Femme Fatale: Nicki Minaj and The Promotion of Hedonism in a Time of Activism By Demetric Muhammad
In 2014 the names Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Jordan Davis and Renisha McBride are a part of a growing list of martyrs. They are martyrs of the struggle of Black people in America to get justice. Their murders have produced a painful awakening of the masses who had been lulled to sleep under the false notion that we were now in a “postracial” America. This awakening has caused a renewed season of activism throughout America. Protests, demonstrations and expressions of solidarity have taken place throughout the country and the problem of racism and what it produces of Black suffering is once again a part of the national discourse. For too long the policy of benign neglect that was designed by Daniel Patrick Moynihan during the Nixon administration has kept the plight of Blacks in America from having any kind of prominent position among the issues of the day. Moynihan wrote in a memo to President Nixon dated January 16, 1970: “The time may have come when the issue of race could benefit from a period of "benign neglect. “The subject has been too much talked about. Moynihan’s memo is at the root of the lack of attention given to Black issues in American politics from the 1970’s onward to today. Moynihan believed that “Negro progress” could continue if “racial rhetoric fades.” The problem with that philosophy is that it conflicts with the sage wisdom that states “whatever is out of
www.researchminister.com
Page 1
sight, will soon become out of mind.” His memo is also at the root of the marginalization of the strong Black leaders who have boldly challenged the American institution of white supremacy on all fronts. Events like the killing of unarmed Black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri forces racism into the national spotlight. For sure the protests in the aftermath have accomplished 2 necessary developments. For one it has awakened the young, whom demographers call millennials, to the very ugly realities of racism and white supremacy that most thought were relics of the past during their parents and grandparents time. And it has forced a national discussion about race. In fact the ignored “elephant in the room” of racism has even been acknowledged by Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who recently described America as having a “real race problem.” These are developments that should be encouraged and continued. It is in the country’s best interest to have an alert, politically active and socially conscious young generation. That is the only way to ensure that the democratic ideals of a pluralistic society, wherein the existence of government is a result of the consent of the governed, are carried out. Most folks fail to have an appreciation for the fact that the theory of democracy presupposes that the electorate is sufficiently aware and sophisticated enough in its thinking to actually make choices that are in its best interest. There is no way to consent to the actions of one’s government in an ignorant or “dumbed down” state. And with the high rates of functional illiteracy throughout America that are borne of an educational system ranked 36th out of 65 countries, some have argued that the “consent of the governed” is being manufactured. Helping to facilitate the dumbing down of the American people is what we see as the deterioration in the role of popular culture as an agent for the social consciousness of the youth. Millennials, who have an ever eroding respect for traditional instructions like church, school and elders, primarily extract their basic attitudes about life from an environment dominated by popular culture. I reflected upon this when I began to read more and more articles about how the protests in Ferguson, Missouri were sparking similar reactions around the world. At the same time as young people were awakening to the harsh realities of police brutality and demanding justice for Michael Brown, the music industry releases the sexually charged track of rapper Nicki Minaj entitled “Anaconda.” The song and video demonstrate powerfully the severe disconnect of the country’s most popular artists from the important issues that their own fans have begun to fight in the streets. I think her fans would have much rather seen Nicki travel to Ferguson, Missouri to use the power of her celebrity to lend greater credibility and star power to the cause of justice for Michael Brown. If she didn’t want to go to Ferguson like her rapper colleagues J. Cole and Talib Kweli, she could have followed the lead of the ensemble group of MC’s (The Game, Diddy, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Fabolous, Yo Gotti, Wale, Swizz Beatz, Curren$y, Problem, DJ Khaled, King Pharaoh & TGT) who put out the track entitled Don’t Shoot and used her considerable skill as an MC to release her own song to support the cause.
www.researchminister.com
Page 2
But instead her beauty and talent were used by the decision makers in the music industry to release a sexually charged video and song that has drawn criticism for its sexually explicit lyrics and video content. It’s difficult to know what input Nicki as an artist had in making the decision to release the song at this time and to maintain her politically neutral image. But in the music industry, the buck doesn’t stop with the artists. Artists are used by giant corporations who not only have their hands in the music industry, but also make money by investing in the weapons industry and the private prison industry. There is much information available that exposes the grim reality that most of our artists function as highly paid slaves, who have no real freedom to choose what to do with their time, talent or money. Just recently we saw the vehement hatred of Morton Klein and other Jewish groups against Dwight Howard for having the audacity to post on his twitter account “Free Palestine.” Howard was forced to take his tweet down and to apologize for even commenting on international politics. Klein said of Howard that “he should be publicly condemned as strong as Donald Sterling was.” Black athletes and entertainers are always threatened if they become “political.” Olympians John Carlos and Tommie Smith; Boxing Champ Muhammad Ali, NBA 3-Point Champion Craig Hodges; Actor Harry Belafonte, and Scholar, Athlete and Actor Paul Robeson are just a few of the many athletes and entertainers whose careers were inured as a result of their activism and fight against important causes and issues of their day. The music industry obviously seeks to use Nicki Minaj as a femme fatale to re-direct popular sentiment away from activism and more toward hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure). The dictionary defines femme fatale as a stock character of a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to entrance and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, vampire, witch, or demon, having power over men. The phrase is French for "fatal woman". A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure. One of the most popular femme fatales in history is Biblical in origin. In the life of the Bible’s strongest man, Samson, it was Delilah who brought Samson to his ruin at the hands of his enemies by discovering the secret of his strength. In Samson’s case, the secret of his strength was in his hair. Delilah seduced Samson to learn that Samson was forbidden to have his hair cut or otherwise he would lose his strength. After
www.researchminister.com
Page 3
learning the secret of his strength, she told his enemies who proceeded to cut Samson’s hair and burn out his eyes. The Biblical tale offers an intriguing and beautiful narrative that illustrates some profound and enduring principles. The loss of Samson’s strength through the cutting of his hair speaks to the reduction of a man’s ability to think rationally and unemotionally as a result of being under the influence of the sexual allure of a beautiful woman. And when a man persists in such a state, he can become blind to how an over indulgence in physical pleasures weakens him in all other areas of his life. And while this Delilah tactic has been used throughout history to seduce and reduce the power of great men, Robert Greene educates us on how seduction may be weaponized against the masses of a nation. Seduction is the ultimate form of power. Those who give in to it do so willingly and happily. There is rarely any resentment on their part; they forgive you any kind of manipulation because you have brought them pleasure, a rare commodity in the world. With such power at your fingertips, though, why stop at the conquest of a man or woman? A crowd, an electorate, a nation can be brought under your sway simply by applying on a mass level the tactics that work so well on an individual. The only difference is the goal—not sex but influence, a vote, people's attention—and the degree of tension. When you are after sex, you deliberately create anxiety, a touch of pain, twists, and turns. Seduction on the mass level is more diffuse and soft. Creating a constant titillation, you fascinate the masses with what you are offering. They pay attention to you because it is pleasant to do so. The music industry’s release of songs such as “Anaconda” and its promotion of the female rapper as the temptress is part of a designed plan to seduce the youth. The seduction of young minds through the mainstreaming of a decadent culture with an over emphasis on sex and sensual pleasures, works to impair their ability to have any interest or insight into politics, economics, domestic or international issues. In a 2012 interview with HipHopDX, rapper Too Short describes what he went through when he pitched an idea to do a positive Too Short album to record executive Barry Weiss. I wanted to do a whole album of positive Too Short songs, just to keep that balance. I had made a verbal deal with Barry Weiss, where he was like, “Right now would be the perfect time, you should do like the raunchiest Too Short album ever – the album cover, the songs, just do a dirty fuckin’ Too Short album.” This is the executive running the company advising me to put out an entire album of just cursing and sex. Too Short’s candid admission is some of the best evidence available of the music industry’s deliberate prioritization of profit over people. The fact that millions of young people would be influenced to engage in the risky and anti-social sexual practices depicted in Too Short’s songs mattered none to Mr. Weiss. The fact that Too Short wanted to produce and album that would steer his young audience in the way of being positive, responsible and socially conscious American citizens mattered none to Mr. Weiss. Mr. Weiss and the other music industry executives like him are guilty of what the Holy Qur’an describes as “making mischief with created things.”
www.researchminister.com
Page 4
The mischief produced by the cultivation of the idea of hedonism, which is defined is the devotion of one’s life to the pursuit of pleasure has been identified by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as a Satanic ploy to divert the public from the fall of America. In his all-encompassing yearlong webcast series The Time and What Must Be Done, the Minister offered the following precision analysis. Now, you’re making millions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of dollars, singing and dancing—and displaying your nudist parts; filling the world with debauchery and sex. But, you’re rich! And your “richness” makes you think that what you’re displaying and what you’re doing is “morally correct.” You sing the filthiest songs; you do the lewdest of dances…. Even sexual activity is called "Play." The whole idea of "Sport and Play" is a diversion to divert you away from what? To keep you blind to 'The Time and What Must Be Done', if we are to escape loss. …Nebuchadnezzar used 'Sport and Play' and music to divert people's attention away from the fall of Babylon. My beloved musicians and rappers, and my great artists and cultural icons, you great athletes, you fascinate the world with the majesty of your playing but every time we look at a game, we spend hours of diversion. We look at a fight, hours of diversion. We look at Sport and Play as diversion and while our head is watching the majesty of the talented people of God, we're diverted away from the suffering that's going on all around us. We're diverted from the crashing dollar that is falling. We are diverted from the soon to come crashes of the stock market. We're diverted from the suffering of our own poverty and lack of necessities; but soon (comes), the Shock of the Hour, you won't be able to watch a game. This is the time in which we live. The guidance of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan to our athletes and entertainers should be carefully studied and widely distributed. The Minister is an advocate for the protection and proper use of the God given talents that our artists possess. What is taking place with our sister Nicki Minaj and how she is being used to sell pleasure during a time of struggle is a furtherance of what for too long we have permitted and accepted of art and entertainment that is completely detached from the struggle of the masses. This misuse of music and entertainment literally weaponizes the artistic ability of Black entertainers against the aspirations of their people for justice and equality. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has called for the unity of Black athletes and entertainers. The time for the heeding of that call is now. If our athletes and entertainers unite and organize around principles of social uplift, they will produce what preachers, teachers and parents have been unable to do. They will raise the mentally asleep masses of aimless and misdirected youths by the millions. But who among them will be courageous enough to work to make this a reality? -30-
www.researchminister.com
Page 5