That's exactly what I said in my complaint to CBS. I would have seen five minutes worth of tits (well, that sort of goes without saying) than five minutes of blatant racism.
Grr.
There are a ton of headlines and letters up at http://www.indiancountry.com as well.
(i mean: i agree about the pointless boob frenzy. but i don't agree with that press release.)
have you seen the movie Undercover Brother? it's a guy who has to study white culture in an attempt to "pass" in white society. awful, terrible send-up of caucasian-americans, appalling in its unfair stereotyping. this was racist.
outkast laughs at himself. i think the extreme over-the-top performance at the grammies was a *parody* of exploitation. i own a Playboy from my birth month (1973) that features a "native american lass in her native skin" -- she's hott, nekkid, and carries a tomahawk. lime green feather headresses is more Village People, less cultural commentary. it's a meta-discussion of our culture's portrayals of indians, not a comment upon them itself. i mean ... lime green. it was all about Vegas, not reservation lands.
I'd have to say that... well, I don't exactly dissagree with you. Your point is valid as far as I am concerned. Having followed Outkast's televised shows for the last few months, I can tell you that this was most likely supposed to follow along the same suit that the other preformances have been.
So far, everyone has dressed up in different sports- strange sports, the most 'normal' of them being football, but the others are things like polo, golf, tennis and other such. Their clothing always has a slight 60's 'laugh-in' tone to them, and it's always in terrible neon shades of green and orange.
I've been a fan of Outkast for quite a while. I've heard a lot of what, in specific, Ben Andre has to say about life and his views, and I do not believe that their native american preformance had anything to do with racism. The dance act that they used, they use every other time- it was nothing different, except this time they wore cheesy laugh-in style 'indian' costumes.
You have the right to be offended. I'm not, because I don't think they intended it to be the way everyone else took it. But I can certainly see where others would be offended.
Personally, I think they should have done the tennis outfits again, because those were cute. Especially the bald girl.
The amazing thing to me is how literally hundreds of people could have seen this Outkast 'performance' in rehearsal and no one thought to say: this is offensive. Or by the laughter from the 'stars' in the audience who were watching-- captured live on TV. ouch!! This just shows how ignorant people are about Native Americans. Had it been any other group, the outcry would be fierce. As it is, we're so accustomed to seeing racism about Native Americans we don't even question it much.
For example, how many people see little kids at Halloween wearing feather and paint and think its ok? To Native Americans, these are sacred symbols, not costumes or products. Eagle feathers symbolize the sun, a giver of life. The whoop yell that Outkast dancers pantomimed was used to deride older Indian people who grew up in the 1950s. Yes, our grandparents were really cruel sometimes. That is satire? c'mon! Think how it must feel to see that on TV if you're a 70 year old woman who has been spit on for being Indian. Think how it must feel if she were to read some of these comments say 'oh, its no big deal just get over it.'
Racism is sly and subtle and it twines itself through the best of us. I say hooray for the brave souls who are organizing the boycott and standing up to commercial bullies like TV networks and record companies-- Rosa Parks must be smiling somewhere.
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momijizukamori
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Grr.
There are a ton of headlines and letters up at http://www.indiancountry.com as well.
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Racism, on the other hand... people have really got to get their priorities in a row.
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i passed this along to my friends who are part of a native american dance group. i think they will probally react the same way i did.
thank you for sharing that (as i dont have television or radio so i probally would have never heard of it)
there seems to be alot of disrespect towards different groups of people lately :(
huh.
(i mean: i agree about the pointless boob frenzy. but i don't agree with that press release.)
have you seen the movie Undercover Brother? it's a guy who has to study white culture in an attempt to "pass" in white society. awful, terrible send-up of caucasian-americans, appalling in its unfair stereotyping. this was racist.
outkast laughs at himself. i think the extreme over-the-top performance at the grammies was a *parody* of exploitation. i own a Playboy from my birth month (1973) that features a "native american lass in her native skin" -- she's hott, nekkid, and carries a tomahawk. lime green feather headresses is more Village People, less cultural commentary. it's a meta-discussion of our culture's portrayals of indians, not a comment upon them itself. i mean ... lime green. it was all about Vegas, not reservation lands.
Just my wee cent. ;)
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From:no subject
So far, everyone has dressed up in different sports- strange sports, the most 'normal' of them being football, but the others are things like polo, golf, tennis and other such. Their clothing always has a slight 60's 'laugh-in' tone to them, and it's always in terrible neon shades of green and orange.
I've been a fan of Outkast for quite a while. I've heard a lot of what, in specific, Ben Andre has to say about life and his views, and I do not believe that their native american preformance had anything to do with racism. The dance act that they used, they use every other time- it was nothing different, except this time they wore cheesy laugh-in style 'indian' costumes.
You have the right to be offended. I'm not, because I don't think they intended it to be the way everyone else took it. But I can certainly see where others would be offended.
Personally, I think they should have done the tennis outfits again, because those were cute. Especially the bald girl.
no subject
For example, how many people see little kids at Halloween wearing feather and paint and think its ok?
To Native Americans, these are sacred symbols, not costumes or products. Eagle feathers symbolize the sun, a giver of life. The whoop yell that Outkast dancers pantomimed was used to deride older Indian people who grew up in the 1950s. Yes, our grandparents were really cruel sometimes. That is satire? c'mon! Think how it must feel to see that on TV if you're a 70 year old woman who has been spit on for being Indian. Think how it must feel if she were to read some of these comments say 'oh, its no big deal just get over it.'
Racism is sly and subtle and it twines itself through the best of us. I say hooray for the brave souls who are organizing the boycott and standing up to commercial bullies like TV networks and record companies-- Rosa Parks must be smiling somewhere.