This is one of the bigger OLA units you'll see on rotation when visiting the homepage of mega-portal Yahoo!. Now, I'm really not one to rip on celebrity gossip mongers and I try to stay on the sidelines when accusations of racism get tossed around, but I really feel I need to call this one out. I don't necessarily find this racist, at least not overtly--but come on! They're all white, skinny, blond celebrities. These photos are almost interchangeable. A lifeless ad cluttered with cookie-cutter Caucasian celebrity pictures at their hackneyed best--zero "click here" appeal, from where I'm standing.Don't get me wrong. I am actually interested in all these celebrities and have followed their varied careers individually. And I usually rush to click on the first lame-if-strangely-compelling celebrity post discussing who the cutest Hollywood baby is. But how about some variety, eh? Not all cyber-sufers are white I'm sure and most are interested in celebrities of all strokes and ethnicities. Even Jessica Alba, the only non-WASP there, has been completely whitewashed (I guess Jeniffer Aniston has Greek roots, but she totally blew that into bits when she changed her last name). Is this the lowest common denominator?
What's your take on this? Is it implicitly racist?
6 comments:
I think this is not a new trend. Hollywood is racist overall. I hope that someday we will be able to see proud burnettes of all races, colors AND SIZES together with these pictures of perfect blonds.
i think you are racist
I'm so NOT a racist. ok.
I think it's definitely racist...and I don't think they're even that pretty anyway...
On the plus side, it seems only the WASPs are crazy.
What is racist? Really, cause people tend to confuse many terms that are used to clasify human groups. Race is still very much in use everywhere anthropologist have been trying to kill it for the last half century. It only applies to four main human groups. Further divisions can be said to be of ethnic origin. And skin colour has so many varieties that is almost imposible to make a real clasification based on that. Yes most of the people that are shown in that "celebrity" section of Yahoo are "white", but I dont think that Hollywood has so much to say about this particular issue. Hollywood shows what people wants, what "consumers" desire, and that desire is as social construct which its authorship is not completly branded by the "industry". As long as it is wanted it will sell.
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