Finke, "Blood" vs. Diamond Industry
Nikke Finke paints the South African diamond industry with an appropriately dark brush in her latest L.A. Weekly column, called "Throwing Precious Stones":
"All along, the real question behind the scenes of Blood Diamond -- an action-adventure pic set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in the diamond-mining center of 1990s Sierra Leone, starring Leo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, directed by Ed Zwick and produced by Paula Weinstein -- is not whether it will be an Oscar contender (probably) or a critics' favorite (possibly). It's just how much mud the World Diamond Council and its flacks and flunkies and friends are planning to throw at the well-intentioned film and its too-liberal-for-the-room credits.
"Now the answer is clear: a lot, more than enough to dirty its awards chances. It's rare in Hollywood, home to most things horrible, to have good vs. evil play out offscreen as well as on. (As opposed to seeing this as a level playing field where the really rich are ganging up on the really rich, so, in on sense, they deserve each other.) Yet here, the tactic of choice, already evidenced, is to smear the film's production by accusing everyone involved of exploiting the Africans in much the same execrable way the diamond industry has done for decades."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 1, 2006 at 2:58 PM
comment #1
Mark
says ...
I'm more concerned about Di Caprio's use of "Bling Bling", a term that would not have hit Africa until this millenium, when this is supposed to be 90's Sierra Leone. Jeffrey, you're usually all over this type of nonsense.
Posted by Mark
at November 1, 2006 3:32 PM
comment #2
jeffreywells
says ...
A friend who's seen it has confirmed that DiCaprio's diamond character does say something about "people not wanting to give up their bling" at one point. A Warner Bros. rep just told me it's set in 1999 -- the year that Freetown in Sierra Leone was overtaken by the RUF rebels -- and tht term "bling" was invented in '99 also, so it all adds up & squares away.
Here's a Wikipedia page about the RUF, Freetown and Sierra Leone that seems to indicate that the Freetown tumult happened in '97:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_United_Front
Wikipedia's "bling" page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bling ) says that "the first apparent use of the term 'bling bling' in mainstream culture was in reference to the L-3 badge (real gold) and also a hip hop track of the same title, by rapper B.G., along with Baby Birdman, Juvenile et al [1], celebrating their wealth (as many of their tracks do). "Bling Bling," released in 1999, led to the term proliferating through mainstream hip hop and eventually spilling over into popular culture as a sarcastic term used to mock the perceived vacuousness of hip hop culture."
Posted by jeffreywells
at November 1, 2006 4:07 PM
comment #3
actionman
says ...
the trailer for this flick makes it out to be a hollywood action drama with big action scenes...cool. if it's anything more than that--even better. i look forward to watching shit get blown up nice and pretty.
Posted by actionman
at November 1, 2006 4:36 PM
comment #4
solange4
says ...
hmm, that's a sad commentary that some are more concerned about one phrase that may or may not have been in usage rather than the article's main thrust - but I guess a lot of people don't care that the diamond industry is so worried about this film that they spending tons of money to spread gossip and false info. I have doubts a movie no matter how well-intentioned it may be, will have any effect on people buying diamonds and caring about their source. Maybe they'll care one week but will soon forget.
Posted by solange4
at November 1, 2006 4:48 PM