Arabs in Hollywood

This is a clip from youtube.com, the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1-Bbz_TBMc. I choose this clip after viewing the portrayal of Arabs in the exam video about Aladin.

The clip begins by showing some clips from Hollywood and then examines clips from the beginning of the movie industry, to present films. The narrator explains how Arabs are always projected as the villain over and over again. Palaces, sandy deserts, and oasis are always portrayed along with stereotypical music, belly dancing, and snake charming.

This video clip explains how the movie industry has this stereotype about Arabs so engrained. It is amazing how all of the clips portraying Arabs do so in the same way. In almost all of the films these people are portrayed with an accent, wearing turbans or having some other stereotypical appearance, being villains and evil, and usually being incompetent.

This film relates to the course material as it is very similar to the Aladdin clip in the exam. If any other minority were to be depicted in this way there would be an outcry. If race is to lose its place in cyberspace, then it must first find its way out of the mass media. Every movie about Arabs consists of the same images and behaviors. The clip can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1-Bbz_TBMc.

Hip Hop: Beyond the Beats and Rhymes

I choose this media because it was a presentation I attended in the past and I was reminded of it during this week’s class. http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/02/heres_a_pbs_doc.html is a website describing the movie along with the host Terrance Howard and narrated and presented by Bryon Hurt.

This film clip explores ideas of violence, sexual abuse towards women, verbal abuse towards women, attitudes of homophobia, women perspective on rap/hip hop, and other subjects. Bryon Hurt interviews fans of rap along with well known and amateur rappers to get their perspective.

I found that a majority of the fans and artists believed that they would not succeed unless they used lyrics that are popular today, as no one would want to hear anything else. They also said that if they strayed from the usual lyrics (about violence, drugs, and so on) then they would not make money or get contracts. The film explains that white executives are usually the ones who decide who is getting a contract, which seems strange.

I felt that this is a connection the class material as it examines how race is portrayed in the music industry. We have discussed how race is involved with cyberspace, and this topic is closely related. Only one type of hip hop/rap is the primary player, and since most artists are black, this is forming a connection with race.

The article about the video can be found at http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/02/heres_a_pbs_doc.html. From the article, “But Hurt thinks there’s hope. “I think a lot more young people are questioning and challenging what they’re receiving than most people think,” he says. “I’ve been going around the country showing this film, and I think you would be surprised by how many young people are tired of what they’re seeing.””

YOUR VIEW: Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama and the ‘n’ word

My father found came across this article and emailed it to me and I felt that it related to the class.

The article can be found at http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080724/OPINION/807240320. This article discusses the n-word. Rev. Jesse Jackson used the word in reference to how Barack Obama was speaking to black people. The article then goes on to explain some situations that the author experienced where people were using the word, how he reacted, and what the word means to him.

The n-word is a word that was used to oppress blacks and distinguish them from whites. The term should not be used today, by any particular group of people or race.

This article reminded me of Wrights Jim Crow article. The n-word was used so often when he offended the whites, or when they were about to oppress him. I don’t understand how the word is still used to day, when it was formed out of oppression and racism. The article states, “The n-word is forbidden. It is lethal. Its purpose is to envelop society in this never-ending spiral of racist stupidity.

There is no redeeming social value for the n-word. It cannot be deconstructed or made neutral or controlled. It can never be used in any context at any time for any purpose.”

“The purpose of the n-word is to designate African-Americans as less than human. By doing so, their status in society is not questioned.”

From, http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080724/OPINION/807240320

Black soldiers receive apology for wrongful convictions

I selected this article after my sister showed it to me, and I felt it pertained to the course.

The article can be found at http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/27/soldiers.apology.ap/index.html. The article states that an investigation revealed the wrongful convictions of 28 blacks accused of lynching an Italian POW. The Army issued a formal apology for the convictions at a ceremony in Seattle, Washington.

The convictions and trial seemed to be extremely unorganized and unfair. The defense lawyers were not provided with enough information about their clients or given enough time to prepare.

The article reminded me about other court decisions discussed during the last week of class. We have discussed how special courts with out juries were used intentionally for blacks and slaves in order to speed up convictions and not provide due process. This court case seemed very similar to readings in class as only two lawyers were defending 43 defendants.

“Forty-three black soldiers were charged with rioting and three also were charged with murder. Two defense lawyers were assigned to the case and given two weeks to prepare without ever being shown an Army investigation criticizing the way the riot was handled.” From, http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/27/soldiers.apology.ap/index.html.

Chronology of the History of Slavery

I selected this media because I wanted to find another perspective of slavery other then the materials in class. I wanted to see if this perspective included similar history and events as discussed in class.

This is an excellent web site that gives a chronology of slavery and important events that influenced the institution of slavery. I found it on the internet as I was researching.

This is an extremely lengthy website so I focused on the year 1662. The information on this site was very similar to the information in class. I like the timeline view of information because you can see how quickly events transpired to form slavery. It is hard to believe that blacks who were viewed as indentured servants along with whites, soon found themselves as life long slaves within fifty years.

This information correlates to the information in class as it focuses on the courts decisions and outcomes in the history of slavery. In the 1662 section you can see all the decisions discussed in class, including rulings against interracial marriage, rebelling against slavery, and information on how the slaves were treated. I found the last paragraph in this section interesting. It explained how slaves in Virginia who had committed crimes were tried in special non-jury courts that were fast and did not provide due process.

The website can be found at http://www.innercity.org/holt/slavechron.html

The courts could resort to hideous punishments to reassert white authority. Offending slaves were hung, burned at the stake, dismembered, castrated and branded in addition to the usual whippings. White fear of black rebellion was a constant undercurrent. (How the Cradle of Liberty Became a Slave-Owning Nation. By Susan DeFord, Special to The Washington Post Wednesday, December 10, 1997; Page H01 http://www.washingtonpost.com)

Golfweek Noose Cover

I selected this media item because it was a story that covered one of the clips in a previous blog entry.

This article discusses a very controversial Golfweek cover. The cover shows a noose, drawing attention to Kelly Tilghman's comment that players should, “lynch [Tiger Woods] in a back alley.”

There was a lot of controversy surrounding the cover of this magazine. The cover produced a large negative reaction, to an issue that was nearing a conclusion. One argument against the cover that I remember hearing at the time it was released implied that if Golfweek wanted to address the issue then they should have been more thorough, and done it more appropriately. I feel that Golfweek should have not used the image, and should have evaluated the origins of slavery and a history of the issue.

It seems common sense now, but before taking this course I was unaware how slavery got its start and developed. Economics proved to be the driving force for the institution of slavery, and fueled racism and separation of class. I feel that Golfweek should have examined the issue as we have in class. This would have shed light on a serious and important issue, instead of using a negative image to draw attention to the magazine. Golfweek could have informed a lot of people to how slavery got started and continued, and evaluated such topics as scientific racism, manifest destiny, and how the white elite class used racism and separation of class to maintain their wealth status.

The article can be found at http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3201070

Racist Family

While searching for media for the second week blog posts, I found this clip and couldn’t believe it. It was originally on the Tyra Banks show, but I found the clip on youtube.com.

This is a clip from the from the Tyra Banks show. It interviews a family who has very racist views and obviously believes in white supremacy.

This family is extremely racist and only believes that whites are humans. It is unbelievable that this family can have these ideas. They clearly believe that there is a difference in not only appearance, but also genetically/behaviorally/biologically between “race”. These children have no chance of having a non-racist view point due to the environment that they are raised. They will need to have exposure to a new viewpoint in order to understand that “race” is only appearance deep.

Unfortunately these children will have terrible views of other people as they grow up. They are unaware that their parents are naïve and ignorant. The children in this family grew up in a system, yet they do have the ability to make their own decisions or act in an individualistic way. However, it is likely that they will act on their own throughout their lives, but this will be based heavily on the views of their parents and environment. This is an extreme example of how systems affect the individual, but also a good example that can be applied in to most systems, although usually at a lower severity (meaning most of us are not raised by white extremists).

The clip can be found at http://youtube.com/watch?v=nZccnGspog0&feature=related.