Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well I must be racist because I have watched this ad 10 times and I still can't figure out what the fuss is about
Now if you haven't seen the ad. It has what is obviously an Australian cricket supporter sitting with a bunch of West Indian cricket supporters. No surprises there as Australia is playing the West Indies. The West Indian cricket crowd is rowdy (No shock there, sports fans are rowdy) Anyway the Australian hands out some KFC to the crowd (it is a KFC ad) and says "Need a tip when you're stuck in an awkward situation...Too easy" which
brings the crowd under control.
So this ad has apparently made some Americans angry
They say it depicts African Americans (I thought its West Indians ) as Chicken loving rowdy stereotypes
Now as an Australian I didn't know that in the States African Americans apparently are seen as having a craving for fried chicken,
and also for being rowdy.....its news to me
Now isn't that a American stereotype.... Not an Australian stereotype?
I don't know why Australians should be blamed for not knowing a far off nation's crazy stereotypes and how to them it may or might not be offensive...last I heard this ad is to be seen in Australia only!
I'm an American who occasionally lurks around on this board, so I guess I'll give my perspective. I personally don't think the ad is racist, but I could see where an overly politically correct American who didn't know the story behind the ad could interpret it as such. Without knowing that it was referencing the cricket match against West Indies, one could think that just being around black people was the awkward situation instead of being surrounded by the rival team's fans like the commercial meant. Some would even go so far as to interpret the commercial as "You want to appease a minority? Just give them some food." Again, that was not the aim of the commercial. You also have to understand that America has had a difficult past when it comes to race relations, so people can be a little too sensitive sometimes because they are afraid of offending anyone, even if something is not racist.
I have NOT HEARD any mention of this advert on the US media!
I have never heard of Ana Kasperian or that blogger Craig Brimm. I did a google and she has a show on Cirius which is a subscription only service with 5 million subscribers - do the math, this is less than 2% of the population. Then you have to figure out when her show is on so who really heard it.. and then you can determine that the GREAT MAJORITY of Americans have NEVER HEARD OF THIS ADVERT or DON'T CARE. It was not mentioned in any of the main stream media outlets. I did a search of the CNN and FOxNEWS sites for racist kfc ad and NOTHING.
No need to get in a tiff or in an Americans versus Australians discussion on this one mate.. its a NON EVENT in the US! So please do not try to portray this as the majority of Americans are discussing this!
In the commercial, screened during the cricket Test , the young man is swamped by rowdy West Indies supporters
Quote:
Critics said the commercial perpetuated a stereotype that African Americans eat large quantities of fried chicken.
^^ It sounded kinda stupid to put these sentences in the same article, imho.
- These "rowdy" West Indians were smiling and playing steel pan drums before being offered chicken; the horror!!!
- Americans including "African Americans" are largely ignorant of cricket, even I don't quite understand the game.
- the state of Kentucky isn't exactly a hotbed of cricket
- African Americans probably do eat their fair share of fried chicken, as much of their culture was derived from living in the Southern U.S., many black families migrated away from the South in the 1930's. Fried chicken was invented there and is a cultural staple.
- West Indians (much of whom happen to be "black") also like fried chicken;
I found recipes for homemade fried chicken in a Jamaican cookbook
- Almost everyone I've met from the Caribbean are proud to say they are from the Caribbean, or their particular island.
I've never heard of them identify themselves as American; African or otherwise.
- Culturally, it could be expected that they would like fried chicken as much as Aussies would likely enjoy a lager, "cuppa" or a Vegemite-sandwich.
Last edited by ColdCanadian; 01-06-2010 at 07:46 PM..
I guess I could see how it is offensive, it you really look into it, but I don't find anything that bad about it. Just showed a bunch of happy people with chicken.
They're just jumping on the "Australia is Racist" trendy bandwagon. It seems we're getting it from all sides these days. Indians saying we're racist .... Americans ...
Anybody else out there want to have a go? Get your sanctimonious free-punches in now, while the going's hot.
I love Australia, heck I'm half Aussie (mom grew up there), and I can clearly see what's wrong with this ad. African Americans are said to be more likely to enjoy fried chicken than whites, and frankly in the USA, when you go into many KFC's, you will not see a white person.
So coming from someone who is "half" Aussie, I can clearly see the outrage over this ad.
They're just jumping on the "Australia is Racist" trendy bandwagon. It seems we're getting it from all sides these days. Indians saying we're racist .... Americans ...
Anybody else out there want to have a go? Get your sanctimonious free-punches in now, while the going's hot.
Look, you may hear this in the media, but I don't know any American who says that or knows about this. In fact I just found out about it right now and probably wouldn't have known if I didn't come one here.
I'm an American who occasionally lurks around on this board, so I guess I'll give my perspective. I personally don't think the ad is racist, but I could see where an overly politically correct American who didn't know the story behind the ad could interpret it as such. Without knowing that it was referencing the cricket match against West Indies, one could think that just being around black people was the awkward situation instead of being surrounded by the rival team's fans like the commercial meant. Some would even go so far as to interpret the commercial as "You want to appease a minority? Just give them some food." Again, that was not the aim of the commercial. You also have to understand that America has had a difficult past when it comes to race relations, so people can be a little too sensitive sometimes because they are afraid of offending anyone, even if something is not racist.
My point exactly. People making a fuss about the ad without
understanding its true context
Quote:
Originally Posted by minibrings
I have NOT HEARD any mention of this advert on the US media!
I have never heard of Ana Kasperian or that blogger Craig Brimm. I did a google and she has a show on Cirius which is a subscription only service with 5 million subscribers - do the math, this is less than 2% of the population. Then you have to figure out when her show is on so who really heard it.. and then you can determine that the GREAT MAJORITY of Americans have NEVER HEARD OF THIS ADVERT or DON'T CARE. It was not mentioned in any of the main stream media outlets. I did a search of the CNN and FOxNEWS sites for racist kfc ad and NOTHING.
No need to get in a tiff or in an Americans versus Australians discussion on this one mate.. its a NON EVENT in the US! So please do not try to portray this as the majority of Americans are discussing this!
No minibrings I'm not getting in a tiff
Reading back on my original post, it does come across
as a little too Anti-American...But that is not my intention
My apologies
I'm really trying to point that this is Political Correctness gone Mad. People complaining without really understanding the true context of this material
Going on what you said minibrings the U.S media have paid this little attention, which might well be the case
But the Australian Media are certainly making a big issue out of this. Its the main article of today's Google news results
But perhaps its just the Australian Media that is really trying to beat this up
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vichel
They're just jumping on the "Australia is Racist" trendy bandwagon. It seems we're getting it from all sides these days. Indians saying we're racist .... Americans ...
Anybody else out there want to have a go? Get your sanctimonious free-punches in now, while the going's hot.
Agreed
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) as Chicken loving rowdy stereotypes
