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Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Being Normal Means Being Yourself
(Photo Credit: Tumblr )
When being “normal” is defined as being yourself, then what could possibly be wrong with being normal? Nothing! The reason why I choose to define being normal as being yourself is you first learn how to be your normal self; that is, the person who you really are. People in the postmodern epoch are fervently concerned with trying to be “different.” Unfortunately, their efforts to try to be different cause them to become people alien to their authentic self.
In “What White Publishers Won’t Print,” Zora Neale Hurston writes, “Difference is misreading of sameness, but it must be represented in order to be erased. The resistance to finding out that the other is the same springs out of the reluctance to admit that the same is other.” Many people’s efforts to appear to be different take them away from realizing the full power and potential of being who they really are. One shouldn’t feel compelled to attempt to be different—you’re already different when you’re born. When you try to be different, you’re really just attempting to be like everyone else; you’re striving for societal and peer acceptance, which many believe it requires doing the same things others are doing to maintain their cool pose.
Dr. Cornel West says, “Too many young folk have addiction to superficial things and not enough conviction for substantial things like justice, truth and love.” While Dr. West’s statement is profound without any modifications, I contend that it’s not only young people who “have an addiction to superficial things and not enough conviction for substantial things like justice, truth, and loves,” but also a tremendous number of adults embrace the superficial over the substantial. Many grown 20 to 50 year old men and women are still uncomfortable being themselves, so they elect to adopt identities they feel society will adore. These identities are masked by their pronouncements that they’re “different.” They say they’re different to protect themselves from charges that they’re not being themselves. If you genuinely desire to be different, then simply be who you are—do and say what comes natural.
Being normal is not being average. Living a false image of being different is average; in fact, it’s below average.
Resist the postmodern American impulse to be who society says you have to be. It’s okay to be who you are. You will find that you will live a happier life when you make the choice to be who you really are.
Are you really able to tell someone who you really are?
There’s nothing wrong with improving yourself, but you should never deny yourself the opportunity to experience the true freedom to live life without limitations, borders and boundaries.
Be happy. Be free. Be you.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Special Needs Doctrine and the Fourth Amendment
(Photo Credit: The Huffington Post)
The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” The U.S. Supreme Court uses three approaches in rendering decisions involving the 4th Amendment: the Warrant Approach, the Reasonableness Approach, and the Special Needs Doctrine.
The Warrant Approach (also known as the Traditional Approach) is the approach the Court uses when it requires probable cause and a warrant to be secured in a case to characterize a search and/or seizure to be legal. Most people are familiar with the aforementioned approach to the 4th Amendment. The Reasonableness Approach allows law enforcement to engage in a legal search and/or seizure if there’s reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred and probable cause would eventually be obtained by executing the search and/or seizure.
While I’m sure that some people (maybe many) will believe that the Reasonableness Approach to interpreting the 4th Amendment is problematic enough, the Special Needs Doctrine is much more problematic. The Special Needs Doctrine is employed by the Court to permit law enforcement the right in emergency cases to conduct searches and seizures without a warrant and without probable cause. These emergencies cases have to be in the interest of protecting public safety. This doctrine contends that protecting the public safety is far greater a concern than protecting individual privacy. The Court recognized that there are emergency cases where obtaining a warrant and probable cause is “impracticable.” The Court posits that law enforcement should be empowered with the ability to act in the interest of protecting public safety and not compromise public safety simply because it was unrealistic to obtain a warrant and probable cause.
Although I’m a strong supporter of giving government the tools it needs to protect the American people, this doctrine does open up the possibility for law enforcement to invade people’s privacy. Each time law enforcement acts in the name of “protecting public safety” isn’t an authentic effort to safeguard public safety. As a student of history, I’m aware that the American government has a history of violating individuals’ privacy for selfish and malicious purposes. One thing we must continue to work on at the national level is finding the right balance between national security and civil liberties.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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A Positive Representation of Black Male Intellect in The Cosby Show
A good education can take you much farther than dribbling a basketball. (Photo Credit: imdb.com)
The Cosby Show offers one of the most powerful and important representations of Black male intellect in the history of American television. One of the main characters on the show is Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable (Bill Cosby), an obstetrician and son of a leading jazz trombonist. Cliff is married to Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashād), a smart and professional attorney. Clair and Cliff have five children. The upper-middle class Huxtable family lives in a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Although The Cosby Show has received some negative critiques for focusing on highly educated and successful Blacks, I find the show to provide a needed alternative to the dominant narrative about Black male intellect: the media and other sources often present Black males as being unintelligent and criminals, but Cliff Huxtable represents respectability and brilliance. His brilliance isn’t wrapped in the traditional “nerd” image either. (Nothing’s wrong with the traditional “nerd” image, but it’s refreshing to see a representation of intellectual giftedness that doesn’t simply rely on an overrepresented image of what an educated or intellectual man looks like.) It’s essential to look at the great representation of Black male intellect Cliff Huxtable offers.
Although some don’t like Cliff Huxtable’s positive representation of Black male intellect to be highlighted, a critical observer of The Cosby Show cannot help but to see it. Cliff is a Black man who is a medical doctor. It takes a significant amount of knowledge and intellectual prowess to become a medical doctor. His education enables him to enjoy the life afforded to an upper-middle class man living in America. He doesn’t, however, display his wealth in an ostentatious manner. Instead, Cliff elects to invest his money in building a strong family centered on the importance of a quality education and essential moral values.
(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)
Even though Cliff is known more for his comedic ingenuity, the substantial value he places on education isn’t about fun and games at all. He has fun with all of his children but they know he doesn’t mind disciplining them about a lack of commitment to their academic studies. Theodore “Theo” Huxtable (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), Cliff’s only son, experiences the most difficult academic challenges, stemming primarily from his frequent lack of focus and motivation to excel academically. Theo constantly has his mind fixed on beautiful young girls, which, of course, is typical of a young American boy. Cliff refuses to allow Theo to sacrifice his education for phenomena less vital than a quality education.
Dr. Huxtable presents an interesting fusion of intellectual, moral and comedic excellence. When Black men are looking for a positive role model, they can follow the example proffered by Cliff. Too many people aren’t able to see the value of Cliff’s example for Black men because they’re too concentrated on his economic standing. Black men who don’t have anywhere close to the amount of money Dr. Huxtable has can still learn the essential values of a quality education and active and positive parental involvement from him.
Imagine if more Black men were to embrace Cliff’s commitment to education and active and positive parental involvement. How much better would our young Black males be today and how much stronger would Black families be?
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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The Black Church and the Incessant Focus on Homosexuality
From the beginning of this piece, I want to make it clear that I’m a strong supporter of traditional marriage and support marriage as it has been traditionally defined: marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman. Many Black churches, however, are acting like there aren’t any other sins mentioned in the bible save homosexuality. Homosexuality is a sin. My problem with many Black preachers, however, is with their choice to devote too much of their time to preaching and discussing homosexuality. When they do this, they make it appear that they think one of the greatest problems in the Black Church and the Black community is homosexuality. I want this article to disabuse many Black preachers of their belief that homosexuality is one of the greatest problems in the Black Church and Black community.
With the Black unemployment rate at 13.2%, Black preachers must begin to focus their sermons, teachings, and discussions on economic uplift. Concentrating on homosexuality isn’t going to get your congregations the jobs they need. Many of those in the Black community that Black preachers are attempting to reach don’t see their primary problem to be homosexuality; they see the fact they’re unemployed as far more important than their sexual orientation and the sexual orientation of others. Black preachers cannot honestly say they’re unaware of the economic problems of their congregants and community. They see their unpleasant economic realities in the offering plates.
Why, then, do many Black preachers continue to concentrate on homosexuality when economic problems are far more pressing? They know many of the members of their congregations are going to be pleased with harsh condemnations of homosexuals, considering it appeals to many of their members’ homophobic mindsets. A typical response to a Black preacher speaking on the issue of homosexuality is as follows: “Girl, Pastor really preached today. Did you hear him talk about them “faggots” and “sissies”? Child, them gay folks just nasty and going to Hell!” While it’s true that if homosexuals do not repent of their sins they will inevitably go to Hell, language used to discuss homosexuals must still reflect true Christian love (agape). Please explain how calling people disparaging names like “faggot” and “sissy” evinces agape. It doesn’t! Many Black preachers gain high acclaim (and even fame) for how aggressively they preach against homosexuality, and, as reward to them, they have large church memberships and lucrative financial dividends that end up in the offering plates. In a number of Black churches, preaching about homosexuality simply sells—just as sex sells in postmodern American popular culture.
When millions of Black babies are aborted each year, why won’t more Black preachers discuss this vexing phenomenon? The main reason they don’t is they are unwilling to run the risk of upsetting the numerous women who have had abortions who sit in their congregations.
Some of the most prevalent and important sins in the Black Church today are envy, division, unforgiveness, gossiping, and lying. It seems, however, that many Black preachers don’t want to invest critical time to these issues because they see those sins to be more complicated and less attractive. The aforementioned sins are the sins that significantly impair the witness of Christians. When those who are unsaved see Christians who are struggling with envy, division, unforgiveness, gossiping, and/or lying, unsaved people don’t desire to hear what they have to say.
I’ve never seen so much envy in the Black Church as it is today. Envy is a more damaging sin confronting the Black Church than is homosexuality. When Black preachers start to addressing envy more, especially the envy in their churches, I will begin to believe they’re truly serious about getting people to live lives not dominated by sin.
I do contend that it’s important for the Black Church to offer a powerful response to the increasingly successful promotion of same-sex marriage (or marriage equality), but Black preachers shouldn’t let this become their main focus. Most of these same Black preachers voted for President Obama, who publicly articulated his support for gay marriage. On Sundays, many Black preachers are zealously condemning homosexuality, but are still swooning over a President diametrically opposed to their support of traditional marriage.
It’s time for many Black preachers to return to an intellectual, Socratic, imaginative, forward-thinking and prophetic sermonic tradition that produced prodigious Black preachers like Reverend C.L. Franklin, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Michael Eric Dyson.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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- Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. on the Subject of Homosexuality: Too Many Churches Today Speak Truth Without Love or Love Without Truth (blackchristiannews.com)
- Homosexuality and Racism In The Church, Really? (coachtmb.wordpress.com)
- Black British Church Leaders Call for Government to Have a Referendum on Homosexual Marriage (blackchristiannews.com)
- Why Black Churches Hold the Key to the Illinois Homosexual Marriage Debate (blackchristiannews.com)
- DAYS OF LOT: 6 Reasons Why Practicing Homosexuals Can’t Be Christians (endtimeheadlines.wordpress.com)
- Preachers must set an agenda for biblical confrontation over homosexuality (lifesitenews.com)
- Is Homosexuality Just Another Sin? | Jesus & Equality Remixed (antiochlablog.wordpress.com)
- Homosexuality (youngchristian20.wordpress.com)
- For the love of God (and our neighbor) can we please stop using these 3 phrases? (wordofawoman.com)
Bipartisanship in Crisis
(Photo Credit: The Daily Beast)
We’re currently situated in a political milieu where Democrats and Republicans are more focused on the next election than on meeting the real needs of the American people. Many Democrats and Republicans find it more important to advance their political careers than to improve education, pass legislation that will help to create jobs for the unemployed, extend affordable healthcare to the uninsured, and etc. Of course, there are legitimate times when Democrats and Republicans must stand for their core principles and values and be unwilling to sacrifice those principles and values, but this shouldn’t be the case on nearly every critical issue important to their constituents. The majority of Americans elected politicians to do things that are going to ameliorate their lives; they didn’t elect them to fuss and fight each day.
Too many people are experiencing abject poverty for Democrats and Republicans to become complacent with their bickering. It’s time for them to deliver positive results for the people who elected them. When you’re not sure where your next meal is going to come from, you don’t really care if the Republicans are going to take the Senate in 2014 or will Hillary Clinton run for President in 2016; you simply want your elected leaders to improve your life.
The American people must increase the intensity of their demands for their elected leaders to move beyond simple partisanship and pass legislation that’s going to make America a better place to live and work.
What happened to the national discourse about jobs? Why aren’t we having a national discourse about jobs anymore?
While the scandals going on in Washington, D.C. are essential to investigate and discuss, Democrats and Republicans must make the economy, specifically job creation, their top priority. People who are unemployed deserve to have a Congress and President seriously concerned about getting them a job. Finding some bipartisan solutions to creating jobs does not have to be an overly partisan undertaking.
Most Americans have some level of sympathy for the poor. Poor people, however, need more than sympathy—they need meaningful voices in Washington, D.C. representing their interests. Unfortunately, poor people don’t have the resources to lobby members of Congress. This is where clear thinking and decent Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, can come together to place pressure on their elected officials to make the poor a priority. America has a moral responsibility to ensure the poor are well-served.
We have an opportunity to force our elected officials to embrace bipartisanship: vote those out who aren’t willing to reach across the political aisle to enact legislation that enhances the lives of all Americans—not just the lives of the well-to-do and well-connected. Many Democrats and Republicans are guilty of catering to the well-to-do and well-connected. The American people have the power to throw these types of politicians out of office—just vote them out! When we use our voting power as true political power, we can command the change we long to see.
Bipartisanship does not have to be in crisis. We can use our voting power as our chief political power to demand that it always be valued. Too many politicians in Washington, D.C. aren’t concentrating on governing. Governing requires compromise. The midterm elections are coming in 2014. This presents the first real opportunity to communicate vociferously that we want a Congress that works for us. Let’s elect people who hear us and who genuinely believe we matter. We, the American people, hold the future of bipartisanship in our hands.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Examining Self-perceptions and Behaviors of Successful Black Male College Student-Athletes
(Photo Credit: Black Entertainment Television)
In “Diamonds in the Rough: Examining a Case of Successful Black Male Student Athletes in College Sport,” Bimper, Jr., Harrison, Jr. and Clark (2012) investigated the self-perceptions and behaviors that enabled 7 Black male student-athletes to experience academic and athletic success. A case study was used as the research method, and Critical Race Theory (CRT) was employed as the theoretical framework. From the findings in the study, the researchers concluded that helping Black male college student-athletes to evolve positive identities as student-athletes and the ability to experience rewarding academic achievement are crucial to their academic success. The findings of this study revolved around three core themes: complex identities, community, and liberation.
Bimper, Jr. et al. (2012) express that Black male student-athletes are being recruited to predominantly White institutions (PWIs) for their athletic abilities, but many of these student-athletes are experiencing tremendous difficulty with meeting their academic challenges. They note that recent graduation reports promulgated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) about 70 bowl-bound NCAA Division I football teams and NCAA Division I tournament-bound basketball teams reveal that the graduation rate of Black male student-athletes is significantly lower than their White counterparts. In conducting this study, the authors explain that they want to improve knowledge about the distinctive experiences of Black male student-athletes who have been both academically and athletically successful in high-profile revenue-generations sports at PWIs of higher education. The researchers also disclose that they concentrate their research on “the role in which race unfolds in the experiences and identity of Black male student athletes in this collegiate setting” (p. 108-109). They assert that great differences in academic achievement between Black male student-athletes and their White counterparts indicate that issues associated with culture, identity, and social relationships could be important to the academic achievement of student-athletes.
Moreover, Bimper, Jr. et al. (2012) explain how pernicious racial stereotypes lead to decreases in Black male college student-athletes’ academic achievement. Although all student-athletes have to combat “the dumb jock” stereotype, this stereotype becomes even more problematic for Black male student-athletes, considering they academically underperform all of their peers. The researchers inform the reader that Black male student-athletes have to fight serious pressure to construct a strong athletic identity before they are given the proper space to develop a constructive academic identity. The authors discussed how Black male student-athletes who participate in high-profile sports experience a level of alienation far greater than that of the general Black student population.
The lead researcher in this study is a Black male and former student-athlete who participated in multiple revenue-generating college sports. The lead researcher also has experience working with diverse student-athletes. To ensure trustworthiness, the lead researcher maintained “transparent memos and notes throughout the data collection and analysis, member checked data transcriptions, and collaborated in a peer review process to check biases and discern the accuracy of findings” (Bimper, Jr., et al., 2012, p. 112).
The participants in this study are 7 Black male student-athletes who attend a southwestern PWI on a full athletic scholarship. The classification of these student-athletes range from sophomore to graduate student: 1 sophomore, 3 juniors, 2 seniors, and 1 graduate student. The graduate student finished his undergraduate degree in 3 years and had completed work toward a master’s degree when the study was conducted. Only one of the participants came from a two-parent home. All of these Black male student-athletes came from low-income homes, and they all attended public K-12 schools prior to enrolling in college. A purposeful sampling strategy was employed to recruit them for this study. Specifically, criterion sampling was used to recruit them. Bimper, Jr. and colleagues (2012) make clear that the reason why Black male college student-athletes at PWIs were sought after is these institutions have proved in the professional literature to be sites where Black male student-athletes experience the lowest academic achievement. To be selected to participate in this study, the student-athlete would have to have made valuable athletic contributions to the team and be first or second on the depth chart. Additionally, the student-athlete had to have at least a 3.0 GPA or received some academic award by the institution, NCAA or the athletic department.
The main method of data collection was semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. The initial questions asked during the individual and focus group interviews are as follows: “(a) ‘Will you describe your experience as a student athlete at your university?’ (b) ‘How have your experiences as a student athlete influenced your perception of self?’ (c) ‘What do you think contributes to your success as a student athlete?’” (Bimper, Jr., 2012, p. 114).
As mentioned previously, three dominant themes emerged from the data collected: complex identities, community and liberation. The dominant finding that pertains to the complex identities theme is the student-athletes contended that their identity as Black male student-athletes played an instrumental role in their lives, and they provided a counter-narrative to the prevalent thought of them being only athletes. All participants were proud to identify themselves as being Black and were conscious of their peers and instructors’ perceptions of their racial identity. Most of the student-athletes posited that toxic stereotypes about being Black and being an athlete are concatenated. All participants articulated that Black male student-athletes have to confront challenges associated with their athletic and racial identity.
The community theme refers to the participants communicating their ability to “engage a supportive community” that is critical to their academic and athletic success. One of the participants explained that too many of his teammates attempt to perform well academically on their own, but they struggle mightily. For this participant, he did not find the language of the recruiters that he would be coming to a “family” environment to be true. These student-athletes contend that it was their ability to find a supportive community within the institution and use the available resources offered by the institution and athletic department, especially the academic center in the athletic department, that greatly contributed to their academic success. Some participants felt that the athletic department created a culture where they expected their student-athletes to graduate, but others believed that there was not a true commitment to their degree completion. All, save one, participants were linked with tutors to work with outside of the athletic department. The student-athletes found that networking was essential to their academic success, especially networking with Black professors on campus. In their opinion, one of the fundamental reasons why many Black male student-athletes struggle academically is they fail to network with others on campus, especially Black professors. These student-athletes communicated that they were able to overcome the pre-college expectations for them to come to college to simply try to become professional athletes.
Moreover, the theme of liberation that surfaced throughout the study refers to the participants becoming “self-empowered through education” (Bimper, Jr., 2012, p. 122). The participants believe that it’s more important for them to be successful academically than athletically. It is there hope that they can change perceptions about Black male student-athletes’ intellect by excelling academically. They were deeply bothered about the negative perceptions on campus about their intellectual capabilities as student-athletes, especially as Black male student-athletes.
One disappointing aspect of this study is it does not offer any understanding of the academic preparation the student-athletes had prior to coming to college. This study did not provide any understanding about where the participants’ strong self-determination emerged, and what helped them to not fall prey to simply coming to college to try to become professional athletes. While this study has great potential for helping scholars to understand how to ameliorate the academic achievement of Black male student-athletes at PWIs, its failure to give insights into the pre-college academic and social preparation of the participants leaves many issues and questions unresolved. Although it does explain that all of the student-athletes come from low-income homes, the reader is left without any understanding of how well the students performed academically in their K-12 experience. It would have been helpful to learn more about their pre-college social lives and experiences. Simply learning that the student-athletes come from low-income homes is not sufficient enough to provide essential background information about the pre-college factors that facilitate and militate against their college academic achievement.
The Black male student-athletes provided valuable insights about how important networking, especially with Black professors, was to their academic success. It would have been helpful to learn specifically what those Black professors provided for them. Future research should devote critical attention to how networking can aid in the academic success of Black male student-athletes and what can be done to mitigate barriers to Black male student-athletes being able to engage in networking. Scholars need to investigate why many Black male student-athletes are not currently engaging in networking on-campus and off-campus. The study offers promising insights about how academic support centers in athletic departments should adopt a culturally relevant pedagogical framework. The study does not, however, give specific recommendations for accomplishing this. Future research should provide specific recommendations for establishing a culturally relevant pedagogical framework in academic support centers in athletic departments, and examine the specific academic and social outcomes that result from implementing a culturally relevant pedagogical framework in these academic support centers in athletic departments.
Reference
Bimper, Jr. A.Y., Harrison, Jr., L., & Clark, L. (2012). Diamonds in the rough: Examining a case of successful Black male student athletes in college sport. Journal of Black Psychology, 39(2), 107-130.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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“Dr. Walter Kimbrough, HBCUs Cannot Reap Where HBCUs Have Not Sown”
(Photo Credit: Associated Press)
(This is an excerpt from an Op-Ed published by HBCU Digest and penned by A. Zachary Faison, Jr., Chief of Staff & Interim Vice President for University Advancement at Mississippi Valley State University.)
I must say from the outset that I maintain a profound and genuine respect for the visionary leadership of Dr. Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University, as one of the nation’s leading and preeminent voices in the persistent plight of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Indeed, as a younger member of the “hip-hop generation” who also heeded the call to serve the HBCU community as an executive administrator, I was actually in part personally inspired by Dr. Kimbrough’s leadership having known him personally as a student during my matriculation as an undergraduate at Albany State University where he served as a vice president a decade ago.
However, after reading Dr. Kimbrough’s May 22, 2013 Los Angeles Times article titled, “Why USC and not a black college, Dr. Dre?” concerning his angst and disappointment regarding hip-hop super producer Dr. Dre’s recent $35 million dollar gift to the University of Southern California, I pensively ruminated whether Dr. Kimbrough or other HBCU leaders were sincerely ready to hear and fully appreciate the rather inconvenient truth that belies the unfortunate answer to his retort with respect to HBCUs often not being the beneficiaries of multi-million dollar gifts.
Unfortunately, as a higher education advancement/development professional and state legislative liaison/lobbyist for a state sponsored HBCU, it sadly is of little surprise nor is it much of a perplexing reality that these kinds of gifts and investments continuously escape the needful grips of a great majority of our institutions. To put it bluntly, and at the risk of taking too much of a literary liberty with a sacred Biblical principle, “Dr. Kimbrough, HBCUs cannot reap where HBCUs have not sown.”
Read the remainder of the great article here: “When It Comes to HBCU Philanthropy We Cannot Reap Where We Have Not Sown”.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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The Stale Steffy, Liam, and Hope Drama on The Bold and the Beautiful
(Photo Credit: Facebook)
It’s time for the writers and producers of The Bold & the Beautiful to become more imaginative. The drama between Steffy, Liam, and Hope has lasted far too long. Many of the show’s most loyal fans are exhausted with the never-ending vacillating of Liam: one moment he cannot live without Hope and the next moment he cannot live without Steffy. The show is suffering mightily from not having enough characters. Even though there are efforts to bring a few additional characters on the show, a few additional characters will not be enough. The writers and producers need to expand the number of characters to match the number The Young & the Restless has. By increasing the number of characters the show has, this will make it easier for the writers and producers to not have Brooke in love with her brother-in-law Dollar Bill Spencer.
The Bold & the Beautiful is quickly becoming one of the most boring soap operas, which is quite unfortunate, considering it has been one of the most interesting for a long time. The writers and producers shouldn’t assume they will have the same large viewership they have enjoyed over the years. Postmodern audiences can be fickle. You need to do something fast to keep the superior ratings you’ve had over the years.
A serious effort needs to be made to bring Ridge back. The show’s loyal fans have grown accustomed to seeing him and consider him to be one character who should remain permanently. Brooke and Ridge should be reunited. Their relationship never lacked excitement, while still offering a powerful example of how true love can help a couple to overcome almost anything.
Moreover, giving Oliver a more important role on the show would greatly ameliorate it. Let Oliver and Hope form a loving and happy relationship that inevitably leads to a remarkable marriage. Oliver can certainly be more than just a photographer and minor character. When you think about it, Hope and Oliver are really an apt fit: they both are boring and lack personality.
I think it was a poor decision to let Steffy’s baby die and allow Brooke’s baby to live. What sense does that make? The writers and producers seem to show favoritism toward the Logans. The Logans always appear to get just what they want in the end.
Make an effort to turn Dollar Bill Spencer into the next Stefano DiMera. This will help to make the show exciting to watch again. Bill has proved to be one of the most interesting characters on the show, even during this current period of decline the show is experiencing due to the trite storyline between Steffy, Liam, and Hope. Allow Taylor and Eric to share authentic love. It’s time for the hackneyed feud between Brooke and Taylor to retire.
Bring more Black characters to the show and give them vital roles. This will afford the show an opportunity to attract new viewers and give it essential revitalization.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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An Analysis of Fantasia’s “Without Me”
One of the most significant messages in Fantasia Barrino’s “Without Me,” a track from her latest album Side Effects of You (2013), is to never forget the important people in your life who helped you to achieve what you’ve accomplished. In the lives of most successful people, there are individuals who were instrumental to their success. When successful people begin to act “brand new” and fail to show gratitude to those who are largely responsible for their success, Fantasia asks a powerful rhetorical question in the song: “What would you be without me?” While one may give himself or herself too much credit for a person’s success by saying, “I made you,” what “Without Me” communicates is you wouldn’t be the exact person you are today without me. The song forces the listener to reflect on the people who have been significant in aiding him or her in the evolution of the person he or she is today.
In the opening verse, Fantasia sings, “You gonna make me expose you for exactly what you are, (you are).” One can understand the frustration this verse conveys with those who have benefited from the help of someone, only to have to witness the person going around pretending like that assistance was not crucial to his or her current success. When people begin to act like the things you did for them weren’t important, then you should, at some point, “expose” them for exactly “what” they are. What’s ultimately responsible for a person acting “brand new” and ungrateful is reckless arrogance. For example, you could have bought a guy the fancy house, clothes, shoes, car and etc. he has, but this same guy may start flossin’ like he bought those things and start looking down on you because you don’t have them and the lifestyle he has. This type of person fails to pay homage to the sacrifices you made so that he or she can have those things and the lifestyle you made possible. When you threaten to expose the person or actually expose him or her, the individual thinks you’ve done him or her wrong.
(Photo Credit: Vibe)
Fantasia states, “And as hard as you try to hide reality, while we know the truth, so act brand new if you want to.” A person who wants to sham like you didn’t play a tremendous part in their achievements doesn’t want you to expose him or her. The individual prefers for you to leave the truth hidden. The reckless arrogance that has consumed the person causes him or her to have resentment toward you because he or she knows the truth: without you he or she wouldn’t have many or most of the achievements he or she cherishes.
Although many will interpret Fantasia’s song as only applying to an intimate relationship between a male and female, this limited interpretation results in one missing its wider applicability.
Never take what people have done and do for you for granted. Learn how to show people the gratitude they deserve. Your unchecked ego may be leading you to try to hurt someone who is highly responsible for what you have accomplished simply because you don’t want to give him or her the proper credit that has been earned.
Be very careful about how you treat those who have been vital to your success—you never know when you’re going to need them.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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