Hey everyone, I know its been a while since we've posted. I guess we all could agree that school is getting the best of us. Lets get right into it, for those of you who did not know, Mr Ian Alleyne is back on air and in full flight!
Yesterday, afternoon I tuned into TV6 hoping to see some updates of the gruesome death of 6 yr old Keyana Cumberbatch. Unfortunately, Crime Watch was on and immediately the new theme for its Intro caught my attention.
Pay attention to the video:
What is the purpose of those women in bikinis??
In the beginning a young lady was even seen assisting Mr Alleyne to dress himself, which begs the question is he handicap? brr?
WHAT DOES THIS LADY'S BOOBIES HAVE TO DO WITH FIGHTING CRIME?
And we aren't the only people that feel this way here are some other reactions that share similar sentiments
Why couldn't one lady be portrayed as a police officer, or someone assisting in fighting crime?
Which brings us back to square one with one of our earlier blog posts "ARE WE ONLY ARE BODIES"
If you haven't read it as yet, sort out yuh self ...
Hi everyone, this post is going to be lighter than our usual posts. I know we've been talking a lot about the negatives in advertisements and media a lot, but this time we'll highlight some good advertisements. These ads, portray women, blacks and the elderly in a respectful and beautiful way.
I don't know about you'll, but after I saw these ads, I thought about I'm going to Pennywise and pick up a couple of Dove products. These images are so very unique and uplifting. It represents a particular type of woman that have been forgotten in the media. Elderly and full figured woman.
It is evident that this Dove campaign is trying to slowly alter the definition of beauty, that have been given to us, as skinny, young and light skin.
Well you might say "well duh!" they needed to use this elderly lady for this campaign, its a pro-age commercial, well I've seen companies who did not.
For example Estee Lauder:
AS I AM NATURAL HAIR PRODUCTS
Dark skin and natural hair, decently dress, Black O'man
Another portrayal of a Black woman in advertisement done right.
Here's the video
None of them indecently dressed, there butts or boobs exposed. None of the were acting loud and obnoxious.It shows that black woman can be classy and sophisticated.It was very uplifting watching this video, as simple as it was. I was happy to be identified with the race portrayed. Which is seldom, on many occasions, after watching television and advertisement.
Here's the Nike's online campaign
This campaign took attributes that we as women are used to hearing need to be changed- big butts, big thighs, "manly shoulders"- and instead , it celebrates them.
It also shows women in a different light, from being the weaker and inferior gender, whose role is in the kitchen or taking care of kids, usually portrayed in advertisement, and shows that we can be strong and fit as well, a profile usually reserved for men in advertisements.
Although the reality is that the things these advertising campaigns want us to experience like physical power, self-esteem, accomplishment, self-love, a sense of self-worth cannot be purchased, if more advertisements were to convey these types of messages, then more individuals, especially women and people of African descent self perception would be positively impacted.
Have you ever noticed that in many newscast, the journalist will choose the most uneducated (no disrespect), bad spoken black person to use for their story? It seems as though the media creates a damaging stereotype that depicts blacks as lazy, violent and dumb. The sad thing is that black people have been portrayed as being negative for decades and it seems like it will continue for decades more. Some news station are guilty of reinforcing stereotypes of black people.
As an intern at CCN TV6 and working out in the field, I can tell you that journalist will interview a few people and choose the one that THEY feel will capture the audience's attention, even if it means putting a fool on air. Many times black people are unfairly and unrealistically portrayed on television and it gives the audience a perception that black people are a dumb race.
Case # 1: On July 28th, 2010, North Alabama WAFF-48 news reported that local police are searching for a man who broke into a home then got into bed with one Kelly Dodson. She woke up to find the intruder on her bed. Kelly's brother Antoine Dodson rushed to her room after hearing his sister scream and after a brief struggle the intruder escaped through a window. Antoine said the suspect left behind his shirt and fingerprints.
Due to the mannerism of her brother, the media quickly turned the story into comedy ignoring the issue of a girl claiming she was sexually assaulted.
Here's a look at the report as well as the remix for his comments. He became an instant internet sensation and was able to buy a house with the money he received from all the publicity. He may have moved one step closer to living the American dream, but in the minds of the public he remains an ignorant black man.
Case # 2: On the morning of April 7th, 2012, a three alarm fire broke out at an Oklahoma City apartment complex, The local station KFOR News Channel was among the first to arrive on the scene and interview one of the displaced residents Sweet Brown. In the interview Sweet Brown uttered "aint nobody got time for that" which became one of the more memorable lines in the reporting. Again her mannerism left a lot on the mind of the audience.
Here's a look at the report.
The two cases above made them overnight internet sensations and even landed them either advertisement deals or on prominent talk shows.
I will leave you with a quote that i find rather interesting from Larry Davis, Dean of School of Social Work in a discussion about the damaging psychological effects that negative media have on African males.
" One of the most important things any group of people can do is to control the image of themselves"
We pass by this billboard every Friday, some of us more frequently than others. As we stated in our previous blog."Even when companies make an attempt, they always use a light negro girl/boy with natural hair or a dark skin girl with curly/straight hair. If they happen to throw in a black person with natural hair they are never the focus."
Here we see it again, Hart's billboard. All the other races were properly represented, nothing added or taken away. Yet when it came to the representation of black women their identity was tampered with. You may say well, "Half ah them dark gal and them doh use they natural hair anyway" and that's a fact, but what exactly influenced that behavior in the first place?
Not to mention they're in the minority once again.
Research conducted by Eletra S. Gilchrist, Ph.D Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. "Media Effects and Black Hair Politics" Stated:
"Findings revealed that the images African-American women consume from Black hair magazine advertisements do impact what they consider to be beautiful and, subsequently, influence their day-to-day styling and hair care mechanisms, lending further support to the idea that the media serve as powerful sources of knowledge."
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