The thing that makes me feel most racist
And the winner is...R. Kelly's Trapped In The Closet, 10 new installments of which are airing on IFC.
There are, of course, many people who are enjoying this steaming pile of...celluloid...ironically. The hipster kid who interviews Kelly on the IFC site seems to be one of them. While this is sort of annoying (I mean...I've watched Plan 9 From Outer Space this way, but as far as I know Ed Wood did not urinate on any underage girls...or, at least, didn't tape himself doing it) I guess I can understand it. What I can't understand: people who actually watch this stuff sober and on its own merits.
It's been mocked in many places (my favorite may be on South Park) -- but it really sort of mocks itself.
But here's the thing...the number of black people who I know who really, really like this makes me wonder if I'm dismissive of this because it's a self-described "hip-hopera," a product of black American culture to which I can't really relate. I like hip-hop...but mostly white college student hip-hop. The Roots. The Beastie Boys. A Tribe Called Quest. Public Enemy. The occasional Jay-Z single, when I can get past the obsessive boasting about money, bling and hos.
I'd feel worse about having no use for 90% of all rap music and hip-hop culture if I hadn't heard Chuck D say much the same thing during a speech at Guilford College a few years ago. Still...looking at Kelly making millions on something this bad feels all the worse because I can't see how anyone could enjoy it.
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