Watched the Hope for Haiti concert last night. Well done, but I found it annoying that the producers chose not to identify any of the performers or hosts. It wouldn’t have distracted from the importance of the ‘why’; I think it would have added gravitas by showing the world – especially Haitians – who participated. They bore witness for us; I wanted to know who they were. And it smacked of pretentiousness – the assumption was viewers knew who they were, and thus how important they were.
Thanks goodness Rolling Stone was liveblogging because otherwise I’d not have known that the man singing so beautifully, so movingly at the top of the show had a name. He is John Legend and I am now a fan. And Justin Timberlake with Matt Morris – a stunning bit of sweetness and harmony that made me want more. And Madonna can still sing. Who knew?
You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy. But you cannot have both.
It was refreshing to see celebritites dialing back their celebrity and letting the cause speak for itself. The NY Times seems to agree:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/23/arts/television/23watch.html?ref=arts
LikeLike
And . . . I still disagree. I found it jarring. And can’t help thinking of some Hatian family watching and not knowing who they were watching (the kids would know of course) and therefore being puzzled by the entire enterprise.
LikeLike
You’re joking, right? They don’t have homes or water and you think they’re watching TV? They may be the only people more in the dark than you regarding the world around them. But they have an excuse.
LikeLike