modulis,
you know what i'm talking about!!! the reggae "tribe" here in northern california is almost my "second family"...it is definitely an oasis that i seek out whenever possible...

one love, sweetie!

By Kansascity (209.242.125.179) on Monday, April 23, 2001 - 04:27 am:

Anyone ever see the movie "The Prince" with Billy Dee Williams. You can rent the video. It is probably one of the scariest movies I have seen depicting the explotation of others by those who share the same characteristics as the prince. It's a story about the 'dirty low-down'! Yet and still there are luckier people in this insane world who never experience such degradation and are never exposed to ...I cannot express the impression this story had on me. But, it is something to ponder...or not...as the case may be.

By Modulis (216.249.79.36) on Monday, April 23, 2001 - 01:22 am:

Anon,

Interesting that you mentioned the reggae scene. Sometimes when I get discouraged about race-relations in America, I always feel a bright ray of hope when I go to a reggae festival or concert. That is probably the only environment I can think of where there is absolutely no sense of racism whatsoever. It's like an oasis in this racist society.

By Anon2000 (207.218.73.87) on Sunday, April 22, 2001 - 11:43 pm:

"Of course, the paranoia over WF/BM couples won't go away soon, but then those over 30 (no offense meant to you guys over 30 in here) are not going to die anytime soon. Those under 20 seem to be by far the most tolerant."

no offense taken;) of course, who do you think has raised these young people in your age group? my biracial son will be one of your compadres in the "new america". it pleases me immensely. i see this so much in the reggae business. this is one place where openmined young people of all races hang out.

guidance

By Roberto (152.163.213.214) on Sunday, April 22, 2001 - 11:40 pm:

No Mad Scientist, those of us here over 30 have and will witness the death of an old world and the beginning of a new world to come. We are blessed to witness truely tumultuous times in history. Unlike the young ones today, all is not new to us. We can still teach you young ones a thing or two and be relevant. ~ Roberto

By Mad_scientist (134.124.212.217) on Sunday, April 22, 2001 - 08:27 pm:

People will probably be amazed if they see what's on the Disney channel these days. You see a few interracial couplings on the show. In the Disney movie "Up Up and Away", the main character (a black boy) and a white girl have a crush on each other. In the Disney movie "Don't Look Under The Bed", there is an interracial romantic scene with a black boy kissing a white girl. In the show "The Famous Jett Jackson", Jett's love interest is a biracial female. In the Disney movie "Johnny Tsunami", the main character, who is biracial (white mother and asian father) has a crush on a white female. Sometimes, I'm very shocked when I see the Disney Channel because I never suspected that parents would allow Disney to show this. But if there is one thing that is different about portrayals of IRs to children and adults, it seems that portrayals aimed at adults seem to be more divisive, and more likely to show them in a bad light. And those that do seem to be more successful. Wesley Snipes's movie "One Night Stand" didn't even have the element of race in it (Wesley Snipes is married to an Asian Woman, has an affair with a white woman. Later on, white woman's husband has affair with Wesley Snipe's wife. Wesley and the White man end up switching wives.), but it wasn't all too successful either. And then there is this one recent Spike Lee movie, in which he has sex with a white woman, who is a prostitute. When you see shows aimed at children and teens, they are shown in a positive light. Of course, "Save the Last Dance" is a good example of this. Also, there is "Finding Forrester", which shows the same thing. With "Finding Forrester", however, the relationship between those teens are not shown in any particulars, but that is understandable since the movie was also aimed at adults. In shows aimed at children and teens, there is either no big deal of an IR, or the relationships are shown as positive (love conquers all). One can remember "Boy Meets World", where Shawn finally got a long term girlfriend, who was a black female. The issue of race was never brought up. If there is something that has always puzzled me, it is the recent trend of movie makers to put black men and white women in leading roles, but rarely does anything actually happen between them. I'm sure you remember "Murder at 1600". There was obviously a flame, but nothing ever happened. The same can be seen in "Virtuosity", and in several other films. What we see on television reflects the culture and values of the audience. "Birth of a Nation" is an example of this. So the reason why IRs are shown and portrayed differently is because the values for two different segments of society are different. Remember the large generation gap between those older than about 22 and those lower in their opinions of the movie "Save the Last Dance". And as the youngons get older, this trend will not only move along, but become more pronounced because script writers will become more bold, as the barriers fall. In "Young and the Restless", Malcolm and Victoria shared a brief fling, but was broken because of the unhappiness of the mostly adult viewing audience. Then there is "Once and Again", where a white girl is/was in an interracial relationship". In "West Wing" there also was/is an interracial relationship. So the producers are beginning to test the audience. Most of them probably know by now (with the success of "Save the Last Dance" and Disney") that these relationships are not a big deal. So don't be surprised if next fall, there is a dramatic increase of IRs in primetime television, which will be targeted at the youth audience. Of course, the paranoia over WF/BM couples won't go away soon, but then those over 30 (no offense meant to you guys over 30 in here) are not going to die anytime soon. Those under 20 seem to be by far the most tolerant. The book "Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation" says that Millennials (those currently 19 and under) will fully possess the youth (pop) culture sometime between 2002 and 2007. So most likely, sometime in between those years, IRs in movies, music, celebrities, and television will be accepted. Those "older" people will still have their misgivings, but by then, the new youth culture will be so widespread, that they will be powerless to do anything about it. So within the next few years, the pop culture will see these relationships as completely acceptable. Interestingly, pop star Mandy Moore wrote on her website that she and the guy who plays "Fez" on "That 70's Show" met, and hit it off immediately. And there was no uproar about that at all. And Christina Aguilera is dating a non-white person. That basically sums up the culture of today.

By Modulis (216.249.77.184) on Sunday, April 22, 2001 - 03:22 pm:

Unfortunately I don't cable. I'm hearing a lot about this show the Sopranos. I've heard that there have been a lot of racial issues confronted on that show.

By Roberto (64.12.105.57) on Sunday, April 22, 2001 - 08:04 am:

Modulis:

The further concealed subliminal message that will come out of the forementioned Sopranos story is that "a black man will use you to get your body, will hurt you emotionally and that you should stay with your own". Watch the episodes in which an Italian male will come to the rescue to recover Tony's daughter's honor. This is the same thing I have seen played out among the Chinese when I was in Asia toward their women going outside the race, well that is another story. I'm amazed most do not see this played out. ~ Roberto

By Modulis (216.249.79.26) on Sunday, April 22, 2001 - 03:09 am:

There are a series of shows that come on NBC on Saturday morning for kids. One such show is "Saved by the Bell." There have always been interracial mixings on that show. And now they finally have a black guy with a white girl. But they will never show them embrace, hug, hold hands or kiss. They always look like friends that are just hanging out. Yet all the others, such as Hispanic white, white Asian, Asian black have been shown embracing and kissing. It's hard to believe that people are so paranoid about black men and white women hooking up, it's like some primal fear so deep-seated in the American conscience that no one even understands the fear.

To be honest, I'm surprised that that show "True Colors" was ever even made. I was in junior high when it came out. I never watched it much or even though much about it, but I'm shocked that they even allowed it. I think it lasted a couple seasons. Alledgedly they had to have security on the set because of so many threatening letters. I heard that the show accomplished a "first." And that was showing a black man and white woman in bed on regular television. Even though you see same race couples in bed as a matter of course and think nothing of it, supposedly that was a hell of a bomb to drop on the American audience.

The thing is, I don't see America's paranoia about BM/WF couplings is going to go away anytime soon. Even though the new generation is more tolerant than the baby boomers, I still notice the discomfort with the idea amongst people under 30s. Perhaps this all goes back to slavery and the mentality that it produced. Wherein black males were considered lascivious, sexual savages whose primary objective was to have sex with or rape a white woman. The white woman was considered this innocent, gentle flower that must be protected from the sexual predators. It was ingrained into society's psyche that black males may at any moment go bonkers and start raping white women left and right. What else could explain the killing of Emmit Till.

To this day, I think some of that legacy still lives on, stronger in some places in America, weaker in others. But this paranoia of black men and white women being together runs strong.

By Roberto (205.188.198.157) on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 10:48 pm:

The writers of my favorite show "The Sopranos" had thrown in a "interracial softener", which involved Tony's daughter with the so-called "black man" (half black/white, who almost looked white). I guess they had to find a guy who was not too black to be acceptable to the American audience and white enough to be accepted in an interracial scene with a white female. This is that "dirty little secret" that most are blind to that comes out of the greatest propaganda machine the world has ever known "Hollywood", that uses subliminal programming to influence the thinking of an unsuspecting population.

The same old tired model of an interracial father/mother of a mixed race child, in this case a "black guy" (use to be only mixed race girls all the time) was the offspring again from a white jewish male and a black woman (who was not even shown on the show) who was acceptable as the "safe gender" to bring birth to a mixed race child in the role for the audience. You notice these roles very rarely involve a black male and white woman who would bring birth to a mixed race child in a television or movie role. Tony's daughter lost her virginity to a black male, but only in a way that was so cleverly massaged that the most heard was a hush, unlike the days long ago when Capt Kirk (a white man) would kiss Lt. Uhura (a black woman) which nearly caused a national uproar to be accepted on televison.

When will the media industry finally find the courage and credence that the black male and white female union is just as legitimate and acceptable as the white male/black woman union. It has been said that white male/black female unions are more acceptable than the black male/white female union. The movies and television shows only confirms that "dirty little secret". ~ Roberto