{"id":1018,"date":"2013-07-19T00:48:23","date_gmt":"2013-07-19T05:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/?p=1018"},"modified":"2013-11-07T16:43:20","modified_gmt":"2013-11-07T22:43:20","slug":"racism-in-the-screen-how-television-can-spark-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/racism-in-the-screen-how-television-can-spark-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Racism In the Screen – How Television Can Spark Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach Lorton, who, once he takes hold of an issue, runs with it:<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been trying to avoid all the talk about racism that has come over our airwaves in the last month, but stuff keeps happening. \u00a0I can\u2019t escape it.<\/p>\n

Now to be fair, the place where the most of the flames are really being fanned is the internet, with all its various, gloriously self-appointed morality judges who often speak according to their own convictions, rather than to what their higher sense of belief guides them in. \u00a0Sounding off has become the norm in the Internet age, and whether you\u2019re a Christian, Atheist, Agnostic, Muslim, Hindu, or any other derivation thereof, you probably have a moral opinion shaped by something.<\/p>\n

But since most of these items wouldn\u2019t have been given the light of day if television hadn\u2019t catapulted their subjects into national spotlights, I wanted to talk about racism and how it\u2019s handled by those handling our TV viewing experiences.<\/p>\n

By the way, I\u2019m not an expert. \u00a0Keep that in mind while you\u2019re reading.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Paula Deen issue isn\u2019t really an issue, in my estimation, and the corporations that have distanced themselves from her have done so as knee-jerk reactions \u2014 unjustly so. \u00a0When she spoke about the times she used the \u201cforbidden word\u201d in the past, she was under oath for a legal deposition, and it became a matter of public record. \u00a0Was she going to lie? \u00a0Of course not. \u00a0But to think that it was completely inappropriate for anyone to use that term in the South in the mid-80s? \u00a0Has everyone lost their memories?<\/p>\n

I have family that used to live in Oklahoma, and I heard that term thrown around when I was growing up. \u00a0It went away as I got older, but now, I hear more black people \u2014 men and women \u2014 using that term than anyone else. \u00a0If corporate and media America is going to throw a fit anytime someone utters that particular slur, then they need to throw a fit EVERY time someone does it. \u00a0Start with the entertainment world \u2014 musicians, filmmakers, and the like.<\/p>\n

So in Paula Deen\u2019s case, you have to consider the context. \u00a0At the time, and in that place, the context was much more acceptable, almost exponentially so, than it is now. \u00a0And I know there\u2019s more to this story than what exploded recently, so we\u2019ll move on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

George Zimmerman. \u00a0How is this really about race? \u00a0It\u2019s not. \u00a0We have a young black man who lost his life, and the man accused of killing him (and ultimately acquitted) is a mix of Caucasian and Hispanic heritage. \u00a0That\u2019s it. \u00a0Really, that\u2019s it. \u00a0Let\u2019s not forget that it took around 45 days for charges to be filed against Zimmerman.<\/p>\n

But now it\u2019s reported that Zimmerman is suing NBC for editing the audio of the 911 call on one of its news programs. \u00a0The suit claims that the call was edited to the point of portraying Zimmerman as a racist, causing him undue pain and defamation. \u00a0So yeah, that kind of information can skew someone\u2019s view of someone else. \u00a0As far as I\u2019m concerned, if the jurors of the case acquitted Zimmerman of criminal charges based on testimony and evidence presented during the trial, then they had all the information that the rest of us didn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Big Brother 15. \u00a0True proof that racism in America still exists, a few of this year\u2019s contestants on the CBS program has prompted the network to air a disclaimer at the beginning of the show saying that the show is made up of real people who have no privacy for 24 hours a day, and that anything those contestants say or do is not a reflection of the corporation at large. \u00a0In today\u2019s litigious society, I\u2019m certain the network feels that they must protect themselves from lawsuits brought by anyone trying to make a buck.<\/p>\n

The contestants\u2019 comments have actually gone so far as to enrage the show\u2019s host Julie Chen, according to the\u00a0Huffington Post<\/em>. \u00a0But how, exactly, and why? \u00a0This is a network that, during a season of \u201cSurvivor\u201d, separated the contestants into tribes based on their race in one of its past seasons. \u00a0Can anyone with the network be surprised that racial comments might be made based on the fact that these people are real? \u00a0They\u2019re not actors, and while producers may give them instruction or guidance, ultimately, the cameras capture everything. \u00a0That means that their baggage, training, exposure, and experience can come to light at any given time. \u00a0So, given that, is ANYONE at CBS surprised that something like this could eventually happen?<\/p>\n

However, as\u00a0reported by the website Reality Tea<\/a>, two of the contestant have been fired from their jobs because of their behaviour on the show. \u00a0But we\u2019re not done\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cheerios. \u00a0Most of the negative publicity from the commercial featuring a bi-racial family came from its presence on YouTube rather than its airing on television. \u00a0But again, TV is how most commercials come into our consciousness. \u00a0But because the opportunity for feedback is like crack to racists, Cheerios had to disable comments for the video on their YouTube channel. \u00a0People got all up in arms over the fact that a bi-racial child was featured in a family that had a black husband and a white wife. \u00a0That\u2019s it. \u00a0Literally, that\u2019s all they had to get up in arms over, and they chose to.<\/p>\n

Over a commercial for cereal. \u00a0I\u2019m going to let the poignancy of that sink in a moment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Because recently, we\u2019ve had two instances of United States citizens of Hispanic descent singing patriotic songs at high-profile sporting events over the last month. \u00a0In mid-June, Sebastien de la Cruz, an 11-year old mariachi singer that has been featured on \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d, sang \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner\u201d before the game \u2014 and the kid SOLD it. \u00a0Sure, he wasn\u2019t 100% on musically, but the little guy\u2019s got some great stage presence, and he brought it. \u00a0Of course, Twitter blew up like a racist Old Faithful, spouting hateful comments about somebody who wasn\u2019t \u2026 well, let\u2019s say it, white or black \u2026 singing our national anthem.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And earlier this week, pop singer Marc Anthony sang \u201cGod Bless America\u201d at the MLB All-Star game, and the Twittersphere went off the deep end again. \u00a0And once more, they were wrong \u2014 Marc Anthony is a natural born citizen, even though he is of Puerto Rican heritage, but he doesn\u2019t look white or black.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not going to pretend that racism is over. \u00a0Many people claim the fact that we have a black President as a reason for all this racist talk to stop, but it\u2019s not enough for some people. \u00a0As far as I can tell, racism works three ways:
\n1. We hate other races for simply being another race.
\n2. We hate our own race for what people in our race have done to other races.
\n3. We impose our beliefs about race and racism on others.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Method #3 that bothers me the most, and television and situations borne out of television events are bigger perpetrators of these ideas than pretty much anything else I\u2019ve seen in the media. \u00a0And why? \u00a0We trust what the news programs tell us. \u00a0We listen to TMZ, Entertainment Tonight, Dateline, 60 Minutes, the local news stations, and we don\u2019t ask any questions. \u00a0We believe that when someone does or says something that\u00a0might<\/em>\u00a0be construed as inappropriate, based on what our media tells us, we jump at the chance to vilify them.<\/p>\n

Why can\u2019t we accept that some people want us to believe certain things, think a certain way, or buy into a certain ideology, whether it\u2019s right or wrong? \u00a0Are we that blind? \u00a0Do we really think that the people in charge of the media are willing to let us believe whatever we want?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.\u201d \u2014 I John 2:9<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. \u00a0Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all, and in all.\u201d \u2014 Colossians 3:10-11<\/p>\n

I prefer to stand for what Jesus stood for, and nothing will change my mind about that. \u00a0No program, no pundit, no politician, no Twitter twit, no broadcast will ever shake me from that foundation. \u00a0I refuse to get caught up in Method #3. \u00a0I\u2019ll keep watching television. \u00a0But like a hawk.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach Lorton, who, once he takes hold of an issue, runs with it: I\u2019ve been trying to avoid all the talk about racism that has come over our airwaves in the last month, but stuff keeps happening. \u00a0I can\u2019t escape it. Now to be fair, the place where the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1636,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[128,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-geek-tv","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nRacism In the Screen - How Television Can Spark Conversation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach Lorton, who, once he takes hold of an issue, runs with it: I've been trying to avoid all the talk about racism that\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/racism-in-the-screen-how-television-can-spark-conversation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Racism In the Screen - How Television Can Spark Conversation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach Lorton, who, once he takes hold of an issue, runs with it: I've been trying to avoid all the talk about racism that\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/racism-in-the-screen-how-television-can-spark-conversation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Rogue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-19T05:48:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-11-07T22:43:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-UVlKAU3UN4k\/UejNu2HGRDI\/AAAAAAAAANY\/tEZZSW82Spg\/s320\/PaulaDeen.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zach Lorton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zach Lorton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/racism-in-the-screen-how-television-can-spark-conversation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/racism-in-the-screen-how-television-can-spark-conversation\/\",\"name\":\"Racism In the Screen - How Television Can Spark Conversation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-19T05:48:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-07T22:43:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/#\/schema\/person\/82fa58b85deafd4056e6778084242091\"},\"description\":\"From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach Lorton, who, once he takes hold of an issue, runs with it: I've been trying to avoid all the talk about racism that\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/racism-in-the-screen-how-television-can-spark-conversation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/racism-in-the-screen-how-television-can-spark-conversation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/racism-in-the-screen-how-television-can-spark-conversation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Racism In the Screen – How Television Can Spark Conversation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/\",\"name\":\"The Rogue\",\"description\":\"Rogue Stuff.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/#\/schema\/person\/82fa58b85deafd4056e6778084242091\",\"name\":\"Zach Lorton\",\"description\":\"Zach W. 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