This is amazing. A young man, Dominique Giamo, comes to the aid of a Muslim man in need of help. Even though this was all an act (The Show: What Would You Do?), Dominique comes to the rescue for this actor. His words and actions are truly inspirational. He looks past skin color, race, religion, gender, etc. Instead, Dominique only sees another human being in trouble, and comes to his aid. This is how everyone should treat each other - with love.

This brings a few questions to mind:
Why are people unwilling to help out their fellow human beings?
What justifications do people bring up in order to make an excuse for not helping others?
Why is it so difficult for people to accept others?

R. Kelly - Snake

I felt this was a good video to analyze after watching Sex and the City 2. Though the song has hardly anything to do with race and popular culture, the video says it all. There are many things I felt that should be taken into consideration involving the women being of Middle Eastern descent. First, the women are dancing and gyrating half-naked and yet keep the lower half of their faces covered like the women in Sex and the City 2. It's possible that R. Kelly was trying to show women that they could keep their womanhood and morals (hence the covering of the face) and yet still appreciate their naturally good looking bodies. Also, where it seems that Sex and the City 2 mocks the Middle Eastern culture, this video seems to show appreciation because R. Kelly is in their environment participating in their culture (hence his attendance at the duel, him wearing a head covering, and him riding a camel and not a sportscar). Appreciation of the Middle Eastern Culture is key because this video was shot in 2003, around the time Bush declared War on Iraq.

"Hey Ya" - Grammy performance by Outkast - Mocking Native American culture

The dancers, along with the lead singer, are dressed in mock "Native American" style clothing. It is suppose to appear otherworldly and futuristic. In the beginning, a real Native American song is being played while Jack Black's face is shown speaking to the audience. Not only does this entire performance insult Native American culture, it also reinforces the idea that Native Americans are static and unchanging. If the performance is suppose to display the future, why do the mock "Native American" dancers wear "traditional"and scantily clad clothing? Along with this, the style of the costumes and the way in which the dancers dance, also proves to exemplify stereotypical notions of what being Native is.

Jay Z in Paris

This is a super awesome ad for French Presidential candidate Francois Holland. It uses JayZ's song Niggaz In Paris.

United We Can't Stand Them: Colbert Report on Immigration

See what Stephen has to say.

A Complete Guide To Hipster Racism

This is an interesting concept of beauty. In many countries around the world, one must have a fair skin tone in order to be considered beautiful. This can be seen in India, China, Japan, the Middle East, and other countries. Companies are selling skin lightning creams in order for people to lighten their dark skin tones in order to attain a fair skin tone. In their minds, white equals beautiful. Any thoughts on this matter? What are the ramifications of pushing a certain beauty standard that could be potentially hazardous to a person's health both mentally and physically?

"I am not Trayvon Martin."

I found the above YouTube video to be a very interesting commentary on how more privileged groups (White, upper-middle class, male etc.) of people can respond and show solidarity regarding issues of racial injustice. There is often a lot of discomfort associated with how to respectfully stand up for and stand with minority groups as a member of a dominant group. I think that these are incredibly important conversations that need to be had in order to create a space for all people to stand against racial inequality.

Black Face Cake & Genital Mutilation

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/swedish-minister-of-culture-slammed-for-racist-797906

This is problematic on two fronts: for its ties to female genital mutilation and its depiction of black face.
Thoughts on this celebration and degradation of women & african americans?

What Race Are You?

So I had to post this just because it's hilarious and I felt that this clip is perfect to discuss how race is viewed in popular culture. It's the "Racial Draft" skit from Chapelle's Show. What are your thoughts about why certain celebrities were categorized strictly one race over the other? Why does the black delegation want Eminem so bad and want to get rid of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice? Also the commentators also play a role in providing snippets of how race is viewed in popular culture in their conversation with Dave.

http://www.kewego.es/video/iLyROoaftlAT.html

Saturday Night Live Again

Last week in class Castelene questioned whether humor was the best way to address serious racial issues. Watch this episode of SNL and see if you agree or disagree. Is the Trayvon Martin case dealt with as adroitly as was Jeremy Lin? What makes this particular skit the same - or different?

Interracial Relationships on the Tyra Banks Show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUEvdOvcraQ

This is a show where Tyra places a diverse panel in a room and plays various clips showing various things. This particular clip is from where clips were shown of interracial couples. Thoughts? Is selling out relevant? Who decides? How can we determine whether someone has sold out? Is selling out exclusive to certain groups (as LaTrice explains)? Can other factors beyond race itself determine whether or not a person is selling out?

Originalism and Its Relevance

In the reading "Why does country music sound white? Race and the voice of nostalgia" it is argued that arguments about originalism and cultural authenticity are unnecessary when discussing music and popular culture. Taking into account the fixed relationship between Blackface minstrelsy and country music, slavery and gospel music, Jim Crow and the Blues, and many more is it fair to eliminate the conversation around origins when art's very significance is tied to its historical context? Is it more of a problem of exclusion? In other words, is it the fear of such discussions then making specific genres inaccessible to specific audiences (who in many cases would then be white)? And if so, does recognition of historical racial oppression automatically reinforce oppression or exclusion in contemporary times? In many African traditions there is an emphasis on the acknowledgement of the past: Sankofa. In other words, one must look back in order to move forward, but Geoff Mann argues that looking back will prevent our progress forward. Do you believe this to be true? Does discussion of racial oppression, not just in Black history but racial history at large, serve as a force of division and destruction versus empowerment and motivation?

Welcome to CSRE 126!

Hello, Students. Welcome to our personal blog! This is where you can post media and comments about texts you see in popular culture. To begin, I'd like to post this web show, which was created by former CSRE major Issa Rae.

http://www.awkwardblackgirl.com/episodes
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Please view and be ready to discuss next week.">