Recently in Television Category

http://www.hulu.com/watch/141560/saturday-night-live-ruff-rugger-and-roker


This is a clip from Saturday Night Live this past weekend that I think is a funny example of a stereotype consistent vs inconsistent Al Roker. I realize this clip is meant to be funny, but I think it raises a few interesting questions as well: How would a stereotype consistent African American news reporter (doesn't necessarily have to be Al Roker or a weatherman) be received by viewers? Or even just a news reporter that speaks in a way consistent with their ethnicity? I've always noticed with African American news reporters that they tend to display themselves as stereotype inconsistent, but what if they didn't? How would people react? You could even say the same thing about Barack Obama or other highly regarded social figures. How much of a role do you think stereotype inconsistency plays into the acceptance of some minority figures by the white community?

This is a clip from Saturday Night Live this past weekend that I think is a funny example of a stereotype consistent vs inconsistent Al Roker. I realize this clip is meant to be funny, but I think it raises a few interesting questions as well: How would a stereotype consistent African American news reporter (doesn't necessarily have to be Al Roker or a weatherman) be received by viewers? Or even just a news reporter that speaks in a way consistent with their ethnicity? I've always noticed with African American news reporters that they tend to display themselves as stereotype inconsistent, but what if they didn't? How would people react? You could even say the same thing about Barack Obama or other highly regarded social figures. How much of a role do you think stereotype inconsistency plays into the acceptance of some minority figures by the white community?

March Madness just finished, but I came across this article regarding racism: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=jn-race040410 

 

Here's a short section from the article:

"Even though the race issue isn't discussed in polite company, it's been the subject of hushed conversations at the Final Four and will be obvious to anyone in attendance or tuning in at home. The subject is so taboo that even Larry Bird bristles when it's brought up."

 

What do people think about this issue? We have talked about it before, but I was interested in the issue being so "charged" that people don't even want to discuss it.

Everyone should check out this website and the accompanying video! This has changed my entire view on the history of the United States in terms of racial relations between white people and black people. Is it possible that we have all been brainwashed through years of exposure to the superiority-inferiority of the two races? Would this explain why so many people still hold strong prejudices and/or are outright bigots?

http://www.stopthebrainwash.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIBQPORReWY&feature=player_embedded

I think that we, as a society, need to take a long look in the mirror and figure out where we have been in order to decide what we really are today. This does not only include the white race, but the black race as well. The perpetuating harm that is being done today through the media has ties to early advertising of slaves, mockery of black people, and early silent films. However, we do not even realize this because of how long this propoganda has been around. I don't know about you, but I totally buy into what Tom Burrell is getting at through this website. Check out Kim's post on Burrell's NPR interview if you want to hear more from him.

 

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-march-9-2010/gaywatch---virginia-edition

This is a clip from the daily show from the 9th.  It is about a new executive order given by the governor of Virginia and the state attorney about what groups will be considered protected by the state.  LGBT individuals have been left out of this order and a message has been sent to the universities telling them they should not consider this group as being protected.   Same sex partners are also no longer allowed to extend their state benefits to their partners.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rusty-weiss/2010/02/01/rush-racism-media-stunned-black-woman-could-win-over-limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh surprised the media in voting for a Black women at the Miss America Pageant in which she actually won. He has been labeled as a racist by many sources and people. Rush has a conservative talk show where he expresses his opinion about various issues going on in America and the world. The other judges were Vivica A. Fox and Shawn Johnson. Do you think Rush's vote was sincere or do you think he was singled out by the other judges? Another questioned to keep in mind is if he picked her to convince people that he wasn't a racist.

Larry Wilmore is a comic who does a lot of race humor.  He has a bit on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" as the "Senior Black Correspondent", he's written for The Office, and done stand up.  In this clip, he is on The Daily Show talking about how white people should "play the race card" now that roles have reversed and we have a black president.  It's a funny clip and I really appreciate Wilmore's humor.  However, that's not the only reason why I wanted to show it to you all.  It's particularly humorous because there is such a drastic role reversal. 
 http://www.thedailytube.com/video/20841/larry-wilmore-plays-the-race-card

Why do we see things like this has funny?  Why such a touchy subject so easy to laugh at?

It seems that music videos have always presented sexual images. For example, it is difficult to forget the semi-naked women who accompanied 1980s rock bands in their videos that were shown all over the world. But lately it seems that sexual images are used by both men and women: female singers are increasingly presenting themselves with less clothing and sexier dance moves.

In her article "How pop became porn", Liz Jones talks about pop star Shakira's latest video for her song "She Wolf", in which the singer appears in her most sexually explicit video so far, almost naked and dancing very provocatively inside a cage. She writes with concern: "The images can be seen in the video for her single, She Wolf, which will be watched obsessively, again and again, by thousands of young men and women, many of whom will form the opinion that writhing in a cage is precisely the way 'sexy' women should behave."

Shakira is a very interesting case. She started her career in her native Colombia, writing songs written by herself and playing the guitar. Over the years, as she has become better known internationally, she has undergone a transformation, changing her appearance and her musical style, and making sexier videos. Jones writes: "When I asked Shakira, the Latin American superstar, how she can square being sexy, wearing skimpy clothes, with her charitable work championing children in the developing world, she replied indignantly: 'Of course I can square it! I think my image is one of being powerful, in control.'"

Shakira is not the only female pop star doing this kind of videos, and this raises some questions: Are over-sexualized images of female singers really empowering women? Or are the images of semi-naked women in cages or crawling on the floor perpetuating old stereotypes of women as submissive sexual objects? Considering how often these type of videos are seen by people of all ages in many countries, the answers to these questions are extremely relevant.

To read the full article, including information about the initiative in the U.K. to ban sexually explicit videos before 9 p.m., click here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1254145/LIZ-JONES-How-pop-porn.html

http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/773211--canucks-show-sense-of-humour-at-games-closing

This is an article that discusses some of the characteristics of the closing ceremonies in Vancouver a couple of days ago.

"There were marching Mounties in miniskirts. Tabletop hockey players. The iconic "Hockey Night in Canada" theme. Dancing canoes, red-clad lumberjacks and giant inflatable beavers.

Michael Buble -- never opposed to poking fun at himself -- even rode atop a massive motorized Mountie's hat while performing The Maple Leaf Forever."

These are all common stereotypes of Canada.....It is kind of cool how Canada is embracing /poking fun at some of the stereotypes about their country, but how do you think this would fly with some other cultures? Is it because these stereotypes are not considered at all negative that this is more accepted than what it could be? Do you think this would offend any Canadians that do not particularly identify with these cultural stereotypes?

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/22/sports/AP-OLY-FIG-Weir-Broadcasters-Comments.html?_r=1

The Quebec Gay and Lesbian Council has demanded a public apology from French-language broadcaster RDS after one commentator said Weir hurts figure skating's image and another said Weir should be made to take a gender test. The remarks were ''outrageous'' and ''homophobic,'' CQGL said in a statement on its Web site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22EkUGnoJfM&feature=related

 

The link above has a few clips of a character named Uncle Ruckus from the show "The Boondocks". Uncle Ruckus is a black character who offers negative commentary on his own race. Throughout the series he tries to promote the ideas of the 'white man' and devalue the opinions of the 'black man'. What kind of situations foster this type of person that rejects their own in-group to promote the out-group to their category? Is there a benefit for him to back up the white people and devalue his own group? Does this leave him with no group to identify with at all now?

http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=11953503

Friday afternoon  I learned about this incident while having a meeting with the Cedar Falls Police Chief, Mayor, and City Attorney. As I was showed pictures of the graffiti, seeing it i was upset knowing that this type of activity is still going on here in the city. This is the first time  mentioning anything about it, because seen it on the news.      

http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/804/

This is the link to the episode of South Park that Matt Sienkiewicz referred to multiple times in his talk tonight: "What's Under Kyle's Hat?: South Park, Antisemitism, and the Jew Joke in Multicultural America". See my comment on this under the post for this lecture if you're interested in my take on the subject.

This episode could be very offensive to some people, so just a warning. Are there any aspects of this episode (or South Park in general) that seem to cross the line of what is humor and what is wrong? Or does this type of thing seem to be the norm in popular culture today? Are you for or against some sort of regulation on offensive humor in the media? See my comment post for more discussion questions....