One Good Thing About Weinergate

I am well aware that the ongoing saga of Anthony Weiner’s sexting has been over-covered by every type of news and entertainment media imaginable.  I figure that my two cents can’t hurt.

As of this writing, Weiner has not done anything illegal so all of the coverage is mostly a big waste of time.  However, there has been one good thing to come out of Weinergate and I hope that men are paying close attention.

Women do not, I repeat DO NOT, want to see your private parts.  There is a reason that they are called “private parts.”  I am pleasantly surprised by how many media outlets have written in-depth articles on that point particularly after Weinergate.  The likes of Joel Stein of Time Magazine, Monica Hesse of the Washington Post and Bill Maher of HBO have reporters that have spent time trying to explain this to the plethora of men around the world who need to be enlightened.

What happens to Weiner at this point his between him and his wife; and him and his constituents.  I only hope that his plight has in some way curbed the number of unwanted and unrequested penis pictures sent through cyber pace.

Comedians and Docs

Comedians seem to be the supermodels of the millennium.  They are hosting radio shows, presenting the news and even winning seats in congress.  Recently, some comedians have even wandered into the realm of documentary production.  And I don’t mean documentaries about themselves working as comedians.  They are producing documentaries tackling serious subjects.

In 2008, Bill Maher produced Religulous, a documentary starring himself travelling around the world asking people about their religious views in an effort to understand why people believe in a higher power.  He clearly had an agenda: prove through comedy that people who believe in God are stupid. While the movie was funny and thought provoking, his obvious bias was sometimes distracting.  Michael Moore is also no fan of objective film-making. And while I enjoy his movies as well, I don’t always trust so-called facts presented in such a staunch one-sided view. You can view the Religulous trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdkyLrDpaUg.

Chris Rock’s soon to be released Good Hair, takes a look at black women’s quest for straight , long hair and the internationally multi-billion dollar industry that supports it.  The movie will hit theaters in about a week but the trailer has already created a national discussion about African-American hair.  Perhaps Rock’s appearance on Oprah had something to do with it.  At any rate, the subject matter is both touchy and niche specific – two adjectives that can often keep films from being made.  Rock’s daughter motivated him to make the documentary when she called a friend’s hair “good.”  As a black American with natural hair, I can only hope Rock’s documentary is eye-opening and insightful and doesn’t just go for the cheap laugh.  Take a look at the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m-4qxz08So.

I hope more comedians make documentaries.  It could be good for the genre.  My thinking is, if the big name stars bring people out to theaters to see one documentary, perhaps those same people will come back to see more.  Perhaps they will watch different types of documentaries.