Tennessee Titans running back, Chris Johnson, has been one of the best, if not the best, running backs in the NFL this season. His 1,091 rushing yards as of November 16 were leading the league. The East Carolina graduate, who is also a fantasy football owner's dream, is one of the fastest players in the league.
On Nov. 1, in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Johnson flashed his speed during a break-away, 52-yard touchdown run. And CBS announcer Gus Johnson (no relation) couldn't resist declaring his thoughts as to why Chris may be so fast.
If you didn't catch it, Gus Johnson complimented Chris Johnson's speed by calling it, "Gettin' away from the cops speed."
Unless you haven't been associated with mainstream popular culture in the past decade, it is a common stereotype that African Americans are involved with criminal actions, and thus, would have to try and run from police. I'm sure Gus, who is also African American, didn't have any malicious intent on making a racial slur against Chris, but obviously a comment like that only perpetuates the stereotype even further.
In a survey conducted by Dennis Rome in 2000, some caucasians were asked to evaluate on a scale of 1-7 how violence prone black people were. In the results, 47 percent chose the violent end of the spectrum. Rome says "The criminal depictions, often provided by mass media and society's subsequent belief that most African American males are criminals, are good examples of the damaging effects of negative stereotypes." I believe the statement about Chris Johnson's speed falls directly into this category.
Gus apologized for the remark, saying it was not racist as every race has to run from the cops. While this is true, I feel that it is a cop-out (no pun intended) to say every race has to run from the cops. That is being ignorant to a very common racial stereotype that African Americans have to deal with, especially since he is African American himself. This is yet another example of how our society has become desensitized to racial remarks such as these.
Citation: Rome, D. Black Demons: The Media's Depiction of the African American Male Criminal Stereotype (2004). Westport, CT. Praeger Publishers.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Racist Canadian NHL cartoons appalling
I came across these cartoons of former Ottawa Senator and current Philadelphia Flyer goalie, Ray Emery. Needless to say, I was pretty shocked and disgusted that A) these kinds of cartoons are still being made today and B) the editor of a big newspaper allowed these cartoons to be published.
The cartoons, drawn by Tim Dolighan of the, Toronto Sun, depict Emery, one of the 2% of African Americans in the National Hockey League, as a monkey or an ape.
The first, titled 'Playoff Monkey,' was drawn after the Senators lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Anaheim Ducks. Emery did not play at the top of his game in the championship series, and of course, Dolighan saw it fit to draw a cartoon of a monkey holding a noose that says 'choke' on it. Wow, very impressive.
The second, titled 'Back to the Future,' was drawn after Emery was released by the Senators a year later after he got into trouble for showing up late to a few practices and became on distraction on and off the ice. I guess the idea behind the cartoon is to unnecessarily poke fun at Emery once he was no longer in Canada?
The final cartoon, titled 'Devolution,' was drawn after Emery signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent in 2009. I would explain it, but the only explanation of this cartoon can be read in the caption at the top. Unbelievable.
These cartoons from Dolighan seem to detract from research done about editorial cartoons in recent years. In a study about the effects of the cartoon The Boondocks, Nancy Cornwell and Mark Orbe said "Early comic strips tended to present more derogatory images of minorities, but recent strips reflect a more representative and sophisticated look at society and its cultural/political practices." Clearly Dolighan hasn't received that memo.
I'm going to assume the only way Dolighan was able to get away with these blatantly racist cartoons is because the publication is in Canada. If these cartoons were in an American publication I can't imagine the backlash. But I am surprised this was not made a bigger deal by ESPN or any other news outlet.
Citation: Cornwell, N. C. and Orbe, M. P., "Keepin' it Real and/or "Sellin' Out to the Man": African American Responses to Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks (2002). New Yor, New York. Routledge.
The cartoons, drawn by Tim Dolighan of the, Toronto Sun, depict Emery, one of the 2% of African Americans in the National Hockey League, as a monkey or an ape.
The first, titled 'Playoff Monkey,' was drawn after the Senators lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Anaheim Ducks. Emery did not play at the top of his game in the championship series, and of course, Dolighan saw it fit to draw a cartoon of a monkey holding a noose that says 'choke' on it. Wow, very impressive.
The second, titled 'Back to the Future,' was drawn after Emery was released by the Senators a year later after he got into trouble for showing up late to a few practices and became on distraction on and off the ice. I guess the idea behind the cartoon is to unnecessarily poke fun at Emery once he was no longer in Canada?
The final cartoon, titled 'Devolution,' was drawn after Emery signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent in 2009. I would explain it, but the only explanation of this cartoon can be read in the caption at the top. Unbelievable.
These cartoons from Dolighan seem to detract from research done about editorial cartoons in recent years. In a study about the effects of the cartoon The Boondocks, Nancy Cornwell and Mark Orbe said "Early comic strips tended to present more derogatory images of minorities, but recent strips reflect a more representative and sophisticated look at society and its cultural/political practices." Clearly Dolighan hasn't received that memo.
I'm going to assume the only way Dolighan was able to get away with these blatantly racist cartoons is because the publication is in Canada. If these cartoons were in an American publication I can't imagine the backlash. But I am surprised this was not made a bigger deal by ESPN or any other news outlet.
Citation: Cornwell, N. C. and Orbe, M. P., "Keepin' it Real and/or "Sellin' Out to the Man": African American Responses to Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks (2002). New Yor, New York. Routledge.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
ESPNU Road Trip feature can't avoid Asian stereotype
As I was watching one of the latest installments of ESPNU's "Road Trip" series previewing the Oregon vs. USC football game, I didn't think I would encounter a blatant racial stereotype.
I was wrong.
It takes until the very end of the feature when the male host,who goes by the name "Drubner," reveals his Halloween costume. Drubner dresses in a kimono modeled after the uniform of New York Yankees outfielder, Hideki Matsui. The first thing he says when the camera rolls to reveal his costume is, "Konichiwa," Japanese for 'hello.' He continues to stare blankly into the camera for a few seconds before saying, "That's all I got, sorry."
It only gets worse when his co-host, Jenn Brown, looks at Drubner and asks him if he is "going to make sushi later."
Clearly this is about as blatant of a stereotype as there is. Saying the Japanese translation for 'hello' is not that bad if you are trying to portray a Japanese person for Halloween. But for Brown to ask if he is going to make sushi later crosses the line. Matsui is known as a great hitter for the Yankees. Why couldn't she ask if he is going to hit a home run later? She might as well throw in karate and math equations because obviously every Japanese person is partial to wanting to participate in those fields as well.
Although saying Asians may enjoy sushi might be an accurate stereotype, that does not mean it is not appropriate to do. Yuch-Ting Lee in a study about the effects of asian stereotypes said "Negative but accurate stereotypes could imply a real social or cultural problem that should be examined systematically and effectively."
There are plenty of stereotypes used frequently that could be proven to be accurate in certain settings and situations, but that doesn't mean it is o.k. for them to be used. Stereotyping seems to always leave someone offended no matter how accurate it may be.
Citation: Lee, Y. et al. How Did Asian Americans Respond to Negative Stereotypes and Hate Crimes? American Behavioral Scientist Vol. 51 No. 2. (2007). Sage Publications
I was wrong.
It takes until the very end of the feature when the male host,who goes by the name "Drubner," reveals his Halloween costume. Drubner dresses in a kimono modeled after the uniform of New York Yankees outfielder, Hideki Matsui. The first thing he says when the camera rolls to reveal his costume is, "Konichiwa," Japanese for 'hello.' He continues to stare blankly into the camera for a few seconds before saying, "That's all I got, sorry."
It only gets worse when his co-host, Jenn Brown, looks at Drubner and asks him if he is "going to make sushi later."
Clearly this is about as blatant of a stereotype as there is. Saying the Japanese translation for 'hello' is not that bad if you are trying to portray a Japanese person for Halloween. But for Brown to ask if he is going to make sushi later crosses the line. Matsui is known as a great hitter for the Yankees. Why couldn't she ask if he is going to hit a home run later? She might as well throw in karate and math equations because obviously every Japanese person is partial to wanting to participate in those fields as well.
Although saying Asians may enjoy sushi might be an accurate stereotype, that does not mean it is not appropriate to do. Yuch-Ting Lee in a study about the effects of asian stereotypes said "Negative but accurate stereotypes could imply a real social or cultural problem that should be examined systematically and effectively."
There are plenty of stereotypes used frequently that could be proven to be accurate in certain settings and situations, but that doesn't mean it is o.k. for them to be used. Stereotyping seems to always leave someone offended no matter how accurate it may be.
Citation: Lee, Y. et al. How Did Asian Americans Respond to Negative Stereotypes and Hate Crimes? American Behavioral Scientist Vol. 51 No. 2. (2007). Sage Publications
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