Lemme cut to the chase, Kanye West is phony as was his contrived outburst when he rushed the stage to disrupt an acceptance speech from country singer Taylor Swift, during last night’s MTV Video Music Awards. It was a perfectly executed stunt which was designed to make national headlines (which it did). It was designed to become among the top trending topics in twitter and one of the hot key words in google (which it is). It was obviously designed to take away attention from issues at hand as Kanye’s outburst overshadowed many of the performances and presenters including the Michael Jackson tribute.
Like it or not in 2009, notoriety works and unchecked disruptions, outbursts and controversial statements and gestures are the order of the day especially if you need to do a little bit of ‘social engineering’. Kanye rushing the stage at the VMAs was no different than the idiot congressman from South Carolina, Joe Wilson calling President Obama a liar during his speech the other night. It was no different then last month’s so called ‘spontaneous’ shouting matches and YouTube ready disruptions during Democratic sponsored healthcare townhall meetings around the country.
Did congressman Joe Wilson's outburst orchestrated?
The end results are all the same. People are still talking about Joe Wilson and more importantly his opposition to Obama’s Healthcare plans. It created a huge windfall of donations to the tune of 1 million dollars for his re-election campaign. Lastly, this once obscure congressman is now a national figure and a household name who is seen as a hero in many circles. His notoriety and 15 minutes of fame has gotten him a platform to voice his espouse his opinions and political philosophy.
The disruptions during the healthcare townhalls were obvious game changers. First, it put the Democrats on the defense and allowed a vastly outnumbered Republican party that was in disarray to gain momentum and popularity. It also emboldened a number of people including staunch racists who were frustrated and angry to let loose and grab a seat at the proverbial table.
Kanye West has been getting kinda phony lately
In the case of Kanye West, people are obviously talking about him and inevitably whatever projects he’s pushing. In a crumbling music industry where personality and branding is whats being sold more than music, the attention Kanye received is extremely valuable. The free publicity is worth millions.
But all this is just part of the story in terms of who benefits. Whether we’re talking about Joe Wilson or Kanye West, they are small cogs on the totem pole. There are larger and more powerful beneficiaries. It could be Health Insurance, leadership in the GOP, Kanye’s record label and MTV/Viacom. The 64 thousand dollar question is what hand did these larger institutions have in these controversies.
Did GOP leaders plan to have Wilson act out during the president’s speech as a strategy to take some shine away and minimize Obama’s persuasive oratory skills? To me, its more than obvious they did. No one seems to be to upset with Wilson. Thus far I’m not hearing about Wilson being removed from any committees. He already said he’s not gonna apologize a second time and it’s not like President Obama is gonna run up and punch him in the face for being disrespectful. In short there’s been no penalty for Wilson breaking the rules as his party has pretty much circled the wagons around him. Wilson and his GOP buddies are relishing in the fact that they were able to reaffirm and in many ways re-established their position as scrappy fighters who are down for the cause of the blue collar man compared to the ‘whimpy’ Democrat.
In the case of the townhall disruptions, we already know that many of these ‘grassroots’ , ‘spontaneous’ gatherings were actually orchestrated and seeded by lobbyists and corporations with the main groups being Freedomworks and Americans for Prosperity. Expensive PR firms were hired and a strategy was developed instructing people how to systematically disrupt townhalls. This included, spreading out amongst the crowd to give the appearance as being larger in numbers, rattling the sensibilities of a congressperson early on by shouting and aggressively challenging him/her and just generally being disruptive so that what got reported on the evening news was people shouting down the congressperson and not the finer points of healthcare.
Anyone who has ever done commercial radio and been in a ratings war, much of these ‘political’ disruptions are text book. Early on we learned the important lesson of controversy sells. We’ve learned the importance of staging ‘spontaneous’ activities including cheering, hissing and booing in such away that the people around you would catch on and join in. ‘That’s all classic social engineering tactics. We learned how to show up at our competitions events and concerts, give up t-shirts, bumper stickers and signs and create the illusions that we were somehow apart of what was deemed exclusively theirs.
This brings us full circle back to Kanye West rushing the stage. because we’ve been inundated with crass disruptive behavior at political events, many of us forgot that this is a hallmark of the music industry. Creating illusions and smoke and mirrors is what we specialize in. Was Kanye’s antics sanctioned and planned by executives at MTV? LOL, last night’s Kanye moment was about as real as the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction several years ago. It was about as real and unscripted as an episode of MTV’s Real World. or even better last night’s Kanye outburst was about as real as the battle for record sales between him and 50 cent two years ago.
Long before Kanye, the late ODB was known for bumrushing stages during award shows. At least ODB said he was doing it for the kids
This should be more than obvious. By the end of the show MTV had a graph in place to show how Kanye’s disruption was the thing everyone was talking about on twitter? Plus, is Kanye being banned from any radio play? No. Will he be back at the next MTV event or is he banned for life? Hell naw. Will MTV keep showing the clip of Kanye rushing the stage? Hell yeah. This is not the first time he’s acted a fool at these type of events and he’s always invited back. Kanye is playing the role of the late Ole Dirty Bastard who was known for having a number of spontaneous outbursts including rushing the stage during the Grammys, that became seared in our collective memories over the years.
Me personally, I knew Kanye was phony balony when he rushed the stage and proclaimed Beyonce should’ve won without being nervous. That was the scripted Kanye we saw last night. The unscripted Kanye was the one we saw during the Katrina telethon when he said George Bush doesn’t care about Black people. But lets not digress.
Look the bottomline is everyone was in on it. Hell I’m beginning to even think Taylor Swift and Beyonce went along for the ride and had scripted out roles with Beyonce being the gracious sheroe and Smith being the poor victim we all rallied around. No matter the case, scripted or not it all seems to have worked out. Remember this is the same MTV who just a few months ago had us all looking on in shock as Eminem shed his bad boy image to go along with promotional stunt concocted by actor Sacha Barron Cohen dressed in character as Bruno. People were led to believe that Cohen ‘had an accident with his stunt cables and somehow landed in such a way that his ass and nutsack was in Em’s face as he attempted to untangle himself. An enraged Eminem stormed out the building only to have it later revealed it was a stunt he was in on and even rehearsed it.
I guess the bigger and more somber picture to all this is how we are constantly being manipulated. It may start somewhat harmlessly with Kanye West-like stunts at MTV but then it leads up to ‘staged’ outburst by ‘upset’ lawmakers during a Presidential speech. All of it corporate sponsored and all of this is part of a larger pattern to dumb down the masses and keep a population ill-informed. In the business we call it learned behavior and it allows for people to be easily duped and eventually pimped.
Something to ponder
-Davey D-
THE BLACKMAN AKA COONJUICE MAN PRESENTS………A BIG FACEBOOK GETDOWN……SAT.SEPT.19,2009-@THE OLD MIAMI..3930 CASS..DET.MI…HOSTED BY-GI-GI………ON THE TURNTABLES-COONJUICE MAN…….9-2AM……..donantion- $10………..MORE COONJUICE PLEASE………………..
great breakdown davey! this shit was fishier than a whorehouse bathroom. kaney acts like a big ass baby. i wonder if he would keep perpetuating his antics if his mom was still alive?
Great piece to ponder! However, Taylor Swift being mistaken for Taylor Smith says a lot about her winning..no comp for single ladies! Lol!
Luv u davey!
Davey D, you’re a good writer, generally, and I have no problem with printed vernacular such as “kinda” in your columns. But using “then” for “than” in phrases like “different than” has a couple of very unproductive results. First, it teaches your young readers to use the words incorrectly, which ultimately subjects them to the silent ridicule we all experience when our audience has a better command of the language than we do. Notice: BETTER THAN, above. Second, it distracts any of your readers who already know better, and they lose focus on your message, quit reading entirely, or read more with the expectation that your English will show a lack of atttention to syntactical detail. You and all of your work over the last couple of decades deserve more respect. So, if you will use THAN after DIFFERENT (it’s actually classier to use FROM), THEN spell it with an A for smooth reading. The word THEN is about time, not comparison. Help our young readers command respect when they write. No telling which of them is absorbing your examples right this minute.
Davey keep bringin it.
But, Damn, I sure missed that Em nutsack episode. That’s a shame. I’d never
Truth To Power!!!
Media Literacy 101 as taught by Master Teacher Davey D.
What more can I say?
Davey, you’re the homie forever, but I gotta disagree with you on this one. Not everything that happens in the world is a calculated ploy for attention and profits by a group of suits and executives in a secret boardroom (just mostly everything, LOL).
Kanye West did this out of the greed of his own heart, not because MTV put him up to it. Sure everyone’s talking about him, but 95% of the people saying anything are pissed off at his increasingly rude and irritating antics.
I mean, if it was planned by MTV, that means Kanye would have accepted being thrown under the bus, booed, and ejected from the venue, just for Monday Morning water cooler talk’s sake… and he would have had to accept being vilified EVEN THOUGH BEYONCE WON THE FINAL AWARD! It wouldn’t make any sense for Kanye to know about it if Taylor Swift won the first award from the same category as Beyonce, but not know about Beyonce actually winning the last award of the night. They essentially made Kanye the villain of the year… for lil ol’ Taylor Swift’s benefit? naw, that’s just too insane.
Beyonce didn’t have to give Taylor that moment at the end, she could have just said “peace to Taylor and Kanye” and that’s that. But what she did showed that she had more poise and class than both of them combined.
I actually can’t believe Taylor Swift didn’t thank Beyonce. Sure she hugged her twice which was nice and all, but a gracious “thank you Beyonce” would have resonated far and wide. Rookie mistake in a major, unexpected moment, it’s understandable.
There are more media manipulations going down than we would like to believe, and I’m a true believer in conspiracies cause the shit is real. But this just seemed like Kanye West going too far with his opinion, and being a selfish fishdickhead.
I don’t think it was scripted, it was just another episode of “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong”.
but I love that you continue to educate and challenge us. I admit I was surprised that Eminem staged getting ass in the face by Bruno… that was WTF! But this one seemed real.
Kanye would admit it if it was staged too. Everyone hates him at this very moment, LOL.
Rightfully so. IT’S A FUCKING MTV AWARD, NOT A GRAMMY, MAN! And Beyonce’s video for “Single Ladies” isn’t even CLOSE to “the best video of all-time”. Kanye is high off himself too much. Check yourself before you wreck yourself, ‘Ye.
your blog apology may not be enough, but it’s a start…
considering the Lil Mama stage-crashing during Jay-Z and Alicia’s finale, I’ll end off with the most fitting saying of all, one of my favorites, from the kings, EPMD:
RAP IS OUTTA CONTROL!
love, from Mindbender
Reginald, Davey is not giving grammar 101! He’s serving hip-hop+…who cares about then vs. than–we all get the point–just like with all typos…NEXT!!
THIS WAS STAGED… The TWEETS of the world ate that shit up!!! MTV and Viacom > the idiot music fans, who believe that Kanye would be allowed to run out on stage at a highly coordinated event.
As soon as he did it…the morons lit up Twitter and Facebook. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE HOPING FOR!!! A whole bunch of people who weren’t watching the show tuned in right after the tweets went out about it!!!!
Did you not see the Eminem & Bruno fiasco?!?!?! SMH
Why is it cool to be a fool nowadays?!?!?
USE YOUR BRAIN PEOPLE…THE TV IS NOT REAL.
Davey,
I have been shocked by the amount of people who want to “gossip” and “tweet” about this. They don’t want to let go of an opportunity to e-bash someone. Even when presented with the idea that the event was most likely staged, they just go on and on about what an ass Kanye is and how he’s this and that.
They completey ignore the notion that not everything you see on T.V is real.
They don’t want this to have been a staged event. They want THIS to be REAL, THEY WANT KANYE TO ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN THE ASSHOLE, SO THEY CAN TALK ABOUT HIM AND HOW THEY’RE MORALLY SUPERIOR TO HIM AND ALL OTHER ENTERTAINERS.
It just seems like people love to tear up celebrities, as if what they do is somehow more irresponsible than that of the politicans who ‘RUN’ this country.
People need to grow up!
Mi Hermano aka Big Homie… Aka Art Shell
As usual thank you for touching on this ! I swear if Kanye’s Moms was alive i don’t think he may have dated Amber Rose or even pull a stunt like that ?
Trust we are pondering and shaking our heads like dam Kanye !
well done, DD!
Brotha, you speak the truth. As a publicist, I am well aware of these types of antics. I was thinking most of what you were already. Beyonce kind of had a grin on her face and it amazes me that a first time winner would sit there and let someone berate her like that with no response whatsoever. Of course, now she’s such a victim and beyonce is supposedly a hero. And whethr or not the whole thing was staged, Beyonce’s “sheroism” at the end of the night surely was. We all know a mgr or publicist was back there telling her it would be a good idea to let Taylor on stage. Come on now. But I do like how you bring up the fact that ultimately, these things could affect us on a bigger scale, i.e. lawmakers, lobbyists, etc.
You seem to have a lot of insider knowledge for someone who was not at one publicity meeting, didn’t talk to Kanye, didn’t talk to Taylor Swift, or the “You lie” rep. Publicity stunt or not, regardless of this being a business, it doesn’t take into account the number of people who will no longer support his music, such as myself: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2173147/kanye_west_introduces_new_line_of_tacky.html
Interesting analogy… Kanye as agent provocateur, Joe Wilson as entertainer? it’s a good point because manufactured controversy is as real as manufactured consent. i didnt watch the show because i was out checking live African music, but is there any doubt that we should all just turn our TVs off at this point if we dont want to be bombarded with fakeness?
@ E scribbal.. brother that shit was the realest thing on TV last night.. What made it so real was the bad acting.. LOL
All “Programing”on television is manipulated by the corporate masters that own the networks. 3 or 4 companies own all the TV, radio, and newspaper outlets in the U.S. That is why Jayz, Kanye, and rick ross are the only rappers that get any spotlight. To be honest those 3 artists really suck and shouldnt be promoted. But thats what these devils want to put out is BS. There is no question Kanye does what his masters tell him to. It is time we black people take back hip hop and reject this commercial crap for the garbage that it is.
and just like Kanye is orchestrated, You better believe that each event that the president obama shows up at is a “STAGED” propaganda event. Kanye is similar to the president. they both say things that make no sense, they are both idiots, and they are slaves to the devil they sold their soul to. wake up people to all these fake “entertainers and “politicians”. They are all despicable people that are not even worth the time they get.
THIS WHOLE THING SETS MY HOLE ABLAZING
the only response i have to this is that we sometimes take too much to heart..i mean anything dealing with the media is smoke and mirrors so to speak we never get the real story nor do we (viewers) have all the facts and access when it come to placing sound and solid opinions on issues such as health care or even who had the best video of the year. I equate this to the same stunt a female reporter did when asking President Obama about the arrest with William Gates and the police officer who over reacted i mean the press conference was for health care…she was so off the point it was like what??? and why are you talking about this here and now so irrelevant…but yea more propaganda to keep our eyes off the prize and distracted form what’s really going on…
Thank God there’s still sum ppl wit a brain…well said my man, i was saying this the whole night, tryna tell ppl 2 not feed in2 the media stunts because y they talking bout sum phony stunt more important issues are being handled right under our noses and we don’t even try to think. 4 those who don’t know that this was a stunt watch the entire seen over and you can see the edited camera work that made you the viewer be fooled easily, because Taylor just stop talking, the camera switch 2 the crowd, not 1 facial expression showed that Kayne was rushing the stage everyone was still clapping as if she was standing waiting, then in a split of a second kanye had the mic and said what he said.
now another reason you ppl were fooled is becaused if you play it back he never said anything disrespectful 2 Talyor. all he said was he thanked her and he then ask could he say something real quick and stated that beyonce had 1 of the best videos of the year. with that being said he never disrespected her and no one actually saw him rushed the stage. the moment we saw it from tv view, kanye was already on the stage so it left us 2 think and assume what had happen, and 9 times outta 10 it worked. cauz yall all assumed he just disrespected this women on live tv, that was the big deception.
then 2 top it off it was a so perfectly ending because beyonce did take home the best video of the year award like kanye said and she so called invited Taylor back on stage, but here goes the illusion if beyonce didnt know what had happen when they called her up for the winning award, she walk on stage from her seat in the audience notice ppl the(red dresses they both had on) she thank whoever, and wah-lah she invites Taylor back on stage, but instead of Taylor walking from where she was seated, she comes already in position from backstage. there you have a perfect stunt on tv that a person who is 2 excited,and their eyes can not see. So if it was not scripted then Taylor would have been back seated in the audience and when the so called hero beyonce called her on,
she would have had 2 come on stage from her seat…ppl wake up and you dont think that’s a good example then watch the entire thing over and see how many times lady gaga changed her clothes walk on stage and everytime the camera showed her face, she was back in the audience lookin stupid with who knows what on!!!! thanx 2 my man Dave 4 dropping the jews on ppl cauz it’s really sad the ppl can’t tell reality from fiction fixed stunts 2 boost profits threw coorporations that own everything we ppl use daily…….
Just another dumb nigger on TV! lol! Yeah dumb Nigger!
i wrote on this same issue in FB last nite — when you have time check http://www.facebook.com/zaccaifree
This is an excellent analysis… I didn’t notice the spelling errors at all.
You left out a crucial fact when discussion Joe Wilson. There is a rather large movement (with a rather large sum of donations) started by his outburst to defeat him. http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19079
YBhco.. yes I’m aware of the backlash He’s seen, but really he got just as much money and up to then from what I understand his district was safe.. But the bebefit to what Wilson did was prevent Obama from seriously running the table. BO was forced to share headlines with Joe and thuis what Joe stoands for.. thats what that was about..
… this is the best piece of any sort of journalism I have seen on this topic all day. Thank you.
you’re an idiot! You must be in on it too
Next thing you know, there will be a “staged” ufo invasion.
This is a excellent analysis, and definitely goes to show the extent that people with hidden agendas will go to to promote them. On a different scale though, consider this; the grassroots, MTV, Gen Y’ers are considered one of these most progressive demographics. Among them is the type of non racial indentity that was a part of Dr. Kings dream, however if you look @ how the socio-political divide is being re-engineered you’ll find that causing people to question the choices they’ve made ( Electing Obama, buying Kanyes’ music) and it falls along the lines of Race. They’re being sold (told) that we are unappreciative of their ” Goodness” and now they must recoil. Think most of Obamas’ attacks are personally tinged, and on twitter “YE” wasn’t just a out of control artist, he became a Nigger. An Angry ” Hennessy” drinking black man disrespected a innocent white singer, and people are allowed to say whatever they want because its their constitutional right to. Last point, Biz Stone owns a part of FB and Twitter and is one of the largest benefactors to separtist, noe-cons, and hate groups.
from the Associated Press :”West was set to perform with Rihanna and Jay-Z on Monday night’s debut of “The Jay Leno Show” but wasn’t originally scheduled to chat with the host.
But after West drew boos at the MTV Video Music Awards for ruining Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech, NBC said the rapper will talk with Leno.”
that pretty much proves davey’s point.
@dave: “that shit was the realest thing on TV last night..”
ok but that’s not saying a whole lot…
damn E that shit ran that deep.. wow. I had no idea..
Good job Davey! Could also be staged by Fox News and the crew, so when we complain about the Right Wing hecklin’ folks they can pull Kanye out the hat and say it’s a double standard….
I do not put hip-hop artist on the same level as U.S. Senators and Congressmen. Hip-hop artist ain’t just start getting ignorant, they make a living selling it to people. Politicians jobs is to make money off of people’s fears and ignorance, not do “Mike Checks” while the President of the United States is speeking. I will not lessen Wilson’s outbust for hip-hop, sorry. Inexcusable.
If read what i wrote Robert.. I said it was corporate benefit.. meaning who gained from Kanye’s outburst?
MTV/Viacom and Jay leno/NBC.. who benefited from Joe Wilson.. GOP/ health insurance companies..
Great piece Davey, but as much as I love the conspiracy angle, I’m not too sure it was that calculated. I think the bottle of Hennessy Kanye brought into the show had a little more to do with his behavior than anyone putting him up to it.
I just saw it as Kanye being Kanye. We know that many artists are in a perpetual state of arrested development that both contributes to their intense creativity and politically incorrect behavior. Mix that with cognac and bingo! He’s also got a long history of doing this type of stuff. Although the end result is ratings for MTV/Viacom and more sales for Taylor Swift, I don’t think it was rehearsed. Not that it really makes a difference.
You make a great point about the “disruptions, outbursts and controversial statements and gestures” being the order of the day. That’s the culture we are apart of now. It’s only going to get crazier. You got Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube now that allow everyday folks to push back at the status quo and the traditional media gatekeepers. There’s a lot of competition out there now and the only way one can break through is to be more shocking and offensive than everyone else. Now it’s having a trickle up effect and spreading to mainstream entertainers who are feeling desperate to stay relevant.
But it worked. I was intrigued and sought out the clip on youtube and watched the playback on MTV, so I’m as much apart of the problem as anyone.
I bet Swift’s record sales go through the roof… I think Lady Gaga should have been the “talk” of the VMA’s sick $#!+…
Yo, I just saw Kanye on the Jay Leno show. His apology seemed pretty hearfelt. I don’t think that what he did was premeditated. He probably just had a few drinks that night, and got a little too loose with himself…feel me?
Did not see Jay Leno, but Kanye must be feeling the “Emmit Teel” affects of messing with a white girl from his “Hip-hop” brothers and sisters. They’ve been ganking us for years on these award shows, just wait for the Black one as we’ve always done. I couldn’t tell you who had the best video, I just know I do hear that corny country song at work sometimes. Davey D, controversy “does” sell.
the thing is, this isn’t Kanye’s first outburst or “interruption” of an awards show. by now it’s feeling a bit contrived. and of course controversy sells, but what R U buying?
Mr. Davey D….I almost fell for the bananna in the tail pipe.. Lol. Until I read your article. Thank you for pulling the glittered wool sheet from over my eyes…
Now that I got a sample of your writing I need more…You have my attention and my vote. Keep being true.
Sincerely,
Queen Tutt
Let’s also not forget that Mercury is in retrograde through the end of the month…and Kanye is a Gemini. It may sound ridiculous, but I believe it!
Great analysis. I blogged about this incident as well, but my standpoint was more based on my opinion that the whole debacle was hilarious. Not justifying the boorish behavior; just saying that it was intriguing entertainment, Kanye being the douchebag we all know him to be, and great ratings for a show that probably not as many people were intending to watch from the start.
“Kanye rushing the stage at the VMAs was no different than the idiot congressman from South Carolina, Joe Wilson calling President Obama a liar during his speech the other night. It was no different then last month… Read More’s so called ’spontaneous’ shouting matches and YouTube ready disruptions during Democratic sponsored healthcare townhall meetings around the country.”
Really? A congressman yelling “You Lie!” during an address by the first Black president of the United States of America is no different than a megalomaniac musician whining because his favored pop singer didn’t win a Moon Man?
Really?
It’s like ‘real life’ wrestling drama.
Kanye needs therapy. There is a diagnosis waiting for him. It is really sad that this gets as much interest as it does.
Totally staged.
Remember that MTV has a 2 Minute Delay on all its “Live” broadcast – TWO MINUTES.
A multimillion dollar production – trust me, you saw nothing that you were not supposed to see. Except that Lil Mama stunt…
Heck, I was too busy watching “football” on NBC to even remember the VMAs being on, though that may not be that much different…LOL!
“It also emboldened a number of people including staunch racists who were frustrated and angry to let loose and grab a seat at the proverbial table.”
What a stereotypical black man to drop the racist bomb on the whole anti-Obama issue.
Be less black, more people with high IQs will care.
Joe Wilson’s YOU LIE wasn’t planned.
Neither was Kanye West’s entrance onto the VMA stage.
Was Serena Williams guilty of planning an outburst?
The thing is, manners are lost in America these days, that’s what’s the matter.
This is an amazing description of an event I had only perceived as a “drugged up” artist sabotaging the stage. What you say makes a lot of sense; thanks for the insight 😉
The point isn’t whether it was planned, but whether it was structured.
The _point_ of the VMAs, its story, was Jay-Z’s performance at the end. That’s why at the commercial breaks they showed his motorcade.
Whether Kanye planned to do it (I think he did) isn’t as important as how it can be used to “get” to Jay-Z’s performance. e.g. one way is to set Beyonce to be sexy, then gracious and magnanimous…
The main point of the VMAs is to get us talking about it.
http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2009/09/kanye_west_and_the_video_music.html
I don’t expect everyone to agree with it, but I think some of the ideas are worth hearing.
Good point about it all being a staged event, like so many others. I don’t know if it was staged or not, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was. Certainly our culture rewards that type of behaviors. Andy Warhol had it right about the 15 minutes of fame… the concept is that if you can grab the headlines one way or another, then you have your chance to really make something of the newfound traffic and publicity. His stunt certainly did steal the show and made it the talk of the next several weeks. Without Kanye’s stunt it would have been a completely forgettable event. No one would have cared and no one would still be talking about it today.
Interesting analogy… Kanye as agent provocateur, Joe Wilson as entertainer? it’s a good point because manufactured controversy is as real as manufactured consent. i didnt watch the show because i was out checking live African music, but is there any doubt that we should all just turn our TVs off at this point if we dont want to be bombarded with fakeness?
Truth To Power!!!
Media Literacy 101 as taught by Master Teacher Davey D.
What more can I say?
If read what i wrote Robert.. I said it was corporate benefit.. meaning who gained from Kanye’s outburst?
MTV/Viacom and Jay leno/NBC.. who benefited from Joe Wilson.. GOP/ health insurance companies..
@Sharda you missed the point of the article.. kanye gets to benefit, but the real beneficiaries are the people behind these men.. In Kanye’s case his record label and also MTV.. Both could use the chatter his antics have caused. He’ll take some ribbing from the people. but the corporate powers will not banaish kanye for his antics.. His records are still on radio and he will be at the next MTV award with the notoriety of a being a firestarter… Corporations ie the GOP were fully behind Joe.. His party didn’t see his act as something that could cost them elections