By guest blogger Arthur Valenz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrbdXUWryXk
This link is a video that was aired during the Super Bowl and was paid for by Pete Hoekstra in a campaign against Debbie Stabenow in the race for the Michigan senator. The article has already been met with a lot of criticism. Although the video is meant to target Stabenow and her fiscal policy, it also places people of Asian descent in a negative light, claiming that they (or more specifically China) benefit from a struggling American economy.
The fact that this would be aired during the Super Bowl is a little troublesome, considering that the FCC would cry out indecency when Janet Jackson bared her breast during the half-time show, yet somehow could not prevent this ad from running on Michigan stations. To be completely honest, I am not sure how much control the FCC may have had prior to the release of this ad, however, station executives need to be a bit more selective in who they accept money from to run a commercial with blatantly offensive content.
Hi Arthur,
ReplyDeleteI think you made an astute comment regarding the bigotry and racism of the ad, and I would like to add a few thoughts.
First, it is a relief that this advertisement (unlike so many others) is facing scrutiny on the national level. Before commenting, I typed "racist Michigan commercial" in the Google news search bar and the first story was linked to 129 other articles. Clearly, this political advertisement (again, unlike so many others) is starting to establish a bright line in the public sphere about racist rhetoric within political speech. I wonder how much the "sanctity of the super bowl commercial" contributed to the collective reaction?
Second, your comparison of this commercial with the Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson half-time incident was apt and intriguing. Of course, as Hoekstra's commercial was political, and therefore carries significant weight as protected speech, it seems tricky for an organization such as the FCC to get involved. However, that shouldn't stop Michiganders and anti-racists from across the country (and globe) from bringing critiques into our many discursive publics!
Third, as this commercial has sparked collective outcry, possibly it provides fecund opportunity for dialogue about racism. Possibly we should brainstorm ways to use this overtly racist commercial (and the growing national response) as a spring board for extending anti-oppression advocacy.
Thanks Arthur!
Courtney Wright
Here's a link to the Hoekstra parody video. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/08/pete-hoekstras-racist-ad-video_n_1263518.html I think the video illustrates many different stereotypes that are also just as negative as the one portrayed in the original ad. I think both do offer an opportunity as Courtney mentions in the above comment, for "Dialogue about Racism".
ReplyDelete