William Hung: target of racism?

[mrnoodle]

It was bound to happen. Someone finally put forth the premise that William Hung isn't famous for being cluelessly bad, he's become a willing participant in Asian-American racism .

I think it's a load of crap. I personally root for William Hung because he has the balls to make the most out of a potentially embarrassing situation. If you ask me, he's laughing all the way to the bank. By coming off as soooo sincere about his "music", he reinforces his clueless image, which is his selling point. The kid's one smart cookie. While we wring our hands about whether or not he's being victimized, he's happily depositing our money into his checking account.

Go William Hung. Shaddup P.C. police.

[OnyxCougar]

Who is William Hung?

I know, American Idol. But I don't watch it.

[mrnoodle]

I was listening to the cavernous silence when it occurred to me...no one cares.....

[ladysycamore]

"They're laughing at him -- I know that," said Li, touching on the racist nature of the exploitation. "And, if it stretches out, the negativity will dominate. Someone has to draw the line. Prolonging the process will make it a big debacle."

Amazing at what passes for entertainment nowadays.
I must be getting old...

The author of the article brought up very good points, and he included a lot of those who are in "favor" of this...whatever it is, because it sure as hell isn't singing (nor is it bearable).

I mean, come ON: I can see where they play up the joke for a while, and then let it go...but to give this poor man a record deal??? When there are tons of legitimate artists out there trying to get signed? And TV appearances and so forth? It's mind blowing:

"For a taste of the Hung hype, get a load of a press release by Alan Grunblatt, general manager and executive vice president of Koch Records, which states, in part, "William is the perfect artist for our culturally diverse society. He is the new Elvis!""

*shaking head* Words fail...

This guy, Emil Guillermo (the author) wrote another great article:

Dean The Scream, John Kerry And the Invisible Ethnic Vote
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...eguillermo.DTL

[lookout123]

ah, one man's art...

many people said the same thing about robert maplethorpe's photography.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally posted by lookout123
ah, one man's art...

many people said the same thing about robert maplethorpe's photography.

And they were right,...then and now.

[lookout123]

Originally posted by xoxoxoBruce
And they were right,...then and now.

yep, i may find it to be in poor taste - but that doesn't mean it isn't valuable art to another.

so let hung have his 15 minutes, what does it really hurt?

[godwulf]

There's nothing especially new about a really bad singer developing a cult following.

I know that at least some of you have to be old enough to remember the late Herbert Khaury (aka 'Tiny Tim')...there was also a middle-aged woman named Mrs. Miller who did a couple of albums at about the same time.

I've never actually heard this Hung fellow sing. Is he any worse than Leonard Nimoy belting out 'Proud Mary'?

[mrnoodle]

He is. But it's an audio/visual thing. You have to see the attempts at Ricky Martinesque choreography and the way he can sing an entire song without any facial expression whatsoever.

No one has any thoughts on the racism angle? For those too lazy to click the link, the premise is this: We have taken the bad-singer-as-cult-hero theme too far in the case of Wm. Hung. We are continuing to make fun of him not because he's bad, but because his facial features and voice reinforce negative Asian stereotypes a la '40s Bugs Bunny cartoons. I think it's p.c. garbage. No argy-ments?

[Happy Monkey]

There's some truth to the article, but if he's got no problem, I've got no problem. I'm no fan of professional outrage.

[ladysycamore]

Originally posted by mrnoodle
He is. But it's an audio/visual thing. You have to see the attempts at Ricky Martinesque choreography and the way he can sing an entire song without any facial expression whatsoever.

No one has any thoughts on the racism angle? For those too lazy to click the link, the premise is this: We have taken the bad-singer-as-cult-hero theme too far in the case of Wm. Hung. We are continuing to make fun of him not because he's bad, but because his facial features and voice reinforce negative Asian stereotypes a la '40s Bugs Bunny cartoons. I think it's p.c. garbage. No argy-ments?

I saw where the author of the article was coming from. And there is a point to be made about the Asian stereotypes. There doesn't seem to be a lot of hard core positive ones out there to cancel out the bad. Sure, there is Jackie Chan, Jet Lee, Ming Tsai, Lisa Ling, Lucy Lu, and some others I'm sure I'm missing.

If people think that the public is loving William Hung just because he's funny, and not taking into account the broken English...well there is still that bridge in Brooklyn that needs selling.