The video above, which has become a YouTube hit, displays Black Americans in an extremely negative, stereotypical light. The first indication of this is when the young woman, the supposed victim of the crime, says she's in the projects. The projects are generally known for things such as violence, uneducated people, and drug dealers; all words also associated with Black Americans. The woman, who appears to be young, also indicates she has a child. Although not stated, she's probably unmarried. When her brother Antoine appears to talk to the cameras, he sounds extremely ignorant and uses ebonics. He also uses dramatic head movements and his eyes to emphasize his words; it makes him appear very feminine and thus shows indicators of a stereotyped homosexuality. Furthermore he's wearing a bandana-looking thing on his head; a similar look to a doo-rag.
Interestingly, the woman reporter is reporting with a corporate building behind her; not in the projects where the story actually happened. The video, although quite humorous, seems to be funny simply because of the exaggerated stereotypes. However, these types of videos only encourage negative stereotypes of blacks. Especially, for people who don't live in places where they are exposed to many black people and their impressions of Blacks are dependent on the media and social websites like YouTube. To no surprise, this video was taken in a southern state, Alabama. Southern states are often assumed to be racist. Thus, people who are not familiar with Alabama might assume that all black people in Alabama act this way.
Also important to note is that the news channel CHOSE to report on this. Although breaking in someone's house IS a crime, there had to be more pressing news to report on.
No comments:
Post a Comment