Everyone is ranting about Bill O'Reilly and Juan Williams (video). I want to add to the bunch.
I don't watch Fox News. It angers me and I don't like to hear everything I feel is not objective news. That said, I listen to NPR, watch CNN, and read The New York Times. I got to wondering, am I hearing unobjective news? Do I just think it's objective because I generally agree with it?
NPR recently fired Juan Williams for his remarks about Muslims on the O'Reilly Factor. He said, "I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country, but when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."No this is not a good thing to say as it generalizes a race and religion, however, it is a view that a lot of people in the US have. NPR fired him because he was inconsistent with their editorial standards and practices.
This seems unproductive. Why would a station that is all about communication and getting the truth out there not use this as a stepping ground for opening conversation about the subject? Since so much of the world feels this way about Muslims in general, why was it hushed? My only conclusion is that NPR has more bias than I thought.
My next step was to watch the entire segment of the O'Reilly Factor that caused the uproar to see what else Williams said. Williams seemed to not really step out of bounds compared to O'Reilly. O'Reilly made extreme generalizations, compared things that shouldn't be compared, and fueled misconceptions. O'Reilly made a comment about the German/Turkish problems. To someone who doesn't know what he is talking about, he made it sound like terrorists were in Germany. He never specified they were Turkish immigrants. He said that most people never assimilate into German culture. While this is somewhat true, as conservative Muslims don't assimilate into German culture, it is no where near "most." I talked with German journalists who said only about 20 percent at most were causing the cultural problems. These are not the same problems as the US is having, and O'Reilly implies that they are. Meanwhile, Williams kept trying to put O'Reilly in his place, which needed to happen.
My conclusion is that news is biased and you can't be totally objective. This means that viewers must be extremely educated in what they are viewing.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Tokenism
Richard Dyer argues in his article, "The Matter of Whiteness," that being white is invisible unless it is in direct relation with a minority. We are bombarded with images of whiteness that we don't recognize it. Because of this, as a young white woman, it is hard for me to understand the concept of tokenism.
In a question and answer session with minority PR agents, the question "Do you ever feel like the token black woman in your workplace?" was asked. I realized that I have never imagined feeling this way. Yes, I'm a woman, which is a subordinate group. However, because half the population is women, it's hard to feel like a token woman. I don't really have the concept of being the token anything.
I've learned in various situations that by being white I don't really understand when anything that isn't blatant racism is around me. For example, I dated a guy who was multiracial and had dark skin and dark features. He constantly related things to race and would let me know when he noticed people giving me a weird look. I never noticed. At the time I just thought he was paranoid, but I've since understood that I was oblivious because I've never thought of anything like that directed towards me.
It is not good to have no concept of tokenism. In order to appreciate what you have, you need to experience what it could be like. It's never good to be the token, but it is also not good to never realize that it happens. In doing so you'll only continue the passive racism and tokenism that happens in our society.
In a question and answer session with minority PR agents, the question "Do you ever feel like the token black woman in your workplace?" was asked. I realized that I have never imagined feeling this way. Yes, I'm a woman, which is a subordinate group. However, because half the population is women, it's hard to feel like a token woman. I don't really have the concept of being the token anything.
I've learned in various situations that by being white I don't really understand when anything that isn't blatant racism is around me. For example, I dated a guy who was multiracial and had dark skin and dark features. He constantly related things to race and would let me know when he noticed people giving me a weird look. I never noticed. At the time I just thought he was paranoid, but I've since understood that I was oblivious because I've never thought of anything like that directed towards me.
It is not good to have no concept of tokenism. In order to appreciate what you have, you need to experience what it could be like. It's never good to be the token, but it is also not good to never realize that it happens. In doing so you'll only continue the passive racism and tokenism that happens in our society.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Humor in Stereotyped Advertising
We all know that minorities and women were stereotyped historically in the media. Some ads were definitely going over the line of today's standards. Stereotypes are still used in advertising today, but all groups of people are stereotyped, and the producer usually knows and exaggerates these traits in a humorous way. Does this make current advertising stereotype usage acceptable?
People respond well to humor, especially in advertising. The funny commercials are always the ones talked about the day after the Super Bowl. Since stereotyping is so prevalent in our past, everyone understands it. Poking fun of these stereotypes is a new form of advertising. Even when the ads are ridiculously offensive, it's a social commentary on how common these are.
It is not only the subordinate groups that are stereotyped. The white male is also very commonly stereotyped in advertising. This makes the stereotyping even more acceptable. There is no group that is above the ridicule. Men are stereotyped as many things, including lazy, heartless, a terrible dancer, the bread winner, and much more. In this Miller Lite commercial the man is stereotyped as heartless, oblivious, and a womanizer.
There are also a lot of racial stereotypes, but they are so over the top, that it is hard not to laugh. For example, in this Heineken commercial the two Asian men are stereotyped as unable to assimilate into American culture and as followers. However, even though it's a terrible and untrue stereotype, they are showing these characters so over the top that it is socially acceptable. Helping make these racial stereotypes socially acceptable, is the fact that Caucasians are included in the humorous stereotyping. Bud Light has an entire campaign for the "Real Men of Genius." In this, the white guy is stereotyped as a terrible dancer and a total dork. If there is no racial group that is safe from stereotyping, then it is hard to complain about a specific stereotype.
This one video stereotypes men, women, the elderly, and the young. It allows everyone to laugh and themselves and others, and is quite a memorable video.
People respond well to humor, especially in advertising. The funny commercials are always the ones talked about the day after the Super Bowl. Since stereotyping is so prevalent in our past, everyone understands it. Poking fun of these stereotypes is a new form of advertising. Even when the ads are ridiculously offensive, it's a social commentary on how common these are.
It is not only the subordinate groups that are stereotyped. The white male is also very commonly stereotyped in advertising. This makes the stereotyping even more acceptable. There is no group that is above the ridicule. Men are stereotyped as many things, including lazy, heartless, a terrible dancer, the bread winner, and much more. In this Miller Lite commercial the man is stereotyped as heartless, oblivious, and a womanizer.
There are also a lot of racial stereotypes, but they are so over the top, that it is hard not to laugh. For example, in this Heineken commercial the two Asian men are stereotyped as unable to assimilate into American culture and as followers. However, even though it's a terrible and untrue stereotype, they are showing these characters so over the top that it is socially acceptable. Helping make these racial stereotypes socially acceptable, is the fact that Caucasians are included in the humorous stereotyping. Bud Light has an entire campaign for the "Real Men of Genius." In this, the white guy is stereotyped as a terrible dancer and a total dork. If there is no racial group that is safe from stereotyping, then it is hard to complain about a specific stereotype.
This one video stereotypes men, women, the elderly, and the young. It allows everyone to laugh and themselves and others, and is quite a memorable video.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Diversity in Network News
The US has a history of black exclusion in the media. However, in recent years African Americans have started to take on leadership roles within the media. One of the first black network news anchors, Max Robinson, started at ABC in 1978 and moved to NBC in Chicago in 1984. Another black television news pioneer is Ed Bradley. He worked as the first black television corespondent for the White House in 1976 and then moved to CBS's 60 Minutes in 1978.
These two men have another thing in common. They are both very relatable to a mass audience. The African American population has people to relate to in the news, finally. However, these two are also extremely relatable to a white population. Both are very light skinned, which seems like both a good marketing tool and a cop out for the network stations. It makes sense to have anchors relatable to a wide audience because more people will watch, thus the network will get more money and a larger influence. On the other hand, these anchors are almost white. Why couldn't they have gone a little further with the diversity?
News anchors, even if they look different, are not diverse. All people in news sound exactly the same. No matter what race or where geographically the person grew up, everyone seems to be a white Midwestern person. If you play the videos without looking at the person (Max Robinson, Ed Bradley), you'll probably have no idea these men are black. The same thing happens with Asian newscasters (Connie Chung). It is very rare to hear a southern accent, a New Jersey accent, or a Minnesotan accent on network news unless it is an interviewee. It doesn't make sense to have the entire network news population come from one area of a very diverse country, even if it is so everyone can understand them.
News has come a long way from the days where diversity was completely excluded. However, there is still a long way to go. It's ridiculous to have anchors and newscasters talk the same. Even though we've come a long with with the racial diversity, television would seem more realistic if there were more of it and some accents to liven it up.
These two men have another thing in common. They are both very relatable to a mass audience. The African American population has people to relate to in the news, finally. However, these two are also extremely relatable to a white population. Both are very light skinned, which seems like both a good marketing tool and a cop out for the network stations. It makes sense to have anchors relatable to a wide audience because more people will watch, thus the network will get more money and a larger influence. On the other hand, these anchors are almost white. Why couldn't they have gone a little further with the diversity?
News anchors, even if they look different, are not diverse. All people in news sound exactly the same. No matter what race or where geographically the person grew up, everyone seems to be a white Midwestern person. If you play the videos without looking at the person (Max Robinson, Ed Bradley), you'll probably have no idea these men are black. The same thing happens with Asian newscasters (Connie Chung). It is very rare to hear a southern accent, a New Jersey accent, or a Minnesotan accent on network news unless it is an interviewee. It doesn't make sense to have the entire network news population come from one area of a very diverse country, even if it is so everyone can understand them.
News has come a long way from the days where diversity was completely excluded. However, there is still a long way to go. It's ridiculous to have anchors and newscasters talk the same. Even though we've come a long with with the racial diversity, television would seem more realistic if there were more of it and some accents to liven it up.
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