sitcoms that didn't have many stereotypical characters in it.

When we think of the Cosby show, family matters or even fresh prince, we think of shows where for the most part, stereotypes weren't front and center. In the cosby show both parents were present, both had professional jobs, and everyone spoke clearly. Smart guy to some extent was also fantastic, because we had a kid that didn't fit into any stereotype and was a genius.

Since the end of the 90s we haven't seen the same type of thing. We haven't seen a sitcom set in the suburbs where everyone is well educated(smart guy is kind of an exception because although the dad does sound like he's educated and wants to educate his children he works as a roofer but in all fairness a trade job would have proably paid well then too.) Browsing through the black sitcom list today, I don't see anything that could jump out at me as something akin to the gems of the 80s and 90s that portrayed blacks in a very positive light. Not saying shows like everybody hates chris are bad(loved the show while it was still on) just that they're a bit more regressive than progressive because more and more stereotypes are thrown in as opposed to just one or 2.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

He's at E3 like almost every year.

Cool dude, he seems to "remember" me every time I see him. :lol

 

[spindashing]

I'm glad to see we've taken off our corporate suits and ties to start to put on our street clothes around here. It isn't that uncomfortable anymore.

I'd actually love to see if my college has a proper African-American studies class taught from an African perspective rather than an Americanized one. I think it was bdizzle from the previous thread that motivated me to want to study it that way. There are probably so many things that I have never heard of...

 

[Manmademan]

Dwayne was dope.

A Different World was interesting.

"Mommy, what's a black university?"

it also occurs to me that bill cosby himself had more than one cosby show- there was a second "cosby" that ran from 1996 to 2000 that everyone forgets about.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

You're joking. You've MET him?

Yeah, over the years at E3.

Funny enough, another Different World alum, is also there almost every year as well:

Spoiler

Sinbad

 

[Manmademan]

I should have probably rephrased. The cosby show ran through into the 90s if I'm not mistaken and I meant for it to illustrate my point that after the 80s and 90s we had pretty much no sitcoms that didn't have many stereotypical characters in it.

When we think of the Cosby show, family matters or even fresh prince, we think of shows where for the most part, stereotypes weren't front and center. In the cosby show both parents were present, both had professional jobs, and everyone spoke clearly. Smart guy to some extent was also fantastic, because we had a kid that didn't fit into any stereotype and was a genius.

Since the end of the 90s we haven't seen the same type of thing. We haven't seen a sitcom set in the suburbs where everyone is well educated(smart guy is kind of an exception because although the dad does sound like he's educated and wants to educate his children he works as a roofer but in all fairness a trade job would have proably paid well then too.) Browsing through the black sitcom list today, I don't see anything that could jump out at me as something akin to the gems of the 80s and 90s that portrayed blacks in a very positive light. Not saying shows like everybody hates chris are bad(loved the show while it was still on) just that they're a bit more regressive than progressive because more and more stereotypes are thrown in as opposed to just one or 2.

Of the shows I posted, none are of the "stereotypical" variety. Everybody hates chris does focus on a poor family, but not in a negative or stereotypical way.

A different world was life in a black university- if you haven't seen it, you should. Except that first season. (slightly different cast and direction...and marisa tomei was inexplicably there and gone that season)

Living Single and Girlfriends were all about successful, upwardly mobile young black adults.

Roc was about a working class family (Roc worked in sanitation, but brought home a good salary and provided for his wife and father) but didn't shy away from serious topics and rarely went for cheap stereotypes to get laughs.

Family matters I never liked , but it was popular.

 

[Naked Prime]

all I ever met was famous game devs at E3, though I did me some guy that had a small role in Soul Plane at a GDC MS BIG Event.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Spoiler

Sinbad

used to be one of my favorite stand-up comics. back when he used to do those HBO specials.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

all I ever met was famous game devs at E3, though I did me some guy that had a small role in Soul Plane at a GDC MS BIG Event.

Rasheed Wallace was @ E3 with his kids the day before Game 7 of the Finals this past June.

If he was practicing instead of playing video games, he might not have fouled out and lost to the Lakers.

Tough luck, Sheed.

:lol :lol :lol

Spoiler

BTW, I'm a Laker fan.

 

[Manmademan]

used to be one of my favorite stand-up comics. back when he used to do those HBO specials.

and caribbean cruises! :lol

edit, to continue the TV conversation- THIS show (Homeboys in Outer Space)

was cheap, sterotypical humor. The others? not so much.

Spoiler

space hoopty

 

[Old Lace]

it also occurs to me that bill cosby himself had more than one cosby show- there was a second "cosby" that ran from 1996 to 2000 that everyone forgets about.

Don't forget about The Cosby Mysteries!

 

[ryutaro's mama]

it also occurs to me that bill cosby himself had more than one cosby show- there was a second "cosby" that ran from 1996 to 2000 that everyone forgets about.

That show was weird.

It even had Claire on there as well, but she wasn't Claire and he wasn't Cliff.

But they were retired with an empty nest!

Also the funny Jamaican dude from Cool Runnings was on there...

It was the Not Really The Cosby Show, Cosby Show.

 

[lightless_shado]

Don't forget about The Cosby Mysteries!

I've never heard of such a show. I don't think it existed. Same with that movie "ghost dad" that some people claim was created.

 

[bgassassin]

When did Marky Mark get a "Black Pass" in your mind?

I hope wasn't for that shitty ass "Good Vibrations" song.

If you're giving out hypothetical passes, it goes like this:

Paul Wall gets a pass.

Eminem gets a pass.

Robin Thicke gets a pass.

Daryl Hall gets a pass.

Michael McDonald gets a pass.

Marky Mark doesn't get a pass.

Lisa Stansfield gets a pass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDtSyWQsPsU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYw30Gb_e1w

 

[LuCkymoON]

In Canada its pretty hard for us I would say. Because Canada is mostly exposed to American culture, the same black stereotypes carry over here so people expect you to be like the blacks they see on the TV and they're shocked when you aren't, but this is usually in places where there is no strong black presence.

I also feel that there is really a lack of some serious black actors. I can only think of a few that can do serious roles. I can't really think of someone who is on the same footing as the likes of Denzel washington or Sidney poiter except for maybe blair underwood. Will smith proved he can do drama in 2 films but I think he's going to be forced into that Action hero mold.

With regards to TV comedy I can't believe we've gone from this:

to just nothing else basically.

on that note I miss Living Single and Martin so much.