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October 31, 2005
A Thin Line Between Art and Violence
Los Angeles neighbourhood activists took on Paramount Pictures over billboards promoting 50 Cent's upcoming film, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. The billboard depicts 50 Cent holding a microphone in one hand and a gun in the other. Astonishingly, one of the billboards was situated near a pre-school in an area affected by gang violence.
Fortunately, Paramount acquiesced and the billboards were removed. Not sure if this was an act of corporate responsibility or a saavy PR move (is there a difference?)
What's interesting is that the creators of the billboard could argue that the image depicts the real-life choice 50 Cent, aka Curtis Jackson, had to make. On the one hand (quite literally) there is the violent world of gangs and drug dealing. On the other, there is fame via hip hop. Fair enough. Maybe the real issue is that 50 Cent and his entourage are trying to play it both ways. They want fame but not at the cost of losing their street cred. Sadly, in light of 50 Cent's unprecedented rise to stardom, it could be argued that one is not possible without the other.
50 Cent
Posted by Jason at October 31, 2005 10:14 AM
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Comments
Well written!!!!
Posted by: Benchley at November 4, 2005 2:24 PM