Those who know me personally know that I have always been a huge fan of Erykah Badu's since day one. I like her because she is raw, real, and cutting edge. I currently reside in her neck of the woods (Dallas, Texas) and I have gotten know a bit more about her personally as a result. With all of that said I am perplexed by her latest escapade. A friend of mine who also resides in the city telephoned me to inquire if I had heard about what Erykah had done, to which I replied no. My friend went on to explain that Erykah had stripped down to her "birthday suit" in Dealey Plaza. For those who do not know, Dealey Plaza is the location of John F. Kennedy's assassination.The video was taped in front of a live audience, which included children, which was kind of upsetting. However what was even more shocking is how the video ended. The video ends with her being shot down outside of the Dallas Book Depository (the place where Oswald was when he allegedly fired the fatal shots). Erykah says she was protesting the sociological concept of "Groupthink". Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically, testing, analyzing and reviewing ideas.
Individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking are lost in the pursuit of group cohesiveness, as are the advantages of reasonable balance in choice and thought that might normally be obtained by making decisions as a group. During groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking. A variety of motives for this may exist such as a desire to avoid being seen as foolish, or a desire to avoid embarrassing or angering other members of the group. Groupthink may cause groups to make hasty, irrational decisions, where individual doubts are set aside, for fear of upsetting the group’s balance. Taking everything into consideration, did Erykah Badu go too far?
I saw the video, which has since been removed from You Tube. Click here to read more.
5 comments:
What is too far? I'm actually more interested in how she thought such actions were a challenge to "group think." I'm not saying they aren't, but group think usually exists around a specific consensus or concept... not as a general condition. What particular case of group think was she challenging and how did she think to break it?
Interesting and great post, nonetheless. Thanks!
Comments submitted via Facebook:
Ann Halsey said:
I also am a huge fan! I don't think she went too far as far as the message she was trying to convey. Should she maybe have warned some people so there were not children there - perhaps!
Angela Goldring Dion said:
"Yes, too far, in my opinion, especially with kids present and especially since it doesn't really convey anything about groupthink"
What won't celebrities do to brighten their respective star?
What? You mean Badu's telepathy kung fu wasn't strong enough to forewarn children that some loopy lady was about to get butterball naked and fake assassination in the place where an American President was murdered?
Shame.
I don't find it to be too disrespectful to the President. We're living in an era where it's "okay" to make movies of and write novels about George W. Bush being assassinated. A Presidential candidate (Kerry) even went on TV and implied killing Bush.
We see Hitler mustaches drawn on Bush and Obama simply because people disagree with them.
Doing what was done in that spot doesn't stand out to me as disrespecting a president. It does stand out as another celebrity begging for a gimmick to sell some records.
I think she's had it pretty easy. Nobody that I've seen has really torn into her over it.
I just hope people realize it's all more gimmicky balderdash for cash and not a profoundly deep experiment in social dynamics carried out by an entertainer feigning more perception than we laymen.
I like her music but she has always come off as disingenous to me. She couldnt make a statment with out showing her butt to kids?
No she did this for the attention and giving BS excuses to justify that is wrong.
I like that Erykah Badu chose to protest "Groupthink". Because the U.S. has become so politically divided over the last several years, I think it's important to call this out. However, stripping in front of kids wasn't the best way to go.
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