Media Post 9

This is a product that a company wants to sell. It is a mask that resembles a black man. This product talks about its features and does a good job at trying to sell the product. It has a picture on the right side where it shows a white man wearing the mask and right of it it has the description of the product.
This picture can be related to the movie Ethnic Notions. In this movie they talked about black face and how white actors would but black face on stage look and act like blacks. This is directly related to it since the product here is a black mask that they say is easy to put on resembles a black man. Also in the movie they talked about how we would look past things that blacks saw as racism like how we think of a black person with odd eyes, buck teeth, and imitation straw hat just like the advertisement says comes with the product. Johnson says that since we are white and privileged and do not have to worry about rasicm toward us we do not notice it. When one looks at this product they see fun, they see a time where you can dress up and have fun, be lazy, and be something you are not.
When i first saw this i laughed. I have never seen something like this where you can buy a product and look like someone of another race. Back in the day this is what people watched for entertainment and so if someone at home was able to do this they thought that this was no problem. Now you may laugh but it is wrong since you are making fun of black people.

Media Post 8

This is an advertisement for Abercrombie and Fitch, seen here is two males and one female. All of them are white and fit. Each one of the models here are very good looking and also have good looking bodies. None of have shirts on and the females breasts are only by her hair. We do not know if they have pants on or even underwear but one may think not since the female is kissing the guy on the left and the one on the right is looking like he is going to be next.
This is directly related to the writing that we read in class by Dwight McBride, titles "Why I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch. In the writing he talks about how the company Abercrombie and Fitch only market to whites and it is seen in this picture. This photo shows that whites are beautiful and this is what they want their customers to look like. McBride talks about the "Look Book" and the things that are in it and how that is going against blacks, with hairstyle, assessories and more. In this picture you do not see someone with dredlocks nor someone with a fade haircut that is most seen worn by blacks. Here you see longer hair and whats looks like highlights also. They talk about how even the stores are taking this style of workers to the extreme and hiring people who look like the models seen like in this picture.
I see this as nothing more then an attempt to get people to come to the store and buy clothes. More whites buy Abercrombie and Fitch then blacks so why would they market to a segment of people that are not one who are a large part of their sales. Blacks have stores just like A&F, like FUBU where the people who buy the clothes are of mostly one race.

Media Post 7

This is a picture of two girls, who are twins are are fourteen years old. They both are for white supremacy and are wearing racist shirts. The logo they are wearing is something that we all can recognize, the yellow smiley face is something we all know and see on Wal-Mart commercials with there campaign slogan "Rollen back the prices". The difference with their smiley face on their shirts is that the face resembles Hitler, the face has the combed over hair and the mustache that everyone knows is associated with Hitler. These girls are both also blonde and have blue eyes.
In chapter 6 of Johnson one of his sections is titles "Individuals, Systems and Paths of Least Resistance" in this section he talks about a cycle that shows the relationship of individuals and systems. this is a circle since we as individuals make up a system and within that system as we participate in socials systems we are shaped by socialization and paths of least resistance. This picture of the two girls are a perfect example of this. These two girls are Lynx and Lamb Gaede two twins that are singers of white nationalist music. They are perfect examples of cycle. There mother from day one was mentor, they have been home schooled since the beginning and grew up with a group of white nationalists. They where put into a system and then they came out they took the views they grew up with and as individuals started a duo. They tour and do concerts singing their music which is about white supremacy. With this they are cycling back into the system because with their music they are bringing more people into the community of people who are for white supremacy and it just gos around and around.
When I first looked at this picture I laughed, i saw two cute little girls who where wearing shirts that had a smiley face that resembled Hitler. This is also sad at the same time since from birth they where taught this and this is all they know. Do I think that this is wrong, sort of, the parents should of let them grow up with others races and then when other they would make up their mind. I myself was never brought up to have certain views about people or groups but with time and my own thought I have began to have views that others may not like.

Media Post 6

This is an advertisement for the citizens of America to buy War Bonds to help with the war. The war that America is in is World War II and this is right after the attack on Pearl Harbor and is showing that they are going after Japan next and need money. Because of the timing and the hatred for Japan the creator of this Dr. Seuss drew up the Japanese man as we stereotypically think of them.
This depiction of a Japanese man can be related to the movie that we watched in class, Ethnic Notions. In the movie they talked about how we would show blacks in pictures and over exaggerate on them. We would make them as black as possible, give them big pushed in noses, big lips, and lastly give them resemble a monkey. In this picture the same is done, but since he is Japanese we have him seen with the very thin eyes that look like they are not open at all, he is wearing glasses since most due or the fast that we assume they all are smart and glasses are associated with smart people, and also he looks to have a very flat face which also is something that we associate with anyone with Asian decent. With all these characteristics they are related to what Wu said in his piece "Yellow". He talk about racism toward Asians and how people just assume things about them like they all are smart which isn't the case and also that we look at an Asian and just see their thin eyes and flat face. This is something that we did to blacks and now are doing to the Asians which Wu stated that racism is not just black and white but asian is added to the picture. Another thing is Johnson, when you look at this you may think hatred toward Japanese and that is the case, but not entirely. This advertisement is for people to buy bonds and show that America needs the money since they are in the war and going to continue with the war by attacking Japanese. Whites think this but since they are the people in power and have privileged to not think about racism like Asians do they see nothing wrong but when an Asians looks at this they see hatred toward them.
I like this, this is a funny picture and after looking at it more i can see the side meaning of racism and how Japanese are bad but at first i see what many and probably all Americans at the time notices, was that the army needs money and this was in place just for that purpose.

Media Post 5

The Media shown is an advertisement, it is from the California Department of Health Services. It is telling people that they can stop their addiction to tobacco with help if they need it. The reason that I picked this is because of the American doing a karate kick to a cigarette and the caption saying "Kick your tobacco addiction!", this is showing some hidden racism toward Asians and their history of karate and traditions.
This media relations to our class is many ways, when we talked about Johnson and how one group has privileged and can do certain things and not think about it and also the reading by Frank Wu where he talks about racism is not just white and black. Wu shows that Asians are part of the equation and have certain things like Karate (which is seen in this media) as something they cant get away from and are assisted with all the time. Johnson talks about groups that are privileged and in this media that is the whites. When we look at this picture we see what is shown, a white man kicking at a cigarette and the slogan that says "Kick your tobacco addiction!". We do not see anything wrong with this but to someone that is of Asian decent they may feel disguised about this. When an Asian looks at this they may see something completely different, they may see someone who is making fun of karate which to them is a tradition is their heritage. Also Wu talked about this is his writing "Yellow", his experiences with kids doing karate kicks and chops behind him, which does not seem harmful at all but it relates to this media since it shows something that people just assume and relate to Asians right away. If this was seen as like soccer where someone is getting a running start and kicks the cigarette like it was a soccer ball people of any decent would not right away think Asians and karate.
My response to this is that it is a good way to stop smoking. It is a service that wants to help people stop their addiction and they do it in a way that is catchy. When I first saw this I found it to be cleaver and how it says "kick your...." and showed a man kicking a cigarette. But after thinking about it more in depth I can see how one may look at this who is Asian and be annoyed and think that this is offensive. I now understand what Johnson means by privilege since I never have to worry about racism toward me so I do not think anything about it at first but when I sit down and look into it I can see the flaws.

Media Post 4

This is a cartoon picture which depicts an African American as someone who is lazy and poor. He is shown with a big nose and huge lips. He is drawn to look like an ape since many people look at blacks and think of them as animals since they come from Africa.
This cartoon picture is a good example of what is seen in the movie Ethnic Notions that we watched in class. In the movie they talked about how in cartoons blacks are shown as savage animals and their features are over exaggerated. The picture above is no exception, the African American is shown as a monkey and has a huge nose and lips. In the movie they talk about one looks at these and they get the wrong idea of blacks and it can be true. When you look at this picture the first thing that comes to your mind is that blacks are lazy and poor. This is shown by the sign that says "will make excuses for food". With this people then get the idea that most to all blacks are like this. In the movie they talk about how black men are perceived as lazy and this is true when looking at this picture.
My thought of this is that the cartoon is funny. One does not become a racist or have racist thoughts just because of something they see. They need to experience something or be taught it. When watching Ethnic Notions I felt that blacks where just yelling at whites for their form of entertainment and saying its wrong since they do not like it. Somethings are meant to be racist and some stuff is there to be funny. This cartoon picture is there to be racist and be negative toward blacks but I find it funny and some people need to just laugh and not complain about it.

Media Post 3

This is an advertisement found on a billboard in the Netherlands. This is from the company Sony for promotion of their new product the white PSP. The name of the ad is "White is coming". This ad came under a lot of pressure when people found this to be racist and shortly after Sony pulled the plug on this ad. This is a good example of advertisement today that is here for a certain purpose, to promote a product but some people take it the wrong way and take it as racism.
In class we viewed a movie that talked a lot about racism found in cartoons, shows and advertisements and it was Ethnic Notoins. A lot of the things showed in the movie where presented as something that was racist and how it was a bad thing since it put feelings into the minds of whites of all ages that are negative toward blacks. This advertisement was not in any way meant to be racist and negative towards blacks like many of the shows, cartoons and ad's in the movie. These are put out their to grab attention for a purpose, entertainment and to promote something not to put down another race. The movie talked about how racism is not the main thing presented it is their and it has a negative effect on us. Sony took down this advertisement since they got a lot of criticism since they show a white girl dressed in all white overpowering a black girl who is wearing all black.
Also in the movie they talked about how whites are shown as the better race towards blacks. It is seen in this advertisement very well. You see the the white girl holding the chin of the black and looking down at her with a strong stern look on her face. The white girl is also presented to be beautiful while the black girl is not. The black girl since the background of advertisement is black she is not very visible, and the white girl is seen in a shirt that shows off a lot of her mid section and her hair is very stylish.
My response to this is that the ad should not be taken down. The ad is very good, it is promoting the new white PSP since the only color before available was black. The meaning I got out of this is that the white PSP is pushing ahead and wants to be seen since it is new. When people look at this and think it is racism, I do not like them. Sony a very wealthy, house-hold name company that would never intentionally put out a racist advertisement in fear that they will loose sales and in return their profit will go down which is something they will not want to happen. People need to not take things and turn them around, all this is is an advertisement to promote the new PSP.
Also I do not understand why blacks got offended by this advertisement. Above is 3 pictures that Sony used in their promotion and the only one to get ridiculed is the last one since it shows a white girl over powering a black girl. The first picture shows a black girl over powering a white girl, why is it that whites did not get offended and complain?