From: terra@reed.edu (Terra Goodnight)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: Images on TV was Re: Racism and fried food
Date: 3 Jan 93 04:53:01 GMT
Article-I.D.: reed.1993Jan3.045301.28541
Distribution: usa
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon

In article <1992Dec31.093009.7049@athena.mit.edu> crafts@athena.mit.edu (The Invisible Man) writes:
(And a whole bunch of other people whose names were taking up too much space
said:)

>|> I think some people just *look* for something they
>|> imagine offends them.

You really don't ever have to these days.  This type of crap goes on every
day in the media.  (although I did find your example kinda frivolous and not
the best example in the world.  I never saw it, so I wouldn't presume to say
you imagined anything, but after all, isn't Daddy the one buying the car and
not the girl, so why should she be all hangin' with the salesman?)

>Don't you ever wonder why you see certain things as you do on TV?
>Is there a perfectly good reason why we'd never see a black man would
>sell a white woman a car? There are black men salespeople, and white
>women customers who buy automobiles. Why can't a black male salesperson
>sell a car to white woman on national TV?

Tell me why still to this day you rarely, if EVER, see an interracial couple
on TV of the variety black man/white woman?  The Black woman/white man seems
to be more acceptable, but somebody out there doesn't seem to like the notion
of white women even pretending to be sexually involved with black men.  I know
at least one TV show I watch had a interracial couple that had to be written
off the show because of all the viewer complaints.  This stuff doesn't exactly
require a Ph.D. to recognize.  

One thing that REALLY bugs is the way blacks are portrayed on TV.  They can't
just play normal characters who just _happen_ to be black, they're always
the stereotypes: lazy black men who'd rather come up with a scam than get a 
real job a la "Out all night", "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and especially the 
incredibly embarassing "Martin" just to name a few. The female characters have 
similar stereotypical counterparts.

Yes, I am aware that most of the creative forces behind these shows are 
actually blacks themselves, and to a certain extent, they're responsible for 
perpetuating these lame images, but you know who really calls the shots in 
Hollywood, and I'm sure shows like Roseanne or Murphy Brown or Northern 
Exposure wouldn't be produced by those in Hollywood, because they seem to think 
they only blacks we want to see on TV are goofballs and servants and junkies.  
Although many props go to "I'll Fly Away" which is by far the best show on TV 
(meaning it'll be cancelled soon).  Look at the movies made this year:  they
seemed more than happy to show us more of the same in Boomerang and Mo' Money
(basically movies about men calling women ho's and pulling scams to get women
or money or material possesions.)  They weren't quite as thrilled to throw
money at Malcolm X as they were for JFK or Dances With Wolves.  

>Evidently someone was offended because Saturn doesn't run that commercial
>anymore...

On commercials, why don't we ever see cleaning products advertised with a MAN
doing the cleaning (unless it's a big strong macho plummer clearing a clogged
drain)?  Same goes for those commercials where they show a matronly woman
happily planning whether to cook stove-top or potatoes for dinner for her
cute little middle american family?  I know I come from an extremely traditional
family, but both of my parents do an equal share of the cooking and food 
shopping and cleaning.  
>Dan 
>crafts@athena.mit.edu

Terra
UCLA
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv