Feldman’s Kramer-Imus-like meltdown results in PodTech separation by “mutual agreement” |
Loading ...Bummer, don’t you just hate it when somebody you’ve said was funny and praised in the past does something really idiotic and unfunny? Welcome to the sinking ship I’m the unfortunate passenger in for this post.
Loren Feldman from 1938 Media pulled a Don Imus and Michael ‘Kramer’ Richards in one excruciating take by trying to imagine what a black TechCrunch would be like. For those who haven’t seen any of Feldman’s 1938 Media videos and don’t know the guy, Feldman is white.
Bad idea? Absolutely.
Even if Loren’s sketch had been funny — and because it wasn’t that’s the cardinal rule of comedy he violated — the timing was abysmal. Timing in comedy is everything and Lynne D. Johnson is the Senior Editor of Fastcompany.com who also happens to be an African American woman explains (Lynne’s blog pictured right):
It appears that Loren Feldman of 1938 Media believes that it’s still funny and totally acceptable to perform in black face in 2007. And it’s bad black face at that. I’ve never met anyone (in the ‘hood) who speaks as he does in this video he released today called, Technigga. The slang he uses and outfit he wears is not only meant to be a racist parody, but it’s also a throwback — as in, black people don’t speak or dress like that any longer.
Not even Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock or Howard Stern could have pulled off the lame sketch and made it funny. There is a tremendous amount of sensitivity to racism in all forms in this country right now and it’s spilling over into comedy thanks to bad comedians like Michael Richards, guilty of a exchanging racial barbs with a heckler.
What makes this type of material unfunny is best explained by Gena’s video (11 minutes):
I feel pain when a whole class of people are made a target for crude attempts of humor so that one person can gain a micro-meter of notoriety. Is fame really worth this cost?
No amount of money or fame is worth being labeled a racist unless, well, you are a racist. Now Loren has to deal with this storm cloud hanging over him for what? A two minute comedy sketch. High price to pay.
Feldman’s video and the ensuing debacle which involved follow-up video apologies of sorts (you can also watch the sequence of videos in question at this link) seem to have led to a “mutual agreement” to end Feldman’s working relationship with Podtech. So it’s not like it was just one video that made the levee break.
Also out is CEO John Furrier — not over Feldman’s video — because Podtech needed some different leadership and direction. Scoble is currently taking another one of his much deserved blog sanity breaks (it’s a wonder with your pace, Robert, that you don’t burn out more often), and is still hanging on at Podtech doing ScobleShow. He was vocally against Feldman’s video on Yahoo’s videoblogger group writing Monday, August 6 (note: must be a member of the videoblogger group to follow the link):
“I’ve already said that I didn’t like, or agree with, the video he posted (which wasn’t on a PodTech property, but did have a logo next to it).”
Should Podtech have parted ways with Feldman over this “experiment” as he labeled it? I’m going to take the cheap way out and say I’m glad that’s their business call and not mine. What do you think? Right to fire him over this experiment gone afoul or not? Or want to stay out of trying to Saturday Morning quarterback? If you side with Loren keeping his job, then some people will think you are soft on racism. If you side with Loren being fired, some people will assume you are soft on free speech. Ride the middle of the razor indeed.
At the end of the day, Podtech is a business and it has to make moves to satisfy customers and the bottom line.
I still believe Podtech is doomed but am rooting for them to find some way to plug all their holes. Why? Podcasting/videoblogging is a tough niche to make any serious money — I still haven’t figured it out (but keep trying) — and it seems like most comers to the dance of all skill levels and experience are stumbling. It would be great to see more businesses break through in this niche. Somebody will hit on the magic formula and the dam will break. Someday. When Adam Curry broke the Sirius deal (disclaimer: I own SIRI) for Podshow it seemed like the moment was arriving, but that show was a bust and it’s since been canceled.
Maybe when we all have more bandwidth and can more easily stream HD video. Not enough HD quality content out there and watching YouTube quality videos for anything longer than a couple minutes is painful.
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I have no clue who this guy is, and I think I’ve only been to the podtech site once, so this guy could be Corey Feldman for all I know. But to pull a stunt like this shows he’s a nobody, and pretty dumb.
Comment by orangecrush — August 18, 2007 @ 11:27 am PST
I can’t believe that a talented actor like Loren Feldman thought that the “blackface” video would fly as satire.
I think he did it to shove a stick up the ass of some of the sites like nigga.know, which Lynne d. Johnson seems to have no problem with.
Exhortations to “kill the bitch”, referring to white females (or black), are routine at that disgusting site.
Where is Johnson’s outrage over those?
Here’s a quote from nigga.know August 16– “WHY ALL THESE GOOFY ASS WHITE MOTHER____ERS LOOK AND DRESS THE SAME?”
I ask you, why is THAT okay? And nary a peep from Johnson. She seems to support this.
It’s sheer hypocrisy on her part and all the sheep who run like lemmings.
Loren will come out on top, I promise you.
Comment by Vince Williams — August 20, 2007 @ 8:36 am PST
Disclaimer:
I am a frequent contributor at 1938.media.
Comment by Vince Williams — August 20, 2007 @ 8:37 am PST
Full disclosure:
I’m part black AND gay.
Comment by Vince Williams — August 20, 2007 @ 9:00 am PST
Vince - it’s fair to point out racial hypocrisy, but that doesn’t take back it being a misguided joke, especially in the current climate as mentioned above where racial humor is under greater scrutiny. People can’t get past the person telling the joke. I wasn’t aware of the site you mentioned, but it sounds like the type of site I’d avoid anyway. What did you think of Gena’s video? Agree/disagree?
Comment by TDavid — August 20, 2007 @ 11:19 am PST
What was he thinking?
Comment by Sterling Camden — August 20, 2007 @ 11:48 am PST
TD, I mentioned the site nigga.com because Lynne d. Johnson spoke familiarly to the ‘guys’ over there from her own blog.
See, she thinks what they do is permissible. They’re also big homophobes with fouler mouths than Loren Feldman, any day.
Gena’s statement was measured and obviously heartfelt, but it doesn’t move me, because she demonizes Feldman and ignores the larger issues which include ALL racism, including the rampant misogyny and homophobia expressed in the most virulent hate speech at sites such as nigga.know, and in hip hop.
I don’t hear Loren Feldman calling for “bitches” and “faggots” to be killed, unlike Lynne’s friends over there at a truly, racist, hate-filled site.
I think Gena is sadly mistaken when she says Loren has ‘paved’ this road. Nonsense.
She talks about him ‘toxing’ up the joint. I’d like to know why the hate speech directed against whites, women, and gays from hip-hop artists and such hate sites as nigga.know doesn’t register on her radar.
She’s talks about ‘psychic blood’ being drawn by the ‘boogeyman’.
What about the real calls for blood at nigga.com?
They don’t rate a mention in Gena’s s soliloquy.
I agree with her about one thing, though– it’s definitely time to “flood the sons of bitches with Light.”
Shine that Light on nigga.know, too, Gena, then I’ll believe you.
Comment by Vince Williams — August 20, 2007 @ 12:34 pm PST
I said nigga.com when I meant nigga.know.
Comment by Vince Williams — August 20, 2007 @ 12:54 pm PST
Gena does say early on in the video and I’m paraphrasing that we can’t blame this all on “people like Loren.” Being Gena doesn’t know Loren (I don’t think) and she’s not taking his body of work into account, I think she’s doing him some bit of disservice. You can’t effectively measure any artist, actor, sculptor, painter, programmer, webmaster, etc on any one work unless they only produce one work like Helen Hooven Santmyer who wrote And Ladies of the Club.
Instead, it’s important to look at the collection and draw conclusions from the work there. I suspect those who like Loren’s work like yourself Vince will continue to follow him and some of those who are more part time fans (like me) will be the ones he loses — or pushes to the edge of even more part time fans
Maybe Gena will follow along with the conversation, stop by and further clarify. If the springboard for talking about the issues Gena specifically cites — and paint that brush across all forms of racism (not just racism against African Americans) was Loren’s video, that is at least one positive thing coming out of the work.
I just wish we could learn as a world of human beings to truly love each other regardless of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
Comment by TDavid — August 20, 2007 @ 1:13 pm PST
Actually, correction, I just learned Ms. Santmyer created four other novels and one collection of essays. So not even she, who is credited as taking some 50 years to produce her 1,334 page bestselling novel, produced only one work.
Comment by TDavid — August 20, 2007 @ 1:18 pm PST
[…] Schlomo Rabinowitz, videoblogger, CNET video producer, bar owner, and freelance enabler to the stars talked about his recent projects, the Winnies, Vloggercon, and the Loren Feldman affair. […]
Pingback by Schlomo Rabinowitz and Jonny Goldstein on the Par-tay Right Here at 9PM EST, Aug 22 | jonnygoldstein.com — August 24, 2007 @ 8:02 pm PST