Friday, November 17, 2006
I was watching this bit of youtube delight (which is 100% courtesy of senor beavis). I have now watched it on at least 5 separate occaisions because it cheers me up. the humor is based on a a simple premise of white people engaging sarcastically in a piece of traditionally urban black culture--in this case "ghostriding." when framed in those terms, it doesn't sound so funny. but it is. It has a distinct air of self-irony and harmlessness to it.
I have been wondering for a few months about when cultural cooption becomes offensive.
I was originally very turned off by this starbucks ad that features a bunch of white commuters step dancing, but no one else seemed to find that weird. I had cooked up this extended theory about how step dancing (last paragraph only) is rooted in the black fraternity tradition and symbolizes unity, pride, and paramilitary discipline. It seemed to me that the satirical cooption of this tradition by starbucks as part of its ironic-yet-energetic ad campaign (e.g "the eye of the tiger piece") was inappropriate. but in retrospect, I think maybe I was being over-serious.
However, there have been some obvious examples of highly distastful versions of the same cultural cooption. including the 1Ls at UT having a ghetto fabulous party complete with african-american name tags.
This issue seems to have run me up against my ceiling as a culture critic. I can't figure out any kind of objective guidelines for offensiveness.
but you really should watch ghostriding if you are feeling down.
I have been wondering for a few months about when cultural cooption becomes offensive.
I was originally very turned off by this starbucks ad that features a bunch of white commuters step dancing, but no one else seemed to find that weird. I had cooked up this extended theory about how step dancing (last paragraph only) is rooted in the black fraternity tradition and symbolizes unity, pride, and paramilitary discipline. It seemed to me that the satirical cooption of this tradition by starbucks as part of its ironic-yet-energetic ad campaign (e.g "the eye of the tiger piece") was inappropriate. but in retrospect, I think maybe I was being over-serious.
However, there have been some obvious examples of highly distastful versions of the same cultural cooption. including the 1Ls at UT having a ghetto fabulous party complete with african-american name tags.
This issue seems to have run me up against my ceiling as a culture critic. I can't figure out any kind of objective guidelines for offensiveness.
but you really should watch ghostriding if you are feeling down.
# posted by 8yearoldsdude @ 11:23 AM 
Comments:
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Damn, that's tricky. Glad you brought that up. I guess it really depends on the level of appreciation and admiration involved versus the level of sarcasm. I confess to being obsessed with this video. But mostly because it really looks like fun. I was lamenting yesterday that you wouldn't be home for Thanksgiving or I'd try to get you to ghostride something with me. Even with the ironic aspects, the guys in the video, one who may secretly be TJ Harker, are clearly enjoying themselves. As are the participants in the "black" ghostriding videos I was watching yesterday. If they'd dressed up in blackface or worn a shitload of gold chains and spoken in bad stereotypical dialect, that would have been offensive, but I think these guys were more like, "This is kinda awesome."
I haven't seen the step-dancing ad, and certainly will never put it past the Starbucks marketing department to be assholes. I do remember when I was a freshman in high school, my friends and I saw a step-dancing display and were like, "That was fucking awesome" and attempted to step dance in a friend's basement. While we were clearly not black fraternity members, it was done in admiration.
Naturally, white appropriation of black culture has a history over hundreds of years, some good some bad. But fortunately for culture as a whole, there's no explicit rules that non-black people can't play blues or rap (hell, the best rapper for my money, Lyrics Born, is Japanese). So I guess these things tend to sort themselves out.
I haven't seen the step-dancing ad, and certainly will never put it past the Starbucks marketing department to be assholes. I do remember when I was a freshman in high school, my friends and I saw a step-dancing display and were like, "That was fucking awesome" and attempted to step dance in a friend's basement. While we were clearly not black fraternity members, it was done in admiration.
Naturally, white appropriation of black culture has a history over hundreds of years, some good some bad. But fortunately for culture as a whole, there's no explicit rules that non-black people can't play blues or rap (hell, the best rapper for my money, Lyrics Born, is Japanese). So I guess these things tend to sort themselves out.
Whereas the youtube clip I've been watching over and over is this one that I sent you. It's a cow!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlKE1gQEE-E&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlKE1gQEE-E&mode=related&search=
# posted by 
: 7:37 PM
: 7:37 PM
Starbucks coffee gives you the confidence to try and even succeed at things that previously only tantalized your dreams due to your fear of humiliation and failure...it even can get white people to try to dance with rhythm. It's supposed to be funny and totally respectful. I wouldn't get bent out of shape. Perhaps we should pop a few frapaccino's and take your mom's new car for a ghostride...to celebrate the formal introduction of Jason Campbell to the NFL.
I find the Starbucks ad offensive because I don't see the satire. From what I remember, there's no element of "I'm going to try this because it's fun. . . and I know I look ridiculous." The Starbucks dancers do not present themselves as slightly ridiculous---perhaps the commercial relies on the context of people stepping in a subway station for ridicule, but the corporate sheen on the thing doesn't really do it for me. They might as well have broken out into the "Fame" dance.
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