Belafonte: Jay-Z, Beyonce ‘turned their back on social responsibility’
ABOVE PHOTO: Beyonce and Jay-Z.
(Photo by Featureflash/Shutterstock)
eurweb.com
At the Locarno Film Festival to receive the event's Golden Leopard Honor Award, the legendary Harry Belafonte spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on a number of issues – including his belief that minority celebrities need to do more these days to bring awareness to social ills.
They have turned their back on social responsibility. That goes for Jay-Z and Beyoncé, for example," said Belafonte, 85. "Give me Bruce Springsteen, and now you're talking. I really think he is black."
Below is the Q&A in its entirety, including the entertainer's thoughts about his activism, views on U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney and what he sees as this age's biggest enemy.
The Hollywood Reporter: Your acting career is less known than your singing career. What does an Honor Award from a film festival mean to you?
Harry Belafonte: Such awards, coming from culture and societies where I do not linger, are a validation that there was a global receptivity to the fact that I have taken a stand against war, taken a stand against racism, sexism and so on, throughout the years. While at home somepeople would want to crucify me because of my political position, I am alsobeing honored for what I do, and that validation is extremely important.
THR: Has the world changed for activists like you?
Belafonte: Definitely. Back then, the enemies were very clear, very precise. It is easy to fight oppression if it comes in [the form of] a swastika and a boot and as a dictator, and you can see it and feel it and touch it. It is easy when there is a sign that says "No N——" or "No Jews." Where it becomes the most insidious is when it buries itself and you can no longer touch it, but taste that yet it is there, fully blown, doing insane mischief. That is why I think the period now is the most challenging I've ever lived in. The power in many societies has become almost absolute. Those whohave the power in the free enterprise system start to crush societies and create wars that are unholy. What we did during the Bush period, what we still continue to do, even with Barack Obama, is the continuance of not changing the paradigm, of not changing the view. We still have laws that encourage torture, we did not change Guantanamo, we have laws that allow the police to arrest you at any time, not having to tell you why, and take you wherever they want. This kind of capitalism is taking us to the doorstep of [a] Fourth Reich, I think.
THR: Would you want Mitt Romney to become the next U.S. president?
Belafonte: Only if I would like to see the end of civilization. No, absolutely not, Mitt Romney is not my cup of tea at all.
THR: Can you pin down what the enemy is nowadays?
Belafonte: Unbridled capitalism. The concentration of money in the hands of a very small group is the most dangerous thing that has ever happened to civilization. We are facing an oligarchy of force. Just look at who controls the press. We all witnessed how money and power squeezed out all essence of Rupert Murdoch and [Silvio] Berlusconi. Thank God for social media, which aids transparency, but even that becomes more and more restricted now, with companies like Facebook buying up all the roots of this technology. But I am currently involved with two documentaries, one Lead Belly: Legend, Life, Legacy and the other Another Night in the Free World, which I am shooting now for about five months. It is globally looking at the youth movement during the Arab Spring, looking at what happened in Cairo and Tunisia, and now in Syria.
THR: Back to the occasion of the award for your acting career. Are you happy with the image of members of minorities in Hollywood today?
Belafonte: Not at all. They have not told the history of our people, nothing of who we are. We are still looking. We are not determinate. We are not driven by some technology that says you can kill Afghans, the Iraqis or the Spanish. It is all – excuse my French – shit. It is sad. And I think one of the great abuses of this modern time is that we should have had such high-profile artists, powerful celebrities. But they have turned their back on social responsibility. That goes for Jay-Z and Beyoncé, for example. Give me Bruce Springsteen, and now you're talking. I really think he is black.
+ Top Story
An unconventional biopic based on the life of playwright, author, activist Lorraine Hansberry, is in development, with long time collaborators Taye Hansberry, and Numa Perrier penning the script to a film that will star Taye in the title role
As if you’re not all already excited about the upcoming third season of the series, BBC One has released a full synopsis for the first episode which sets things up, and kick off the four-episode season, next month (for those in the UK), and in September (for those in the USA).
To my generation, Superman was just “a strange visitor from another planet” who was “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound“ in “a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.”
Sirius XM Radio recently announced that it will launch “Richard Pryor Radio,” a three-day channel devoted to the barrier-breaking comedian and entertainer beginning Friday, June 7 at 1:00 pm ET on The Foxxhole, Jamie Foxx’s 24/7 exclusive comedy and entertainment SiriusXM channel.
Born in New York on May 17, 1976, Rochelle Aytes is quickly establishing herself as one of Hollywood’s brightest starlets with an impressive film and television career on the rise. Rochelle is now starring on “Mistresses,”...
VH1 has announced that Kevin Hart has been named the host of the third annual Philly 4th of July Jam, as part of the Wawa Welcome America! Festival - an event that will be simulcast on VH1 and Palladia on Thursday, July 4 from 8-11pm ET.
Bounce TV (www.bouncetv.com), the nation’s only broadcast television network for African Americans, announced last week its first-ever slate of upfront programming plans, including original new scripted and non-scripted series, series renewals...
There seems to be serious trouble in the Jackson family. Legendary star Michael Jackson’s 15-year-old daughter, Paris Jackson, was rushed to the hospital around 2AM on Wednesday for treatment following an overdose in a suicide attempt, according to reports.