Eryka and JFK
This blog staying true to form is combining pop culture and politics .This past week one of my favorite artists Eryka Badu did the same. I am a fan of Ms. Badu's work, I am also a admirer of JFK .In a Dallas street years ago ,a great tragedy happened that changed the course of events in the world for years to come.The assassination of JFK in Dallas tarnished the image of Dallas for many years to come.
Though while I am a supporter of the arts, there is a line between artistry and poor taste.This was poor taste.Children were in the area of this production ,and her fallen nude body is not a presentation of art that should have been at this tragic place.The murder of our president need not be trivilized by the crass commercialization the hucksters who crowd Dealey Plaza.This week Ms.Badu joined them.
Facebook conversations flowed with comments of support and angst regarding Badu's artistic presentation.Gordon Keith weighed in with his thoughts of the Eryka Badu video and here is his take on it.
Just suppose we take a break for common sense.In these days of political correctness,lets come correct.What if,just what if,a artist decided to strip naked and perform something that they would call art at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis ?
I know Eryka is a artist and is sensitive about her work ,however this was not Common sense.Why do we call it common if no one is using it?
posted by EdGray4America.com at
6:02 PM
17 Comments:
Ed, thank you for telling it like it is! I could not have said it better myself...and thanks for adding the clips to your blog (Gordon's commentary still has me cracking up!)
Well Ed, I feel that there is some double-minded people making comments regarding Eryka Badu's radical act as a nudist. When you analyze the scenario from a different perspective.
If Madonna decides to strip naked at the Lorraine Motel on the anniversary of MLK's death, I can promise you that this would not be considered art. There would probablybe a racial riot, and court proceedings because most people young and old would say Madonna disrepected the black race and MLK's family. The ACLU, NAACP and You as a Civic Actvist would probably be called to write a story. This is a perfect example of trying to stay sane in an insane world.
@Rachel - You are so right! Ain"t no way....
Well stated Ed, still there are so many double standards in our society. If any parent who is offended by Erykahs's nakedness has ever allowed their child(ren) to watch pop music videos, you are guilty of exactly that. Creating doubke standards. I could name more than a few artists' expressing themselves "fully dressed" who make Erykah's strip down look like an episode of Barney. Who will stand up and protest those artists'? Who will exclaim distaste for explicit grinding hidden under the guise of art and dance? There was nothing sexual in the way E disrobed...If her back side was less ample, maybe the views would be different. On another note, it seems as though she chose this historic place to bring home the message of the song. President Kennedy went against the grain...didn't care about winning a popularity contest...he was what he was! Who knows...I just think there are much bigger fish to fry within this thing we call pop culture. I'm with the above commentator..."Much Badu about nothing."
I like Eryka, but she broke the law. It was apparent she was trying to promote her upcoming CD. She had no respect for the parents who had their children in the area. So based on her stunt,I will not be purchasing her CD this time around. I know I am only one person, but that equates to one less record sale.
It was a very selfish and disrespectful thing to do: of the city's laws and of the people there. You don't just do whatever the hell you feel like doing w/no regards to others and use the excuse that it's "art". Wrong...wrong...wrong. She should've been arrested. Anyone else would have been. I'm very disappointed in her...
People will do anything to sell their music. Time before all u needed was a voice. Now days they will take all trash,and talent has nothing to do with it.
Erykah is an artist. Many artists never make sense to people. Particularly during the times in which they live. Yes, PR, marketing, etc all play their roles but ultimately, an is artist is as an artist does...
No doubt a bold move. Its ok if it"s an isolated incedent. The problem is encouraging people to go running through the streets naked, our society cant handle that. Although, my parents told me about how popular streaking was in the seventies.........
@ Cole,its ironic that there will be no punishment for Eryka or at least a minimal sanctions.If there was a man that did this ,the sanctions and outrage would be off the charts .Case in point - in the 70"s men were arrested for streaking (sanctioned) while women generally were not sanctioned.
No one called the cops. That's a sign of the times in itself.
I don't know if it's art or not, but I know there are so many simulations of sex and all things rediculous out there that we sit quiet about, and I think it calls cowardly acts cowardly.
Honestly I don't believe people realized who she was because she did it more than a week ago and aside from a few musicians from around town NO ONE was talking and people wouldve been talking. ... See More
The reality is people don't give a second thought to right or wrong until it's comfortable to voice their opinions.
Personally I love her and have already went and bought my album, but I will say EVERYTIME friends have gone to a real Erykah show with me *not the big concerts, but the more local Black Forest type stuff* they walk away completely shocked and amazed or completely disgusted and turned off.... Because she's different *and as crazy as hell according to my grandmother*
I think kuddos for doing being damn near 40 and not being scared to get naked, but also kudos for doing what so many 'artists' do to sell music and boldly showing how ridiculous it is.
Shame on her. I'll never listen to her music again because this was definitely a PR stunt. It was selfish, inconsiderate, irresponsible and she knows better. Please tell me how no one called the police after seeing her lying there. Are you kidding me?
Okay everyone lighten up. Maybe it's just me. But I'm not tripping. If any kids saw her undress, just take the time to educate your kids on nudity. Teach them that about their bodies. Let them know that nudity it not anything to be ashame of. It is just how they choose to portray themselves. Give them some history on the singer Ericka Badu. She is an artist and she chose to express herself in a way that you disagree with. I also feel like it is a PR move to compete with the new artist. Afterall, she has not made a cd in a while. There is a lot of new talent out there. I assure you most of us get it. I am still a fan, have her new cd and I love it. Education is the key to life. We don't always agree, but we also do not have to vilify everything we don't agree with. By the way her body looked great, and I'm not gay.
As for indecent exposure. It may be criminal but it is nothing wrong with nudity. My issue is with the grown folks tripping and saying it was a public place, and family was there , and oh my lord the sky is falling. Life is simple people make it difficult. Please understand that I am not here to try and get anyone to think like me. I know most of the time I'm the Lone Ranger. I think she accomplished what she set out to do. Have everyone talking about her.
I was disturbed initially. This has gotten more conversation than the changes Obama has made for student loans. That's crazy. I feel sorry for her son, Seven, who is a brilliant kid. For years, his friends can see his mom naked on the internet. That will require martial arts training for the fights he will have or he'll need massive therapy. I dont' think she counted the costs. She was doing this for therapy for her own insecurities and not recognizing the long term impact it could have on those three babies who didn't ask to be on the planet. Regardless of her decision, I still like Erykah as a person and an artist. She got the exposure she was seeking.
I'll say this: I think that art, like beauty, is subjective - it's in the eye of the beholder. Erykah Badu as a musical artist has always pushed boundaries and has a history of dancing close to the edge as it relates to social critique, accepted social mores, etc. And she's not alone in using "shock" and avant garde methods as a way of articulating their message ( think commercial pop artist Andy Warhol, or from the world of music singer-song writer Sinead O'Conner. Both were similarly controversial). Aside from the fact that apparently she didn't have a permit to shoot her video where she did, I'm not as bothered, necessarily, by the fact that she used her nude body as a medium for expression. I mean, the display of the nude or semi-nude female form as a form of artistic expression has a long history (it can be legally and tastefully displayed in any mainstream art museum or *ahem* arguably less tastefully but equally legally in some modern day hip-hop videos and on some of the less-than-savory corners of the internet. I mean, was her display the same as engaging in a "graphic" or "sexually inapproriate" act simply because she was nude? I don't think so...
We can argue whether what she did was the best, smartest, or most appropriate way to get her message across (I happen to agree w/ some of the opinions that there were probably less risque methods she could have employed), but in a world when far more overtly sexual topics and imagery are readily broadcast during an hour of primetime television (You can hardly turn on a TV in any market or at any time of day w/o seeing a commercial about erectile disfunction or pushing the latest "Girls Gone Wild"-esque video or reality show) I'd say that Erykah's naked foray through the streets of Dallas was consideribly more tame. Or, at the very least, as defensible as anything happening elsewhere in music today.
Art, basically, doesn't have to be status quo to still be considered artistic... Just my opinion...
What's artsy about a black queen taking all of her clothes off in public and laying/falling down on the same concrete that dogs/cats and humans piss and sh*t on, (sorry, pray for me, I'm trying to keep it holy) people spit, exhibitionists leave other misc body fluids and all other types of uncleanliness on it? Help me understand! Now if she had posed naked in a museum, art gallery, photography studio, I could understand artsy. I admit, her body is gorgeous according to many standards, don't forget..beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Also, as a parent, no one has the right to introduce my child to nudity, without my permission. If I was married, no one and I mean no one has the right to parade naked in front of my husband unless "we" decide that's what we want to expose our marriage to. Obviously, she's not the queen (although controversial) I thought she was. Soooo sad!
People get real...would there be as much acceptance and leniency among city officials and citizens if it was a heavily endowed black man parading/dangling around downtown in front of young girls? When are we as a people going to take our creativity, courage, and level of influence to make positive changes in this city, state, nation, and world? She created controversy yes, but have we seen anything positive come out of this yet....really? Was that really her sole intention?
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