Janet Jackson Is A Big Girl Now
By Erika Campbell
Layout Editor
I n darkness we are all alike.
Only wisdom and knowledge seperate
us. Don’t let your eyes deceive you.
—J. Jackson 1814
(ending quote of Jackson concert)
Saying it simply was'n’t enough. On
March 3, in the Dean E. smith Center,
Janet Jackson proved she was not
anybody's little anything. You are right,,
Julie Brown, Janet Jackson whig. Real
Big.
After a mediocre performance by
newcomer Chuckii Booker and a hyped
up welcome by Julie Brown, M'lV's first
black female VJ, Janet Jackson took
control of the stage, the attention of over
20,000 people and a breathtaking per
formance.
For two and a half hours Jackson
presented a spectacle crammed with
enough special effects to make it a viable
contestant for a MTV best video of the
year award. Flames, fireworks and a live
panther wereall incorporated intoashow
that also includedjackson’s precise dance
sequences, her funky beat, and her
thoughtful lyrics.
Yes. Thoughtful lyrics.
"Rhythm Nation 1814”, the album
and the tour, is a confirmation of what
Jackson so vehemently protests in “Con
trol”. "Look at me! I’m not just .Michael’s
little sister and I’m not .Mrs De Barge. I’m
Janet and I’m in control the album seemed
to scream. She sang songs as bad as
.Michael’s, danced with the help of terp-
sichorean Paula Abdul, and almost got a
G rammy for best al bum of the year. “ 1814 ”
proves that she has matured by focusing
her work away from her egocentric fight
for autonomy and instead, tackles social
evils such as racism, illiteracy and educa
tion, “Rhythm Nation 1814”, the tour,
played up the songs that most displayed
her new shift in attitude. In concert there
is a definite break between “Control” and
“Rhythm Nation”, announced by a video
of newsreel cl ippings that is similar to big
brother Michael’s Man In The Mirror,
The audience is bombarded with shots
depicting racism. Hunger, Poverty,
Boom! It’s Rhythm Nation 1814 and
Jackson lets us all to know that we must
change our world. The two songs with
the most thought provoking lyrics. State
ofthe World and Information Society, are
played up with hard-core dance routines
and elaborate costuming
"Ignorance. .No!Bigotry... No!
Illiteracy...No!” chants Jackson.
Although Jackson made this attempt
to convey her disappointment of the st
ate of the world, she did so through her
lyrics and the chants and special effects.
She omits the most obvious manner of
communication: talking. Very rarely, if
ever, did Jackson make a personal, spo
ken comment to the audience about the
way she felt. In failing to do this, Jackson
does not make the personal commitment
to social change that she could be mak
ing, It is very easy for the audience to
watch the well -timed, precisioned show
and leave the ideas about change in the
Dean Dome. But hey, what did people
pay twenty bucks to see? A show, regard
less of the amount of social education in
cluded. And Jackson gives them there
money’s worth.
Throughout the show, Jackson keeps
energy level high. It was as if she peaked
with her first song, “Control”, and was
her best for the full two and a half hours.
And when the music had stopped, the
dancing was over, and only her ending
quote was left on the screen, the people
Janet Jackson rocks the Dean Dome with "G)ntror
PHOENDWAUL CORY
filed out of the Dean Dome amazed,
humming the last strains of “Rhythm
Nation”, Yes, Janet...Ms Jackson...You’re
big, bad and all grown up!
Off-Black On The Silver Screen.
" Attention! I want you to know that I do
not like white people! So that means I’m
enjoyin'this —!' -Eddie Murphy in
“48 Hours”
Ahh, looking back on the 1980’s. The
changes, the people, and of course, the
films. Miles and miles of cliched one-
liners, overly curvaceous physiques, and
whack overprices for side popcorn. The
one thing I never saw (correct me if I’m
wrong) was a good, original spy-thriller
with a black lead.
Think about it: have you ever seen a
movie like this? No, not “Action Jackson”
(the name alone makes me throw it in the
same pile as blaxploitation flicks like
“Superfly”). "Action” wasn’t blatantly
stupid, I’ll admit, but calling a muscular,
afro-wearin’ (fake Billy Dee Williams
lookin’) black man “Action” isn’t the kind
of intelligence quencher that I long
for...with apologies to Cari Weathers, of
course.
Let’s talk about the King of Comedy,
as proclaimed by the MTV/ BET gen
eration: Eddie Murphy. In what I see as
his best effort, “ Beverly Hills Cop,” he
is a foul-mouthed but gallant detective,
with a foul-mouthed boss, who mns
figure eights around infinitely naive
whites, Not quite a black James Bond,
Point After Touchdown
By Chris L. Brown
eh? Murphy is undoubtedly flawless in
this type of role, but it fall short.
What else is there? There are the
“Lethal Weapon” films, with Danny
Glover, but he isn’t the lead, and he and
mega-mogul Mel Gibson are police de
tectives (What is this about black actors
and the police department’ I guess that’s
better than always being in the plethora
of pimps and pushers. What’s next—
black actors and fictitious Third World
countries’!), BillyDee Williams attempted
a couple of second class action adven
tures, but he’ll always be Billy Dee Wil
liams to me. In fact, I can’t take him
seriously; I find myself constantly ex
pecting him to pull out a bottle of Colt 45
and hear the Billy Dec Williams Ladies
singing the “Smooth Operator” jingle in
the background.
The reason I feel it important to have
a believable, African-American role
model in one of these model roles is
simple: kids ( heck, adults too) need to
believe that anything’s possible. Espe
cially in the black community, where 1
foresee many leaps and bounds of
achievements in the ‘90’s, the sight of a
debonair black man being whisked to
safety by an auto-piloted helicopter after
infiltrating enemy domain for some
nameless governmental gadget (whew!)
is a spank in the right direction.
My suggestion: have Blair Underwood
("L,A, Law”) play Dwayne Dashing, agent
of internal affairs for the United Nations,
and his sidekick of equally important
status could be Monique Mystique,
American born security operative for the
Kenyan Consulate in N,Y,, as defined by
Tracy Wolff (Glover’s daughter in 'Leathal
Weapon 2’), Together, they ward off Boss
Hogg, an, evil, southern, fast food chain
owner out to monopolize catering serv
ices to the U.N. thus ousting through
taste bud warfare. Of course. Boss Hogg
would be aspecial self-portryal role done
by "Senator” Jesse Helms (OOOOOH! A
little political stab, there), who would get
killed in the end by an intense audio blast
of the bass-thumpin’ Michel’le’s latest
release.
Hey, Hollywood, quit stereotyping
blacks. Simple as that. Spike Lee seemed
to be you against the entire world...in a
“daze,” if you will.
If I were to ever make it in that Califor
nian nest of glamour and glitz, I would
work toward demythification, although
current efforts are doing well (on the
minute scale of existence in which they
toil). Eddie Murphy’s last two films,
“Harlem Nights” and “Coming to Amer
ica,” signify his efforts to diversify the
screen imageof African-American. "Amer
ica” was especial ly creative. Murphy really
let his (grab your shatter proof glass)
“Souulll Glooow!!” And then what hap
pened? Some northern coffee-with-aeam
columnist named Art Buchwald tries to
sue him for allegations of idea stealing.
Yeah, right. I’m sure that Eddie Murphy,
the sole creator of the "I got some ice
cream” routine, would look towards a
wrinkled, round, ridiculously rank old-
timer to get an idea for a medium that
attracts mostly hip, young people, 1 heard
that Buchwald is Helms’ second cousin.
So, in conclusion:
People often ask me if I want to be like
Eddie Murphy, and I say yes. Not be
cause his revenue can fill Kenan Stadium
twice over (you think I’m kidding?), but
because he’s in a position to make some
serious changes for the better, which he’s
taking advantage of. Unfortunately, a lot
of people’s idea of black culture is what
they see or read, as opposed to what they
experience. So, I guess I will just have to
keep permeating those pathways.
If for nothing else, so some of
these muggs can get a clue!
Think
Black Ink