Let’s talk about it… The Voice

Nearly every year we gather round our televisions on a Saturday night and watch another talent show. We watch people sing their hearts out, cry, tell their (sob) stories and then we usually commentate on the show, whether it be through Twitter, Facebook or debating with those around us.

A lot of people think these shows are fixed and even though the public are asked to vote for who they would like to ‘keep’ on the show, not everyone is convinced that the most talented person wins, in fact it is a common belief that it is inevitable that the most marketable person win.

A show that tried to avoid this was the The Voice UK (based on the US hit show The Voice). The show had a unique stage of blind auditions where the judges had their backs turned to the singer, and would only turn around to take the singer through to the next round if their voice was good enough. The idea was that it would only be about the talent and this was the first time people began to get excited about a show who gave everyone a chance, no matter what age, sex, colour or better yet image. However, it is the second stage that has disappointed many.

In order to reduce the contestants down the final 20, each judge had to select two contestants to go up against each in other in a battle. After each battle it would be up to the judges to select the person they wanted to take through. This was the point where the show fell down. It was no longer about the voice but clearly about the age and look of the contestants. If you look at the majority of battles, nearly every time the younger contestant went through. Will.I.am make the choice of a contestant based on age due to who he was as a 17 year old. Foolishness.

This show has gone from being revolutionary, to being dry and banal and a matter of weeks. It hooked me on the auditions, but if the show isn’t really about “the voice” what is it about?

Love Me x

Let’s talk about it…… Basketball wives

So I did an earlier blog admitting that I suffered from an addiction to reality tv. Luckily as soon as I discussed my issue on here it seemed to wane. I still watched reality TV but not with the vigour that I once did and what I watched last night put me off even further. Basketball Wives is now in its fourth series, woop woop or womp womp (you choose) but no previous episode has sparked as much controversy, debate and even a law suit.

I won’t bore you with the intimate details of the bickering that is going on between the many cast members but I will say is that what I witnesses last night physically disgusted me. It seems as if the fact that something is being played on TV allows the participants to do exactly what they feel without any recompense or restriction. It also seems to give them a sense of invincibility as well.

A lot of commentators on this show have repeatedly made the point that the show’s characters (along with the characters of similar shows) bully, harass and abuse the other members in order to secure a “good” story line. Frankly, they seem to be out of control. In the episode just shown we saw a completely unnecessary violent attack against another cast member. Why do these programmes, especially basketball wives, feel the need to abuse a cast member for an entire series in the name of entertainment? I have watched many fights but this one was completely ridiculous and it shocked me that a women could think it was okay to slap another woman for no apparent reason and think nothing was wrong with this behaviour. She seemed to feel completely justified and in no way ashamed.

Well, the story doesn’t end there and thankfully the woman (who is not even a paid cast member) who assaulted another cast member is being sued. From watching the earlier episodes of the show I am convinced that the show’s producers maliciously orchestrated a situation which would lead to a fight, taking advantage of the fact that this non-cast member was desperate for the lime light. I hope this law suit will deter others from partaking in such foolishness.

I think the root of my offence to this situation is the fact that as a black women, I hate to see other black women portrayed as aggressive, ignorant and out of control as I have to live with the effects of such stereotypes in my day-to-day life and have attributes attached to me that are completely inaccurate. A show like this may be an opportunity to make a quick buck, but it should never be acceptable to make yourself look like a barbarian for money or fame. Unfortunately that seems to be a downfall for black women in these shows.

Below I have a picture of a fight from another episode. On this occasion it was deemed as acceptable to throw a bottle of wine in a packed restaurant because someone was called “loose”.

Kevin Hart

The name of this blog is mscarterloves not mscarterhates or mscarterdislikes so I have just named this blog after the man it is dedicated to. I have seen the above cartoon so many times and I promise you each time I view it I literally freeze with anger. I do not understand why as black women we are constantly abused, belittled and berated. This cartoon, posted by Kevin Hart on his facebook page, sends such a negative message about black women and, as usual, a black man has taken another opportunity to make/poke fun at black women.

Kevin Hart has continously denied that he posted this cartoon to his page. He posted a retraction stating that his assistant thought he was doing him a favour by posting the cartoon. Why would you assistant think that cartoon was okay if you had not already given him the impresssion that you agreed with its message? Please. Blah Blah Blah. I am not convinced.

Why would Kevin Hart think it was okay to publicly berate black women by a co-signing a cartoon which present black women as unattractive, overweight, aggressive and bitter and a white/light skin woman as more desirable than a dark skin one? Malcolm X once said that the Black Woman was the most desrespected individual in society and in 2012 his words are still relevant. How sad.

This is not the first time that Kevin Hart has been under fire. He tweeted the following:

As far as I am concerned, he is not a real man. How dare he tweet and post such hatred, especially when he has a darkskinned daughter, and is dark skinned himself. Give me a break. I do not understand why it became acceptable for black men to take swipes at black women rather than protect us. I just do not get it. His mother, his aunties, his sisters, his daughters are ALL black women. Does he hate himself that much he would bypass this so he could take such a unnecessary swipe?

I can promise you this, I will not be purchasing, watching or supporting any Kevin Hart films or projects. I think he forgot that the majority of people that buy into him actually are black women. What an idiot. As a community lets walk away from artists that behave like this. The fact that he tweeted such atorcities and then posted them shows that he is indeed a serial offender, and shows that in order to be funny, he needs to degrade women who look like me. So no, he will not be getting a PENNY of my money and any black woman out there should follow suit! That is all.

Below is a picture of Kevin Hart – please note how dark skinned he is.

Love me xx

Ms Carter Loves…… Ms Lauryn Hill

On Saturday, the living legend known as Ms Lauryn Hill graced London with her presence and performed for the first time in five years. She was absolutely amazing. When queuing up to get into the Indig02 many anxious fans discussed whether Ms Hill would “bring it” to this performance. It was as if all of us had bought our tickets at the peak of the excitement that Ms Hill was returning to London and now were nervously waiting outside with thoughts of her last few performance reviews being replayed in our minds. I was personally worried that she would not perform well, would not be vocally strong and to top it off would start with the diva antics.

I was so wrong. Ms Hill started strong and from the first note had us hanging on her every note. She performed each and every song from the Misducation album as well as her classic, “The Sweetest Thing.” She also went onto take us back with renditions of The Fugees classics and tributes to Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley. I watched in awe as she sang songs so close to my heart with the same raw emotional that seeped through her album. Songs such as Ex factor (which was my ultimate break song) have never touched me in the way they did that night. I have posted the best picture I managed to get of her but as you can imagine the vibe was so electric it was hard for me to stay still!!

I have listed her amazing set below and there is also a link to a website that has videos of her inspiring performance. However it is heartbreaking that after 15 years she still has not released a new album. Hopefully the next time she comes to perform it will be to share what she has been keeping from us all these years.

SETLIST

Killing Me Softly (Fugees)

Everything Is Everything (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

Light My Fire – The Doors

Concrete Jungle – Bob Marley

Forgive Them Father  (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

Final Hour (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

Zion (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

Sweetest Thing (Refugee AllStars, Love Jones Soundtrack)

When It Hurts So Bad (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

I Used to Love Him (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

Nothing Even Matters (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

Lost Ones (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

Ex Factor (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

Please Don’t Rock My Boat – Bob Marley

Jammin’  – Stevie Wonder

How Many Mics – Fugees

Fu-Ge-La – Fugees

Ready or Not – Fugees

Killing Me Softly – Fugees

Turn The Lights Down Low – Bob Marley feat. Lauryn Hill

Could You Be Loved – Bob Marley

Doo Wop (That Thing)  (Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

http://www.xclusiveszone.net/2012/04/video-lauryn-hill-live-at-indigo2-in-london/ (for videos)

Ms Carter Loves….. Urban Lawyers

Last week I attended an event run by Urban Lawyers for prospective trainee solicitors and trainee barristers. The Panel consisted of trainee solicitors, a solicitor who practices Caribbean law, a criminal solicitor and a criminal barrister. The event was very insightful and after each lawyer spoke about the route they took career wise they participating in an honest Q & A session.

If you have an interest in pursuing a career in law check out the link to the website below.

http://www.urbanlawyers.co.uk

Let’s Talk about it….. 2012

So I blinked and it was February, blinked again and it was March. Rubbed my eyes and it was Easter and 2012 was a third of the way through.

WOW! Time does fly! I was not that excited, more disappointed if I’m honest. I know at the beginning of the year (actually towards the end of December) a lot of us tweeted, facebooked and maybe even blogged about how amazing 2012 was going to be for us. I did not get over excited at that time but I really did believe that this was going to be a monumental year for me and when I realised it was Easter I had that weird feeling. I was sitting there think, “Oh cr*p, I have not achieved much.” I did have a plan for 2012 but some how I have been way laid and I’m assuming I am not the only one.

This blog is a word of encouragement for everyone who reads it. 2012 is far from over and there is more left to this year than what has passed. I promised myself that I would achieve a lot this year but even though I still need to take the first steps on some things, When I thought about it, I had made progress on others goals I had set myself. I may be a few months behind but now, more than ever, I am excited for what I can turn 2012 into. It may have had its low points BUT if I really want to, I can actually make this year the best I have ever had.

Whatever you promised that yourself that you would take up or put down, you still can. Easter signals the season of new beginnings so whatever you need to achieve you can do so before the end of 2012! Discipline is key but determination plays the biggest part. Someone told me that what I put in front of my eyes I will produce. It will not be easy, or straight forward to regardless of what has happened 2012 can be your year.

Put it this way, do you really want to get to 2013 and not have made any progress or at least tried?? I didn’t think so!

Get to it!

Love Me xx

MsCarterLoves…….. Illegal Activity

 

It took me a long time to watch this short film. I assumed it would be another story about isolated and dysfunctional black youth, criminality and simply play into stereotypes about young black people but I was wrong, very wrong. I get very annoyed when we allow producers and writers to create stories they believe provide insight to life on an estate or in the “ghetto” who fail to realise (or maybe do not even care) that their productions instead feed into negative mentalities offering no hope, redemption or any real challenging points for the viewers whose lives they are depicting.

Illegal Activity starts off as the type of film I described above but considering it was only 15 minutes I continued to watch. I may not like films that try to demonstrate the harsh realities of life on the roads but at the same time I believe that we do need to support projects like these that are started by young people.

As I sucked it up and continued to watch I realised that something was missing. I was struggling to connect the dots. This was not the film we have shown many times before with an obvious storyline, a beef that has been building up from the start and the obvious death and/or fight at the end. It was not a storyline or substance that the film lacked and so I felt compelled to watch. What you expect to see when you view this film, you will not see and this what compels you to watch.

This film makes a more powerful point in 14 minutes and 59 seconds that many UK films have done in just under 2 hours. You will see familiar faces such as Shystie and Sway but thankfully there are not any cringeworthy scenes of poor acting and throughout the film as the actors and actresses do the storyline justice.

I hope this film will challenge you as it touches on an issue which is crucial for the growth and development of our generation and the generations after us. My only complaint is that less than 50,000 people have watched this film and that is ridiculous. It is shame that the films with the most powerful message do not get the credit or publicity they deserve. Even if you watch the film and you disagree with the way the film makes it point you cannot deny that effort, time and creativity that has been invested in producing this film make it worthy of your time.

On a side note the film has a brilliant soundtrack that you can download for free at http://www.mixtapemadness.co.uk

If you don’t want to watch film you can watch the director’s cut here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teKQ20Gif38&feature=relmfu

Let me know what you think!!

Love Me xx

Health Kick – Weight Loss

So I get on the scales and they tell me I’m putting on weight!! I was shocked! I didn’t cry but I was upset because deep down I knew my diet had not been very healthy recently and so I wanted to drop some pounds asap! Starting a diet or a crazy gym fad isn’t always helpful in these situations because after you “Go Hard,” you usually put the same weight you killed yourself to lose right back on.

I decided to search for some easy habits I could implement into my day that would help me drop the weight without intruding on my day to day life. I found some really good tips and being the loving blogger that I am decided to share them with you!

1. Eat Breakfast! If you eat a high fibre cereal, oatmeal or porridge (with NO sugar!) in the morning you are less likely to over eat at lunch time. I never eat breakfast and by the time I get to lunch I am ready to stuff my face with anything I can find! Not good! Eating breakfast will ease this burden and mean that I am much more measured when eating my lunch.

2. Drink water! As you can see from my previous blog there are so many advantages to drinking water. If you make water your main drink and cut out the fizzy drinks and orange juices you will notice a difference. Fizzy drinks have sooo many calories and to make things worse you never feel full after drinking them. Even juices or smoothies aren’t helpful!

3. Don’t use the lift! I use the lift every day, I actually loathe walking up the stairs but if I walked up the lift everyday I would burn so many more calories then I do. Adding this to your routine is so easy and makes a big difference.

4. Eat more pepper. Eating peppers in your food gives it flavour but also temporarily increases your calorie burning (this will only work if you like pepper).

5. Get most of your calories before Noon. In the morning you should eat like a king and in the evening like a pauper. I love going to dinner and eating out after work but all I am going to do once I get home is sleep so none of the calories I consumed will be burned off. Try to minimise what you eat in the evening.

6. Snack on more fruit and veg. I tried this and it does work. I bought a small packet of tomatoes and ate them throughout the date and it prevented me from eating chocolate all day. Try it!

So there are my tips! If you are also putting on weight try these tips and let me know how your getting on, I will write again after a week and tell you guys if I have 1 implemented all of these habits and 2 lost any weight.

p.s. I am loving water at the moment!! So refreshing!

Love Me xx

Health Kick!! Water Update!!!

As you can see from the half empty water bottle above I have really been trying to up my water in take! At first it was very hard to drink more water simply because I kept forgetting that I needed to drink more! It’s hard to add something to your diet as you need to make it a habit. Once you do that it is easy!

I have not noticed any major changes as of yet, but with all things health related you need to be patient to feel the full effects. I found carrying a bottle around with me and putting one on my desk at work (as you can see above) really encouraged me to up my intake. Hopefully now I am drinking much more regularly I will be able to report back some lovely improvements!

Love Me xx

Let’s talk about it…. KONY 2012

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! So over the last week I was bombarded with Facebook posts and tweets from celebrities about Joseph Kony and Ugandan child soldiers as the majority of us were. Even when I tried to escape it, there were Blackberry Messenger profile pics, statuses and more people asking about what and who Kony was. You guys know me very well, I needed to know what the hype was all about so I typed in youtube.com, searched KONY 2012 and began to watch this overly spoken about video.

If you haven’t watched the video I will give you a chance to now:

Now as a previous Anthropology and Politics student I was immediately skeptical. The video is extremely basic, so basic that it is pure propaganda. Please do not think I am in support of Joseph Kony or the LRA but I cannot support a movement that fails to educate me about how these atrocities and this organisation came about. Should I be so naive to believe that by the removal of one man, the works of a 26-year-old organisation will crumble? I’m sorry I think not. I do not see how making Mr Kony famous will solve any of the historical/political and social problems his organisation has caused. This is an amazing piece of advertising, not a piece of political commentary as it should be.

In addition, I am of the belief that the US do not need to intervene to catch Mr Kony. There are functioning African governments and African armies which are more than capable of capturing this man. It is annoying that we believe it is acceptable for the US and UK governments to intervene in the political problems in Africa especially when they have failed numerous times to do so when previously requested (remember the Rwandan genocide).

The Invisible Children movement feeds on the human desire to “make a difference,” and to “feel part of something bigger and better than themselves.” I believe that these desires are brilliant and everyone should work towards meeting them, but these desires are not to be exploited. This campaign has very serious flaws that need to be addressed. The organisation knows how to make a very good film, but I need more than 26 minutes of tripe to convince me to cover my city with posters of Mr Kony when I sincerely doubt whether it will make a difference. Is this simply a pretty and polite way for the US government to enter Uganda after the discovery of billions of oil barrels?

As a human race, we need to take time to educate ourselves and test the hypothesizes presented to us before we simply become “sucked in.” Do not be swayed by the amount of views, “likes” and tweets about this movement – do your research and test it. Please remember that this organisation does more than raise awareness, it asks people to donate and participate and to me it is heartbreaking for people to put time and effort into a fundamentally weak cause when there are real causes out there that need help, support and funding.

Love Me xx