2008 Woodie Awards
Brown is the New Black
Julia Corral
Issue date: 9/19/07 Section: Entertainment
I will always have a little sore spot in my heart that MTV didn't pick me for The Real World. One should not apply if one cannot check the "molestation victim" box on the resume. But I'm over it. Over the fact that by the end of the year I will no longer be in their demographic, and by watching their shows I will be like one of those adults who are too old to be obsessed with Harry Potter.
This season in Australia is different. I have been a little perplexed by the casting decisions made because all, but one are straight and white. Real World being MTV's ambassador show to the world, you would think that it would be more representative of the people who actually live in America. As a college student this type of Caucasian-cattle-herding disguising itself as diversity shouldn't bother me. But it does.
I'm starting to think maybe MTV chose a predominantly white cast because they did not want to test the waters of Australia's intolerance of the Aborigines. I also think they chose to wait to hear the struggles of Parisa, a Persian female who tells the pangs of the racism she faced in America. She is the new modern day version of the angry Black man. Move over, Kevin. Season 1. Our generation needs to hear that our Middle Eastern peers still have to hear these remarks. But for now, we'll let another country feel our woes as we learn it via digital airwaves.
This is happening everywhere. It happens when the only part of Orange County that is covered on television is the 949 area code. Why isn't there a show about North Orange County? This stuff always seems to run off my back until I am drowning in bigotry. I turned on KROQ's "Kevin and Bean Show" last Thursday morning. For the call-in portion of their show, they asked their listeners to come up with ways to be malicious and not be fined by the FCC. By living in this post Isaiah Washington-Don Imus-Freedom of Speech era, I begin to wonder if we are advocating the suppression of thought? No.
But as a minority am I offended? Yes. There is no need to hide the pain. I have my own stereotypes about other cultures. I have a fear that a white person with crooked teeth in Texas will kill me with a chainsaw if my car breaks down. These guilty stereotypes I harbor are normal.
This season in Australia is different. I have been a little perplexed by the casting decisions made because all, but one are straight and white. Real World being MTV's ambassador show to the world, you would think that it would be more representative of the people who actually live in America. As a college student this type of Caucasian-cattle-herding disguising itself as diversity shouldn't bother me. But it does.
I'm starting to think maybe MTV chose a predominantly white cast because they did not want to test the waters of Australia's intolerance of the Aborigines. I also think they chose to wait to hear the struggles of Parisa, a Persian female who tells the pangs of the racism she faced in America. She is the new modern day version of the angry Black man. Move over, Kevin. Season 1. Our generation needs to hear that our Middle Eastern peers still have to hear these remarks. But for now, we'll let another country feel our woes as we learn it via digital airwaves.
This is happening everywhere. It happens when the only part of Orange County that is covered on television is the 949 area code. Why isn't there a show about North Orange County? This stuff always seems to run off my back until I am drowning in bigotry. I turned on KROQ's "Kevin and Bean Show" last Thursday morning. For the call-in portion of their show, they asked their listeners to come up with ways to be malicious and not be fined by the FCC. By living in this post Isaiah Washington-Don Imus-Freedom of Speech era, I begin to wonder if we are advocating the suppression of thought? No.
But as a minority am I offended? Yes. There is no need to hide the pain. I have my own stereotypes about other cultures. I have a fear that a white person with crooked teeth in Texas will kill me with a chainsaw if my car breaks down. These guilty stereotypes I harbor are normal.
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