Man Down

Peggy Orenstein did a wonderful piece on her blog about the complicated (and colorful) reactions to Rihanna's new video for the single "Man Down."  I have been thinking about the video since I first saw it last week - not least because the song itself is powerful and catchy, and features some of Rihanna's best singing yet.  Her Bajan accent blends beautifully with the lazy, reggae rhythms, and that rolled-r rum-pum-pum-pum is to-die-for.  But it's not her voice that has critics all worked up; rather, it's the video's strange, hazy message, which has left fans struggling to decipher it.  The song is a woman's apologia for killing a man ("oh mama mama mama/I just shot a man down") but the lyrics offer very little in terms of a backstory.  The video, on the other hand is crystal clear: a man mistakes the artist's flirtations and rapes her.  She retaliates by shooting him dead.

The ensuing debate has been heated and, because it's mostly taking place on the internet, not particularly politically correct.  Some fans take offense at the suggestion that Rihanna-the-character was entitled to take the law into her own hands, while others feel free to opine that her coquettish behavior in the video - wearing a skimpy outfit, smiling cutely at her eventual attacker - invited the assault.  I think it's obvious by now that I side with the no-means-no-no-matter-how-short-my-shorts-are camp but that aside, it's interesting to me that "Man Down" has, to this point, evoked even more backlash than her "S&M" video - which features the lyric "sticks and stones may break my bones/but whips and chains excite me".  Yes, YouTube requires viewers to sign in to view "S&M," due to explicit sexual content, but the video hasn't incited the same kind of enmity as "Man Down."  Most likely, it's because "S&M" hasn't been framed in the same kind of heated political conversation - but why not?


It's clear that both videos seek to challenge some kind of taboo about female sexuality and get people talking.  But compared to "Man Down" - which presents itself as almost photo-journalistic - "S&M" looks like pure bubblegum: I'm a barbie girl in a whips-and-chains world.  Interestingly, both videos position Rihanna as empowered, though in "Man Down," that empowerment comes at a significant cost: guilt, tears, legal trouble.  My suspicion - though I have to think more about it - is that "S&M'" is easier to swallow because although it shows a woman taking charge of her sexuality, it's in a culturally acceptable way.  Rihanna is still being cheeky and sexy for the camera.  She's singing about her own pleasure, but the video is shot for the pleasure of the audience.

My inclination is to watch "Man Down" in terms of its storytelling, and not as Rihanna taking a position on whether or not women have the right to act seductively, to take revenge on an assailant, etc.  But I think it's hitting a nerve not only because these questions are so complicated, but also because a female pop star - known for her good looks as much as anything else - is asking them.

My, How You've Changed

Eight years ago when I moved to Brooklyn, I lived next door to this property.  Across the street?  A vacant lot filled with trash.  Next to that?  A slummy low-rise with walls held together by duct tape.  I don't mean to suggest that one version of Manhattan-between-Scholes-and-Meserole is more "real" than the other; just that New York City, with its ability to transform itself*, is mind-blowing.

*The real estate agents who get all sorts of Shakespearean when re-branding neighborhoods help usher the process along, too.

Skins

Just finished watching the second cycle of Skins (UK) - is there anyone more devastatingly vulnerable than Kaya Scodelario as Effy Stonem?  Watching out-of-control teens always ushers in a wave of nostalgia for a time when breaking the rules - however tiny the infraction - felt enlivening.  Effy, as the troubled Lolita-esque Ice Queen, stole my heart (though don't make me choose between her and Cass from the first series).  I'm tempted to check out MTV's version (is it still even on?) but know it will flatten most of the nuances from the British one.  And believe me - for all of its wonderful outrageousness and smut, the show is actually really insightful about teens when they don't have positive role models.  Seriously!  Also:

I'm in love with Effy's wardrobe.  Can I get away with dressing like a drug-addled teen at almost 30?  (No.)

Kaya Scodelario is on twitter (@kayascollywogs) and she's adorable - nothing like her chilly, distressed alter-ego.

With the Power of My Mind

  Faxing Charlie Sheen by tylerwalker

Bi-winning: on Charlie Sheen and John Galliano

Two very high-profile men, in equally high-profile ways, have melted down. And by golly - it’s fascinating.

Charlie Sheen, the bad-boy of primetime, has been hitting the media circuit, giving crazy-eyed interviews about his rockstar lifestyle, his enduring specialness, and his hatred for his Two and a Half Men boss Chuck Lorre (or Chaim Levine, as Sheen pointed out – referring to Lorre via his birth name in what many people have since determined to be a case of casual anti-semitism). Meanwhile, John Galliano was recently fired from his position as head designer for Dior after rumors of an arrest and a drunken, hate-filled diatribe flooded the internet; soonafter, The Sun released a video of Galliano berating a pair of travelers at an outdoor café. “I love Hitler,” he seethed, “people like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be fucking gassed. You're ugly."

Both stories have dominated the press these past few weeks, particularly because Sheen seems determined to go down in a televised blaze of glory, and the media is more than happy to oblige him. Sheen’s behavior, while extreme, shouldn’t be totally surprising – he’s notorious for his drug and alcohol use, his addiction to prostitutes, and for abusing ex-wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller. Galliano, meanwhile, has been an enfant terrible in his own way, though no one necessarily anticipated his affinity for the Third Reich. But I think it’s captivating when celebrities fall apart for a few reasons. As a culture, we want to hold celebrities to high moral standards, even though there’s no logical connection between fame and inner goodness (some might even argue that the former necessarily corrupts the latter). We want to believe that the people who enjoy riches, privilege and glory somehow deserve it – if they don’t, it corrodes our collective sense of justice.

Intellectually, we understand that celebrities aren’t always formidable people but then, when we’re faced with the reality of those flaws, we feel betrayed. I am not a drug addict/wife beater/lunatic/racist, but I’m also not a multi-millionaire with one of the most coveted jobs on the planet. How is that fair? PR reps can only do so much to save their clients from themselves. Galliano lost his job, because even though anti-semitism doesn’t really interfere with brilliant fashion design, it’s just not a good look for the brand. Sheen, however, is a different story. His off-screen awfulness is, somehow, part of his on-screen charm, and it’ll be interesting to see how this insanity affects his career in the long term.

Personally, I’ve never been a big Charlie Sheen fan, so if this whole thing proves to be a big ol’ career ender it won’t be much of a loss. As for Galliano – put him on the “I used to like you” island with Mel Gibson. Thanks to my last name, my ethnicity is front-and-center. I saw a Galliano t-shirt on sale at Daffy’s the other day, and walked right on by.

The Celebrites Get Dressed

My Oscar night favorites:

 

1.  Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein.  Say what you will about her singing, but this dress is gorgeous.

 

2.  Anne Hathaway in electric blue Armani Prive.  Part Star Trek, all star quality.  Love it.

 

3.  Jennifer Lawrence in Calvin Klein.  This was her coming-out moment, when she shed the Ozark-chic to prove that all you need to turn heads is great hair and makeup, a killer body, and simple sheath-style gown.  And what can I say?  I <3 minimalism.

Runners-up:

 

1. Scarlett Johansson in Dior.  Adore the vintage-style lace and the keyhole back, but the color didn't cut it on the red carpet, and the glorified bedhead read as bumpy from certain angles and was out-of-place on the Oscar stage.

    

2.  Reese Witherspoon in Armani Prive.  The 60's theme (and green chandelier earrings) work but the hair extensions look over-the-top.

On Romance & NYC

"The thing about living in New York is that you have to be a little bit in love with the imaginary; you have to be able to see past the homeless guy yelling about Jesus on your street corner, past the bed bug infestation, past the pools of piss in the subway underpass. Imaginary romances are akin to walking to Central Park on an unseasonably warm afternoon listening to Kate Bush on your iPod so loud you can barely hear the hum of the traffic; akin to looking up to see the sun shining on the facade of one of those fancy hotels on Fifth Avenue and suddenly experiencing New York through a tourist’s lens, noticing that you’re not even pushing through the crowds, that you are in fact strolling. In a moment, you’ve forgotten that you have a job you’re late to get back to, that your rent is too damn high, and that most days this city makes you feel small and alone."

Well said.  Via Slice Literary.