Entertainer - by Blue

[blue]

Entertainer

By Blue / Ben W. ~ 2006-05-22;

Livin' large

He's got the moves

The guy's in charge

He's got the grooves

Show 'em, son

Sing and dance

Act and pantomime

Put 'em in a trance

Smile real big

Put on a show

Shake that thing

Look at him go

Boy's got grace

Boy's got style

Look at his face

An' see him smile

He's got charisma

What a charmer

He'll show 'em how

The man's gettin' warmer

Acts on stage

Subtle down, hams it up

Acts on screen

On the mark, cues it up

Diss him why?

You're just jealous

You can't sing and dance

Like the other fellas

Girls adore him

Boys admire him

Who is that dude?

A true entertainer!

[Tragic Rabbit]

Hmm...I'd personally rather you wrote poems in a speaking style that fit you better, Blue, no offense meant. Esp as this one is a sort of quasi-Black-urban thing and, well, you're pretty White. The various slang words come from different eras and locales, which I'm sure adds to the dissonance I'm experiencing. But I'm glad you've starting writing, or at least sharing what you write. The poem comes off kind of like an oldstyle blackface routine, the kind with white folks acting like fools aka 'Negroes'.

Can you try writing more from Blue's own headspace?

Kisses...

TR

[Josiah Jacobus-Parker]

Well I liked it. :p

[Guest rusticmonk86]

Maybe it's time we should ask you what you meant.

Before others become more vehement, for spent words, still unheard, perhaps. Intent is nine tenths in this side of the forum's walls.

Don't be koalas.

But this is Blue's fourth poem. He tried something different. I wanna know:

What did you mean by this piece? What images were you drawing from?

------------------

Generally the word "son" is a PC trigger. It refers to old white men called Colonel Sanders, and a young black man named Tom who answers "mas'a" when he's addressed as "boy" or "son". Tom later purchases a cabin and becomes an uncle, by the way.

------------------

While I am positive you didn't mean anything racist, I'm gonna take this at face value.

It's, um, catchy. And very 50's. The cheese factor on this poem is . . . well, I broke three meters. :p Actually, it sounds more like a cheer, theme or something. The point of view seems a little off-tune, though. You're making progress.

Keep writing.

.

[blue]

Hey, I appreciate the criticism...I think. I'm really surprised at the direction of some of it, though.

This was the first one I've written that keeps to a rhyme scheme, except the last stanza, and makes an attempt at meter...maybe.

I have quite a few poems I haven't posted, which are the freeform style I usually use.

Yup, the cheese factor is... well, somewhere between Cheez Whiz and that other "processed cheese" for sandwiches.

TR said I'm pretty! Squee! Yeah, I am pretty White, I admit.

My inspiration? A thread on another forum was discussing the pros and cons of a video of a group of high schoolers doing Madonna's "Vogue" for a talent show.

Here's the video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6rBcVyMcYM

Personally, I thought they all did great and thought it was fun, and a little courageous.

So...blame Madonna and talent show videos. Those were the inspirations. (That, and comments made about friends of mine, long ago.)

What was my take on the video? Here's a quote of my reply:

Is he chubby? Yeah, so? -- It doesn't have to be a bad word.

Is he gay or straight? Dunno. -- Looks to me like he's dancing.

Great video. -- He's doing great. They're all pretty good.

-----

Thinking back to two friends of mine, who were called gay, just because they were in dance, mime, theatre, or cheerleading.

The forum thread is in the GLBT section of a very positive forum.

-----

---

What did I mean when I wrote the poem?

It's observations on being a singer, dancer, and entertainer. Nothing vast and mysterious, it says what it means. I was having fun with it.

Um, no, I had no intention of "son" in that sense, nor Uncle Tom or blackface (?!). Guys, ugh, that's not the kind of guy I am. I honestly don't get how you came to that conclusion.

I wasn't trying to be all Urban-Black White-Boy. I can see how you might read the slang as trying for "white suburban rapper," but I wasn't.

No brooding, no homophobia, no slurs against anybody. -- Read it as "slightly geeky white boy" instead. Better now? -- Good natured good fun.

I was just going for something fun about going out, having a good time, and to fit the rhyme scheme.

I was enjoying seeing a video of a bunch of kids having fun and trying to entertain. I thought they did a great job. So I wrote a poem to celebrate that.

Why not set aside those assumptions, watch the video, reread the poem, and then see what you think of it?

:shrugs: Geez, guys. :(

[Codey]

I like it too. A good simple fun poem. Keep doing it Blue. You don't have to have some strong emotion behind every poem. Some poems are meant to just be happy little diddys.

Codey

[dude]

I have to add my comments to Codey's... This was originally posted during a time I was majorly distracted or I would have jumped in.

I like this... for what it is... an attempt to 'swing loose' which we WASP males often find so hard to do.

Question: Is the entertainer Clay Aiken, William Hung or a closeted teen idol, Blue himself?

:p

Mike

[DesDownunder]

It's observations on being a singer, dancer, and entertainer. Nothing vast and mysterious, it says what it means. I was having fun with it.

Um, no, I had no intention of "son" in that sense, nor Uncle Tom or blackface (?!). Guys, ugh, that's not the kind of guy I am. I honestly don't get how you came to that conclusion.

:(

I read it as a simple observation of an entertainer and thought it was indeed quite "fun".

As for son being a term of condescension, in my experience it is not restricted to race issues as older white folk address young white males with it all the time usually to assert a postion of dominance. I sufferred it all the time when I was growing up. "Dont call me "son", was almost always a phrase of the day for me.

Blue's rather innocent use of it in the poem only caused me an ire factor of 4 on a scale 10. :)

The movie by the way has been removed from Youtube.

I like dude's idea of it being an attempt to"swing loose".