The Negrification of Television

[Moonglow]

In contrast to the "black" woman as Mother Superior in the Sound of Music Live, consider the black drill instructor in "An Officer and a Gentleman." Lou Gossett, if memory serves.

This (unlike The Sound of Music) is an entirely fictitious story in which the author saw the Drill Sergeant as a typical white, southern, red neck Drill Instructor. That's what was in the script. But Lou Gossett read for the part and kicked ass, and in fact he kicked ass in the movie.

I have no problem with that. In fact I applaud the Director for being willing to see a different and possibly better presentation of the basic fictional story.

Contrast this with the SOML. The story is "based on actual events" that happened to the von Trapp family in Austria during the time in question. The Trapp family is a real family (now living in Vermont). The convent was real and had real nuns, and like it or not, THEY WERE ALL WHITE AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT. Having a "black" woman cast at the Mother Superior is a crime against nature.

Josh Groban as Porgy. Same, same. Bullshit.

TANGENT:

I flog myself mightily for confusing natalie wood with audrey hepburn. Yes, natalie wood played Maria (badly) in West Side Story. Audrey hepburn played 'Liza Doolitle, but couldn't sing the part, and had one of the worst phony English accents in the history of cinema - second only to Dick Van Dyke's in Mary Poppins.

How about Robert Dinero doin' a southern accent with a NY accent mixed in?

 

[DGS49]

Moonglow, sweetie, you are not talking about the same thing.

When Sammy Katz plays Cochise, he wears makeup to make him look like a "Native American." The woman in SOML was not playing a white Mother Superior; if she were, she would have been wearing makeup to conceal her natural skin color. She was being represented as a person who could have been the Mother Superior.

 

[Moonglow]

Moonglow, sweetie, you are not talking about the same thing.

When Sammy Katz plays Cochise, he wears makeup to make him look like a "Native American." The woman in SOML was not playing a white Mother Superior; if she were, she would have been wearing makeup to conceal her natural skin color. She was being represented as a person who could have been the Mother Superior.

Is it any worse than a white guy playing Jesus/Moses/Egyptian Pharaohs.?
A show does not have to be a typecast of race. It is entertainment.
You don't hear the Von Trapps bitching.
I had to do the play so many times in high school and jr high, I have not seen it since the 1970's.
Same with South Pacific and Oedipus Rex and Antigone.

 

[MikeK]

All this fuss over a black Mother "Superior"?

The issue is far more complicated than that.

If there was mention of a Black Mother Superior in a contemporary context there would be no issue. But for someone, such as DGS49, who is acquainted with the socio-political atmosphere of Austria in the 1930s, the suggestion of there being a Black Mother Superior in Austria during the rise of the Nazi Party and its Aryan obsession is equal to suggesting Malcolm X was a blond. It would be seen as an attempt to alter history and a question would arise as to its purpose.

Whether or not DGS49's commentary is seen by some as having a "racist" theme (whatever that means per individual assessment), what he refers to is an apparent effort on the part of Madison Avenue and other special interests to accelerate the process of racial integration through the use of subliminal methods of indoctrination (aka brainwash). Specifically, DGS49 points to the fact that most (if not all) advertisements which feature a racially mixed couple, the female is clearly caucasian while the male is mulatto, typically light-skinned with caucasian facial features.

The obvious message imbedded in this persistently repetitive image intends to promote acceptance of an advanced stage of racial integration, i.e., a caucasian woman coupled with a negro man. But a not-so-obvious deception exists in the fact that the man is not at all representative of the negro stereotype, either in complexion or in those physical characteristics typical of the negro race. So these images do not honestly depict a White woman coupled with a Black man but rather a White woman coupled with a man who is part Black and part White.

Hey, what was all that talk back in the day about a "Black Madonna"?

You'll find the whole story here: Black Madonna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Sunshine]

I noticed the same thing in a Sound of Music. Not only that but Mother Superior spoke of having grown up in those hills and played there as a child. This is literary license that permits ignoring the woman's color in favor of her voice.

Did you see the SyFy show Merlin? Queen Guinevere was black. How did that happen?

Yes it is part of the general propaganda of how life should be lived. It is doing the same thing that television did when it depicted a stable family with a responsible father as was done in the 50s.

Sounds a lot like how they use to portray the Egyptians as white people when everyone already knew they were Black.

Egyptians were and are Persians. They are not and were not ever 'black.' Cleopatra was a Greek. Marc Anthony was Roman. (Yes, I've been to Egypt.)

 

[Asclepias]

I noticed the same thing in a Sound of Music. Not only that but Mother Superior spoke of having grown up in those hills and played there as a child. This is literary license that permits ignoring the woman's color in favor of her voice.

Did you see the SyFy show Merlin? Queen Guinevere was black. How did that happen?

Yes it is part of the general propaganda of how life should be lived. It is doing the same thing that television did when it depicted a stable family with a responsible father as was done in the 50s.

Sounds a lot like how they use to portray the Egyptians as white people when everyone already knew they were Black.

Egyptians were and are Persians. They are not and were not ever 'black.' Cleopatra was a Greek. Marc Anthony was Roman. (Yes, I've been to Egypt.)

That's odd. DNA results say Ramses III was Blacker than I am. King Tut as well. I too have been to Egypt. I visited Abu Simbel while there. They were definitely Black before the Greek, Persian, and Roman invasions. You must have been high to think otherwise if you went to Egypt and did not realize this. You see this is why its important for historical documentaries and the like to be ethnically accurate. You get people claiming all sorts of weird things about history.

 

[Sunshine]

Sounds a lot like how they use to portray the Egyptians as white people when everyone already knew they were Black.

Egyptians were and are Persians. They are not and were not ever 'black.' Cleopatra was a Greek. Marc Anthony was Roman. (Yes, I've been to Egypt.)

That's odd. DNA results say Ramses III was Blacker than I am. King Tut as well. I too have been to Egypt. I visited Abu Simbel while there. They were definitely Black before the Greek, Persian, and Roman invasions. You must have been high to think otherwise if you went to Egypt and did not realize this. You see this is why its important for historical documentaries and the like to be ethnically accurate. You get people claiming all sorts of weird things about history.

Well I've seen Ramses III's mummy. He was NOT black.

Keep this shit up. It's as stupid as saying Africans brought the yam to American. The yam certainly came from Africa, but no African ever looked at the captain of a slaver and said, 'Yo bro, hold the phone, while I go get my yams.'

 

[Sunshine]

Mummy of Ramses III:

Egyptian drawing of Ramses III:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c

Fine features, definitely not African.

Ramesses III - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Asclepias]

Egyptians were and are Persians. They are not and were not ever 'black.' Cleopatra was a Greek. Marc Anthony was Roman. (Yes, I've been to Egypt.)

That's odd. DNA results say Ramses III was Blacker than I am. King Tut as well. I too have been to Egypt. I visited Abu Simbel while there. They were definitely Black before the Greek, Persian, and Roman invasions. You must have been high to think otherwise if you went to Egypt and did not realize this. You see this is why its important for historical documentaries and the like to be ethnically accurate. You get people claiming all sorts of weird things about history.

Well I've seen Ramses III's mummy. He was NOT black.

Keep this shit up. It's as stupid as saying Africans brought the yam to American. The yam certainly came from Africa, but no African ever looked at the captain of a slaver and said, 'Yo bro, hold the phone, while I go get my yams.'

How do you explain these DNA results saying they were from Central and South Africa then?

http://www.dnatribes.com/dnatribes-digest-2013-02-01.pdf

From another company explaining the Thuya and King Tut gene

The Thuya Gene

The King Tut Gene

 

[Asclepias]

Mummy of Ramses III:

Egyptian drawing of Ramses III:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c

Fine features, definitely not African.

Ramesses III - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks for uploading a picture to further my point. Many Africans have as you call it fine features. I think classic "Negroid" features are actually the finest but I guess its a matter of personal preference.

This guy is from Kenya BTW

 

[katsteve2012]

I would say you have missed the years when American TV grew up. Rising from worst in the world to some of the best. Masterpieces like Band of Brothers, The Wire and several more.

Those were two great series. I still watch them on HBOGO.

I love HBO GO, Watching The Wire right now

It has every episode of every series they have done. Beats cable HBO

Indeed it does, and it's free through whoever your cable provider is. The only downside is that it is only supported by certain devices. I have a Sharp Aquious smart tv, which is not one of the supported devices, but hooked up a Roku streaming player which allowed me to get the app. There is this crack up comedy on there called "Lucky Louie" that I've been watching.

 

[MikeK]

Well I've seen Ramses III's mummy. He was NOT black.

Keep this shit up. It's as stupid as saying Africans brought the yam to American. The yam certainly came from Africa, but no African ever looked at the captain of a slaver and said, 'Yo bro, hold the phone, while I go get my yams.'

I believe the confusion in this issue derives from use of the word Black in place of the academically correct word, Negro.

The fact is a truly black complexion is relatively rare. The complexion of the vast majority of Negroes is some shade of brown. And the only truly white Caucasians (or Negroes) are albinos. In contemporary parlance the terms Black and White used in reference to ethnicity have a more socio-political than anthropological meaning.

What I'm getting at is having a brown complexion does not mean one belongs to the Negro race. East Indians are brown -- but they are not Negroes. Many South American natives have brown skin, as do Polynesians, along with many Middle Eastern categories, including some Egyptians.

So the correct question is was Ramses III a Negro. While I am not conclusively certain, based on images I've seen he was not.

 

[Asclepias]

Well I've seen Ramses III's mummy. He was NOT black.

Keep this shit up. It's as stupid as saying Africans brought the yam to American. The yam certainly came from Africa, but no African ever looked at the captain of a slaver and said, 'Yo bro, hold the phone, while I go get my yams.'

I believe the confusion in this issue derives from use of the word Black in place of the academically correct word, Negro.

The fact is a truly black complexion is relatively rare. The complexion of the vast majority of Negroes is some shade of brown. And the only truly white Caucasians (or Negroes) are albinos. In contemporary parlance the terms Black and White used in reference to ethnicity have a more socio-political than anthropological meaning.

What I'm getting at is having a brown complexion does not mean one belongs to the Negro race. East Indians are brown -- but they are not Negroes. Many South American natives have brown skin, as do Polynesians, along with many Middle Eastern categories, including some Egyptians.

So the correct question is was Ramses III a Negro. While I am not conclusively certain, based on images I've seen he was not.

Negro is a label made up by white people without the consent of Black people. At the end of the day negro is the the Latin word for the color black anyway. So whatever word you choose Ramses III was Black. Same goes for King Tut. This is not my opinion. It is a fact as proven by DNA. Don't take my word for it. Look it up if the proof provided is not up to your standards.

I guess I forgot white people may have a different thought process when it comes to the word Black. I don't mean Black literally as in the color of of ink though some of us are that dark. I mean any light tan, tan, brown, black, or even albino person that has roots in African culture even without realizing it sometimes. We can look at each other and just know we share something. What I'm getting at is when I meet a Polynesian or Fijian for example and we immediately feel the kinship. I have had a lot of them tell me they know their roots are in Africa. Turns out DNA proves that to be true as well.

 

[Tank]

Do you feel that kinship when you see a ape at the zoo?

 

[Asclepias]

Do you feel that kinship when you see a ape at the zoo?

Not quite. However, there is something more human and intelligent about them than some white people I have met and people like yourself. I think it may be all that Neanderthal DNA you have.

 

[JakeStarkey]

It isn't that a certain group of people is portrayed in a positive uplifting way. It's that they are portrayed in a positive uplifting way out of context or historically inaccurate. Yes it's true that a movie like Gladiator portrays the main star to be ridiculously strong or ridiculously courageous, the main star isn't Woody Allen either!

Fictional genres, I am going to tell you, friend, are not confined by "out of context or historically inaccurate" boundaries. That is part of the dynamic fiction.

Example: go ask Stephen King to find you a vampire in southern Maine.

 

[Meathead]

Do you feel that kinship when you see a ape at the zoo?

Not PC, but LOL!

 

[Meathead]

Do you feel that kinship when you see a ape at the zoo?

Not quite. However, there is something more human and intelligent about them than some white people I have met and people like yourself. I think it may be all that Neanderthal DNA you have.

Heh, heh. Almost, right?

 

[TRFjr]

I agree it is historically incorrect to depict a Mother Superior in Austria as "African Austrian" circa 1938. In a play about Nazi influence in the late 30s it kind of deflects the racial times

As to showing a biracial couple in a Christmas special, what will they try to sell next? A biracial President?

I heard a rumor the other day that they are going to do a remake of Roots and they are going to cast a white actor as Kunta Kinte

Do you think they wont get a back lash?

 

[TRFjr]

Well I've seen Ramses III's mummy. He was NOT black.

Keep this shit up. It's as stupid as saying Africans brought the yam to American. The yam certainly came from Africa, but no African ever looked at the captain of a slaver and said, 'Yo bro, hold the phone, while I go get my yams.'

I believe the confusion in this issue derives from use of the word Black in place of the academically correct word, Negro.

The fact is a truly black complexion is relatively rare. The complexion of the vast majority of Negroes is some shade of brown. And the only truly white Caucasians (or Negroes) are albinos. In contemporary parlance the terms Black and White used in reference to ethnicity have a more socio-political than anthropological meaning.

What I'm getting at is having a brown complexion does not mean one belongs to the Negro race. East Indians are brown -- but they are not Negroes. Many South American natives have brown skin, as do Polynesians, along with many Middle Eastern categories, including some Egyptians.

So the correct question is was Ramses III a Negro. While I am not conclusively certain, based on images I've seen he was not.

Negro is a label made up by white people without the consent of Black people. At the end of the day negro is the the Latin word for the color black anyway. So whatever word you choose Ramses III was Black. Same goes for King Tut. This is not my opinion. It is a fact as proven by DNA. Don't take my word for it. Look it up if the proof provided is not up to your standards.

I guess I forgot white people may have a different thought process when it comes to the word Black. I don't mean Black literally as in the color of of ink though some of us are that dark. I mean any light tan, tan, brown, black, or even albino person that has roots in African culture even without realizing it sometimes. We can look at each other and just know we share something. What I'm getting at is when I meet a Polynesian or Fijian for example and we immediately feel the kinship. I have had a lot of them tell me they know their roots are in Africa. Turns out DNA proves that to be true as well.

Negro is the word for the color black in the German language