I had dismissed the notion, but I think the article makes a decent argument about the racial overtones of the picture. I think the comparison to King Kong is an unfortunate distraction, because it is a weak argument that is easily scarecrowed. However, I would point out that the fact Lebron didn't have an immediate negative reaction to the image is a good sign for race relations in the country.
I thought the exact same thing. I knew Jemele Hill was behind this article before I even clicked on it. Her articles are terrible.
Actually Vogue has a history of racist magazine covers so this is not surprising. In this one it's obvious that they are trying to depict Will Smith as stealing something. Clearly in this one they are guilty of feeding the stereotype that african american women are loud.
Yeah, they were staring at her cause she is beautiful. No seriously, you have to be thicked-skinned. One thing I'll say about black woman, a lot of them have so much character that I am in awe of them. Are they shady? Yes, like every woman these days. Are they materialistic? It's true. But if you can get beneath that they have a lot to offer. That's why I am attracted to them. The problem is a lot of them feel obligated to date a black man and it is damn hard if you are an asian guy to get them past that.
Also, on the angry asian guy, I am over that. I mean, every girl these days wants the opposite of asian men. Asian women are no different. Hell, the last time I dated an asian girl was in college and she was so green I couldn't even get a kiss. WTF! A least black women will kiss you. LOL!
I'm an asian dude, and i got Jungle Fever. infact, i have all kinds of fever. i know a guy in high school that was an asian dude, and he weas with a black chick.
Are you surprised when something does not effect you . . it is easy to tell those that it does that they are stupid/crazy/insane etc having never been effected by these stereotypes. . . . They have no idea of how they are damaging Why did the cops get off for beating Rodney King? Because he kept moving and rising like some kind of 'animal' he was big black man to an extent . . . .the beating he took 'looked' worse than it was cause. . well he was a big black man that was trying to rise up like an ANIMAL Rocket River
Not that I am disagreeing with you entirely...BUT... If Giselle had a steel collar around her neck and Lebron was holding onto the other end of the chain, would we be saying that they are saying that Lebron is Jabba the Hut? Sure the magazine is portraying him as dominant and somewhat out of control. That is a persona that Lebron himself is trying to create. It makes money. It's good business. It is really the smart thing for Lebron to do. Lebron, being a smart businessman, is taking advantage of his opportunity.
A picture is just like a work of art. It brings out different feelings and emotions to all people who view it. A lot of it depends on each persons personal experiences. Still I don't think it's fair to label Vogue magazine as being racist by that photo. It's not enough to go on.
A couple of things, first the argument isn't is this racist, the argument is does this promote a negative stereotype. I'm positive vogue doesn't hate black people. and as the article states, part of the responsibility is also on lebron. and for those who think people don't think about these things, just a couple of years ago a bunch of white christian groups got all in an uproar when terrell owens was on a monday night football intro with a naked desperate housewife.
This my point. Racism is not the factor behind why LeBron is portrayed the way he is. Animalistic fury on the basketball court is something that fans (of all races) like in their players. It's just a coincidence that words used to describe players include bulldog, animal, beast, hard, pit bull, fierce, unstoppable, dominate, a terror on the boards, monster, etc. When the Rockets want to advertise they show clips of Tracy slamming the ball and roaring as he comes down and one shot shows him baning his chest. When Yao slams it and shows emotion people get excited. When players don't show that kind of emotion they get labeled (often times) soft or lazy. This isn't a racism issue, it's a sportism issue. We like our players to be fierce warriors on the court, not soft pansies.
First the awkward moment with the queen, now this? Annie Leibowitz is like the Larry David of photography.
again its not racism, its promoting negative stereotypes. I was watching 1st Take this morning and jamele hill and skip bayliss were discussing this. they got some emails on the topic and a person who claimed to be a professor and studies the media said he instructed his students to do research on this topic and the students found that black male athletes are overwhelmingly portrayed like this. life does not happen in a vacum, you can say the pose is about sports but what we see does not process in our brains according to one subject. in the brain its another black in an angry pose and again, no one is charging racism (the thread title is wrong), lebron also has responsibility in this
it did not immediately remind me of King Kong... though the thought of "oh typical big strong black man image again" did
