BlackBoxTV Marks 5-Year Anniversary With Controversial Video

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  • Source: www.youtube.com / Via: www.youtube.com

    BlackBoxTV’s Tony Valenzuela marked an important milestone in his usual thought-provoking style. “You and I have been together for the past 5 years so I wanted to record a video for you but instead I recorded a song. About what is important to me, the artists I work with and our BlackBoxTV.” The song, “God Part III” was written as a continuation of U2’s “God Pt. 2” from 1988.

    The video is edgy and a bit unsettling, and it quickly sparked controversy over the lyric, “I don’t believe in forced entry, I don’t believe in rape, but…” which is a reference to the original song. Someone commented, “Yeahhhh, you don’t put ‘but’ at the end of a sentence like that, buddy.” Valenzuela replied, “Agreed 1000%” but said it would be dishonest to remove violent lyrics and not acknowledge those impulses:

    There is also the lyric, “don’t believe in the shotgun that just went off in my hand.” […] The inability to believe even in the shotgun he just used, for me, is a metaphor for our current lack of willingness to take responsibility for the consequences of our actions, especially online where people spew all kinds of rhetoric with no acknowledgment of its potential destructive influence.

    It is scary to include lyrics so disturbing (but true) in a piece of art I’ve made but ultimately these words and this video reflect my own struggles with BlackBoxTV: a channel investigating horror, violence, and the human condition. So thank you, sincerely, for paying attention and starting a discussion. My belief is that love is the one thing that removes the option of violence from ANY situation and after years ruminating on and in the dark, I’m ready for the light.

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