education

my name is lee marquette

"Family Guy"

Family Guy has grown to become one of the most successful television shows in recent memory. Family Guy is a show that does not hold anything back and will go to great lengths to get a laugh out of the audience. I chose this topic because I feel Family Guy has gone too far in making fun of other races in order to get a laugh.
Family Guy is under a lot of controversy because many believe that the show is racist. For example, when Peter is talking to his friend Quagmire, Quagmire tells Peter that he had sex with a black woman the night before. Peter then sees a black couple within hearing distance and decides to leave. The black couple asks Peter why he has to leave all he said was “black woman”. Peter responds with “Yeah, I know. But your boyfriend looks like a typical angry black guy and I do not want to offend him. We cool G? Alright!!” Having Peter state that the man looks like a “typical angry black guy” is racist because it is also stating that every other black guy is angry. The reference to “G” is also referring to a gang or the way he thinks a black man would talk. This is racist because not all black men talk like that nor do they belong in a gang. This show is sending the wrong message to the public and has gone too far to make others laugh.
Besides Peter and Quagmire, there is another main character named Cleveland. Cleveland is a African American character on the show and he too has been under controversy. Cleveland does not say much and when he does he talks really slow and its not very bright. Some believe this is racist because of the way Cleveland is received. If the only black character on the show is not smart nor talks good, that will send a negative message and cause controversy.
Why does Family Guy feel they must make fun of others? No one knows why Family Guy stoops as low as they do. In today’s society, we are very greedy. If that means that the more money and the more viewers there are because of the disturbing jokes, there will continue to be disturbing jokes. This topic relates back to when we learned about how greedy Christopher Columbus was. He did not care about what others thought, he only cared about the gold. The writers of Family Guy are just as greedy because they will not stop at writing the racial jokes on their show because it continues to bring in money.
I was disturbed when I read this article because I do not understand how a show like Family Guy is still on the air. I am not sure how people can get that much enjoyment out of laughing and making fun of others, especially those of different ethnic backgrounds than us. Family Guy should either be taken off the air or find new ways to make the audience laugh.

"Yellow Ranger"

Even since I was a little kid I loved the Power Rangers. The show was so entertaining to watch. With the Power Ranger’s karate moves and cool weapons, the show was never boring. It never occurred to me that a show I grew up watching would be racially charged. I came across a article that was published in the newspaper a while back about how the show was racist. The Power Rangers were under a lot of controversy because of the fact that the skin color of the characters matched the uniform color. I chose this topic because I believe it fits in well with our class. The fact that the Power Rangers was such a popular show and was under racial controversy was too big of a topic to pass up.
Growing up, everyone wanted to be a Power Ranger. I was always a fan of the white power ranger. He was the leader of the group and the strongest. I never realized until now if that was on purpose or not. The white ranger was white, the black ranger was black, and the yellow ranger was Asian. The yellow ranger was under the most controversy as the network changed the yellow ranger from Asian to white after so many Asian Americans argued against it. It is hard to think of the situation to just be an accident. Clearly, the characters and colors were planned out. Was it racially charged? I believe so, but not in a negative way. All of the Power Rangers were stand up citizens and were heroes in their community. Asian Americans were just offended that the only Asian on the show was the yellow ranger. This was a problem for the Asian community because they are always considered to have yellow skin. They believed that having one of their own be the yellow ranger was almost making fun of the fact that they were made fun of. Clearly, Asian Americans would be upset and being made fun of for the color of their skin.
Why didn’t the African American’s complain as much as the Asian Americans? The Asian American community complained more to the point because their skin is not yellow. However, the African American community openly calls themselves black. Being called black is not an insult to African Americans where being called yellow is an insult to Asian Americans. This topic related to class because once again, the media is creating an image for the public eye of what it feels is what Asians should look like, just like with Cheif Yahoo and the Native Americans. Is it wrong? Yes and the network did the right thing in changing the characters and colors.
This was a troubling story to read because I was such a big fan of the Power Rangers. It is upsetting to know that people got their feelings hurt and felt that they were getting made fun of. The network did change the character and the color. Since the controversy there has never been another African American black power ranger and an Asian American yellow power ranger. I believe the network created the characters on purpose but not in the negative way in which people are calling them out on. The network did change the colors and I believe they did the right thing in doing so.

"Elmer Fudd"

Like most kids growing up, I enjoyed to watch Saturday morning cartoons. My favorite cartoon was Bugs Bunny. He was the funniest cartoon because he would make others feel embarrassed or stupid. One of the characters who felt the most embarrassed was Elmer Fudd. Now as children watch the show they learn a lot as well. That is why it surprised me when I saw how Elmer Fudd was originally drawn to look like. I chose this topic because I feel it was one that needed to be addressed due to the fact that children watch cartoons. This cartoon could have sent the wrong message to white and black children.
Elmer Fudd is the hunter who attempts to kill Bugs Bunny every episode. The Elmer Fudd I grew up watching was a tiny, old, white man who talked very funny. However, this is not the way Elmer Fudd was originally drawn. Elmer Fudd was originally drawn African American. He was drawn with big lips and a small afro. He was colored in with the darkest brown, almost a black. The creators of the show caught a lot of heat for the way Elmer Fudd was portrayed. African Americans cried out against the drawing because Elmer Fudd was the bad guy who was so dumb he could not even shoot a bunny. The despised the fact that Elmer Fudd was getting made fun of and outsmarted the entire show. The African Americans believed this was inappropriate, especially to children who watch the show. If children watching the show see how Elmer Fudd is getting tricked every episode, white children are going to believe that all black people are capable of getting tricked. Clearly the “black Elmer Fudd” drawing was racially charged.
What is the big deal about a cartoon? Children act what they see on television all the time. They are not just watching television, they are learning as well. Going through what the African American race went through, is one of the darkest times in this country’s history. So to go and draw a black cartoon who is portrayed as the bad guy, and who is outsmarted and outwitted throughout he episode, sends a poor message to children. In a way, it is almost saying that African Americans are not as smart as white people are. This topic relates back to class when we were looking at the comic book covers. How the Japanese felt about how they were drawn and portrayed on the cover is the same feeling African Americans get when they look at Elmer Fudd. The black Elmer Fudd is so dark you can only see his eyes and his lips. The African American community would feel discriminated against because the drawing portrays a whole race and what the drawer feels what the race looks and acts like. Clearly this is not what a African American truly looks like.
I was surprised when I read that Elmer Fudd was drawn to portray a black man. The drawers were wrong to think of such a thing, but smart to change Elmer to white. I don’t think there would have been such a big deal if Elmer was just the bad guy, but the way he was drawn with his lips and how dark he was, was pushing it. They also portrayed Elmer as being slow or dumb which is another racially charged action behind the drawing of Elmer Fudd. I am happy Elmer Fudd was drawn as white to prevent hurting any more African Americans.

"Thank you, come again!"

Growing up in the 90’s, I grew accustomed to coming home after school and watching the Simpsons. The Simpsons was, and still is, a very popular show. The show made a half hour fly by with so many corny jokes that made you laugh until you cried. There were so many funny characters throughout the show. One character in particular, was at the end of most of the jokes. His name was Abu, he was an Indian American and owned his own store. Abu goes through a lot of racial discrimination throughout the show and I believe it was a good topic to choose for the media portfolio.
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is one of the main characters on the hit television show The Simpsons. Apu is an Indian American and owns his own convenience store called Kwik-E-Mart. Apu takes on a lot of stereotypes Asians are discriminated against every day. For example, Apu has a think accent, had an arranged marriage, and ripped off his customers. There was even an episode that revolved around how Apu was arranged a marriage and tried to get out of it. One episode, in particular, stood out to me was when Homer made a joke about Abu’s religion Hinduism and the color of his skin. For example, Homer asked Apu if he wanted to participate in a civil war re-enactment because “they need lots of Indians to shoot”. Apu responded to Homer’s comment with “I don’t know what part of that sentence to correct first.” Just because Apu has brown skin and a tiny mustache, Homer believes he looks like an Indian. Clearly Apu is racially discriminated against throughout the show.
Why would Asian Americans take offense to the character Apu? Asian Americans are offended the way Apu is represented. The name of his store is Kwik-E-Mart, clearly misspelling the word to make it seem as if he doesn’t know how to spell. Asian Americans are also upset at the way Apu has a noticeable thick accent. His famous “Thank you, come again!” saying is at the end of a lot of controversy because of the think accent behind the famous saying. This article is just like the one we read in class about Cleveland Indians’ mascot. Native Americans were offended with the way the Indian. The situation with Apu is not only in the way he looks, yet also in the way he acts and carries himself. The Apu topic relates back to what we learned in class on how the media creates this racial image of what and how we see others. With The Simpsons’ character Apu, the show is saying this is what a Asian American looks and acts like. The show is attempting to get laughs out of subjects such as race that really causes more discrimination in our country.
I was not surprised at how many Asian Americans were offended with the character Apu. If I was a minority in another country, and one of the most popular television shows had a white character making fun of what I believe in and the culture I am accustomed to, I would be offended. I believe The Simpsons is a funny show, yet I believe they crossed the line on this character.

Where's the Love?

A couple years back Black Eyed Peas came out with a song that was an instant hit. The title of the song was “Where’s the Love”. This song not only referred to racial groups such as the KKK, but also provides powerful lyrics regarding discrimination. I chose the Black Eyed Peas song “Where’s the Love” because it does not refer to just one topic that we discussed but overall what the class is about and what we should be learning.
The Black Eyed Peas are a very popular hip-hop group in today’s society. They are known for controversial lyrics about sexual confrontations and other things of that nature, so when they came out with a song like “Where’s the Love” everyone was surprised to say the least. “Where’s the Love” confronts today’s societies issues. With powerful lyrics such as “But if you only have love for your own race then you only leave space to discriminate” this song was a sure hit. Other powerful lyrics through out the song consist of recognizing terrorism over seas but realizing that we still have terrorism in our own country with the likes of the KKK. The group also asks questions through out the emotionally charged song with the likes of “whatever happened to the values of humanity whatever happened to the fairness in equality?” The Black Eyed Peas also make strong statements such as “selfishness got us following’ the wrong direction, wrong information always shown by the media, negative images is the main criteria.” I just love how this song relates so much to what we talk about in class. Every class we meet and discuss ethnical issues in the past an present and this song represents everything we talk about. I believe the overall message in the song is to create an awareness into the youth of today’s society. The song refers to the youth frequently. I believe the Black Eyed Peas purpose of this song was to reach the youth and make the youth of today’s society aware of the stereotypes and discriminations that effect everyone’s life.
I believe that even after five years, “Where’s the Love” is still a huge hit in the country today. When my younger brother and I made a road trip down south recently I turned on the Black Eyed Peas song and my brother, never having heard it before, immediately asked who sang the song and the title. I believe this song will be popular for years to come just because of how deep the songs lyrics are and how it addresses such emotional topics in today’s society.

Cosmo Kramer and the "n-word"

We all know Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld. He was the lovable neighbor who always found a way to make a horrible situation worse. When Seinfeld had rapped up in 1998, Michael Richards turned to Stand-up comedy. Yet when everything seemed to be going well, Richards lost in one night during an act in Hollywood, California and used the “n-word” profusely. I chose this topic because not only do I think it fits in perfectly with what we talk about in class but also relates to the “Kindred” reading in how it was common to refer to blacks as the “n-word”.
While performing at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, California, Michael Richards was disturbed by a group of black men in the crowd. Richards was video taped shouting “shut up” at the group in the audience and followed by “he’s a nigger!” to rest of the shocked audience. The argument broke out even further when the audience members being attacked retaliated saying “that is uncalled for” and “your not even funny”. Richards, who was already in trouble, did not hold back referring them as niggers and even made a comment about lynching. Through out the confrontation the audience was in shock of what was happening. Richards would not stop threatening to “never interrupt a white man”. The confrontation ended when the group of black people left the Laugh Factory with threats and name calling. They also referred to Richards as a “cracker”. When the group of black member left so did the majority of the audience and after awhile Richards just walked off the stage almost knowing how big of a mistake he had just made. When I read the book Kindred, it was surprising to me to see how freely the whites used the “n-word” in reference to African Americans. So when I saw the Michael Richards incident I was in shock to see how freely and careless he threw out that word as if it meant nothing. The “n-word” is something that is so emotionally charged that it should never be used in a joking manner because it just brings up a horrible time in this countries past. Truly the audience members felt the same way as they left in disgust. Michael Richards apologized publicly on the “David Letterman Show” and has since retired from stand-up comedy in search for spiritual healing. Richards also apologized to civil rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
I was feeling sick after I had watched the taping of this incident. Not only was it so weird to see someone in the twenty first century say that word so care-free but also because the man who was saying it made me laugh for so many years prior to this incident. I feel sorry that this event even happened but I also forgive Michael Richards and truly believe that he is sorry. We should not judge Michael Richards but learn from this experience. The “n-word” should not be taken lightly and used in a laughing manner.