tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post5373365782173769939..comments2024-01-11T22:09:11.826+00:00Comments on Obtusity: A Race, What's the Prize?Imranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10334100145353318247noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-73168936944386730542008-09-24T09:48:00.000+00:002008-09-24T09:48:00.000+00:00It's true when people say that this was a video ma...It's true when people say that this was a video made up of the collective inside jokes that their career has spawned, if you don't get the inside jokes, and don't follow the band that closely it is easy to see that you would come to the conclusions you did. At the end of the day though, you have seriously over-analysed a simple thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-45598361764072754212008-03-30T03:12:00.000+00:002008-03-30T03:12:00.000+00:00the director of their videos is alan ferguson. he'...the director of their videos is alan ferguson. he's black, btw.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-14896607670212665422008-03-07T23:21:00.000+00:002008-03-07T23:21:00.000+00:00Thank you for writing this essay. That music video...Thank you for writing this essay. That music video has bothered me since I first saw it but I couldn't put it into words as well as you have here. There's also a fight with a black "gang" and a white friend of the band getting killed by black vampires in the video for "A Little Less Sixteen Candles." Given that Andy Hurley was in Racetraitor I don't know how he condones this bullshit. And I am a fan of FOB - I get the jokes - and I still think they're invoking racist stereotypes with impunity. They need to find someone else to make their videos.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-73802280673858691422007-03-27T07:19:00.000+00:002007-03-27T07:19:00.000+00:00Actually the film clip is about how everybody seem...Actually the film clip is about how everybody seems to think the way life for them is :partying all night, hot-tubbing it up with gorgeous women...etc when really they're still a down-to-earth band who still know where they come from in the end. and maybe, yes, there is a reason pete wakes up without a shirt on, but that defeats the purpose<BR/><BR/>i dont see the point of you wasting youre valuable time bitching about a band that you dont even like...its called "build a bridge and get over it"....stop trying so hard to be something youre not!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-30753661383021042022007-02-19T18:37:00.000+00:002007-02-19T18:37:00.000+00:00Just for everyones clarification, Fall out boy is ...Just for everyones clarification, Fall out boy is NOT pop/punk, punk, rock, rap, classical, or even jazz. It is EMO. To some, emo is ok, but to others its not. Punk has been destroyed by emo and fall out boys are a clear example. To even mention sum-41 and fall out boy in the same sentence just doesnt make sense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-36775430938138352812007-01-17T22:35:00.000+00:002007-01-17T22:35:00.000+00:00I totally agree with this:
It looks like you're j...I totally agree with this:<br /><br />It looks like you're just trying too hard to hate Fall Out Boy or give other people a reason to hate them. From an academic point of view your argument is not credible and completely biased. Pete Wentz has a better thought process than you. This rant was a waste of my time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-9015810277482917412007-01-14T05:20:00.000+00:002007-01-14T05:20:00.000+00:00thanks for the reply. i understand they are laughi...thanks for the reply. i understand they are laughing at themselves as the black people laugh at them while they perform in the studio. but it's important to understand what exactly the joke is. to me it seems that the joke is fall out boy are trying to do a beat with a hip-hop producer even though they are emo/pop-punk. so they intentionally look as out of place as possible to underscore how much that isn't their "scene" and they know they may look ridiculous trying to do hip-hop. fair enough. except my main problem is what follows, and the reasoning behind why they don't fit in this scene. it would have been fine if it was just about the music being so different, but the 40 joke and subsequent newspaper headline about being thrown out of the hood makes implications about black people that is troublesome. it would be different if fall out boy where making fun of their fear of hip-hop, but here the fear is actually being justified since if you are too white you get thrown out and beat up.Imranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10334100145353318247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-50587038857787779752007-01-14T04:44:00.000+00:002007-01-14T04:44:00.000+00:00I think you looked past the fact that the whole vi...I think you looked past the fact that the whole video is meant to be a joke. It's not supposed to be taken seriously. They were poking fun at themselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-19890025910705359962007-01-11T21:12:00.000+00:002007-01-11T21:12:00.000+00:00I really appreciate all the comments and feedback....I really appreciate all the comments and feedback. I'd just like to say that I am not reviewing the song or giving some definitive word on what the video was intended to be. I'm simply reflecting on how it came off to me - yes I'm not a fall out boy fan or an expert on the band's history, but this video is being shown to a mass market, it isn't simply sent via secret e-mails to fans, so to argue that it's made for the fans is not entirely valid. they are obviously also attempting to market and promote their song, band and video to the masses. and for those who commented on me not understanding the subtlety of the lyrics: I most definitely read the lyrics and I completely understand the metaphor being employed. but I'm writing an essay on the video, and the song in a music video is only relevant in relation to the video - as colin pointed out above. perhaps the initial scene in the recording studio is an inside joke that I don't understand - but that's not really relevant. a million people will watch this video without being insiders either, and I'm simply reflecting on how that scene might impact their thoughts - to me it still comes off as "some real insecure white people shit" as The Village Voice noticed as well - http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/statusainthood/archives/2006/12/emo_goes_crazy.php.<br />And simply because these stereotypes abound does not mean we should accept or promote them, it's the fact that they are so common, the fact that so many could watch a video and not even notice them that troubles me so much. when something like this becomes internalized it can be accidentally promoted - which I believe is the case. but I don't really care what Fall Out Boy really think about race, because they made a video that looks racist to me - and to a lot of other people as well. I still haven't seen an adequate defense of the actual video and particularly that initial scene, so it still comes off as offensive to me.Imranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10334100145353318247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-90464106397785067772007-01-07T16:13:00.000+00:002007-01-07T16:13:00.000+00:00i hate fall out boy, don't get me wrong, but i gue...i hate fall out boy, don't get me wrong, but i guess you didn't know that pete wentz is actually half black.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-73332370012257378742007-01-05T21:57:00.000+00:002007-01-05T21:57:00.000+00:00seriously, if you would take a second to do the re...seriously, if you would take a second to do the research behind the video, you'd see this video was meant for the fans and for no one else.<br /><br />When I say for the fans... everything in that video was a cameo of past things we old school fall out boy fans miss.<br /><br />Don't be hating my friend, the hip-hop community [which you aren't a part of] doesn't have a problem with the video, therefore you have no right to say it's offensive.<br /><br />ps- who doesn't dream of extravagant things every once in a while<br /><br />obviously you're trying to make some kind of name for yourself writing envious rants like this, don't try to put someone else down just because they're so talented, they made themselves known.<br /><br />stay gold ponyboy. stay fucking gold.ox-eshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01000232097636287076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-74078241715392798312007-01-05T20:39:00.000+00:002007-01-05T20:39:00.000+00:00Thanks for the best laugh I've had all day, over a...Thanks for the best laugh I've had all day, over analysing much?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-73276845593059254922007-01-05T20:35:00.001+00:002007-01-05T20:35:00.001+00:00You're kidding, right? Because you are way off bas...You're kidding, right? Because you are way off base on your "analysis" of this video--which is basically one long inside joke. If you haven't been a fan, or at least aware of the band, for a long time, you're not going to get it, and your reading of TAASIAAR plainly shows your ignorance. Please, take the time to learn the background before making assumptions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-76069603984376026012007-01-05T20:35:00.000+00:002007-01-05T20:35:00.000+00:00The only thing this was missing was a giant "...On...The only thing this was missing was a giant "...Only not really" at the end.<br />This video was made for the fans more then anyone else. The more of a fan you are, the more you get it.<br />Maybe you should have gotten a non-bias opinion before you wrote an entire article about why you dislike a band. You just came of sounding extremely un-informed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-35347920862786635302007-01-05T20:34:00.000+00:002007-01-05T20:34:00.000+00:00wow you really should have looked into this before...wow you really should have looked into this before making such serious asumptions. most of the jokes were for the fans and people who aren't really into the band might not get them. but i promise you they were not tring to offend anyone on anyway with this song or videoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-74258840411096238102007-01-05T20:31:00.000+00:002007-01-05T20:31:00.000+00:00You pretty much got the whole concept of this vide...You pretty much got the whole concept of this video wong.<br />The video isn't based on race or anything you said.<br />Try again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-87521521703127794232007-01-05T20:24:00.000+00:002007-01-05T20:24:00.000+00:00Completely biased and untrue. You are looking WAY ...Completely biased and untrue. You are looking WAY too far into these things, bud. Lay off.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-22466046562905219562007-01-05T20:21:00.000+00:002007-01-05T20:21:00.000+00:00i could take a really long time and prove basicall...i could take a really long time and prove basically everything this article said wrong, but i won't.<br /><br />i'm just going to say that the only people that really know what the video was making fun of are the fans. if you're not a fan, you probably won't understand the jokes, other than the pete pictures.<br /><br />and by the way, they assumptions you've made about all of them are very offending and you should at least try to figure out the stories behind what is going on before you diss on a lot of people's heroes, idols, etc.<br /><br />everything you said was either wrong or over-exagerated. <br /><br />the true fans know this and that's all fall out boy cares about. the video was for the fans.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-80367796636076796112007-01-05T01:49:00.001+00:002007-01-05T01:49:00.001+00:00wtf? i think this is bull...and that's all i have ...wtf? i think this is bull...and that's all i have to sayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-47122445395799955542007-01-05T01:49:00.000+00:002007-01-05T01:49:00.000+00:00wtf? i think this is bull...and that's all i have ...wtf? i think this is bull...and that's all i have to sayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-67727592245834946312007-01-04T19:27:00.000+00:002007-01-04T19:27:00.000+00:00Imran, usually I agree with you or at least find y...Imran, usually I agree with you or at least find your reviews to be thoughtful. With Fall Out Boys review, however, I can't help but think you over analyzed.<br /><br />It seems everything these days is a stereotype. I agree that Fall Out Boy's video was a not so thinly veiled chide at the hip-hop industry and super-stardom, but it's nothing one hasn't actually seen in a video from each genre. These images are latent in our society and when someone decides to portray them when they are not "part of that culture" they are bringing out racial stereotypes.<br /><br />Are they? Yes. But I remember when we used to laugh pretty hard at the collaborations between Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor -- when were they ever adverse to 'stereotype' humor? <br /><br />Didn't Good Charlotte (and Green Day and Sum 41 and every pop-punk band in existance) all ready make these videos anyway? It seems like every pop-punk bad wants to shout from the tops of buildings that they are hard rock bands they aspire to be. If they wanted to be these sort of acts they would be playing in clubs for the rest of their lives making nothing more than DV music videos from live concert footage or moments when they dicked around on a lazy Sunday. You made it big, congrats, enjoy it, throw a cheap show in that huge tour of yours for the kids who saw you when you were nothing -- that's the way to thank a fan base. Don't make some fabricated video about how all you want to do it rock out when the video cost more than your first five 'tours' put together. Don't do this especially when the video misses the point. Hip-hop culture is not the problem, the problem is Fall Out Boys inability to remain the pimply punkers they once were in the face of money. It's their fault, not societies.<br /><br />And the 'cardboard cutouts = white people can't dance' issue. I think not. It's jab at the new/false fanbase they have. I am hard pressed to believe that Fall Out Boy created a 4 minute racial diatribe. (And the photography segment was homophobic, but is the balding gay man really an issue or prevelant stereotype?)<br /><br />The crux of the problem is that the video is built around a terrible song. Music videos work on two mediums -- visual and aural. When one of these is subpar (or a complete failure) the entire endeavor is compromised. Perhaps, if FOB created a song worth listening to one wouldn't be so keen to scrutinize the subsequent video.<br /><br />Keep up the good work man.<br /><br />.ColinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34601755.post-23697566002982841272007-01-04T19:25:00.000+00:002007-01-04T19:25:00.000+00:00It looks like you're just trying too hard to hate ...It looks like you're just trying too hard to hate Fall Out Boy or give other people a reason to hate them. From an academic point of view your argument is not credible and completely biased. Pete Wentz has a better thought process than you. This rant was a waste of my time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com