Came across these when doing some research. Okay class, discuss...
4
comments:
Momcat
said...
I can't believe there is no "commentroversy" going on yet. I know that these ads are at best tasteless and at worst, well, you know. However, I am (ahem) middle-aged and I remember how easy and peaceful my growing-up years were. My family had Lily and Beatrice and Luberta; Henry and Edgar and Taft. They were among the most kind and beloved adults in my memory. They were treated with respect and much valued as being essential to the well-being of the family. And yes, Aunt Jemima sat on the shelf in the pantry. My innocence was shattered at about age 13, when our whole family was denied access to the rest rooms at a gas station because we were accompanied by our black "couple." I swore that when I grew up I would never patronize a Shell station. This did not take place in the South, where I grew up, but up north, Indiana or Michigan.
After a brief detour into the Age of Aquarius, I have come to the belief that, indeed, NOT everyone deserves respect, but this has nothing to do with the color of their skin, the arrangement of their personal plumbing, or whom they are destined to love. Maybe 9/11 had something to do with this conclusion.
Wow, that's a shocking reminder of how far we've come, at least on the surface level. I think alot of people still have a loooong, long way to go to change the way they feel in their hearts, sadly. And there are certianly and other types of prejudices we have to overcome as a society (I'm a San Franciscan still reeling from the November state elections).
I just finished reading the book "The Help." It gave me a lot to think about, as well as being a really good read. Unfortunately there is no one left from that era in my family to talk to. I have a whole lot of questions.
You might be interested in Renee Cox's Work, "The Liberation of Lady J and U.B." as it plays up a moment of emancipation after the shameless use of racial sterotypes to promote products, while reclaiming a new identity. (The artist herself is the one in the middle, linking arms with Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben) View it here: http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424059639/276/the-liberation-of-lady-j-and-ub.html
The history of this mythologized Aunt Jemima figure is actually quite interesting, as the immortalized woman was in fact an emancipated slave (though now enslaved eternally as a consumer product).
As a graduate student I'm constantly trying to balance and figure out my academics (along with cooking and my dangling-by-a-thread social life). This is a space where I can posit my research which is often an intersection of food, psychology, sociology, literature, rhetoric and history. Please feel free to say hi, leave a comment, tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm right (I always like that), offer constructive criticism, or argue your own thoughts and points. You can find my other non-academic food writing and musings as Vanilla Garlic. Feel free to e-mail me as well!
4 comments:
I can't believe there is no "commentroversy" going on yet. I know that these ads are at best tasteless and at worst, well, you know. However, I am (ahem) middle-aged and I remember how easy and peaceful my growing-up years were. My family had Lily and Beatrice and Luberta; Henry and Edgar and Taft. They were among the most kind and beloved adults in my memory. They were treated with respect and much valued as being essential to the well-being of the family. And yes, Aunt Jemima sat on the shelf in the pantry. My innocence was shattered at about age 13, when our whole family was denied access to the rest rooms at a gas station because we were accompanied by our black "couple." I swore that when I grew up I would never patronize a Shell station. This did not take place in the South, where I grew up, but up north, Indiana or Michigan.
After a brief detour into the Age of Aquarius, I have come to the belief that, indeed, NOT everyone deserves respect, but this has nothing to do with the color of their skin, the arrangement of their personal plumbing, or whom they are destined to love. Maybe 9/11 had something to do with this conclusion.
Wow, that's a shocking reminder of how far we've come, at least on the surface level. I think alot of people still have a loooong, long way to go to change the way they feel in their hearts, sadly. And there are certianly and other types of prejudices we have to overcome as a society (I'm a San Franciscan still reeling from the November state elections).
I just finished reading the book "The Help." It gave me a lot to think about, as well as being a really good read. Unfortunately there is no one left from that era in my family to talk to. I have a whole lot of questions.
You might be interested in Renee Cox's Work, "The Liberation of Lady J and U.B." as it plays up a moment of emancipation after the shameless use of racial sterotypes to promote products, while reclaiming a new identity. (The artist herself is the one in the middle, linking arms with Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben)
View it here: http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424059639/276/the-liberation-of-lady-j-and-ub.html
The history of this mythologized Aunt Jemima figure is actually quite interesting, as the immortalized woman was in fact an emancipated slave (though now enslaved eternally as a consumer product).
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