The Haves And Have Nots

           the-haves-and-have-nots

Everyone has been buzzing about Tyler Perry’s new scripted series on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN television network. So what exactly is the buzz all about? The buzz is about how controversial, interesting, and jaw dropping story this new scripted series actually portrays. The story itself includes the three things that can make any story interesting and mind capturing and those three things are money, sex, and scandal which definitely can have anyone at the edge of their seat. This show definitely brings an interesting combination of characters together who each are struggling with their own personal issues alongside with being wrapped around a scandalous situation that can change all of their lives. This culture clashing, controversial and drama filled show is definitely going to be a must see every week for any viewer.

The show itself mainly focuses around the young, sultry, and very devious Candace Harper (played by Tika Sumpter) who is a full time law student who happens to have a very seductive secret that just so happens to be in the business of escorting. Candace’s secret method of making money is where Jim Cryer comes into the equation, Jim is married to Katheryn Cryer but sadly their marriage is not all together so Jim is seeking sex elsewhere. So Jim, just like any other man that’s miserable in a high profile marriage, calls an escort (which is Candace).  After the two meet at a hotel and have sex, Jim feels as if everything is over but sadly it’s only the beginning.

Soon after a turn of events Candace ends up being invited as a houseguest in Jim’s home by his daughter Amanda, which is, ironically, where Candace’s mother, Hannah Young, is employed as a maid. Hannah Young doesn’t know anything about the situation with Jim and Candace and hasn’t seen Candace in years. Upon entering the house Candace has the intentions of blackmailing Jim with the fact that they had sex threatening to take the story to the news. Jim who is deciding to run for mayor soon tries to keep thing calm and a secret because having sex with an escort is definitely not a good look for a future governor. Although it can crush and ruin Jim’s life and reputation Candace refuses to stop blackmailing him unless he pays her a hundred thousand dollars and gives her a sports car, but Jim isn’t paying up without a fight. So in a turn of events even more lies, scandal, and accusations arise as Candace tries to get her money and as Jim tries to get rid of her without paying a dime.

The dynamic of the show is that the scandal between the character’s Jim and Candice will affect each and every character in the show, whether they know it or not. By every character being implemented into the scandalous situation there is definitely a culture clash as the haves and the have nots are all forced to be a part of the situation. The Haves (in the monetary sense) are Jim and his family are very high-class, sophisticated, and wealthy individuals that are very different from the Have Nots – Candace and her family alongside with her mother’s friend Celine. By bringing characters from different cultures and motives under one roof revolving around the same situation is definitely a must see.

 

Mast Brothers: An Exposé of the Cliché

GUEST POST BY Melissa Kravitz   

mastbros5          In writing, we learn to avoid cliché like the plague.  If it has been used before, the phrase will certainly not fly in a piece of creative work.  Unless you’re blind as a bat, you know better than to compose an essay out of stereotypes.  As Salvador Dali once said, “The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot.”  To cut to the chase, I have been adamantly taught to avoid all that is known and expected, to break the literary rules and restructure words to create new, compelling ideas. And what we value in writing, we certainly value in life.  When has a stereotype ever been considered a positive perception? But what do we do when that cliché works?

            Walk down North 3rd St in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and any clichéd idea you once had about local hipsters will suddenly burst with life. Thrift shops, independent boutiques, local eateries, and a sketchbook library populate the one-way street down to the waterfront, where you’ll find poets composing short works in their recycled notebooks and photographers taking artsy portraits of their rescued mutts.

           mastbros3 At the corner of 3rd and Berry St sits the very epitome of this hipster culture: a local chocolate factory created by two tall red-bearded, flannel-wearing brothers.  Yes, the Mast Brothers and their business are the spitting image of all that Williamsburg stands for.  And so indeed, those of us tempted to avoid cliché might ponder the value of Mast Brothers Chocolate so prominently built on 3rd.  Why is this shop any different?  Why should I pay upwards of $7.00 for a chocolate bar made by a bunch of hippies who are too alternative to buy a wrapping machine but rather fold local artist designed papers over each chocolate by hand? 

            As a fervent avoider of cliché yet a lover of all things alternative, my visit to Mast Brothers Chocolate confused me. Yes, the factory, its staff, and its products were all predictable, but a distinct energy, or perhaps just the sweet scent of chocolate in the air, made me feel a certain propensity for the shop.  From the exposed brick walls, to the recycled canvas cocoa bean bags transformed into purses and baskets for sale in the shop, Mast Brothers Chocolate offered a certain charm to almost negate the atmosphere of cliché wafting out of the cozy factory.   

            mastbros2During my hour-long tour of the chocolate making facilities, I learned the ways in which cocoa beans imported from small farms in South America and Africa were roasted, transformed into nibs, winnowed, conched, tempered, molded, and wrapped into gourmet chocolate bars.  Vocabulary expanded—although I still cannot quite explain what many of the chocolate making terms mean—I began realizing the impressive labor and care with which each Mast Brother’s chocolate bar is made.  The machinery, which the brothers themselves invented and local artisans and engineers manufactured, confused and impressed me.  Breaking out of the status quo to make an age-old food product unique and quite possibly better than the original is certainly something I endorse. 

The best part of Mast Brothers Chocolate is the tasting room, which I truly would not have appreciated without seeing the extensive personal labor that went into crafting each bar.  The tasting room at the front of the factory offers bite-sized samples of chocolate from all over the globe, flavored with local Stumptown Coffee, chili flakes, or Kosher salt.  The most perplexing item by far was the truffle-infused chocolate, which tasted much more like a savory mushroom amuse-bouche than a sweet chocolate treat. The confusing compilation of flavors left me thinking for days, unsure whether I even enjoyed the truffle dark chocolate and intrigued by this new introduction to my palate.    

            A consumer can only enjoy a Mast Brothers delicacy if she has at least $7.00 to spare. The stereotypical hipster can barely afford to pay rent, let alone purchase premium food items. In his book In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan advises, “Shake the hand that feeds you”.  The Mast Brothers Chocolate factory allows the urbanite to do just that, learning about the chocolate making process directly from the brothers themselves, but at what cost? 

            mastbros4And thus lies the paradox: how can the production of these sustainable products sufficiently sustain itself?  The hipsters and the alternative individuals working in the factory and those who live in the neighborhood are not Mast Brothers’ prime customers.  The high level and quality of labor that goes into hand sorting the beans and hand wrapping each bar leads the products to cost significantly more than your average mass produced Hershey’s bar.  Perhaps the cliché stops here, the presumed impoverished hipsters are truly successful business people, masked in the clothes of alternative Brooklynites while hiding a Platinum American Express Card in their back pockets.  Or not.

            The Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory insights new and fascinating questions about the future of local eating, its affordability, practicality, and long term potential. Will the impending gentrification of Williamsburg help Mast Brothers?  Will those dying to be trendy purchase hand wrapped dark chocolate bars by the dozens?  Or will the clichés and stereotypes overpower the independent chocolate factory in all its glory?  I have brought many a friend back to sample the Mast Brothers chocolate, but I have yet to purchase a bar, wondering why I would spend my food budget for the entire day on a measly candy bar lacking nutritional value. mastbros

            So as I write this from Modca, an independent coffee shop a little further down 3rd, sipping organic espresso out of a reusable Mason jar, I’ll confirm that some clichés are here to stay.  Yes, Williamsburg overflows with independent businesses, beanie donning hipsters, and an excess of local art most of which will probably never be purchased for a profit, but from these stereotypical staples can come true creativity. The Mast Brothers are not the first to open a local business in Brooklyn, sell their products locally, or even make chocolate, and perhaps much of what they achieve has been accomplished before.  Yet, there is a certain beauty to knowing where your food comes from, who spends time preparing your dessert, that makes Mast Brothers a chocolate shop worth supporting.

Israeli artist showcases work at only NYC gallery devoted to contemporary art quilts

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30 second cereal ad sheds light on interracial slice of life

By Dyann J. Callahan; Edited by DM

still from cheerios commercialThe most popular Cheerios commercial to date was received with great hate and great love.  The strong emotions that it sparked led to it going viral. Ad Age reported that the controversial commercial was actually the best received, but certain comments overshadowed it when it was posted online.

General Mills did not remove the video and received much respect for their unflinching stance. Does the commercial really warrant such angry emotions? It represents any family spending a quiet day at home, right?  Despite its wholeness and innocence, the Facebook page of the brand was peppered with comments that expressed disgust. The Huffington Post noted that there were references to “Nazi’s and stereotypes directed at the father in the commercial.  Was a crime committed or questionable activities performed? No. The only difference in this Cheerios commercial, compared to others, was the interracial factor.

IndieWire captured and shared some of the posts which suggest derogatory comments from all races.

With interracial marriage at an all-time high according to a USA Today post last updated on 2/16/2012, why is interracial marriage still considered a taboo subject? Pew Research Center released a study that cites that 15% of couples married outside of their ethnicity, and (some might consider shocking) recorded that 43% agreed it has been a change for the betterment of our society. The Huffington Post has a insightful article about why this racial meltdown is rooted in the “type” of interracial couple this was plus the impact that slavery has had on us all. 

Tell us what you think about the feelings that came to the surface as a result of this commercial.  Keep in mind that the Black father and the White mother weren’t even in the same room.   What would have happened if they were?  And would this have been such a strong issue to begin with if the commercial featured a different type of interracial couple?   Or what if it consisted of an interracial family, by way of adoption?

Check out the below articles and commercial spoofs:



 

Famous interracial couples (past or present)

  • Lamar & Khloe Odom
  • Ben Harper & Laura Dern
  • Billy Bob Thornton & Cynda Williams
  • Chris Ivery & Ellen Pompeo
  • Bruce Sudano & Donna Summer
  • Clint Eastwood & Dina Ruiz
  • David Bowie & Iman
  • Gabriel Aubry & Halle Berry
  • George Lucas & Mellody Hobson
  • Kanye West & Kim Kardashian

Famous biracial people

  • Alicia Keys
  • Bob Marley
  • Derek Jeter
  • Eartha Kit
  • Halle Berry
  • Malcolm X’s mother is said to have been biracial

 

JETSETTER | Jonathan DeLise

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