The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Movie slams ‘pink-washing’ in breast cancer campaigns Posted: 17 Sep 2011 06:01 AM PDT  Workers hoist a pink ribbon in honour of breast cancer awareness on the front of the White House in Washington, October 26, 2009. — Reuters pic "Pink Ribbons, Inc." takes a detailed look at some of the colourful fundraising events in North America, where women, united in their fight against breast cancer and mostly dressed in pink, cheer their way along scenic routes. The film questions the priorities of the campaigns and the broad use of the pink-ribbon logo as a fight-breast-cancer addition to products as diverse as T-shirts, toilet tissue and handguns. "For me, pink ribbons were something very innocent," said Lea Pool, director of the made-in-Canada documentary, which emphasizes the corporate sponsors of many of the events. "I think it's still not a bad idea, but I was very afraid of all the corporations and how they hijacked the disease and how they made profits out of that, and how there is pink-washing in the process of doing fund-raising." Showing at the festival weeks before Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as cancer charities have dubbed October, "Pink Ribbons, Inc." pleads with fund-raisers to think about where the money they raise will go, and asks organisers to be more open. It questions the logic of focusing on cancer treatment rather than prevention, pointing out that pharmaceutical companies stand to gain if more people use their drugs, and urges more research on the environmental factors that may contribute to breast cancer. Some of the most moving scenes of the 97-minute movie centre on discussions among a group of women with Stage IV breast cancer, when the disease has spread to such an extent that doctors cannot offer the possibility of effective treatment. "We're living. We're human beings. We're not just a little pink ribbon," said Maricela Ochoa, a member of the group. Pool and producer Ravida Din, who finished treatment for breast cancer soon before starting work on the movie, said they did not want their film to discourage people from raising money for anti-cancer causes. But they do hope that people will focus more on what the money would be used for. "It's not about raising money it's asking the question about where that money is going," said Pool. Coining a phrase from an activist web site, she added: "Think before you pink." — Reuters |
| Bluesman Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith dies at 75 Posted: 16 Sep 2011 07:02 PM PDT CHICAGO, Sept 17 — Grammy-winning blues musician Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, who was a long-time sideman for Muddy Waters, died of a stroke yesterday in Chicago at age 75, according to a statement on his website.  Smith poses with his award for Best Traditional Blues Album for 'Joined At The Hip' backstage at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 13, 2011. — Reuters pic Smith said backstage at the Grammy Awards that he first met Perkins as a boy and was glad to have found success recording with his elder. "To tell you the truth, right now I'm one of the happiest men on earth," he said at the February event. While the Grammy win at age 75 was Smith's first, he had previously had a long career playing with the late blues legend Muddy Waters. Born in Helena, Arkansas, in 1936, Smith went to Chicago at age 17 and heard Waters playing for the first time. He later joined Waters' band as a drummer in the early 1960s. In 1964, Smith was forced to pack up his drum kit for a time and he supported himself with odd jobs such as driving a taxicab in Chicago, according to a profile on his website. But Smith rejoined Waters' band in 1968 and played with him through the 1970s, the period when Waters won his six Grammys. Aside from the drums, Smith also played the harmonica and sang. In the 1980s, he performed in the Legendary Blues Band with Perkins, Louis Myers, Calvin Jones and Jerry Portnoy. Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy, said in a statement that Smith was a "great, versatile Chicago bluesman" who "made an indelible impact" on the blues genre. "Our sincerest condolences extend to his family, friends, fans and all who will continue to appreciate his rhythm and riffs for generations to come," Portnow said. — Reuters |
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