Looking Deeper at what’s being said when a poster or billboard is all that is speaking…
Today while driving around Brooklyn, listening to Jay Z’ American Gangster Soundtrack. He made the above statement and no sooner did I start to wrap my mind around that powerful thought something reached out and spoke to me as a New York City bus went by and I looked at the ad. I am not a fan of anything that has to do with supporting the so called “Gangster” way of life. I see too many young men affected by this. Listening to a copy of Jay Z’s C. D. (I didn’t pay for the copy it was given by a friend, I don’t support bootlegging in any fashion, that’s another story for another day) I wanted to hear what our children are listening to. This gives me a chance to shape my lessons in the classroom. And I started to think about this as I watched the bus go by and listened to Jay speak on being an American Gangster.
We talk often about the divide in the country between the races. We watch on T.V. about the so called “Race Card” that is played by both sides to create emotional connection or disconnection. Well, as a man of color who works very hard in trying to get young men and women to not end up in a system that doesn’t want them to be successful I have to pay close attention. Let me explain what I am talking about. In Brooklyn and around all of New York City, the upcoming new television series called Terminator is being promoted. “The Sara Conner Chronicles”. Well I am a fan of science fiction and actually enjoyed the movies but that is not the point of this article. On the sides of New York City buses are large bill boards of one of the female stars holding a large pump action shotgun like the one used by the character Sara Conner from the Terminator 2 movie. The questions I bring to the table is why is it okay for people of non-color to promote guns as their attention getters while people of color, who want to promote music, videos, or movies the same way are blurred or blacked out? This goes all the way back to the movie “Juice” which starred late rapper Tupac Shakur who was one of the main characters. The billboard was criticized for promoting violence. Does anyone see the double standard here? Over the years many movies with people of color suffered the same fate. So I ask this, are the powers that be saying the men and women of color are more prone to commit violence by seeing the black man with a gun compared to the white woman? I say no, not at all. I say be consistent all the way around. The flip side of this and maybe it is discussed in secret rooms of men who secretly want slavery back in effect, which many people of color truly believe, is if you say its ok for the white woman and not ok for the black man, you are creating a situation where the black man becomes more angry of his situation than he already is. There are so many factors that lead in the destruction of people’s mentality. I am not removing the role of personal responsibility. It is still each woman or man’s responsibility to govern their actions and of course what they allow to affect them. However, when you have marketing that speaks opposite those feeling what are our young men or women to think. For the record, I don’t believe that guns should be promoted by anyone. It’s not needed to great stories to be told or shown.
I write this not to play the race card but to bring attention to those who either are using it for greed purposes or using it by mistake and not accepting the damage simple posters or bill boards can do to individual perceptions. If they didn’t affect people’s behavior why would they spend so much money and research on where to place them to receive the best response? Isn’t that part of the allure of Time Square with all the fashion model billboards strategically placed for visitors to see?
Well in closing I would ask that we bring things to the table that can defuse the race issue and make it better for all us that have to occupy this planet. The “Race Card” will always be played it doesn’t have to create such an emotional reaction if we are prepared. Please look deeper at the things that are being promoted to you and ask yourself: What are they really trying to get me to see and feel? You might not like the answers.
Take Care and God Bless
K. L.
myspace.com/klthewriter
Trying to be creator of the stories that touch your soul.
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