la_vie_noire (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
la_vie_noire) wrote2009-06-30 05:25 pm
la_vie_noire) wrote2009-06-30 05:25 pm
Skip this if you are tired of reading about Michael Jackson
Pausing study times because I cannot resist this. Just too damn... ugh.
Disclaimer: I'm not exactly the most versed person in USA's pop culture, so you have to forgive my ignorance.
I was having lunch while my little cousin was watching some MTV special called "Michael Jackson Greatest TV moments" or something. They were discussing some of the man's videos; this one, for a song I can't remember, was located in an Ancient Egyptian setting, Jackson was some kind of entertainer for Queen Nefertiti. (People here will probably know better about this video than me.) In this pop version of Nefertiti's time, she was played by supermodel Iman, the Pharaoh was played by Eddie Murphy, and everyone else in the set was black.
I was barely watching TV because my mind is full of three exams, but when I saw that video I remember thinking something like, "well, I think Jackson was trying to look for at least a minimal accuracy by no casting white people."
When the commentary about the video was finishing some white woman (I don't know who she was, I tell you I suck at this) was saying how, "also, the fact that Jackson casted African-Americans for this video was clearly a shown of black pride. He wanted to get close to his roots, his people."
I almost spit my food. Granted, I don't know why Jackson casted all black people. Maybe being a black man made him more aware of the white washing going on. But I will tell you something, that comment there? Just showed how ignorant and invested in white supremacy some white people are.
Egypt? Who did you expect him to cast? WHITE PEOPLE? Even if this was a pop music video, that statement was fucking ridiculous. Casting brown people to play the part of brown people is now "black pride".
Granted, there is a lot of debate about the "race" of ancient Egyptians. But dude. DUDE. Phenotypically, Iman is a lot more accurate Nefertiti than Liz Taylor is a Cleopatra. And having all black people is damn accurate for a music video.
What piss me off is that an all-white cast by a white person would obviously not represent "white pride" or something. Even if completely wrong.
ETA: What I meant to say is NOT that him doing it for being proud of his race was wrong or something. It's that when black people are cast to play Egyptians is a political statement, political correctness, etc., because what you would expect is white people playing Egyptians (emphasis, you know), no matter how wrong it is. And yeah, the latter is "white pride" and a political statement too, but for another post.
This brings me to the reconstructed face of the mummy attributed to Nefertiti. And how, googling for this, in some blog I saw people saying that "the [face] reconstruction was political correctness gone wrong. Nefertiti was white." (I know there is a bust of her with uber-light skin, I'm kinda sure the painting was a retouching.)
So, here you have a not so tangential rant: there is a reason I hate the term "political correctness".
"Political Correctness" = As icon says, meeting minimal standards of decent human.
And apparently, "Political Correctness" = Meeting minimal standards of historical accuracy.
I'm so tired of this shit, I'm so tired of hearing things like "political correctness," or "tokenism". And privileged idiots complaining that people are just SO sensitive for wanting to pretend that whites aren't the only people inhabitating this world. Or white people going about the "post-racialness" of the first world. *rolls eyes*
"Political correctness" means that the norm is white washing, oppression, objectification. Power differences that affect real people's lives and make things shittier for them? Don't exist because the privileged don't want to bother about them.
... Uhm, this was supposed to be shorter and sound angrier. It's been a while since someone screamed "reverse racism!" at my face.
Totally unrelated, damn hot fic that I have never read before (not work safe obviously). And I made myself proud knowing all that is worth out there for KuroFay. Damn.
I was making icons with the help of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
outou's great tutorial and these bases. Well, one icon! But I don't have much time.
Disclaimer: I'm not exactly the most versed person in USA's pop culture, so you have to forgive my ignorance.
I was having lunch while my little cousin was watching some MTV special called "Michael Jackson Greatest TV moments" or something. They were discussing some of the man's videos; this one, for a song I can't remember, was located in an Ancient Egyptian setting, Jackson was some kind of entertainer for Queen Nefertiti. (People here will probably know better about this video than me.) In this pop version of Nefertiti's time, she was played by supermodel Iman, the Pharaoh was played by Eddie Murphy, and everyone else in the set was black.
I was barely watching TV because my mind is full of three exams, but when I saw that video I remember thinking something like, "well, I think Jackson was trying to look for at least a minimal accuracy by no casting white people."
When the commentary about the video was finishing some white woman (I don't know who she was, I tell you I suck at this) was saying how, "also, the fact that Jackson casted African-Americans for this video was clearly a shown of black pride. He wanted to get close to his roots, his people."
I almost spit my food. Granted, I don't know why Jackson casted all black people. Maybe being a black man made him more aware of the white washing going on. But I will tell you something, that comment there? Just showed how ignorant and invested in white supremacy some white people are.
Egypt? Who did you expect him to cast? WHITE PEOPLE? Even if this was a pop music video, that statement was fucking ridiculous. Casting brown people to play the part of brown people is now "black pride".
Granted, there is a lot of debate about the "race" of ancient Egyptians. But dude. DUDE. Phenotypically, Iman is a lot more accurate Nefertiti than Liz Taylor is a Cleopatra. And having all black people is damn accurate for a music video.
What piss me off is that an all-white cast by a white person would obviously not represent "white pride" or something. Even if completely wrong.
ETA: What I meant to say is NOT that him doing it for being proud of his race was wrong or something. It's that when black people are cast to play Egyptians is a political statement, political correctness, etc., because what you would expect is white people playing Egyptians (emphasis, you know), no matter how wrong it is. And yeah, the latter is "white pride" and a political statement too, but for another post.
This brings me to the reconstructed face of the mummy attributed to Nefertiti. And how, googling for this, in some blog I saw people saying that "the [face] reconstruction was political correctness gone wrong. Nefertiti was white." (I know there is a bust of her with uber-light skin, I'm kinda sure the painting was a retouching.)
So, here you have a not so tangential rant: there is a reason I hate the term "political correctness".
"Political Correctness" = As icon says, meeting minimal standards of decent human.
And apparently, "Political Correctness" = Meeting minimal standards of historical accuracy.
I'm so tired of this shit, I'm so tired of hearing things like "political correctness," or "tokenism". And privileged idiots complaining that people are just SO sensitive for wanting to pretend that whites aren't the only people inhabitating this world. Or white people going about the "post-racialness" of the first world. *rolls eyes*
"Political correctness" means that the norm is white washing, oppression, objectification. Power differences that affect real people's lives and make things shittier for them? Don't exist because the privileged don't want to bother about them.
... Uhm, this was supposed to be shorter and sound angrier. It's been a while since someone screamed "reverse racism!" at my face.
Totally unrelated, damn hot fic that I have never read before (not work safe obviously). And I made myself proud knowing all that is worth out there for KuroFay. Damn.
I was making icons with the help of
outou's great tutorial and these bases. Well, one icon! But I don't have much time.
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Semi-related: I raged so fucking much when I saw the general commentary on Nefertiti's face was so racist and implied "she wasn't as pretty as the legend said". She was a gorgeous woman, dammit. She also wasn't white. >/
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Also, I can't believe you'd never seen that fic before! I saved that one a million years ago. *LOL* <3
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Hey, I don't know how, but I totally missed it. XD <3333
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because there are so few black people in, like, his family... oh wait. what?
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:/
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