Warning: your media entertainment is the equivalent to browsing in any given department store.
The powers that be work to present a strong enough case during your viewing experience with the goal of enticing you out of your hard-earned money. We are a capitalist nation, after all, and spending is not only the norm, it is expected.
With the onslaught of advertisements, more than a few media viewers have found ways around these annoying commercials using DVRs and prompts to skip an advertisement.These features feign complete control under the guise of skipping those dreaded commercials. Still, companies are vying for the contents of any wallet! This creates the need to discover new ways to pitch whatever product or service that will get one to spend money. Consumers understand commercials are the very instrument that finance the shows, movies, and music enjoyed, but would rather skip the barkers' annoying pitch. How do companies circumvent the control consumers have over their viewing habits? With the illusion that every person within our culture making up the American fabric is not only included, they are accepted. The feeble attempts to achieve this goal are enacted by way of cookie cutter replicas ignorantly believed to be a representation of certain cultures. Consequently, similar to browsing in some stores, one will discover that the advertisers are greeting potential customers at the door with preconceived notions, showing consumers that they are “understood." This is an insult to everyone’s intelligence. Americans do not accept this behavior from any department store, so why allow it from commercials? Offensive advertisements should generate an immediate ban of any product pitched!
Back in the day, people of color were type-cast in movies and television. They were the slaves, the servants, the mammies, the simpletons. They were the criminals, the prostitutes, the comic relief, and the poor, uneducated downtrodden.They were the wise old ones, the outcasts who, even though they were not permitted to participate in the perks of American society, assisted those already celebrated, embraced, and accepted. They used their wisdom and knowledge to assist the ones who needed a leg up in order to compete, fit in, or get ahead. Pssst… guess what? Nothing has changed! Wake up, snap out of it, and realize it!
Yes, in this day and age, the year 2016, even with an African American man in the oval office, we are still bombarded with stereotypical characters shucking and jiving their way across our screens to the delight of "mainstream" America. When it comes to casting, the African American woman still finds herself marginalized and categorized. The house Negro of yesteryear has been updated and replaced with the modern day house slave as the light-skinned, non-threatening sisters who are permitted into the inner sanctuary representing diversity and acceptance. The darker sisters, however, are cast aside and placed into roles based on a sliding scale that is determined by the blackness of their skin and the nappiness of their hair. Do you doubt? Forego the perks of the DVR for a day and watch the commercials. No, it is not imagined! It is the same type of Black woman in every single ad! Here are the categories…
The new field Negro, the darker sisters cast as the sassy ones with attitude. The “round the way girl” who possesses the coveted ability of a quick comeback delivered with a sarcastic one-liner. They say what America is alleged to be thinking, but have been too afraid to say out loud because society forbids it of its civilized members! They command that one must buy what they are selling. After all, deep down inside, everyone wishes for the gumption to just say “what the heck” and just go for it, the way they do. These darker sisters in commercials are stereotypical, confrontational women who will beat a person down if need be in order to get one to understand, obey, and most importantly, to buy.
Next we have the updated mammie. The caramel sisters, not too light, not too dark, with realistic body types that remind one of a nurturer. They are the ones who give heartfelt advice on what product is best used in order to clean your floor. Make no mistake, although accepted, they are not viewed with any type of intellectual thought. They are here to serve and relay information. Why, one even had the misfortune of instant darkness while comfortably riding her seated lift in the midst of stair ascension! Her plight was exploited mid-commercial in order to demonstrate that the device touted has the amazing ability to function even during a sudden storm that knocks out power. Translation: the reckless spending habits have placed this poor, misguided mammie in a situation where ignoring many a request to pay the light bill did not quite pan out as hoped, thus the power is instantly shut off mid-ascent. Mammie is relaying the message that one may still make it up the flight of stairs while pondering the ramifications that arise due to the nonpayment of utility bills.
Other mammies sell cereal, grinning from ear to ear and assuring America that they are excited and happy to wake up before the crack of dawn in order to rush to the cereal factory with the plastic see-through shower cap in tow in order to provide a tasty breakfast for consumption. Some of the new mammies go by way of the darker sisters, using some of that down-home sass while extending gracious invitations to come and eat their fast food chicken. After all, it is made with their secret Southern recipes that were once guarded by the mysteries of the bayou to add spice, flavor, and danger to your meal, so one may experience the forbidden spice of the Black culture. Then, there are the ones who are saddled with ailments and need the assistance of one of the myriad of pills that come with no less than one billion and five warnings of potential side effects, some that may include death! These commercials are usually accompanied with an updated Negro-type spiritual, softly screaming with lamentations in the background for dramatic effect.
For all women of color who want to be accepted into mainstream America, the current “it” girl prototype is the one to be followed. They are the “pretty” ones, the ones who are placed high and above the rest. The modern house Negro with all the perks. The fun hipsters, the ones that eat at fast food restaurants as opposed to working in them. They are the ones who defiantly sashay and strut in their discount designer shoes.They have been granted permission to destroy the norms of cell phones as they are considered relatable enough to create the mad dash to open wallets in order to obtain what they possess. However, within each of these commercials, these new house Negros are all the same. Slim, very light skin, with the hipster curly, funky afro. These are the women who are granted immunity in order to complain about car insurance. They happily have access to soap that claims to celebrate all types of women, even though all types are never represented. The new house Negro has covered the spread of the African American woman. Companies are inferring that any age, shape, and size is celebrated in a woman, but carefully caution through exclusion on the dangers of being too dark! The casting directors collect their checks and pat themselves on the back, a job well done all in the name of diversity and sales. Those who currently type-cast African American women in commercials should either turn in their resignations immediately, or promptly be fired. Seriously, when will it ever stop?
