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?

Media Post 2

Wiggers! (Interview)
Johnny Rebel
It's The Attitude, Stupid!

In this interview Johnny Rebel is being asks about why white boys want to be like black boys and also why is it that white girls want to date black guys. In this interview they talk about how its bad, how whites are alienating themselves from their entire race through their actions as a white man acting like a black man or a white girl dating a black man. The reason why I chose this as a media is that this interview talks about the "Other" we talked about in class and it is a good example of how some whites feel.
The Meaning of Difference: American Construction of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, and Sexual Orientation is one of the readings that we had in class and this relates perfect to this interview. In this book on page 27 the authors Rosenblum and Travis talk about the "Other". The "Other" is someone who crosses race, sex, class, or sexual orientation boundaries. In this interview the crossing of the boundaries in race and class are shown. Johnny is asked about why white boys want to be like black boys, dress and act like them. In the discussion they do not know why but they do come to an agreement that since these white boys want to leave their own race and be like a black boy they are alienating themselves from their race. Also they talk about white girls who date black boys. This go's along with the "Other" since a white girl is crossing the race boundary. A white girl is also alienating themselves from their entire race. In the text the "Other" sometimes are disowned by their parents since they marry outside their race and in the interview Johnny says that once he see's a white girl with a black guy its it over, she might as well turn into a man. The interest in her is done with.
My response to this is I agree with the interview and the conversation they are talking about. I agree with them when they talk about a white guy who see's a white girl with a black guy. The interest with her is done and over with and I agree. I also do not understand why a white boy would want to be like a black boy, it is beyond me and I have no respect for those who want to be like them. This all go's along with the "Other" that we read in the text.

Media Post 1

Johnny Rebel - Nigger-In-Law lyrics

The other day I ran into an old friend
Joe was his name
So I said, "Joe, how ya been?"
He said, "JR, you won't believe this, but things ain't worth a damn."
And I said, "Joe, what's the problem?'
He said "JR, you wanna know my problem? Well, I'll tell ya my problem."
And he began his story, something like this:

All my life I've been single
I didn't wanna be tied down
But I finally did it, I finally got married
And the chants started goin' around
She was divorced and had three kids
They all had fair skin and blonde hair
But I didn't know their daddy was a nigger
And daddy just had to be there

Awwwww...

What do you do when
Everything's messed up
Stickin' down in your crawl
Other men lucky
All they have to aggitate 'em
Is a dog-gone
Mother-in-law
But this black hairy dude
Livin' down at my house
Beats all you ever saw
I'm the sole-bred winner
Of a wife and three
Bakin' ninnies
And a nigger-in-law

And he kept on-a-talkin'
And I just kept on listenin'
And he went on, something like this:

It all started last friday evenin'
I got home from work, there he sat
Sittin' there loafin', restin' and-a-smokin'
Man, he was ace of spades black
I didn't know just who he was then
But it wasn't too long 'til I did
He said, "Don't get uptight, I have visitin' rights.
I came to see your wife and my kids."

Awwwww...

What do you do when
Everything's messed up
Stickin' down in your crawl
Other men lucky
All they have to aggitate 'em
Is a dog-gone
Mother-in-law
But this black hairy dude
Livin' down at my house
Beats all you ever saw
I'm the sole-bred winner
Of a wife and three
Bakin' ninnies
And a nigger-in-law

But he talked on, and I began to figure out
That Joe had found a solution
He said:

He was still there saturday evenin'
Just-a-watchin' me mow the lawn
He watched the game on sunday and the soaps on monday
It's tuesday and he still wasn't gone
Suddenly I got me an idea
And I came up with a plan
I turned my nigger-loving wife and her nigger ex-husband
Over to the Ku Klux Klan

Hehe...

That's what you do
When everything's messed up
Stickin' down in your crawl
Never again will I
Ever say a word
About anybody's
Mother-in-law
That nigger ho'ed up
When the Klan showed up
It's the last thing he ever saw
Now I'm the ex-husband
Of a wife with three
Bakin' ninnies
And a nigger-in-law
I'm the proud ex-husband
Of a wife with three
Bakin' ninnies
And a nigger-in-law

This is a song written by Johnny Rebel, Johnny Rebel is a southern country artist who's songs are very controversial when talking about racism. This song called Nigger In-Law, it is about a man named Joe who got married to a white girl, he finally thought life was good but he later found out that that was not the case. He found out that his wife used to be married to a nigger. The reason why I think this is a good media to connect to our class is in this song you have examples of racism, when he talks about how lazy the ex-husband is and how his wife married outside of the white race.
Some of the song can be related to the book The Meaning of Difference: American Construction of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, and Sexual Orientation which we read in class. On page 27 Travis and Rosenblum talks about the "Other", they say many things that this "Other" can be, like how during Reconstruction some people who are of African decent could pass as whites because of interrelationships from their ancestors, but the one that go's along with this song is that the "Other" is someone who marries outside of their racial class. In this song, Joe is very mad that he married a girl who's ex-husband was black. You hear him complaining about it the whole time, one example of this is how he says that other men are lucky since all they have to agitate them is a mother-in-law. In the reading it says that parents may disown children who marry outside their race, Joe in a way disowns his "nigger-loving wife and her nigger ex-husband" by turning them over to the Ku Klux Klan.
Another course material Ethnic Notions can be related to this song. In the movie they talked about how whites portrait black men as lazy. In this song that is seen when he says:
"He was still there saturday evenin'
Just-a-watchin' me mow the lawn
He watched the game on sunday and the soaps on monday
It's tuesday and he still wasn't gone"
This is a good example since all that Joe is saying here is that the ex-usband would not leave nor do anything, which is why he is a lazy blackman.
On the issue of whites marring a black, I agree with this song. I do not believe that a white should marry a black. I do not believe that one should be turned over to the Ku Klux Klan but I do not find it wrong if a parent is to disown their child if they are to marry a black. On the issue of blacks being lazy, some are and some are not. It all depends on where you live and the conditions. In the movie they said its racism to believe that blacks are lazy since we are stereotyping them but again it depends on the location of where you live. With this you will see many or no lazy blacks.