01/07/2010 01:17:23 PM EST
My Perspective on the Australian KFC Ad (Without the Yelling)
posted by yturks
By Jayar Jackson
Can also be seen at
www.jayarjackson.com
A discussion Ana Kasparian and I had on the show Monday about a stereotypically driven KFC ad out of Australia that we deemed racist, has sparked a whirlwind of disdain toward us and The Young Turks. In the ad, an Australian cricket fan is uncomfortably watching the match in the midst of the raucous West Indies fans as they play their music and dance. The Aussie is annoyed, bothered, and seems to be unable to enjoy the match due to the craziness that surrounds him. Once he holds up a KFC bucket of fried chicken, the dark skinned "Windies" calm down from their elation to focus on the deliciousness of KFC's chicken. The Aussie smiles and says, "Too easy" while referencing his previous question of how to get out of an uncomfortable situation.
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Due to the fact that Ms. Kasparian and I determined that this is first a stereotypical commercial that perpetuates the long standing point of view that Black people will do anything for fried chicken, and eventually ruled that it was racist, we've received countless emails, video responses, Australian newspaper stories, and interviews with an Australian television show to defend our point.
Many of the irate emails followed a similar pattern that began by accusing us of being ignorant to the game of cricket and the lifestyle of people outside of the U.S. Others pointed out that it wasn't meant to be seen by America, as it was leaked onto the internet. Excuses that they are not aware of the racial overtones of such an ad were also contributed as reasons for the scene. Some complained that we were attempting to degrade Australians, and assumed that we were calling them a racist nation.
Here are a couple of examples: I am australian, I couldn't stomach your report on the KFC add calling it racism...who are you to stand and judge our country?? what the?? have a look at your USA and I would assume you have a ton of work to do.. I am going to say that I have never heard such an immature response in my life on earth.... if you can say that our country is racist over that add, I would be safe to say 1) You have never been here to see that we are more multicultural than where you live 2) I would say you don't even have a passport and have never travelled..
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Just thought I'd send you a quick message to let you know how uninformed you are regarding the KFC advertisement.
I'll just touch on some points, you can do the maths, you seem like you have some intelligence.
- Firstly, The USA seems to be the only country in the world with a problem regarding the advertisement.
- Cricket is not an American past time. It is a past time and national sport for the country/ies the ad has been aired in. If you have ever taken the time to watch cricket, you would realise that this is an accurate depiction of the crowd in some African countries.
- This advertisement was not aired in the USA.
- There is no sense of superiority between the people in the crowd, you seem to be making this up.
- BLACK PEOPLE EATING CHICKEN IS PART OF AMERICA'S RACIST HISTORY. NOT AUSTRALIA'S!
Without the anger, misguided assumptions, or insults there are things I have to clear up. I called the KFC ad racist; I never accused the country of Australia of being a racist nation. I did not say that cricket doesn't have crowds like this. I said that fried chicken isn't the thing that calms the raucous crowds of darker skinned fans. I don't care about the depiction of the West Indies fans as loud, dancing spectators. When the chicken changed their moods, it inherently said things.
Anytime food calms things down, those things are animals. When we want to award our dogs for doing the right trick like sitting down, we give them a treat. It depicts dark skinned people as savages, which is the basis for my problem with the commercial. I understand that my problem stems from the way America historically treated Black Americans. Some also used to (and still do) say specifically that fried chicken is the one food that Black people just can't resist, like an animal.
We still have many, many racists in this country and when an established corporation or entity like KFC puts a message out there that tells them that they're ancient thought process is right, I have to point out that it's wrong. We can't give credence to the mindset of a group of people we've been working to change for so many years. Sometimes these people could be hiring for a job and if they have their stereotypes confirmed by pop culture, (commercials) they will subconsciously turn down Black applicants simply b/c they think somewhere in their mind that this person is a savage, just like many used to think. No one wants a savage working for them that they can only calm down with a bucket of fried chicken.
I also understand that this entire struggle happened in America, so I actually don't mind when people from other countries don't take it the way I do. I don't mind that the target audience probably enjoyed it. I just hope that when people disagree with my point of view, that they understand that it's my point of view and that I will respect theirs, especially since it's different in all parts of the world.
Sure, sometimes the term "racist" gets thrown around without merit. The reason I sometimes don't relax on the racism thing is because sometimes people die over the racism thing here in America. I just don't want to allow it to regain the life it once had. If the KFC ad ran here, with football fans in the place of cricket fans, I'd be just as upset by it; actually more upset. We have crazy football fans that are known to get unruly. So I get the reference, it's just that the chicken is where it crossed the line for me.
So again, I don't think Australia is the land of racists; I simply believe that this KFC ad is damaging to the perception of Black people.
--JJJ
