Following on from the Racism thread...just wanted you all to try a little experiment.

Next time you are infront of the TV for about a hour, just count the number of times you see a racial stereotype especially in the adverts.

A rough example:

Medical adverts where non white staff are just the medical help/nurses..and all doctors are white.

or

if there are actors on TV... the black person (nearly always the black MAN) will be at the back of the group or positioned slightly lower in height than the white person.

or

In a news report..if it is something bad like unemployement or violent crime count the ratio of non-white to white.

It is always subtle but there will be a negative/subservient image attributed to non-white people.

Let me know what you find.

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The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist....(and like that he was gone!)

Too late Pooks. My son and I pick that stuff out all the time.

However I HAVE seen some commercials that are just the opposite too. The black lady is the banker and a white couple is applying for a loan from her

I think a 2nd part to your experiment would be fun too....try and spot the commercials where the minority people are in the position of authority.

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OH got another one. The Chief of staff in Grey's Anatomy is a black man.

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I actually do a unit on racial stereotyping in the media in my class! Check out the Volkswagon ad... it's hard to find now because it got so much heat when it first published...

A black VW beetle and a White VW beetle facing each other with the tag line... Naughty or Nice? respectively...


hmffffp.

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There are no words in the English language to capture my feelings...

BRILLIANT! ....YOu should start a thread.. my favourite BLACK ads.

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The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist....(and like that he was gone!)

Hey "Pooks"... i'm slow... Didn't know this was you!!!!!

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There are no words in the English language to capture my feelings...

DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Nuff said!

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The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist....(and like that he was gone!)

I think you are reading too much into this ad.

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Life's just a crazy ride on a run away train
You can't go back for what you've missed
So make it count, hold on tight find a way to make it right
You only get one trip
So make it good, make it last 'cause it all flies by so fast
You only get one trip

I disagree... let's take a look at the historical/social connotations that go along with all things "black" and "white"... the racial binary of white vs. black is a long standing racial construct... it's not my interpretation... I didn't come up with it... It's a part of critical race theory study...

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There are no words in the English language to capture my feelings...

Both of you have good points.

But that could connotate the "good and evil" thing as well MissB. Like angels and the dark side. Who knows.

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If you look at it from that point of view, then I can see why you would have that opinion.

I look at it differently. When I think of black and white in this context, I think of different things besides race. And, when I looked up the meanings of those colors, it reinforced my view.

I'm looking at black as night.....as sucking in all the light......of hiding..of naughty things that happen in the night. I'm looking at white as day.....as things out in the open....of lots and lots of light....even of angels.

For me there are no conotations of this ad. If you feel differently, more power to you. Everyone sees things differently.

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Life's just a crazy ride on a run away train
You can't go back for what you've missed
So make it count, hold on tight find a way to make it right
You only get one trip
So make it good, make it last 'cause it all flies by so fast
You only get one trip

Right! That's my point... Good = White and Black= Evil is one of those societal connotations that has been applied to PEOPLE... so when a company plays off of the good v evil by using Black v. White... they exacerbate a belief system that is inextricably linked to our race...

I didn't make this up... it's been studied and theorized...for ages. There is a whole body of study called Critical Race Theory...

And VW received a lot of criticism from the black community when this ad first aired... so much so, that it pulled it from it's ad campaign immediately. Did they intend it to be racist? I doubt it. But my question is, were there any Black executives sitting around the table when they came up with it? Doubt that too...

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There are no words in the English language to capture my feelings...

Like I said in the I admit thread, you never cease.

Why do some people get it and some people don't....
and some people NEVER will?

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The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist....(and like that he was gone!)

Thanks R4E... back atcha baby!
I guess as Lilly says, "You gotta wanna..." (Get it, that is!)

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There are no words in the English language to capture my feelings...