Starbucks: Pulling a TV Tokenism

As of a couple of weeks ago, Starbucks changed their logo.  The company removed the writing from around the image of the mermaid.  To me, this seemed like an odd change for a company to make.  It seemed quite insignificant, so I decided to do a little research.  I came across an article by Elizabeth Fuller with some information on the switch.

Fuller wrote; "'Is it a strong enough icon?' asks Laura Oswald, director of Marketing Semiotics, a marketing research company in Chicago. 'Would you identify that mermaid as absolutely Starbucks the way you identify the golden arches as absolutely McDonald's?'"

This reminded me exactly of what we discussed about TV Tokenism.  We discussed how many TV shows will bring in a character of a different race, as a main role, once the show gets off its feet and is well-recieved.  Once the show has a solid fan base, it can afford to take risks.  Starbucks has done nearly the exact same thing.

Starbucks has been around since 1971, and since then, has made a name for themselves.  They are known worldwide.  Now that they have built an empire, they can afford to take a risk, like changing their logo.

Before                                                                                        After

 

Stand By Me

My mom sent me this video of the song Stand By Me, that is a montage of street performers performing the song.  It seemed fitting for my "musical" blog (though there hasn't been a lot of music lately!).  It really emphasizes how music can tie people, as it shows people of all different backgrounds, ethnicities, abilities, etc. performing the same song.

Stand By Me (Video)

The lyrics show support and help of others in a time of need, as they say; "I won't be afraid just as long as you stand, stand by me".  Japan is now in a time of need after a devastating earthquake and tsunami, so let's "Stand By" them.  To help, visit The Red Cross, and find out different ways to support and help Japan.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

We started the junior theme process yesterday, and I feel like I have already changed my topic ten times.  Every time I think I have my "why" question pinned down, something stands in my way, whether it's trying to explain it and finding that it makes no sense or whether it's not relevant to an issue today.  I started taking a look at the book Gang Leader For A Day by Sudhir Venkatesh and hopefully will get some good ideas from it.  So far (I'm on page 10, it's interesting and thought-provoking).

But, as of now, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2).

Post Secret: Violations of the First Amendment

As I was reading Post Secret, as I do every sunday morning, one of them stuck out to me.

Isn't the US supposed to be a melting pot of religions, races, ethnicities and ideas?  Why is it so hard to switch religions then?  Religion is often a topic that causes conflict because people, for what ever reason, don't seem to want to coexist peacefully.  Also, I think that since 9/11, people have been paranoid about religions like Hinduism and Islam, that stem from the east.

We tend to think of America as a "free country" that lets you practice whatever religion you choose.  It is even outlined in the first amendment as it says we have "free exercise of religion".   Yet today there is still religious oppression, as seen in this post secret.

Can an audience relate to a CIA agent or a skin color?

Today in class we discussed TV tokenism.  One point that was brought up was that not many network dramas include black main characters.  As we all thought this over, very few shows came to mind, one of which, The Chicago Code, just premiered a few weeks ago.  


I decided to do some research and see if I could find any more shows, when I came across this fascinating NPR called The Root: Is There A Place For Black Actors On TV?.  It highlights reasons why we don't see many black leads in television, many of which we discussed in class, as well as thoughts on if they will be a lead in the future.


The article, by Marcus Vanderberg, focuses on a network drama called Undercovers, which premiered, and ended, in 2010.  Undercovers was supposed to be a hit running on NBC, with a great actors and an interesting plot line following two CIA agents, but instead, it flopped.  But Vanderberg said; "When you throw in the fact that the show was in a bad time slot, featured subpar writing and two lead actors who were (gasp!) black, it's not surprising that NBC pulled the plug after less than two months."  Yes, some of the issues he noted were "time slots" and "writing", but he puts a sarcastic "Gasp!" when noting that the two leads of the show were black.  Vanderberg later states that television stations think airing a show with a black lead is a "gamble".

What's interesting it the fact that networks seemed to have "abandoned most of their black programming in order to appeal to a more mainstream audience".  Clearly, television, like society, often pushes aside minorities for the "mainstream audience".  But if we really wanted to relate to the audience, wouldn't being a CIA agent be more far off from the normal person, than a skin color?  To really relate to the people, shouldn't shows focus on normal people?  Why do we only see shows about top government officials, CIA agents, neurosurgeons and defense attorneys?  Shouldn't there be shows about teachers, salesmen, waiters or plumbers?

Oh, the Months of the Year

February is Black History Month.
This is a pretty well known fact, as we have been reminded about it every February since kindergarten.  But what are the other months for?


I did a little research and apparently, other months have "history" too. 


I found it strange that some months, were not recognized as anything, like April, while other months, like May, had more than one "History" to be acknowledged.  What does that say about our values as a nation?  Are some issues less important that they can share a month with another issue?  


Black History Month was a definite necessity, but today, should it still be a primary focus, or should the nation focus on a topic like Gay and Lesbian Awareness Month?


An blog post from the Chicago Tribune News Blog, opened discussion on this very issue, and had many interesting responses.


Personally, I think that Black History Month is important, but all the other "months" deserve equal recognition.  If we are trying to create a perfect world in which everyone is equal, one type of history cannot take precedent over another, they must all be focused on equally and draw similar attention.

Perception of Danger

In class we discussed the poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke.

My Papa's Waltz

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.


The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.


You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.


We discussed how the poem used to be read as a poem about love in a father-son relationship, but today, the first thing people think of when they read this poem is an abusive father-son relationship.  As we discussed this, I started to think, why has this perception changed so much?  Has the US really become a more dangerous place, or is it just that we perceive the dangers differently? 


On one hand, the advances in technology has made people's lives more accessible.  It is easy for a person to get information about someone else, track locations, etc.  But on the other hand, technology also increases safety.  Now that people have cell phones, it is easier to call 911 from any location, and a lot faster to get ahold of people in times of need.  On this one I'm pretty split, but my gut instinct is that as dangers emerge, disappear and evolve as time goes on, so do our perceptions of danger.  The US has not become a more dangerous place, just dangerous in different aspects.  We just perceive out dangers differently.