Episode 94.5 — Minisode 94.5

[kobthatreal 5896]

Ah, totally forgot about that episode. My bad. But I'm not saying an episode shouldn't have perspective from whatever culture or group a film is indicative of, I just don't think this movie represents black culture in America in any way. As CameronH said before, and I'm sure he's like "stop friggin bringing me into ur shit," it's a primarily black cast but it isn't a culture defining movie. But yea no need for terms like blackie being thrown around. Maybe in a context of saying that's how the writers or director used the character as their token black guy, but not simply because they are a minority. I don't remember the Ep you're referring to all that well.

[Jesse Carrigan 119]

You realize you're saying this about a show where one of the guests referred to a black actor as "Blackie" for the duration of an episode and no one seemed to bat an eye, right? Suggesting that they get a black perspective on a controversial movie made by a black filmmaker with a primarily black cast marketed to a primarily black audience is pretty far from "so PC", bro.

 

I'll defend the hosts here a little bit in that I recall Jason saying "I'm really not sure about calling him Blackie", but I agree with the sentiment. I was kind of hoping for a return by Brandon Johnson, personally. I love that dude.

[kobthatreal 5896]

Although I would like to hear the opinion of a black man or woman concerning the marketing aspect, as in, other than therebeing a black cast, how do they feel about this movie being marketed towards them, since it's just trash filmmaking. Can we at least agree on that?

[justinmh05 1968]

 

 

I'll defend the hosts here a little bit in that I recall Jason saying "I'm really not sure about calling him Blackie", but I agree with the sentiment. I was kind of hoping for a return by Brandon Johnson, personally. I love that dude.

 

If I recall correctly, Paul also seemed put off by it.

[DanEngler 5249]

Although I would like to hear the opinion of a black man or woman concerning the marketing aspect, as in, other than therebeing a black cast, how do they feel about this movie being marketed towards them, since it's just trash filmmaking. Can we at least agree on that?

I haven't watched it but, based on this thread, every indication is that this movie is fucking garbage. However, any group that is woefully underrepresented in the media is far more likely to embrace a film (regardless of its quality) if it doesn't depict them as a punchline.

 

Me, I'm just a Polack, and I'm still waiting for a film that honors our unfairly maligned submarine fleet.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I think we all need a little bit of this:

 

[robinsbruce 4985]

I'm still waiting for a film that honors our unfairly maligned submarine fleet.

 

I want this for you Dan.

[MondayCity 194]

 

You realize you're saying this about a show where one of the guests referred to a black actor as "Blackie" for the duration of an episode and no one seemed to bat an eye, right? Suggesting that they get a black perspective on a controversial movie made by a black filmmaker with a primarily black cast marketed to a primarily black audience is pretty far from "so PC", bro.

Gilly, in "Abduction," was played by Denzel Whitaker, who had previously won an NAACP Image Award for his work in The Great Debaters. It would have been legit to bemoan the fact that John Singleton chose (or agreed) to assign the petty criminal activity in the movie to the only black friend of the white hero or to express regret that black actors must often take lousy or stereotypical roles out of economic necessity. However, it seems to me that referring to Mr. Whitaker's character by a racial epithet throughout the episode only had the effect of punishing the victim.

Movies are commercials for social, political, and moral beliefs and actions. It's really important to expose what they are selling. I appreciate whenever that is done effectively.

[tsdcs 15]

1. Half-baked claims of racism in this thread are unconvincing.

2. Tyler Perry movies have a larger gender divide than racial divide- these are chick-flick melodramas, they just involved Black women dragging their loved ones to see them instead of a more diverse (Whiter) crowd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

About half way through this movie. I've read a few spoilers in this thread (my fault for reading), but there's a huge thing that hasn't really come up yet.

 

Uh, guys? This is the gayest movie that I've ever seen in my life. And I don't mean gay like "bad" or "lame," I mean homosexual. This is a homosexual film. This is a movie about a man in a straight relationship, who is lead into temptation by a gay man- they just swapped the husband character for the wife character. The husband even looks like Tyler Perry- notwithstanding the fact that he's super ripped, for no reason whatsoever.

 

Let's break this down.

 

The male lead (bald guy) comes across pretty gay. I don't mean the actor- I mean that, as a Black guy, my Specific African-American Gaydar went off immediately, and after I was done being annoyed at the faux-Zuckerberg conceit of the character, I realized immediately that he was cast because he's the type of dude Tyler Perry would be into. Pretty sure he was wearing lip gloss at one point. (He is, at least, a gay man's version of what a straight woman would want). Seems frivolous, you say? Let's continue.

 

You know why the Kim Kardashian character sounds like a catty gay man? Because that's how she's written.

 

The husband not only resembles Tyler Perry, but they even dress somewhat alike. There was that scene where the married couple gets harassed, but the "wife" who is "female" doesn't feel safe. Imagine if it were the man who didn't feel safe, because he didn't have someone who could physically have his back? Later on she approaches her "husband" with something she wanted to do sexually, but is subsequently shamed because it is an unnatural act. The husband would prefer to continue making sandwiches in the kitchen.

 

We later learn that one member of the married couple is ashamed of their behavior because of their religious parents and upbringing, and can't express who they truely are. And this person is only in the marriage in the first place because they were best friends and grew up together, but deep down inside is living a lie.

 

Anyway, like I said, I'm only halfway through the movie, and there are other things worth talking about- Brandy, playing the role of a character who's last name must be Exposition (or Plot-Exposition, hyphenated), White Madea (aka the lady at the pharmacy), random French accent, etc. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the movie tonight.

 

edit: just finished the movie. I knew about the twist ending from an ep of Your Mom's House, so all that was left for me was hilarity at the lack of subtlety. Scheer was right- even knowing the ending, worth watching.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

Me, I'm just a Polack, and I'm still waiting for a film that honors our unfairly maligned submarine fleet.

And the loved ones they had to leave behind, sitting alone in the dark, waiting for their servicemen to come home to help them replace the light bulbs that they somehow can't change by themselves...

[jarrycanada 2483]

I haven't watched it but, based on this thread, every indication is that this movie is fucking garbage. However, any group that is woefully underrepresented in the media is far more likely to embrace a film (regardless of its quality) if it doesn't depict them as a punchline.

 

Me, I'm just a Polack, and I'm still waiting for a film that honors our unfairly maligned submarine fleet.

 

I can confirm this is a horrible painful movie. highlight for me so far was the old lady's drug store. and how we all learned how to spot lesbians and not to trust black people with the cash registers. Thank you old lady, job well done. that and a twisted ending you'll never see coming.

 

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

 

BTW is Nancy Sinatra a

I know she's got boots!

[Valerieblaise 74]

I always assumed Madea was just a lovable family- movie character, and since family-friendly movies aren't my thing, I never saw any of the those movies. But after watching this pile of garbage movie, I feel like you don't get to make millions dressing up as a woman when you clearly hate them.

 

Someone upthread said that there was a kernel of a good idea in there, and I kind of agree. If this was about a couple that struggled and didn't make it, or a couple that struggled and decided to work through it, and it was approached with the idea that both people are flawed and human, it could have been interesting. By giving Judith flimsy justifications for her unhappiness like Brice forgetting her birthday and her inability to open her own practice right that very minute, she's painted as a spoiled child while Brice is the mature voice of reason. She's the "bad" one before she ever cheats. The fact that the first incident of cheating was rape has already been covered, but obviously after that she gets into a relationship with Harley because he acknowledges her birthday and promises to finance her marriage counseling practice. And of course she is punished for this with AIDS.

 

Hell, even Brandy is punished with AIDS, for the sin of sleeping with her cheating husband. I think we were supposed to think her character was wise for "accepting" her "part in it," as though the scumbag rapist that gave her AIDS wasn't 100% to blame. That made me furious.

 

Besides the overwhelming misogyny, the movie was pretty sitcom-tastic. Judith was on "Full House," Brandy was on "Brandy," and the pharmacy lady is the Nanny's mom. I'd say that was a factor in some of the bad acting, but they didn't even get the obvious laugh lines right. Most of Mrs. Nanny's lines were supposed to be funny, but they fell so flat.

 

Ugh. This is likely the last Tyler Perry movie I'll ever see. I have no reason to think he's capable of making a compelling drama OR any kind of comedy.

[Kickpuncher 5012]

I think I had a revelation while lying in bed last night (he said as men in white coats hauled him off) - Working off of tsdcs's comments on how similar Brice was to Tyler Perry, it occurred to me that, if this movie was made ~5 years earlier, Perry would have played Brice. As is, he's just old enough that someone was eventually able to convince him that he's way too old for it. That could also explain why Madea wasn't in it.

 

Also, where is the episode?!

[wakefresh 689]

Hey Shariq where I live doesn't define me, so don't stereotype! and at least I didn't use words like butthurt and lamewangs like I usually do. You didn't really respond to the metaphorical bombs I dropped on ur noggin so I guess you admit defeat. When I listen to pcasts like Desus vs Mero I don't get pre-angry whenever a white person has laid a proverbial turd and I know they are gonna tag on them and call it like it is. when something is garbage you can call it garbage as the hosts (mostly Jason) are fond of. Nothing is off limits in the HDTGM Thunder dome. I know it may come off as racially insensitive to use shorthands for minority characters but they do that for so many characters to imply its racially charged is silly, especially since the podcast isn't even out yet. So you brought that baggage into the forum! I'm not trying to argue, I'm saying this discussion is so asinine because it's all over presumptive issues! You must trust the hosts to be smarter than that?

 

Why is that every time we have a discussion about the social issues surrounding these bad movies, some ignorant derper comes along and cries "PC!" and compares everyone to children with "hurt" feelings? I have never seen that in any of the threads about Marvel movies vs DC movies, or the threads about the extended Street Fighter universe, or the threads about the best Mortal Kombat game. I mean if even talking about social issues is a waste of time, then all of the previous topics are HUGE waste of times -- Mortal Kombat fans aren't being denied the right to marry; unarmed DC fans aren't being gunned down by police and "neighborhood watchmen".

 

Plus, you don't even have a good grasp on what we're talking about Florida. That's why your comment had the feeling of a canned response that you would hear on conservative talk radio.

 

Kickpuncher, myself and others were talking about the possibilty of having a black guest for this show. Otherwise, it would be a group of white people talking about a movie that isn't really geared toward them at all. And just like when they brought in the Marvel writer and Jon Grembling (sp?) for the Daredevil and Street Fighter eps, it made it a little bit better because you had the perspective of someone who is more familiar with the source material than the gang. There insights were valuable. This could be a similar situation.

 

I had an added reason for wanting a black guest because the gang regularly does not name black actors/actresses in the movies they do. They didn't even say Tamara Tunie's name in the Devil's Advocate ep and she's been on SVU for damn near 20 years! The only actors that were not named in the Dungeon Siege ep were the two black actors that played knights...and all of the masked goblin extras. They didn't name the actor who played Jax in Mortal Kombat but did name the actress who played Sonya -- her claim to fame being that shitty movie (though I happen to like it) and being married to Andre Agassi. It's always "the one who..." or "the black guy..." or "Blackie". I didn't think this was going to be funny because the whole podcast would be nothing but "the one who was the husband said..." and "the black guy, who I'll call Blackie, didn't want to fuck in the kitchen..." My hope was that by having a black guest on, someone would point out the actual actor/actress name and maybe even be familiar with other movies they had done before or after.

 

But just like someone from Florida, you couldn't miss an opportunity to scream "PC!" and make Limbaugh proud.

 

[wakefresh 689]

Time for some serious talk. I should credit Ta-Nahesi Coates at The Atlantic for helping me come to this conclusion, but I think there's an important distinction between racism and prejudice. Racism is the system of oppressing, differentiating, and dividing people based on race that has been a part of American culture since the inception of the republic. The most obvious example is of course American slavery, but the system continued long after the 13th Amendment was ratified in the Jim Crow laws of the south and the Chicago Housing Authority's discriminatory policies, among others. We've addressed a lot of those kinds of legal issues, which is a good start, but the less obvious effect of racism is in the erroneous patterns of belief or ignorance that become part of the framework of how people think about (or perhaps, don't think about) other people of a particular color. Prejudice, by contrast, is the kind of irrational fear and hatred that we think about with the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, and less extreme things like not wanting people with different skin colors to marry. Clearly these things are related and woven together, but are subtly distinct. One of the problems of eliminating racism is that no one wants to be labeled a racist, so we can't even bring up the ways that we may be personally prejudiced which in the aggregate lead to racism. Thus, those things get pushed down, become empowered by avoiding the light of exposure to better ideas, and perpetuate the cycle. Ultimately, my belief is that colloquially, we're all a little racist, because our culture is so infected and affected by racism. If we could be more open and honest about that, and confront and defeat the ways that we are individually part of the problem, I think we'd get farther along the road of eliminating the systemic issue. I may be wrong about that, but the status quo certainly isn't working.

 

/serious

 

Personally, I think Lance Gross (Brice) is way hotter than Robbie Jones (Harley), but I'm a straight dude, so what do I know.

 

Tyler Perry always seems to use the same people aka Taratino and Lance Gross is sort of like his version of Sam Jackson. I think he's an ok actor and he's real handsome, so he could do that leading man type stuff, but he's in the Perry fold.

[KyleMain 22]

 

Why is that every time we have a discussion about the social issues surrounding these bad movies, some ignorant derper comes along and cries "PC!" and compares everyone to children with "hurt" feelings? I have never seen that in any of the threads about Marvel movies vs DC movies, or the threads about the extended Street Fighter universe, or the threads about the best Mortal Kombat game. I mean if even talking about social issues is a waste of time, then all of the previous topics are HUGE waste of times -- Mortal Kombat fans aren't being denied the right to marry; unarmed DC fans aren't being gunned down by police and "neighborhood watchmen".

 

Plus, you don't even have a good grasp on what we're talking about Florida. That's why your comment had the feeling of a canned response that you would hear on conservative talk radio.

 

Kickpuncher, myself and others were talking about the possibilty of having a black guest for this show. Otherwise, it would be a group of white people talking about a movie that isn't really geared toward them at all. And just like when they brought in the Marvel writer and Jon Grembling (sp?) for the Daredevil and Street Fighter eps, it made it a little bit better because you had the perspective of someone who is more familiar with the source material than the gang. There insights were valuable. This could be a similar situation.

 

I had an added reason for wanting a black guest because the gang regularly does not name black actors/actresses in the movies they do. They didn't even say Tamara Tunie's name in the Devil's Advocate ep and she's been on SVU for damn near 20 years! The only actors that were not named in the Dungeon Siege ep were the two black actors that played knights...and all of the masked goblin extras. They didn't name the actor who played Jax in Mortal Kombat but did name the actress who played Sonya -- her claim to fame being that shitty movie (though I happen to like it) and being married to Andre Agassi. It's always "the one who..." or "the black guy..." or "Blackie". I didn't think this was going to be funny because the whole podcast would be nothing but "the one who was the husband said..." and "the black guy, who I'll call Blackie, didn't want to fuck in the kitchen..." My hope was that by having a black guest on, someone would point out the actual actor/actress name and maybe even be familiar with other movies they had done before or after.

 

But just like someone from Florida, you couldn't miss an opportunity to scream "PC!" and make Limbaugh proud.

 

 

 

 

Can't you just listen and enjoy? They can't remember a few names and a fun podcast leads to discussions like this?

 

SMH what a bummer.

[cstat13 2]

All that anyone ever needs to know about this movie is that Kim Kardashian's performance is one of its highlights.

 

I didn't want to admit it but, I agree. She really wasn't awful but I really do think it's because she was mostly playing herself. I felt like her and Judith actually acted well together.

[Kickpuncher 5012]

The HDTGM Twitter account says the episode will be up tonight.

[cstat13 2]

 

If I recall correctly, Paul also seemed put off by it.

 

I listened to this just recently and I agree that Paul, Jason and June were all giving off a very uncomfortable vibe and told (I can't remember the woman's name) that maybe she could stop saying that.

I saw one person imply that white people shouldn't comment on a movie that's not for them. Uh, how is this movie not equal opportunity? The characters are just people and this could happen to anyone of any race or sex. So I guess movies with white leads are not for black people? Garbage logic pal.

[Entering the Bone Zone 81]

1) Am I the only one who found it utterly bizarre that a professional therapist/counselor (presumably someone with a calm disposition, taught to temper reaction and emotion) absolutely loses her mind for two solid minutes because some "street toughs" catcall her? The reaction was so disproportionate to the scene and to what they were trying to establish about Judith. From that point on I had no choice but to view her as a sociopath.

 

2) The entire setup to get Judith and Satan Zuckerberg together made little sense to me from a story building standpoint. It was not clear why a dating service for rich people would feel the need to staff a full time therapist. Writing questionnaires is one thing, but do you really need a Master's Degree in counseling for that job? And even if you wanted one, wouldn't it have been obvious to Cajun Vanessa Williams (I thought the accent vacillated between French, Caribbean, and Creole magnificently) that this person was not a good fit for your business?

[kobthatreal 5896]

Ok Shariq, where I was born and raised is filled with Limbaugh-heads, I get it. I can't walk into a chuck e cheese without hearing about how gays shouldn't marry. I mean literally every person is a caricature of what you've obviously experienced first hand from all the floridians you've known and met. It's certainly impossible for some one with liberal beliefs to disagree with you on how a comedy podcast should be consumed! I feel like a real loon just thinkin about it.

 

 

I guess we'll just have to wait for the episode, right? that was my original point, a response to a you saying to "get ready for everyone not named Tyler Perry to be referred to as 'the other one'". It's messed up that the guest said blackie. in fact, it's nasty. But that's not this movie or episode. You can't judge a book by the cover of some one else's book. let's hope it doesn't happen and then we can all be happy and laugh and enjoy.

[Jesse Carrigan 119]

Satan Zuckerberg

 

That should have been his name in the movie.

[Jesse Carrigan 119]

I listened to this just recently and I agree that Paul, Jason and June were all giving off a very uncomfortable vibe and told (I can't remember the woman's name) that maybe she could stop saying that.

 

That was Jessica Chaffen.

[TJLogic 9]

You realize you're saying this about a show where one of the guests referred to a black actor as "Blackie" for the duration of an episode and no one seemed to bat an eye, right? Suggesting that they get a black perspective on a controversial movie made by a black filmmaker with a primarily black cast marketed to a primarily black audience is pretty far from "so PC", bro.

 

To be fair, let's not judge HDTGM based on the 1 and only episode that is so completely ruined by the "guest" to the point that it's utterly unlistenable. Between "Blackie" and "TAYLOR LAUTNER IS GAY, ALL OTHER POINTS ARE INVALID" I still haven't been able to sit through the entirety of that episode. So can we all agree to pretend it didn't happen? I swear I can't be the only one who doesn't even have it on their itunes. It was gross and as someone who re-listens to the entire HDGTM catalog at LEAST once every 3-6 months, I hate that theres a whole episode that I can't even stomach. Would ignoring it's existence entirely be considered "liberal whitewashing"? Haha.

 

And yeah, the idea of hoping for a black guess is pretty damn reasonable. Especially so if you yourself are black and are cringing at the idea of 4 white people laughing at the silly black people. But as usual Shariq takes it a bit too far - assuming that this is going to be a big racist clusterfuck isn't giving HDTGM enough credit, "Abduction" episode aside.

 

Also, a big point of contention for Shariq seems to simply be that the HDGTM hosts don't care enough about learning the names of black actors? Even though for this episode it seems like (from her own admission) a lot of these actors are in "The Perry Fold", so...why WOULD they know their names? And saying "My hope was that by having a black guest on, someone would point out the actual actor/actress name and maybe even be familiar with other movies they had done before or after"...oddly seems to assume that either only black people know black actors/actresses, or that all black people are so familiar with Tyler Perry that they could "help out", like a Perry IMDB.

 

(That's what it looks like when people make weird racial accusations from the OTHER side.)

[DanEngler 5249]

I haven't listened to the episode since its debut, but I came out feeling so gross that I probably overstated my case re: the batting of eyes. I don't think Paul, Jason, or June are bad people, and I understand that hosts tread a thin line when it comes to policing the language that guests use. That said, it still grates on me when a rapper drops a "no homo" on Get Up On This and it goes unremarked. (Conversely, it was incredible to hear the Sklars call Terrell Owens out on his "homosexuality is a choice" bullshit a few months back.)

 

I don't presume to speak for Shariq but, since I read virtually every post on the forums, I will say this: His opinions are often based on observations of trends in the media and the world at large, and many of his civil attempts at discussing these issues are met with knee-jerk denials that they even exist. Imagine this sort of interaction compounded on an hourly basis and you might begin to understand his frustration.

 

I like Shariq. Yes, he sometimes goes overboard with the hyperbole but, as with HDTGM, I think the Earwolf forums benefit from his perspective and the perspective of anyone else who doesn't meet the standard 18-34 Straight White Middle-Class Male demographic that dominates podcasting. Under the mighty Shannon's guidance, we try to maintain a welcoming community here and, compared to relentless fuckstorms like Reddit, I think we do pretty well.

 

(Also: If the strongest opinion you hear about the black experience every day comes from Shariq, you're leading a pretty insular life.)