This article in the M&G says that Die Antwoord (The Answer) refused to be an opening act for Lady Gaga and now have taken there dislike for her further by making fun of her recent weight gain and confession that she has an eating disorder.
I found the video somewhat amusing because of the inside track in South Africa; stupid American tourist stereotype complete with references to wild animals on the street - only a dancing Mandela was missing.
Oh about the panther in Joburg I have a little dof (stupid) confession to make.
Last month I stood in front of a panther statue somewhere off of Route 41 in Florida's Everglades thinking ... "they have panthers in Florida?" ... well ja nee ou boet ons is nie almal slim nie ne ...?
You know of course there are no panthers in South Africa, right?
At one level I can understand the vitriol directed at Lady Gag who is played by a man in drag in the video.
Damn her sh*t is annoying in much the same way as the brain dead Madonna - well truth be told Madge is the dumbest f*ck that has ever lived.
On the other hand, being a self-described Taoist seeking the 'other side', it strikes me funny that Die Antwoord, two white suburban zef-rappers, think they are closer to music purity/style than Lady Gag. A significant part of the cut above is their misplaced and so late complaint that rap "is like one big inbred f*ck fest".
Really?
I think they are very much part of that "inbred f*ck fest" especially if you take the timing of this video into consideration.
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| Al Jolson as blackface Gus |
Probably not 'cause this is after all supposedly the post country where being a dumb sh*t is almost a constitutional right - see our prez for ample references.
Also, what about the violent misogyny in reference to the "suig my vokken piel" (suck my f*cking dick) lyrics and gesture by the male member of the duo?
And why the focus on Lady Gaga's vagina and the Parktown prawn?
Is there a substantive politics being fronted perhaps - or really, anything outside of the vacuous apolitical fronting that characterizes Die Antwoord?
That aside, I get that the video is about poking satirical fun and some may think it goes too far by being rudely unkind - well f*ck I liked that Lady Gag got eaten by "bra Simba" for wearing a dress made of meat. The tune is catchy too.
Still, the irony that a dumb cracka duo from South Africa is trying to build rapper cred by dissing Lady Gaga is not lost on me.
But you call it - I am after all a fat and balding middle aged man who lives with his mama and thinks the young 'uns in tight spandex at the local Virgin Active gym think I am cool and still quite f*ckable ... and yet the hours tick tock by and the sell-by-date on my stash of rubbers is fast approaching.
Geez hey. I can do self deprecation. Or is that self defecation?
Dunno.
AnyHowze, diss on Die Antwoord is my thinking but Lady Gaga's upcoming tour to South Africa will be sold-out nonetheless 'cause that is how vokken slim (f*cking clever) we be here in the delusional dustbin.
Onward!
Ps. Of course all of this superficial dissin' can be one big publicity stunt for Lady Gaga's concerts in South Africa. Or maybe Gaga has just been smart enough to make it so.
Ps. Of course all of this superficial dissin' can be one big publicity stunt for Lady Gaga's concerts in South Africa. Or maybe Gaga has just been smart enough to make it so.
Al Jolson Credit
4 comments:
I was agreeing with your post until the racist appropiation and blackface bullshit.
Resting the case, saying blackface is racist, no matter what the intentions or in what context is lazy thinking.
I'm a little biased since I live in a place where blackface is a non-issue, and even black people don't take it seriously.But still I can't understand how people black or white can infuse so much importance in the act of painting your skin holding on meanings that belong to the past, instead of taking a better solution and allowing new meanings to this act.After all blackface had been done for artistic purposes and no racist intention recently, the ones that condemn it are the ones that make it racist by reclaiming the meanings this had in the past and refusing to think.
PS.: Excuse any mistake, english is not my first language.
Thank you for taking time to leave a comment if even anonymously.
It takes a certain level of arrogance to dismiss the horrifying act of blackface and race appropriation with the unconsidered nonsense that it belongs in the past.
Just a few days ago several white students at a high school in the US painted their faces black and acted out a scene depicting Chris Brown and Rihanna. You read about that? And the fallout?
It is too easy to just dismiss these complex issues especially since you can't barely claim to speak with authority. Where do you live and how did blackface and race appropriation just fall off the face of your community and country?
Either you live in a wonderland or you just living in denial.
Please resist the usual general urge to provide opinions from outside and to do so condescendingly with the 'advice' to move on.
Where would you like me to move to; to a place where I am blind to what race and racism means?
Also, check your privilege and assumptions when you start throwing language about who is and who is not "lazy".
The marker of calling black people lazy is an old racist white habit.
There is a lot about your mindset that can be deduced just from the lame assertion of "lazy thinking".
And so what makes you the expert and the greater thinker?
You merely generalize and press us to move on because you assume the right to decide when and how race and racism should be dealt with (that is racist just in case you missing the plot so far).
Also, don't even take up the racist habit of speaking on behalf of black people who live around you (that is racist appropriation by the way just in case you missing the further plot).
Black folks can speak for themselves - and that is what you will find in my post and elsewhere on my blog.
I don't need your permission or sanction to say that Die Antwoord are playing blackface and appropriating black forms.
I am speaking from personal experience and a history more complex than just an opinion from afar.
And, I am hardly alone in this thinking.
School yourself before you start throwing around accusations about who is being racist.
You making yourself look stupid - probably explains why you troll around anonymously.
Onward!
The fact that there are other people that think that insisting bringing on meanings of the past instead of renewing them is intelligent, doesn't mean it is.Nothing evolves through this type of attitude.
I never said black people are lazy.
I live in Brazil.Yes there are racism here.There are also some kind of blackface that could be considered offensive for depicting stereotypes but black people here doesn't care because they know most of people that do that in Carnaval do it in a lighthearted way and they even join in (when I mean joining in I mean dressing as said stereotype)
Black people here know to laugh at their stereotypes, just like people from certain region, soccer team, etc knows how to laught at theirs as long the jokes are made in a heartlighted way.
Since the very beggining of it, Carnaval always had people changing places, men dressing as women, white people as black people, black people as white people and so on.
In Maractu Cearense there is a celebration of black culture where black people and white people painted in black take part.
It is not a paradise, there is plenty of racism here, but people that fight again racism care about real racism not some cover of paint that doesn't mean much really (unless i you want it to mean something).
Oh and thankfully the race appropriation bullshit haven't contamined our culture yet.I imagine how things would turn out If black people where called out by the "white race lifestyle" elements in their lifes.
People drinking from other cultural pools that's what makes everything a lot richier.If we were to treat culture as some race or specific group of people property we would miss the beauty of a white person singing blues or a black person singing opera.
And no I need no authority to hold my opinion, and I observe your authority and study didn't help you very much, since you're just another one to join the chorus of "racist" at superficial things in a bitter, butthurt way.
Thanks for your response.
I think you are missing the point of Blackface and the context of race appropriation.
Brazil is not alone in celebrating Carnival. I can think if Trinidad too.
In South Africa we have a slave tradition of revolt that has been handed down. It is a carnival type celebration called Kaapse Klops and folks dress up in Blackface and minstrel.
The original intent was to resist slave ownership.
Carnival in Brazil and Trinidad has its roots in religious celebration.
Though you may think Blackface is the same thing you are wrong and there is where you misunderstand what Die Antwoord is doing.
They are two white people stripping the agency of black images and it is not a mutual interaction.
Black people do not play whiteface because there is no such thing.
Blackface is used to reduced blacks to cartoon figures which are racist.
Carnival does not intend to do the same - and blacks are a huge part of that celebration.
You are comparing chalk and cheese with your argument.
So, in this context you accuse me of "lazy thinking" which in effect is a coded way of telling black folks that you have a better understanding and you do this on a total misunderstanding of Blackface and the point of my post. Please also see my newest post for more on Blackface.
I also think you belittle my critique and life experiences by dismissing its relevance with the nonsense that I am part of a "chorus".
I was not aware that the complexity of blackness can be reduced to a chorus (you should be careful not to lump blacks or anyone else into prejudicial categories based on your opinion).
This nonsense is to press the racist conviction held by many that black people are just complainers.
For us to have an intelligent conversation here you need to study what Blackface and race appropriation means.
Also spend some time thinking through the manner in which Die Antwoord objectifies black/brown folks.
I agree with you that there is a need to understand cultural differences and to appreciate them.
But you are conflating issues.
Culture and race are not the same thing. There is no such thing as a black culture or a white culture because people are too diverse to lump together.
Race is not real by the way - you may be shocked to know that I do not believe that race is a biological fact.
It is all a socio-political and historical phenomenon. And in this way to understand why Die Antwoord is using denigrating stereotypes it is necessary to know the history and appreciate its context now.
Onward!
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