I live for moments like Three Six Mafia winning an Oscar. Every day, I wake up and hope for something like that. I don’t take too much from the fact that they actually won the thing. Oh no, it’s all about the acceptance speech.
It is in the acceptance speech that the fun starts. See, people are generally so happy when they get an award that they don’t stop and think what they might want to say. Especially when they don’t expect to win. So when Juicy J, Paul and the rest got up there to win the award, we knew we were going to get something pretty spontaneous.
And when brothers are being spontaneous, they really don’t give a damn about what white people think.
And it’s those moments that I live for.
The biggest hubbub about Three Six at the Oscars was Terrence Howard’s decision not to perform “Hard Out Here For a Pimp”–which is actually a pretty good song, definitely out of step with most of the Mafia’s catalog. I kept forgetting to write about that, but I’ll say it now–Howard’s a clown for not performing the song.
What’s the reason? Some have said he didn’t and should not have because he’s not a rapper. Whatever. He did a capable job on the soundtract, so there’s no reason that he shouldn’t have done it on the stage.
Others have tried to tell me that he didn’t want to represent that on the largest stage. See, that qualifies as caring about what white people think. No good with me. Plus, he had no problem doing that shit when there was a check on the line, and he had no issue when “Hustle and Flow” got a nationwide release. No problems at all.
If he got a little weak kneed doing that song in front of the Academy, then he’s got some issues that he needs to clear up. Big ones. Playing that role and rapping on that song are the reason that those same white people know his name. This was a career defining moment–and he put on a helluva performance, btw–and he didn’t perform the song that served as the emotional centerpiece of the movie. That makes absolutely no sense.
Sounds like tapdancin’ to me, and that’s just no good. Further, it makes no sense.
What also bothered me was the way that so many people felt the need to put this song in a larger context to justify its nomination. Ludacris introduced the song and had to use other songs that have won Oscars to somehow show this song deserved to be nominated. There was absolutely no need for that. The song was about a pimp in a movie about a pimp. There was no need to say anything more than that. To defend the song in a moment like that reminds me of what them country folks say–a hit dog will holler. Think about that one for a second.
(And props to Jon Stewart, who managed to handle the situation with great humor without poking fun at Three Six for simply being who they are.)
But oh no, that’s not what bothered me most from the Oscars. The worst thing to happen that night was that “Crash” actually on Best Picture.
You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me. That oversimplified movie won Best Picture. A movie that boiled racial animus down to a world where people get fed up and volley racial slurs and stereotypes won Best Picture.
Wow.
And don’t get me started on the plot, which was chaotically perfect by design but still took away from the socially important message the filmmakers tried to convey.
When “Crash” came out, I saw it. It was okay. It was obvious that it was one of thsoe movies I had to see just so I knew what people were talking about. And what were people talking about? How thought provoking it was. How it pulled no punches and forced people to reconsider their views on race.
If “Crash” made you rethink anything, you weren’t rethinking. You were just thinking for the first time. I firmly believe that anyone that finds “Crash” to be a great film needs to go get a library card.
The problems with race in America are way too nuanced to be encapsulated like they were in this movie. This wasn’t “Do The Right Thing,” which used a fantastic metaphor–the blazing hot day–to show what simmered below the surface. “Crash” was far more lazy in trying to make its point, and that made it something I didn’t feel bad about seeing but not worth no eight dollars.
And it’s the Best Picture.
Wow.
For those looking for signals on how far we have to go in terms of race, look no further than that award. Absolutely befuddling.
(If you liked Crash, please get on here and let me know why. I saw it so long ago that I can’t give direct examples.)
Well, that’s that. Going to the ACC tournament this week, so I’m pretty happy with the universe.
Oh, and does anyone know the score of the Carolina/Duke game?