racist imagery – Contemporary Racism

Age and Dehumanization

Comack — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 18:19:54 +0000

Systematic racism can be defined as how discrimination weaves its way into policies and practices that exist within an organization or society. Racism comes in many forms, but the one area that does not often get talked about is how it can affect young black children, specifically in the context of police brutality and the judicial system. Dehumanization occurs when one is deprived of their human qualities, or subject someone to inhuman treatment and conditions. ...

Representation from Disney is a “Threat’ to White People?

Carly — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 14:12:50 +0000

Why is it that white people seem to be so threatened by the idea of representation and equity? White people seem to believe that they are entitled to being represented through the media, even in spaces where Black individuals are requesting more POC (people of color) characters and stories. For example, Disney has recently been under some backlash from audiences about choices for their theme parks and movies. Simply because of people attempting to keep ...

Why is it all black and white?

Danielle Kraes — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 15:23:46 +0000

Have you ever heard the sayings “black as night”, “pitch black”, “black out”, “black magic”, etc..? What do these all have in common? At first glance you can see that they all have the word black in them. However, if you look at the phrase as a whole, it is clear the word Black is used to depict darkness, whether that be literally or figuratively. Dark is the opposite of light, usually representing good. Let ...

Monochromatic Colorblind Casting

Morgana Wallace — Sat, 24 Oct 2020 15:06:10 +0000

In the performance world of theater, television, and film, casting without regard to actors’ race or the race of the characters they’ll be portraying is known as “colorblind casting.” It’s a common practice now on Broadway, with Filipina Lea Salonga portraying white French character of Éponine in ?Les Misérables? and Puerto Rican Lin-Manuel Miranda portraying the white founding father Alexander Hamilton, among many other people of color being cast to portray traditionally white roles. The ...

The Phantom Menace was Racist and Here is Why That Matters

D. Adamczak — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 17:19:36 +0000

With a title as grandiose as that, it is easy to predict reactions from those who do not want their beloved franchise besmirched. As someone who has loved the franchise since I was a toddler, it was difficult to come to terms with some of the more problematic issues that take place within the ‘first’ Star Wars movie. Opening one’s mind to see the bias or prejudice attitudes taken by a series is a hard ...

How Can I Help?

Devin — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 19:10:33 +0000

College fraternities and sororities are, for the most part, notorious for possessing a multitude of negative stereotypes. When the general public pictures a Greek organization, they think of hazing, paid friends, and parties. In addition to these most common stereotypes of members of Greek life, people within these organizations aren’t known to be very accepting. As a member of a nationally recognized sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma, I recognize the work that my own chapter has ...

Tarte Shape Tape – 50 Shades of White

Mia Shmariahu — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 17:38:17 +0000

Notice anything in this photo? Do you think you’d be able to pick out your shade? Tarte is a cosmetics company, prominent in high-end make-up stores like Sephora and Ulta Beauty. On their website, they boast their dedication to cruelty-free, vegan skincare and cosmetics that are both ecologically friendly and high quality. Tarte has recently made headlines for their controversial new line of Shape Tape Foundation. By glancing at the photo above from the lens ...

Blackface – Demeaning or Disgusting? #YouDecide

Maia Brint — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 20:31:12 +0000

Models Sophie Applegarth and Julie Iovenitti dressed up as tennis players Venus and Serena Williams for a Christmas party through the use of blackface. “There is nothing racist about backing [your] favorite sport stars,” Applegarth and Iovenitti said in defense. Later, Applegarth put out a statement saying that they had no intent to be racist when they put these outfits on. Blackface has always been a contested issue in the United States. When these girls ...

A Sobering Experience

AmandaRG — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 04:00:10 +0000

WARNING: extremely offensive, racist language is used while quoting someone else (as well as cursing) A few weeks ago, I was hanging out with a few friends and acquaintances – we were talking, laughing, and having a generally good time. We were sitting in a circle of various couches and chairs surrounding a coffee table. Then, someone at the party (let’s call this person J) got a text from another friend saying that a third ...

Planet of the Apes or the Obamas?

Chelsey — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 19:09:31 +0000

Recently in the opinions section of a Belgian Newspaper, one article, said to have been submitted from Russian President Vladimir Putin, shows the Obamas depicted as apes. On the picture it says, “First Black President, starts selling weed.” I thought this was a really interesting thing to bring up because it related to the Eberhardt studies that we looked at in class relating Blacks to Apes. Many people make the implicit association of blacks to apes ...

Racism in aisle ’14

Chelsey — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 19:12:50 +0000

Since I have been in this class, it is amazing to me how many things I see on social media sites that relate to everything we are talking about in class. This week I was browsing my Facebook news feed and I saw two posts, one after another, that completely shocked me. A woman, that goes to Muhlenberg, had a post that explained a recent experience with racism. Her post stated: “So I went to ...

Miley Cyrus and the West African Origins of Twerking

Connie — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 14:16:27 +0000

Sadly, yes. I did feel that including Miley Cyrus in the title and tag of this post would garner more attention. Here is one of several thoughtful pieces I’ve seen – not about misguided Miley’s image – but about how the dancers that surrounded her were used “as props.” It also provides a brief history of twerking – a dance I found awkward and mystifying in Miley’s performance. We owe it to twerking to read ...

The Dangers of Hairspray

Daniel.Greenfield90 — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 07:57:11 +0000

So, as some of you may or may not know, I tend to dabble in the world of theatre here at Muhlenberg College. My dabbling in this world has led me to a lot of wonderful friends, valuable learning experiences, and, really, just a lot of great times. Of late, however, it has provided me with an interesting window into the world of contemporary racism. Let’s start with an honest fact: the world of theatre ...

“Why isn’t it racist?”

Michela — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:08:38 +0000

Over break I went to my roommate Alex’s house for the week. One night, Alex and I were watching TV and stumbled upon MTV’s show, The Real World Road Rules Challenge. About five minutes in, we witnessed two cast mates attempting to “poke fun” at their friends’ interracial relationship by using black face, which they did by covering their faces with nutella. While the two of us stared at each other in disbelief, her mom ...

What’s wrong with this picture?

Alex — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:00:17 +0000