Bodies of all kinds have political and economic consequences, and I am not shocked, but I appreciate his connection to skin color and sales. And the unfortunate state of affairs is that this unconscious racism is simply ignorance, who absorb normative value of skin tone through so many sources, even if these sources don't spell out in a way that would alert us to how problematic they are. It's particularly powerful and concerning because it is largely unseen by most who do not belong to the subverted race. It's a great piece with great insight.
I liked this short comic, and I think Wimberly used the comic medium successfully to explore issues of racism. The way that he built upon his own experience of his editor asking him to lighten Melita's skin tone was well done and he raises some good points.
I think this comic raised some good points on the issue of ethics and money, as well as the impact that race and identity have in late capitalist America. However, I was somewhat distracted from all of this by the rather glaring statement that “the mere mention of race puts white people on edge…” For a piece that’s meant to analyze and appreciate the subtleties and nuances of racial vocabulary and the relation between color and identity, that’s a pretty ginormous generalization. And keep in mind, I’m not saying that this isn’t an accurate or misleading assessment of many conversations on race that take place in America. But I feel like such phrasing does undermine the author’s message, and I feel like it’s an all too common occurrence in today’s conversations on race in the United States. And I think this is a shame; with globalization becoming an ever larger force in the world, the topics of race and identity are not going to get any less relevant.
I agree with my colleague about the "ginormous generalization," by generalizing a whole race based on a few, or even many of that said race, doesn't abolish the fact that racism and ignorance are overlooked and people are not held accountable for their actions. There should be more awareness, more done to break this cycle of ignorance and educate people, of all races, that we are ONE, regardless of skin, race, gender or anything else that makes us different as individuals.
Bodies of all kinds have political and economic consequences, and I am not shocked, but I appreciate his connection to skin color and sales. And the unfortunate state of affairs is that this unconscious racism is simply ignorance, who absorb normative value of skin tone through so many sources, even if these sources don't spell out in a way that would alert us to how problematic they are. It's particularly powerful and concerning because it is largely unseen by most who do not belong to the subverted race.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great piece with great insight.
I liked this short comic, and I think Wimberly used the comic medium successfully to explore issues of racism. The way that he built upon his own experience of his editor asking him to lighten Melita's skin tone was well done and he raises some good points.
ReplyDeleteI really like it.
ReplyDeleteI think this comic raised some good points on the issue of ethics and money, as well as the impact that race and identity have in late capitalist America. However, I was somewhat distracted from all of this by the rather glaring statement that “the mere mention of race puts white people on edge…” For a piece that’s meant to analyze and appreciate the subtleties and nuances of racial vocabulary and the relation between color and identity, that’s a pretty ginormous generalization. And keep in mind, I’m not saying that this isn’t an accurate or misleading assessment of many conversations on race that take place in America. But I feel like such phrasing does undermine the author’s message, and I feel like it’s an all too common occurrence in today’s conversations on race in the United States. And I think this is a shame; with globalization becoming an ever larger force in the world, the topics of race and identity are not going to get any less relevant.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my colleague about the "ginormous generalization," by generalizing a whole race based on a few, or even many of that said race, doesn't abolish the fact that racism and ignorance are overlooked and people are not held accountable for their actions. There should be more awareness, more done to break this cycle of ignorance and educate people, of all races, that we are ONE, regardless of skin, race, gender or anything else that makes us different as individuals.
ReplyDelete