movie reviews

50 Cent is decidedly no mere circus performer; unlike him, circus performers possess real talent. Yet, while his musical talent is certainly nil, it would be a mistake to argue that he therefore altogether lacks talent. In fact, 50 - very much like the legions of other gangster rappers - possesses great talent: the talent of a virtuoso con artist. 50 is banking on a pandemic of cataclysmically cheapened tastes - in other words, on the very aesthetic decline that made these other blissfully unconscious con artists rich. This extraordinary, innate ability to identify and exploit today's mass degeneration of taste is a truly supreme talent - a talent reaching to the very depths of cynicism. 50's nihilistic celebration of the meaningless and absurd is, of course, very "postmodern," very fashionable. As such we'll doubtless continue to skip and whistle our way to oblivion. Yes, 50 Cent is a joke. Unfortunately, the joke is on us.As for this "film", I for one believe that if something's not worth doing, it's not worth doing well. So just as it's impossible for me to get excited over a spectacular tattoo, a gold chain, or the latest cutting-edge developments in nose-piercing technology, I have trouble taking seriously anything having to do with 50 cent. He is a thug, a petty nihilist, and a symptom of cultural decline. Nothing more.I am a black man, and 50 Cent in no way represents me or anyone I know. I think it's shameful the way he's plastered up all over town. What he represents is the worst that our culture has to offer.