Racism Seeps it's Way in to Transformers.....

I was recently looking over an article called Jar Jar again? 2 Transformers Raise Race Issues posted by MSNBC. The article discussed the recently released movie Transformers 2 and two minor characters that were causing major uproars. A lot of critics had a problem with two robots in the movie named Skids and Mudflap. In the movie, these two bots were given what might be referred to as a stereotypical "black" demeanor. The characters were constantly fighting, arguing and speaking with broken English. At one point during the movie, one of the bots admitted that he couldn't read. Critics have made cross references of these two characters to the character Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace which I am unable to critique as a fair comparison being that I have never seen Star Wars. When certain critics evaluated the attitudes of the characters, the stated how Hollywood has a tendency to get laughs at the expense of the African-American community. One critic mentioned how if the movie was filmed with real black actors as opposed to animated characters, one would have to admit that it was racist. However because they are disguised in robots, that makes it OK.

When the Director Michael Bay was confronted about the issue, he insisted that the bots were implemented for good clean fun. Bay went on to say that the characters added "personality" but wasn't sure if he would refer to it as "stereotypes." Regardless of the fact that when I heard Michael Bay's remarks, I instantly regarded them as implausible, I was further reminded of a class discussion I was involved in not too long ago. The professor said how regardless of the intentions of the producers (be it profit motivated or even a conspiracy) the product they produce have very real, lasting effects. For example, a lot of media portray black people as violent, uneducated people. Because this is so often the portrayal of normal behavior of black people, normalization has caused a lot of people within the black community to adopt these specific behaviors.

As a black man, I was personally offended by the two robot characters in the movie. I felt that they were unnecessary and took away from a movie that I would have otherwise enjoyed. I find it hard to believe that the behaviors of the robots throughout the entire film followed by a remark about not being able to read could be an accident (especially as a major film producer). I am not going to make any accusations about what I believe Michael Bay's intentions were, but I do think it is important to realize that actions such as these have very real and very negative effects on people. For this to be implemented in a film for young people whose minds and perceptions are still being molded and developed is unacceptable. Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Could it be...A president we actually like

According to a study done by the director of The Center for Media and Public Affairs, President Barack Obama has gotten the most positive feedback during most presidential campaigns. When compared to former presidents like George Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton, President Obama has had the most positive stories and articles written about him. Some people think that this is because he was so different from what most people were used to when it came to the President of the United States. It is not even the fact that Obama had this abundant amount of positive feedback back because he didn’t. The negative feedback still outweighed the positive. According to The Washington Times, the ratio for Obama’s coverage was 49 percent positive and 51 percent negative. What makes this stand out is when it is compared to a former president like George Bush who had 23 percent positive or Bill Clinton who had 28 percent positive feedback. Now that his campaign is over and Obama is president, the writers and journalist have put the heat on him just like they do with all the rest of the people who have ever occupied that position.

This stands out because presidents get so much criticism throw at them all the time. For a President to get that much positive press, it really says something about his campaign. I agree with the article, I think the feedback he got had a lot to do with who he was and how he was so different from the norm. By him begin the first African-American president; people were drawn to his campaign. Even if they did not agree with what he stood for, or they did not agree with his plans for the country, people still wanted to know about his story.

Why did Obama’s campaign receive more positive feedback than former campaigns of George Bush, Ronald Regan, and Bill Clinton? I don’t think we will ever really know for sure. Will the amount of positivity he received affect the amount of pressure that will be put on him? My guess will be yes. Because people think so highly of him, they will most likely watch every move he makes to see if he lives up to be the president that a lot of people are hoping him to be.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/26/obamas-honeymoon-with-media-is-history/?feat=home_top5_commented

What your answers to the above questions?...Think about it
-Paige