| Wizards of celeb-reality TV
The Los Angeles mansion appeared serene from the outside -- a stark contrast to the controlled chaos within. "Charm School" was in session. An army of technicians paraded around a mass of wires, production equipment and heavy lights. In one particularly cramped space, two producers huddled in front of several TV monitors, looking at several women in custom "schoolgirl" uniforms. .
Exporting pop culture
Richard Poplak lives for pop culture. As a teen who grew up in South America, his experiences with The Cosby Show and censorship, with Mad Max and military training have become the seeds of his book, Ja, No, Man!, a portrait of Apartheid. The book launch was last week. Not content to bask in the glory, Poplak, is already working on his second: Omar Simpson says D'oh!, which examines North American pop culture in the Middle East. I.D. chatted with Poplak about Duff soda, radicalized Muslim youth and the virtues of apathy. Q Tell me about your new book. A What sort of nudged me is a piece I came across online that said a satellite television station in Egypt was doing an Arabized version of The Simpsons. I thought that was so strange, it was such a North American phenomenon, it's such a sophisticated piece of satire.
The discomfort of strangers
I cannot try to explain that tragedy beyond the tragic confluence of two truths: guns are too readily available in the United States and some people are severely mentally ill. But there is an aspect of the response to the murders of thirty-two people in Virginia Tech on 16 April 2007 that is in my purview. Seung-Hui Cho, the 23-year old killer was an immigrant to the United States. He was a young man in a sort of stateless limbo: his family immigrated to America from South Korea in September 1992 when their son was 8, but retained their South Korean nationality, although they would have been eligible to apply for US citizenship after five years of permanent residency. Whether they applied and were turned down or chose not to apply has not been revealed. In any case, a close reading of the coverage and the thousands of comments to the website of the New York Times and other weblogs suggest that the question of Cho's "status" in his adopted country may be a significant ramification of this tragedy.
Summer lecture series announced
Members of the university's internationally renowned faculty will share their expertise on a variety of topics during the UBThisSummer Lecture Series, "The World in Which We Live: Multiple Disciplines, Multiple Perspectives," to be presented on Wednesday afternoons this summer on the North Campus. The lectures will take place at 4 p.m., beginning June 6 and running through Aug. 15with the exception of July 4in 215 Natural Sciences Complex, North Campus. They will be free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. The UBThisSummer Lecture Series is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education. The lecture series provides members of the UB community, as well as the broader Western New York community, "the opportunity to hear from distinguished UB faculty representing diverse disciplines on topics of social relevance, as well as popular culture," says Joanne M.
Front row center: Middle Eastern culture takes E. Lansing stage
It's not often all the Habibi Dancers strut their stuff in their hometown of Lansing. They're in far too high demand throughout the state and the Midwest. In fact, it's usually only once a year that the 24-year-old dance troupe puts on its scintillatingly diverse concert showcasing Middle Eastern dances ranging from modern to historical. This year, the concert falls on April 14, amid two days of seminars on such topics as choreography and finger symbol dancing. Artistic director Garnett Kepler, who dances under the name Yasmina Amal, is bringing in Amar Gamal, a member of the group Superstars of Belly Dance, created by Sting promoter Miles Copeland. Kepler said she was able to watch the group dancing when they were on tour. .
Promoting polycultural identities across the world
Hoda Mohajerani, 34, describes herself as an idealist working quietly to resist the status quo. Refusing to participate in the current "accelerated downfall" of humanity, this graduate of the London University School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) founded Hoopoe Productions in 2005 to promote the work of emerging artists with polycultural identities to collaborate with each other to counter mainstream popular culture. Hoda was born in Iran and came to England when she was six. When she visited Iran at age 20, Hoda was introduced to the philosophy of Suhrawardi, the 12th century founder of the Iranian School of Illumination who was executed at the age of 34 for his intellectually provocative ideas. Hoda lives in Vienna with her Austrian husband now. She was the Sufi consultant to the 1999 film, 'Hideous Kinky', starring Kate Winslet.
Pop culture feeding on itself
It truly is incredible how pop culture feeds on itself. In the early '90s, when rap changed from an interesting genre to gangsta hip-hop, it was a shock to hear the "N-word." Especially years after the civil rights movement lost its leaders in a move to eradicate all derogatory statements made toward African-Americans and to promote equality. Now record labels glorify the music of thugs and convicts and promote them as music artists. Bill Cosby and other educated African Americans have noted that these greedy record producers have sent the civil rights movement back to the stone ages.
Unfortunately, the media gives the camera and radio to the worst possible role models. Where are Will Smith and Halle Berry when you need them to make a stand for a good cause?
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