GhettoPhysics
Encyclopedia
GhettoPhysics: Will the Real Pimps and Hos Please Stand Up! is a 2010 docudrama
film written and directed by William Arntz
and E. Raymond Brown. The film is based on Brown's 2003 book, Will The Real Pimps and Hos Please Stand Up! — Peeping the Multi-leveled Global Game. The book and the film examine the interplay between Pimp
s and "Hos"
and how that dynamic is the oldest and simplest expression of the ways in which power is wielded in today's world. The film uses documentary footage, animation, satire and dramatization to illustrate examples culled from the "hood" to Wall Street
. Whether the players are real-life pimps or corporate executives, they are all playing the “game” and repeating the same power dynamics.
There have historically been many negative associations with the provocative language and images surrounding the sexual politics of the Pimp/Ho dynamic. GhettoPhysics looks closely at this reality, then goes beyond the world of prostitution to illustrate and clarify how the game is played. Weaving together theories of metaphysics and archetypal psychology, the film explains how the GhettoPhysics game crosses all races, all classes and all socio-economic levels. There are elements of the Pimp and elements of the Ho in everyone, whether they are male or female, black or white, rich or poor. The idea is to become aware of how the game is being played so one may take responsibility and gain more control over one's own life.
On the decision to utilize the Pimp/Ho metaphor for the film, Arntz and Brown explain, "We don’t normally refer to power interactions in say, politics or economics as a game. But this is exactly what is taking place. GhettoPhysics helps you become more aware of it and play it from a position of personal power."
The film includes interviews with notable entertainers and thinkers such as Dr. Cornel West
, Ice-T
, Norman Lear
, Cynthia McKinney
, KRS-One
, John Perkins (author), Byron Katie
, Too Short, and William Arntz. It also includes a colorful contingent of street characters, with names such as Fillmore Slim
, Candy, Hook da Crook, Loreal, Mac Breed and Lo Da Show.
The Pimp/Ho dynamic is not limited to the streets of the inner city ghettos, but extends throughout all aspects of today’s society from government to business, religion and education. Analyzing real world issues such as the global economic crisis, the Gulf oil spill, global ecological threats, healthcare reform and war, GhettoPhysics details the street world and then moves to the classroom and the corporate boardroom to illustrate how the game is being played every day.
called the movie's material "engrossing" but said the presentation was "stiff and stagy." Superconciousness Magazine called the movie an "irreverent, cagerattling, cinematic jewel."
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
film written and directed by William Arntz
William Arntz
William Arntz is an American film director and producer, most notable for directing What the Bleep Do We Know?-Filmography:* 2000 - Clouds * 2004 - What the Bleep Do We Know?...
and E. Raymond Brown. The film is based on Brown's 2003 book, Will The Real Pimps and Hos Please Stand Up! — Peeping the Multi-leveled Global Game. The book and the film examine the interplay between Pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
s and "Hos"
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and how that dynamic is the oldest and simplest expression of the ways in which power is wielded in today's world. The film uses documentary footage, animation, satire and dramatization to illustrate examples culled from the "hood" to Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
. Whether the players are real-life pimps or corporate executives, they are all playing the “game” and repeating the same power dynamics.
There have historically been many negative associations with the provocative language and images surrounding the sexual politics of the Pimp/Ho dynamic. GhettoPhysics looks closely at this reality, then goes beyond the world of prostitution to illustrate and clarify how the game is played. Weaving together theories of metaphysics and archetypal psychology, the film explains how the GhettoPhysics game crosses all races, all classes and all socio-economic levels. There are elements of the Pimp and elements of the Ho in everyone, whether they are male or female, black or white, rich or poor. The idea is to become aware of how the game is being played so one may take responsibility and gain more control over one's own life.
On the decision to utilize the Pimp/Ho metaphor for the film, Arntz and Brown explain, "We don’t normally refer to power interactions in say, politics or economics as a game. But this is exactly what is taking place. GhettoPhysics helps you become more aware of it and play it from a position of personal power."
Synopsis
The basic tenet of GhettoPhysics is that the Pimp/Ho game is the fundamental expression of how people interact in the world. But this interaction is so multilayered and can become so complex that it is hard to see the game. However, by looking at the world using the Pimp/Ho dynamic, it becomes very easy to see the manipulations that keep society's Hos forever in debt, disempowered or marching off to war, while society’s Pimps remain rich, powerful, and in control.The film includes interviews with notable entertainers and thinkers such as Dr. Cornel West
Cornel West
Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America....
, Ice-T
ICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
, Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
, Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
, KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
, John Perkins (author), Byron Katie
Byron Katie
Byron Kathleen Mitchell , better known as Byron Katie, born December 6, 1942,is an American speaker and author who teaches a method of self-inquiry known as "The Work of Byron Katie" or simply as "The Work."-Biography:...
, Too Short, and William Arntz. It also includes a colorful contingent of street characters, with names such as Fillmore Slim
Fillmore Slim
Clarence Sims , best known by his stage name, Fillmore Slim, is a blues vocalist and guitarist with five albums to his credit...
, Candy, Hook da Crook, Loreal, Mac Breed and Lo Da Show.
The Pimp/Ho dynamic is not limited to the streets of the inner city ghettos, but extends throughout all aspects of today’s society from government to business, religion and education. Analyzing real world issues such as the global economic crisis, the Gulf oil spill, global ecological threats, healthcare reform and war, GhettoPhysics details the street world and then moves to the classroom and the corporate boardroom to illustrate how the game is being played every day.
Release dates
- October 8, 2010: Atlanta, Oakland, Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington, DC
- October 15, 2010: Tempe
- October 22, 2010: New York, Los Angeles
Reception
GhettoPhysics received reviews in numerous publications. The San Jose Mercury NewsSan Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
called the movie's material "engrossing" but said the presentation was "stiff and stagy." Superconciousness Magazine called the movie an "irreverent, cagerattling, cinematic jewel."