andPOP » Violence

New Rihanna Video Causes Controversy

Christian Allaire — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:55:35 +0000

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Rihanna’s newest music video, ‘Man Down,’ is sparking some controversy due to its violent nature, reports Billboard.

The video features Rihanna shooting a man dead after he sexually assaults her, which many believe is encouraging young women to turn to violence.

In Rihanna’s defence, the singer tweeted claiming the video stands for female empowerment, after she herself was a victim of a violent attack by then boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009.

“Young girls/women all over the world…we are a lot of things! We’re strong innocent fun flirtatious vulnerable, and sometimes our innocence can cause us to be naive! We always think it could NEVER be us, but in reality, it can happen to ANY of us! So ladies be careful,” she wrote.

The song features such lyrics as ”Momma, I just shot a man dead…I never been so proud.”

Several groups, including The Parents Television Council and Industry Ears, are asking BET and Viacom to stop airing the video.

“If Chris Brown shot a woman in his new video and BET premiered it, the world would stop. Rihanna should not get a pass,” said Paul Porter, co-founder of Industry Ears.

Melissa Henson of the Parents Television Council continued with the criticism, saying “instead of telling victims they should seek help, Rihanna released a music video that gives retaliation in the form of premeditated murder the imprimatur of acceptability.”

On one hand, they do have a point. If Brown released a video like this, the world would be up in arms. Yet she’s allowed to condone murder?

On the other hand, though, the video would make no sense if she didn’t act out the lyrics. The song calls for a “man down,” so artistically, she had to do it. I think people are just taking this too seriously – her video is like a mini movie, an exaggerated story of a woman defending herself. It’s called artistic expression!

Watch the video below.

Gucci Mane Has Been Arrested…. Again

Christian Allaire — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:26:44 +0000

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Rapper Gucci Mane has been arrested yet again, reports Perez Hilton. Nobody is shocked.

Let’s take a look at his past legal woes. Back in November, Gucci Mane got into some trouble with the law over violent altercation with another person at a traffic stop light, where he was pepper-sprayed by the cops for resisting arrest. Then, in January, he was sent back to prison for a probation violation.

Now, police in DeKalb, GA, say Gucci has been arrested yet again “while visiting his probation officer!”

Yep, you read that right. The rapper got arrested while meeting with an officer of the law. You’d think he would put on a good front then, at least. Apparently, the rapper was charged with misdemeanor battery after he “intentionally caused visible bodily harm to a female by pushing her out of a moving vehicle.”

I mean, this is just ridiculous. Although his offence wasn’t that serious, he needs to get his act together and stop making stupid mistakes. There’s really nothing to say about this story, because it is not shocking, and any advice I offer him publicly won’t be adhered to. So good luck, Gucci, good luck.

Halle Berry Opens Up About Her Traumatic Childhood

Megan MacKay — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:58:14 +0000

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The beautiful Halle Berry is best known for dazzling audiences on the big screen, but few know about her childhood battle with an abusive father in a violent home.

In an interview with CNN, Berry opens up about her past in the hope that it will bring the issue of domestic violence into the spotlight. Berry spent the beginning of her life watching her father physically and mentally abuse her mother before blossoming into the on-screen siren we know today.

“I’ve spent my adult life dealing with the sense of low self-esteem that sort of implanted in me. Somehow I felt not worthy,” Berry, now a mother herself, explains. “Before I’m ‘Halle Berry,’ I’m little Halle…a little girl growing in this environment that damaged me…I’ve spent my adult life trying to really heal from that.”

Berry dedicates an enormous amount of her time to the Jenesse Center, a shelter in Los Angeles that takes in abused women. She also renovates low-cost apartments to provide a new home to victims and their children as they get back on their feet.

Watch Berry’s interview on CNN here:

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2010/12/14/exp.am.intv.berry.cnn

New 30 STM Video is Too Hot for TV!

Megan MacKay — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:50:58 +0000

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Looks like Jared Leto and his band 30 Seconds to Mars may have gone a little too far in their newest music video for the song Hurricane.

Leto has received several letters from the major networks informing him that the video contains sexual bondage-based imagery that’s WAY too much for basic cable. In fact, editors would have to remove scenes just to make the video playable in the more liberal post-10pm timeslot!

Perez Hilton is reporting that Leto posted a network letter on his personal website, adding that he is “looking to find a creative solution that works for all.”

When the video does eventually come out, we’re sure people will be lined up to see it now!

Check out the network letter Leto posted with all the sexy details after the jump!

Hi ——,

Here is the feedback from our compliance team,

Please note the final comments can only be given after our compliance team has viewed the digibeta, there were areas which they were unable to view towards the end of the video.

Overall the bondage theme will warrant a POST 10 PM restriction as the film is in its current form.

There is one shot that will have to be removed completely for a POST 10PM restriction -

09:17 – WOMAN RUNS FINGER OVER OTHER WOMAN’S G-STRING CLAD BOTTOM AND TOUCHES HER ANUS -

This shot makes the video completely restricted.

There are other bondage shots towards the end of the film that compliance were unclear about, they would have to view frame by frame on tape to gauge whether they would need to be cut too for POST 10PM.

The violence in the film is not graphic and would warrant a POST 7pm restriction. But the overall sexual content does push the restriction up.

Here’s what was logged so far:

30 Seconds To Mars – Hurricane (rough cut) OFFLINE

Contains:?00:27 – in French “It’s not reality, it’s a dream”

02:33 – threatening man in gimp mask with sledge hammer

02:50 – singer jumps out of hotel window – fantastical – not imitable

03:00 – flash frame of erotic scene?

04:10 – singer puts leather eye mask on girl and pulls head back in an erotic gesture – POST 9PM

04:15 – fight between gimp man and bystander – kick to leg / punch to head -not graphic -POST 7PM

04:25 – girl in leather bunny outfit on knees briefly kisses a man

04:40 – man pulls a key on a ribbon chain from his mouth

04:54 – motorcyclist spins bike and skids across the ground

05:01 – bondage ball gag is put over girl’s mouth – POST 10PM

05:18 – cyclist stabs man with stanley knife – POST 7PM

05:46 – priest, rabbi and monk (?) burn books

06:15 – large breasted lady in a bra and gas mask

06:16 – shot of domestic knife – POST 7pm

06:20 – couple in bondage gear and handcuffs – POST 10PM

06:23 – girl with gag being partially suffocated by singer POST 10PM

06:30 – bondage couple

06:40 – gimp man hits singer with sledge hammer not graphic POST 7PM

07:00 – French v/o about abandonning yourself and sacrificing yourself to pleasure – no explicit language – ok

07:14 – bondage girls with nipple tassles -POST 9PM

08:06 – man chained to bench with masked men circling in a menacing manner

08:17 – skuffle man hits masked men?08:21 – man punches man in rabbit’s head

08:40 – singer trapped in coffin

09:00 – French v/o about love and masks – no explicit language – ok

09:15 – dripping hot wax over body – POST 10PM

09:17 – woman’s finger running over other woman’s bottom in g-string and touching anus – COMPLETELY RESTRICTED

09:50 – lady with feathers and nipple tassles – POST 9PM

10:15 – couple in bed performing erotic acts – POST 9PM

10:41 – man runs hands over lady’s breasts – POST 9PM

10:43- man kisses lady’s stomach – POST 9PM

10:53 – man grabs and squeezes lady’s breasts – POST 10PM

10:54 – girl with nipple tassles – POST 9PM

10:55 – gimp man with woman in gas mask and bondage harness – POST 10PM

10:59 – bondage scene – POST 10PM

11:02 – forecful erotic pull of girl’s head – POST 10PM

11:06 – bondage couple – POST 10 PM

11:50 – singer and gimp man fight – punches, kicks and slaps – not graphic violence – POST 7PM

Jay-Z Admits to Shooting his Brother

Megan MacKay — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:58:20 +0000

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Rapper Jay-Z is finally opening up about the shooting of his brother when he was 12.

Popeater reports that Jay, whose birth name is Shawn Carter, admitted to opening fire on his brother Eric as he watched him desperately feed his crack addiction.

“I thought I’d go to jail forever,” Jay admits to the Guardian. “I was a boy, a child. I was terrified.”

Jay was never charged for the shooting as his brother never pressed for legal action. The brothers made amends when Jay visited him in the hospital and Eric apologized for his crippling addiction.

Jay raps about the event on his second album on a track called “You Must Love Me.” Jay raps “Saw the devil in your eyes, high off more than weed, confused, I just closed my young eyes and squeezed.”

…and now Jay-z is worth about a quadrillion million dollars. I guess things worked out in the end after all!

Charlie Sheen Arrest Update

andPOP Staff — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:59:36 +0000

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TMZ is reporting that there was physical contact between Charlie Sheen and wife Brooke Mueller, but the investigation continues about who was the initial aggressor. According to TMZ, Mueller placed a 911 call Friday morning saying that Sheen had assaulted her. When police arrived, Sheen claimed that his wife started the altercation, and he was just trying to defend himself.

Sheen will remain in jail until his initial court hearing. The actor has been charged with felony second degree assault, felony menacing and criminal mischief — a misdemeanor.

Gamer’s Mind Blog: Game Ranting

Josh Salem — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:34:56 +0000

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This past week on Penn and teller’s show, “Penn and Teller: Bullsh*t” they tackled the topic of video games, and namely video game violence. Now, I’ve dabbled in my own research dissecting violence in video games and their effect on the youth from a strictly ethical point of view (no psychology or any other brain rape involved) and it all came down to a small number of children not being able to tell the difference between real life and fantasy… Either that or negligent parents who provide their kids with M rated games at the age of 10 (more on this later).

In this episode, Penn and Teller (I still don’t understand why a show that revolves around debate and speech has half their talent being a mute) talk about the huge amounts of revenue flowing in from video games, the wave of violent crimes depicting video game copying and those deemed to stop them (Jack Thompson, Hillary Clinton, and some guy with a balding pony tail) but also take the reverse approach and provide a 9 year old gamer with a real assault rifle… how can it go wrong? The 28 minute video begins by making a strong comparison, video game violence to us is like three stooges violence to our parents, makes sense already doesn’t it? With every generation there comes a form of entertainment (or violence) the generation before doesn’t quite understand, while three stooges rarely ever dealt with guns or murder, I peg this as just the progression of the times, desensitization from the news, and newer technologies taking precedence.

Don’t get me wrong, a slap to the back of the head is a lot better than a gunshot to the gut, but the generations before didn’t have this type of technology, if they did, perhaps this wouldn’t be as big an issue as it is now (and I fear to think what our kids will be looking at as entertainment in the future if we’re ok with virtual violence). While a number of critics might think Penn and Teller’s show is indeed, BullSh*t, they did raise a number of important points. Almost every single study into video game violence on youth (both pro and con for video games) is completely bias and agenda driven. This can be seen from both sides throughout the show and based on papers I have researched in the past. Secondly, just because one enjoys violent games, doesn’t mean they enjoy violence. I mean… it COULD mean that… but it doesn’t always mean that. This was shown in the half hour show by allowing a sweet innocent game playing 9 year old shoot a rifle… ONCE… and that lead him to tears on national television. The third point this show left me with was their last, if video games had been around for generations, and football was all of a sudden introduced to the world; what would we think about football? A violent sport in which physical contact and taking one down are requisites to the game, and which by the way, have relatively high injury rates compared to oh… I don’t know, video games? Aside of course, from a pulled muscle playing Dance Dance Revolution or a sore thumb after a night of gaming).

This cannot end well...

Overall I think video game violence issues fall into five broad categories:

1) Children who don’t have the mental capacity to tell the difference between fantasy and reality.

2) Negligent parents who ignore the ESRB ratings on boxes and don’t pay attention to what their kids play (Hey… I was one of these kids).

3) Game stores selling M rated games to minors; if you can’t buy cigarettes, alcohol, or adult rated videos and magazines under age, why should you be able to buy adult rated games?

4) People who use video games as scapegoats for their violent acts (like the guy in the UK who blamed Grand Theft Auto as the reason he stabbed a man to steal his sneakers… there aren’t any sneakers in GTA!).

5) And finally, the generally deranged.

Should these games be discontinued? Should they be banned? Is it the developers fault or the parents? Does legal ramification come into play when dealing with ESRB ratings? I know how I feel about the topic (parents and game stores should be the ones you point fingers at, not the game companies or the people playing them), how do you feel? I welcome to virtual floor to debate, praise, or hate mail. After all, it’s just entertainment, no one gets up in a huff when kids watch violent movies (Power Rangers ring a bell?).

Rant over.

Movie Column: The Best of the Worst

andPOP Staff — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 23:13:44 +0000

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Right off the bat, I?m going to disappoint anyone who was hoping to hear what I thought of Stealth in this week?s column.

It looks like they combined the worst elements of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Top Gun, although to be honest, I haven?t bothered to go and see it yet.

I firmly believe that big explosions are not reason enough to see a movie. If that?s all I want, $20 worth of gasoline, a book of matches, and an open field will do just fine.

If I?m wrong and it turns out that Jamie Foxx wins another Oscar for his performance in Stealth, I will apologize and never write about movies ever again.

Anyway, while we?re waiting for the Oscar nominations to see if I still have a career in writing, let?s talk about something else.

Specifically, lets talk about the most disgusting, twisted, depraved movies of recent memory. The movies I?m referring to are ones that are so vile, they made even me cringe.

In the past year, only two movies have managed to make it into this category, and as such, I think they each deserve a moment of our time.

(They also deserve some recognition because they were two of my favourite films of the past year, and I?ll let you decide what that says about me.)

First of all, we have Team America: World Police.

This is the latest offering from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the guys behind South Park. Their stated purpose in making Team America was to make a Jerry Bruckheimer movie entirely with marionettes. (Bruckheimer was the producer of The Rock, Armageddon, and Bad Boys, among dozens of other action classics.)

Parker and Stone go beyond this, making the largest marionette movie ever, and also making one of the most biting pieces of social satire in recent memory.

However, they also include a marionette sex scene, and if actual actors had performed that scene, it would easily garner an X rating.

Team America is out on DVD, and if you can stand some truly degenerate humour, as well as political satire and all around South Park style jokes, I urge you to check it out.

The second movie that managed to disgust me in the past year was Sin City.

Based on three comic books by Frank Miller, this is the first comic book adaptation I?ve really loved since Batman Forever.

Its use of colour, and its unbelievable devotion to the comic books it?s adapted from make it an unbelievable masterpiece.

If you want to try, you can literally take the comic book and use it as an editing guide for the movie; where the panels change, the shots change; and dialogue is virtually identical.

However, the comic books are for the most introverted, twisted individuals, and when that?s transferred to the big screen, it can be a bit much to take.

There are two decapitations (and actually carrying around of severed heads,) two castrations, and more prostitutes and strippers than I can count.

Sin City comes out on DVD on August 16th, and if you haven?t seen it yet, this is a must see.
Now, I didn?t bring up these disgusting movies for no reason at all. There?s another one that show?s promise of being added to the list.

The Aristocrats, a documentary about one of the dirtiest jokes ever told promises to be the sort of movie that you probably shouldn?t watch right after eating.

The joke, which can be told in anywhere from two minutes to two hours, dates back over a century, and is told by a hundred different comedians including George Carlin, Drew Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Bob Saget, Robin Williams, and many more.

I haven?t seen it yet, but The Aristocrats opened in New York and L.A. this weekend, and I?ve been ravenously consuming the press it?s already received.

AMC has announced that will not screen The Aristocrats in any of its theatres ? presumably because it?s just too vulgar.

Many reviewers have sung its praises, although it has its share or haters too.

For now, it?s only screening in L.A. and New York, but like a dirty joke, it starts spreading out across North America over the next few weeks.