| Author | Message | ||
     Kola Moderator Username: Kola Post Number: 785 Registered: 02-2005 Rating: N/A |
Yvette...yes, I read Bell Hooks essay....and I totally disagreed with her. First of all...black women refuse to acknowledge what ASSHOLES and SELLOUTS so many celebrity black men are---so I could give a shit that Madonna mistreated them. That actually made me like her more. Second of all....I don't see why Madonna SHOULDN"T steal and use "black culture"---coming from Detroit and being poor, that was "HER" culture, the only one she really knew. And she mixed it with Marilyn Monroe's image and other white icons and she made a UNIQUE blend that fit her art and gave her a podium for her voice. I felt that Madonna had a point of view...and the reasons Hooks castigated her are the very reasons I love Madonna. Madonna LOOOOOVED being a "White goddess". She loved herself. Which is exactly why I love Diana Ross, Streisand, Grace Jones---those women ALLL were narcissistic, loving their images and totally confident in their superiority. There's no indication in Grace Jones's appearance, message or art---that she wanted to be white. Not only did Grace Jones look like an African queen/goddess....she really did....she DEMANDED that the world accept her that way. ROSS was a glamorexic black version of a sophisticated diva---no white woman could match Ross for glamor and appeal when she was in her heydey. Not even CHER, if they would be honest, could touch Diana Ross's style, class and STAR QUALITY. Diana insisted that she was QUEEN....and she was. I didn't like bell hook's essay about Madonna and I thought Madonna was the shit. I loved Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Mary J. Blige---and WANTED to love them more than Madonna----but as artists, they just didn't have the depth and strength and creativity that Madonna had. As usual, there is this "conservatism" that Black American women have that can be boring. You know---like they can't have an orgasm unless it's for Jesus. In other words, they weren't "SAYING" anything or taking big risks. Madonna was ALWAYS controversial and had some shit to say and was totally wild and out of the box. |