Nike Puppets insult Blacks?

[Real Deal]

Nothing in the commercial hints that they're homosexual other than the fact that they live together, or that they've ran out on their wife and kids. The commercial shows each of them living a carefree lifestyle filled with sneakers, cars, and video games. It places LeBron and Kobe almost as mature adolescents who obviously wouldn't have kids. Though you are right. Family-oriented doesn't sell sneakers to the urban youth, so they take the pretext of family away from Kobe and LeBron.

 

The concept of a child protecting his mother from a potential boyfriend is universal to all races. It could've been a White, black, or asian and it would've conveyed the same message.

 

All I've done is displayed what Nike has explicitly chosen to show and what those representations mean. You're assuming things that aren't there. The Doritos commercial assumes little other than that the man is physically attracted to the woman shown by the male-gaze [expletive] shot of the woman walking. We assume its her place (feminist scholars must be thrilled), and it's well-kept. You're making wild assumptions that aren't suggested by the commercial.

 

Again, nothing suggests that because the kid is black that white people shouldn't look up to Kobe or LeBron.

 

I haven't twisted anything. I took image choices Nike deliberately made and how they reflect black, urban, youth culture, and reflect dominant ideologies. You're grasping at examples in order to make me look ridiculous without looking at how ideologies work.

So what if Mrs. Claus was busy rounding up the elves for Christmas? Maybe that's why there was no Mrs. Claus with Santa in the commercial? I mean, you're assuming it's a dig at the black Santa. I'm assuming it's because Mrs. Claus is busy gathering elves, or out grocery shopping, or getting her hair done.

 

It's a HUGE stretch. Santa is "bling-bling" in the commercial because it's a rap video, and that's what you tend to see in most of them. Why is he black? Because there is only one white rapper that is well-known by the majority of people that listen to rap music.

 

This is funny, though. My mom loves country music. She watches CMT (a channel for her videos) all the time. They had a Christmas special on there, and the Santa was white, had on cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. What for? Probably because the Christmas special was country music. Would CMT have a reason to make that Santa Claus black, with a Wu-Tang chain and Ray-Bans? Surely not.

 

Basically, using your argument, you'd have to come to the conclusion that blacks insult themselves...or else there is no insult.

[Guest The Situation]

St. Nick is white?

[Erick Blasco]

So what if Mrs. Claus was busy rounding up the elves for Christmas? Maybe that's why there was no Mrs. Claus with Santa in the commercial? I mean, you're assuming it's a dig at the black Santa. I'm assuming it's because Mrs. Claus is busy gathering elves, or out grocery shopping, or getting her hair done.

 

It's a HUGE stretch. Santa is "bling-bling" in the commercial because it's a rap video, and that's what you tend to see in most of them. Why is he black? Because there is only one white rapper that is well-known by the majority of people that listen to rap music.

 

This is funny, though. My mom loves country music. She watches CMT (a channel for her videos) all the time. They had a Christmas special on there, and the Santa was white, had on cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. What for? Probably because the Christmas special was country music. Would CMT have a reason to make that Santa Claus black, with a Wu-Tang chain and Ray-Bans? Surely not.

 

Basically, using your argument, you'd have to come to the conclusion that blacks insult themselves...or else there is no insult.

 

You're focusing too much on things that aren't shown instead of what IS shown. There are no elves or Mrs. Claus shown. Nothing implies that there is a Mrs. Claus. The images shown are of Santa Claus without Ms. Claus. It's not the most important image used---there are time restraints in a 60 second commercial spot---but its a conscious effort by Nike to show Santa Claus without a Mrs. Claus. Whether you want to hear it or not, there are still cultural assumptions about blacks not being able to maintain healthy relationships. Nothing in the commercial combats that assumption, but it does reinforce it.

 

The problem with Santa's portrayal isn't that he's "bling-bling." It's that he clearly has material wealth (the bling), but his house is a shanty. It reinforces the idea that blacks look for material possessions and external methods of indicating status at the expense of having a solid foundation. People don't question the commercial because in capitalist society, the dominant ideological structure promotes material wealth. It's been absorbed into our culture.

 

If your mom was watching a Country Music special with a Cowboy Santa and there was a scene with Cowboy Santa in his cowboy boots in a house with cockroaches scurrying about, it would say something about the nature of country music culture.

 

The fact that Santa is black in the commercial means nothing other than as a representation for other things in the commercial. He enjoys rap (with a simplistic mainstream beat), which ties him to a young, urban, mostly black demographic. It's the house scene that is the most damaging, selling the message that you too can become an icon with material wealth, self-promotion, base insults, and dumbed down modes of speech, as opposed to taking care of what's inside first (a home, an index of character).

 

You have to come to the conclusion that Nike thinks that blacks will see the commercial and accept the signs, buying their products at the expense of building their character. And that is the only conclusion.

[Poe]

I wouldn't necessarily call the black santa commercial outright racist, though you can make a case for it by it's definition (to distinguish a race as superior/inferior - a black santa living in a poor environment versus a white santa living in the north pole in sort of a kingdom-like environment supervising elves and their toy-making and whatnot).

 

Personally, I'd call it something more towards reinforcing stereotypes made in our society. Showing that "this is the way things are supposed to be", when there is absolutely no reason for things to be that way.

 

 

Tell me if I'm not making any sense. I always feel like I have a hard time explaining what's really on my mind.

Edited February 26, 2010 by Poe

[Erick Blasco]

I wouldn't necessarily call the black santa commercial outright racist, though you can make a case for it by it's definition (to distinguish a race as superior/inferior - a black santa living in a poor environment versus a white santa living in the north pole in sort of a kingdom-like environment supervising elves and their toy-making and whatnot).

 

Personally, I'd call it something more towards reinforcing stereotypes made in our society. Showing that "this is the way things are supposed to be", when there is absolutely no reason for things to be that way.

 

 

Tell me if I'm not making any sense. I always feel like I have a hard time explaining what's really on my mind.

 

No, you're making sense. At this time and age, no commercial will outright call one particular group inferior though. It kills advertising, and there are enough minority groups that will backlash against anything that's even remotely overt racism.

 

But subtlety is a much more effective way to promote meaning because it flies by undetected unless you're trained to look for it, or notice something peculiar.

 

If the codes of stereotyping change, then the stereotypes themselves will change, for example the early 20th century associations of blacks with monkeys, which were accepted by the national consciousness. Nowadays, nobody will show that association in a film or show, and if they do, it would be either the absurdest of comedies, or would be immediately attacked by any group.

 

If Nike keeps showing images from the video, and people keep accepting them, it will be absorbed by the national consciousness and won't change.

[Real Deal]

I guess I don't see color, then. That might be the problem, with everyone else searching for racism. You don't eliminate something you continue to obtain, and that's the biggest reason why racism (or stereotyping, or anything of the sort) will always exist in the most negative manner.