Beyonce Accused of Plagiarism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDT0m514TMw

Belgian choreographer, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, accused Beyonce of copying choreography and aesthetic themes from her ballets "Rosas danst Rosas" and "Achterland." Beyonce denied these accusations saying that she was simply "inspired" by De Keermaeker's works. A couple of weeks ago, Beyonce did edit her music video, replacing the questionable scenes with other footage. However, her original video still remains on Youtube and has now totaled over 1.3 million views. The link above shows a comparison of Beyonce's original video which Keersmaeker's works.
This is Beyonce's second accusation of plagiarism this year. In May, her performance of "Run the World" at the Billboard Music awards appeared to have choreography taken by choreographer Lorella Cuccarini. Beyonce admitted that Cuccarini inspired her.
These accusations remind me of our "Cheating Culture" reading from earlier this semester. What role do you believe Beyonce's plagiarisms, or other forms of cheating by celebrities, play in reinforcing a culture of unethical behavior?

Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Obama

President Obama's reaction to receiving the Nobel Peace Prize today somehow made me think about Beyonce's reaction at the VMAs in September. As Kanye West launched into his now-infamous speech, the camera flashed to Beyonce, who was clearly flattered but taken completely off-guard. In a speech today, Obama said that he was honored but felt like he didn't belong amongst the many who have been revolutionary in order to garner the award (visit this article from the WSJ)... a fair analogy to Beyonce's utter confusion at the unsolicited compliment from West.

And indeed, the Nobel Peace Prize has over time gotten such acclaim because of its connection to those who are evoking change in remarkable ways. Though Obama is very much an emblem of change for America right now, his presidency is still early and was just beginning when he was nominated (New York Times summary article here).

Though not every year highlights a revolutionary, recent winners include former pres Jimmy Carter (2002), the group Doctors Without Borders (1999), Nelson Mandela (1993), Elie Wiesel (1986), Mother Teresa (1979) and Norman Borlaug (1970--if you don't know who Borlaug is, you should. A man credited with saving a billion lives through his agricultural pioneering research. Yes, billion with a "B." A personal hero of mine, who just passed away this past month). A full list here of winners.

What's going on here is that the Nobel Committee is diluting its credibility by allowing its actions to become politically motivated. The confused and even upset reactions are because for an award as esteemed as the Nobel Peace Prize, "a call to action" doesn't cut it. An admirable message, but one that detracts from the legitimacy of the cause.

Yo yo Nobel Peace Prize Committee, I like you, Ima let you finish, but I just gotta say that some of the other recent winners had the best accomplishments of all time. OF ALL TIME. Get it together, old dudes.

PS to Mr. Silton: Apparently Teddy Roosevelt's award was unrelated to the Spanish-American War; he got it for making a treaty between Russia and Japan. Guess his "Big Stick" diplomacy didn't hurt him there.