Tuesday, January 08, 2008
thoughts on the politics of race
Today Professor Kalmar brought up the politics of race, arguing that celebrities are increasingly racially ambiguous in the United States. He provided Micheal Jackson, Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, and Shakira as some examples. I think the appeal of racially ambigious stars can be understood in a few ways.
First of all, racial ambiguity and cross-ethnic identity are on the rise among ordinary people, as well as celebrities. Many North Americans have mixed family heritage, or are in inter-racial relationships. Even those that dont may find that they identify with the popular culture symbols formerly associated with other ethicities, eg. asian and white kids participating in the developpment of hip hop over the last 15 years.
Secondly, because of the history of slavery, imigration and discrimination in the United States, being in the ethnic minority gives a celebrity an unspoken "underdog appeal." We know that being not white in the US places a person, historically, at a disadvantage. But, because they dont ascribe to a particular, finite minority, the appeal is blameless, and generally accessible. There's no finger-pointing to an explicit oppressor, and no exclusive group of fellow oppressees to identify with. We can just happily and vaugly assume that that this person has risen to greatness despite adversity and obstacles in their or their family's past. Furthermore, we are free to hope that we can relate to their story, and draw inspiration from it, which is perhaps a main function of celebrities - their idealised, though perhaps falsely constructed images, serve as role models for normal people to aspire to.
First of all, racial ambiguity and cross-ethnic identity are on the rise among ordinary people, as well as celebrities. Many North Americans have mixed family heritage, or are in inter-racial relationships. Even those that dont may find that they identify with the popular culture symbols formerly associated with other ethicities, eg. asian and white kids participating in the developpment of hip hop over the last 15 years.
Secondly, because of the history of slavery, imigration and discrimination in the United States, being in the ethnic minority gives a celebrity an unspoken "underdog appeal." We know that being not white in the US places a person, historically, at a disadvantage. But, because they dont ascribe to a particular, finite minority, the appeal is blameless, and generally accessible. There's no finger-pointing to an explicit oppressor, and no exclusive group of fellow oppressees to identify with. We can just happily and vaugly assume that that this person has risen to greatness despite adversity and obstacles in their or their family's past. Furthermore, we are free to hope that we can relate to their story, and draw inspiration from it, which is perhaps a main function of celebrities - their idealised, though perhaps falsely constructed images, serve as role models for normal people to aspire to.
# posted by sam.butler @ 3:09 PM 
