Post by LIFE AND DEATH on Jul 26, 2005 17:02:04 GMT -5
Not Feeling the "Flow?"
By Stacy Gilliam
Posted July 25, 2005 -- “Hustle and Flow needs to pack up and go!” says BET.com user NewYorkOBGYN.
That’s a rough statement about a critically acclaimed, award-winning movie. But this isn’t a singular thought. Many of you rolled your eyes at the very idea of a movie about a pimp shooting for a career as a rapper. Given the pimp-ho happy messages pervading the music of today, we get it. The glorification must stop, right?
But let’s look at the facts: “Hustle & Flow” snagged two prestigious awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It’s playing in a third of the theaters – 1,013 – that other major films are showing, yet it garnered a not-too-shabby seventh place at the box office its opening weekend. Critics, including BET.com’s James Hill, are gushing over the performances, giving the indie flick a “must-see” stamp of approval. Even Chris Rock and Will Smith are impressed, with Smith calling Howard’s turn as DeeJay, the aspiring rapper, “the performance of the year,” according to an Associated Press story.
Still, some Black folks aren’t having it. NewYorkOBGYN, who actually saw “Hustle & Flow,” goes on to call the movie an “abomination” and “the modern-day equivalent of a blaxploitation flick.” Others, like user twintron4, refuse to check it out, believing corporate Hollywood’s only interested in elevating Black actors when they play seedy characters like Denzel in “Training Day” and Halle in “Monster’s Ball,” who both won Oscars. “Terrence Howard has done many films that are Oscar-worthy,” twintron4 says. “But just like Denzel, he is Oscar-worthy when he is being a pimp, thug or just an all- around corrupt individual. I won’t be supporting this movie.”
DISCUSS NOW: Are you snubbing “Hustle & Flow” based on the trailer or have you seen the film? Tell us what you thought or why you refuse to see it at all.
By Stacy Gilliam
Posted July 25, 2005 -- “Hustle and Flow needs to pack up and go!” says BET.com user NewYorkOBGYN.
That’s a rough statement about a critically acclaimed, award-winning movie. But this isn’t a singular thought. Many of you rolled your eyes at the very idea of a movie about a pimp shooting for a career as a rapper. Given the pimp-ho happy messages pervading the music of today, we get it. The glorification must stop, right?
But let’s look at the facts: “Hustle & Flow” snagged two prestigious awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It’s playing in a third of the theaters – 1,013 – that other major films are showing, yet it garnered a not-too-shabby seventh place at the box office its opening weekend. Critics, including BET.com’s James Hill, are gushing over the performances, giving the indie flick a “must-see” stamp of approval. Even Chris Rock and Will Smith are impressed, with Smith calling Howard’s turn as DeeJay, the aspiring rapper, “the performance of the year,” according to an Associated Press story.
Still, some Black folks aren’t having it. NewYorkOBGYN, who actually saw “Hustle & Flow,” goes on to call the movie an “abomination” and “the modern-day equivalent of a blaxploitation flick.” Others, like user twintron4, refuse to check it out, believing corporate Hollywood’s only interested in elevating Black actors when they play seedy characters like Denzel in “Training Day” and Halle in “Monster’s Ball,” who both won Oscars. “Terrence Howard has done many films that are Oscar-worthy,” twintron4 says. “But just like Denzel, he is Oscar-worthy when he is being a pimp, thug or just an all- around corrupt individual. I won’t be supporting this movie.”
DISCUSS NOW: Are you snubbing “Hustle & Flow” based on the trailer or have you seen the film? Tell us what you thought or why you refuse to see it at all.