Racism in the Media

Racism in the Media (Revised)

Movies and magazines have come under attack. Movies such as Star Wars have been accused of using characters that are racist symbols. Magazines, specifically fashion magazines, have been accused of racism for not displaying many African American women on the covers. I will prove that these accusations are seemingly far fetched. This is not racism; it is the use of demographics and marketing towards their target audiences. I will also argue that stereotypes, if used in the correct context, can add understanding and humor to racial barriers.

Star Wars being accused of blatant racism is seemingly implausible. George Lucas may have used icons from real life, but I don’t believe there was any intent to play off racial stereotypes in the movie. The character that is most prevalent in the media as being a stereotype is Jar Jar Binks. Jar Jar Binks is a computer generated character that assists the heroes in the film to navigate the planet of Naboo. Jar Jar Binks is said in the article “Fu Manchu on Naboo” “to have his head flaps drawn to look like dreadlocks” (Leo, 498). This is a stretch because to most people, mainly children, they would resemble floppy dog ears. Jar Jar resembles more a bipedal dinosaur than anything. This would easily be the inspiration for this character. The Anatotitan, a dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period, walked on two legs, had a duck bill, and spent most of its time in swamplands and marshes feeding off vegetation; much like the swamplands of the planet Naboo. It seems that most people are becoming too sensitive towards ideas viewers could stretch to be considered racism or bigotry. “Fu Manchu on Naboo” accuses the character of Watto of being one of three different stereotypes; an anti-Semitic icon, a crooked Middle Eastern merchant, or an Italian. If you cannot pick which ethnic group is being stereotyped, then you cannot accuse something of being racist. Another point that is never addressed is the character Mace Windu, a Jedi played by Samuel L. Jackson, a prominent African American actor. The article states that Jar Jar Binks is a teaching instrument to children that blacks are inferior to whites. However, a child would have to infer that a computer generated amphibian put in the movie for sheer comic relief is African American, whereas Mace Windu an intelligent hero in the movie, is easily distinguishable to any audience as African American. This is evidence that people will search for negative stereotypes in unlikely places and not embrace positive stereotypes.

Fashion magazines such as Vogue, Redbook, and the infamous Cosmopolitan are being assaulted because these magazines do not feature many black women on the cover. Consequently the target audience for these magazines is white females. Today, magazines are so numerous that most if not all special interest groups are represented. Abe Aamidor clams in his article, “If there's a special- interest group or audience out there, then someone will market a magazine to it” (Aamidor, 1). On the opposite end of the spectrum, take a look at magazines like Vibe and Ebony. There are little or no traces of Caucasian skin. This is because their target audience is African Americans. This is not racism, it is marketing, demographics, and smart business practices. It is smart business practices because as David Carr points out we live in, “… a country with a nonwhite population of nearly 30 percent” (Carr, 509). According to the CIA, the United States population is 295,734,134. So if seventy percent of the country is white and a half is female, then approximately 103,506,946.9 women fit within the marketing demographics. The numbers are huge. It’s easy to see why they cater to this group. The beauty of this country is there is a magazine for practically everything. So if a magazine wants to cater and appeal to a certain audience, that is up to them.

The market has however made a shift toward equality with the younger generation and the popularity of professional sports. Carr says “Magazines aimed at teenagers use far more nonwhite cover subjects” (Carr, 510). This is because of the popularity of rap music and the assimilation of African American culture to young adults and teenagers.

Carr never points out the statistics for sports magazines such as Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine. It’s almost impossible not to see Lebron James, Tiger Woods, or Michael Jordan, somewhere in one of these magazines if not on the