Newspaper Page Text
P6 March 7. 1994
The Panther
Perspectives
Martin Lawrence: Mr. "What
Up" Gets What's Right
By Jamie Starr
Editorial Staff Writer
Martin Lawrence now finds himself in
plenty of trouble due to his usual act. His
usual coon act may have finally fallen on
deaf ears. Although I no longer watch
Saturday Night Live, I applaud them for
speaking out against Lawrence’s behavior.
For two years, he has misrepresented black
males. His character is an overexaggeration
of an overexaggeration of any black male I
have ever come into contact with. I hate to
ridicule another black male, but he has given
me no choice in this matter.
I hope that, due to this recent controversy,
Martin Lawrence will reflect upon his min
strel-like behavior and change. African-
Americans do not need any more black males
who do their best to revive the wide-eyed,
loud, and grinning antics of his predecessors
in the acting profession. We had no choice
but to play those roles then. Today, black
people have an appetite for more substance in
their television viewing.
Martin, it’s time for you to convey a realis
tic portrayal of black people. I guess I over
estimated you. I thought you might have had
some self-respect.
The Editorial Board
welcomes your
comments
and replies.
Send all inquiries
to:
The Panther
240 James P. Brawley Drive
Box 329
Atlanta, GA 30314
The Lost Art Of Responsibility
By Ed Blakemore
Editorial Editor
One of these days, I will
learn to stop watching tele
vision. Why I decided to
watch the Donahue Show,
I’ll never know. Maybe I
thought that there would be
some intelligent discourse
on the topic: television vio
lence and its correlation to
the violence in the United
States.
The show began by docu
menting the brutal blud
geoning of a teenager by his
friend. One of the alleged
reasons for this young
man’s behavior was the
repeated viewing of the
video “Faces of Death.”
This program, according to
Donahue, demonstrates
graphic violence in various
forms. The mother of the
murdered youth was on
stage, I presume, in an effort
to illustrate the end result of
such violent acts. I was
very displeased to see this
woman present at such a
forum. I could see that this
woman was in a very fragile
condition and just wanted
some form of vengeance for
the murder of her son. I
question the idea that there
is no direct parallel between
television/video depiction of
violence and the violence
present in American society.
Even if some are naive
enough to believe that the
motion picture industry is at
fault for these murders, it
cannot be denied that a lack
of quality parenting is, at
least, partly responsible for
these acts. It is of para
mount importance that par
ents do a better job of look
ing after the best interests of
their children.
I always hear about the
detrimental effects of vio
lent movies and programs
on children. Statements like
these place the blame safely
on the movie industry. The
parents of America’s chil
dren need to fulfill their
responsibilities.
There is no extensive or
graphic violence in G or PG
rated films. So the violence
from which children are
allegedly learning their
behavior, is present in R-
rated movies. I seem to
remember rated R films
being prohibited to anyone
under 17 without the con
sent of a parent. There is
the crucial issue: the con
sent of a parent. A parent
has the right to and should
make sure he/she is aware
what their child watches on
television or sees in a
movie. The majority of par
ents fail to oversee many of
their children’s activities.
Therein lies the problem. If
children’s shows were
viewed along with their par
ents, many would be
appalled at the events
numerous children watch.
Because of their displea
sure, parents would not
allow their children to view
programs of which they did
not approve.
Of course this solution,
though obvious, is not prac
ticed by many parents.
Americans fail to take into
consideration the habits of
their children and tend to
leave them to find their own
way. Without proper guid
ance from some type of role
model, very few children
can make it on their own.
In a society where violent
behavior is so prevalent.
Children must be taught that
violence is not the answer to
their problems.
“Faces of Death” has
never caused anyone to kill
another person regardless of
what one fragile parent and
a few unintelligent people
may believe. If parents
played a more integral part
in the rearing of children,
society would not be in its
current predicament.
Maybe I’m just too opti
mistic to think that if par
ents did their job the world
would be better off.
Children are a lot more than
the end result of sex. We
should treat them as such.
Maybe I’ve oversimplified
the problem. Or maybe I
should just stop watching
the Donahue show.
Letter to the Editor Quotes to Ponder
“There is no knowledge that is not
power.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Do not take life too seriously; you
will never get out of it alive.”
- Elbert Hubbard
Dear Editor,
I would like to thank Mr. Charles Dutton for his recent
plea for the violence to finally stop in our communities.
The killing has gone on long enough. Many persons,
myself included, have lost friends and family due to the
senseless violence which continues to plague our commu
nity.
I think Mr. Dutton’s plea was an important step in our
battle against the use of violence in our communities.
Please people, we must realize our dilemmas and do what
ever is necessary to stop this carnage.
Camille Nelson
Jackson Family
Joke
By Chandra R. Thomas
Features Editor
The Jackson family flop is
more like it.
The long-awaited Jackson
family reunion, Jackson
Family Honors, that aired
February 22 on NBC,
should go down in history
as the biggest disappoint
ment of the year (or perhaps
the century).
Picture this, Janet drown
ing in clown make-up, Tito,
clad in tight pants and a
leather fringed jacket, doing
a Metallica imitation,
Rebbie struggling to hold a
note, and the rest of the clan
pretending to like each other
and read the cue cards at the
same time.
With every “I-haven’t-had-
a-hit-since-the-Jackson
Five” Motown performer
singing, I couldn’t help but
to constantly ask the televi
sion, “What the he— does
this have to do with the
Jacksons?” Gladys Knight,
Smokey Robinson, and the
obviously unemployed/part
time psychic Dionne
Warwick all performed on
Jackson family time.
Not to mention, the half
pint untalented thugs,
Another Badd Creation per
formed their ancient single
Aisha. They could have at
least attempted to sing a
Jackson tune like ABC or
Got To Be There.
However, the biggest dis
appointment of the night
was the brief appearance of
of Michael Jackson. He
only appeared twice to pre
sent Berry Gordy with an
award and at the end to
sway from side to side with
family members and other
guests on stage.
I thought for sure they’d
all sing a round or two of
the Brady Bunch song. This
was one of the sickest two
hours in television. Just
watching everyone be so
“lovey-dovey” made me
nauseous. This had to be an
event contrived by the infa
mous Joe to capitalize off
his children (now including
grandchildren) one last
time.
It’s not like anyone
wanted to see Latoya, but
just for the record, she
didn’t miss anything worth
while. There were rumors
that extreme measures were
taken to ensure, her unwant
ed attendance. It shouldn’t
come as a shock, she just so
happened to publicly accuse
her brother of being a child
molester, that’s all.)
At least, I had the
opportunity to watch this for
free, unlike those in the
audience who paid big
bucks to attend this ridicu
lous event. I guess being a
poor student has its advan
tages.