Friday, October 16, 2009

Hate TV

We should despise stereotype, slander, and prejudice wherever we find it. I hesitate to post this only because I don't want more people to watch it. But since it's on national television, I guess my not posting it want stop the spread of hate disguised as comedy.

But here's the Quizno's hot tub commercial. As a fellow human being and empathetic southerner, the "hillbilly is stupid" approach is... well... stupid. I find it offensive. What about you?



Related Posts:
One More in the Coffin of "Race"
Another Reason "Race" Makes No Sense
Mark Noll Lectures on Race, Religion and American Politics
Talking to Children About "Race"
Thabiti's Top Ten Tips for Talking About "Race"

5 comments:

Jennifer said...

Something you might not have noticed about this commercial is that it is ambiguously gay. Advertisers will often put 2 women or 2 men in a commercial in an ambiguous, unclear situation hoping that consumers will read their relationship in some way that affirms their own views on the issue of homosexuality. It is very subtle, but once I was made aware of this (in a college advertising class) I was surprised to see how frequently ads have same gender pairs.

David said...

I don't know. Growing up as a third-generation Norwegian-American, I'm pretty used to the dumb Norwegian (or Swede) joke. It's all in fun, and many of them, like the "you might be a redneck" jokes, were at least remotely based on some Scandinavian idiosyncrasy. Is this different? In any case, I hardly think "hate" applies.

Marlon said...

There would definitely be an outcry if they used an African American stereotype. As an African American, when I first saw this commercial in TV I was bewildered, and I found it a little amusing but gave it no more thought afterwards. In the context of this blog post, however, I now see how offensive it can be. It's interesting how we sometimes don't see the stereotyping of other people but we for sure see the ones against us.

Polarbear said...

As a Southener, I am not really offended by this, unfortunately, I know of people who might actually try something like this. I am more concerned with what Jennifer brought up that the issue of the two men in the tub is a subtle acceptance of homosexuality.

Stephen said...

I actually am concerned about the whole content of this commercial. As Jennifer pointed out, there are the possible homosexual overtones, there is also the negitive hillbilly stereotype as well. Besides these, I noticed that this is also a food commercial, which is catering to the food addiction that many americans share.
In general I find that televison has a negitive impact on the christian walk, as it is a simple way for a worldy culture catering to idolotry, lust and prejudice to subconsiouly enter your mind and heart.

Romans 12:1-2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)

It is up to you to discern, but I believe that watching televison is a good way to conform to this world and that the majority of it's content is not helpful. Besides, there are better things to do. How often do we read our bibles or build relationships or have conversations or reach out to those who are hurting?