unownunown wrote:amishrobots wrote:The picture in question pretty clearly is not intended as a racial slur; the humour relies on the vast difference between suburban white culture and inner city ghetto culture. The idea of people acting or speaking in a way totally contrary to what you might expect from their general appearance. This is what makes the picture funny, not some small minded, ignorant racist idea about black people.
see, the 'inner city ghetto culture' thing is the 'small minded, ignorant racist idea about black culture.' that's why in a comedic context 'n*gga' fails. it fails in every context we could ever use it in here at ilovefuzz.com.
in another thread re: fat girl jokes i said "like, sure it's 'just a joke,' but why is it a joke? jokes reflect real opinions, sets of behaviors, prejudices." and this is kind of the perfect example of the reasoning that i'm talking about.
no, i disagree. There is a certain culture, with a certain way of speaking. Most of the members of this culture happen to be black. It is a culture and style that has its roots in the "ghettos" of urban areas. This style and culture includes a propensity for using the "N-word" in what I personally feel (as a dumb white guy who grew up in the suburbs, mind you) is an empowering and positive way. The use of the word in that context is part of the identity of that culture. I do not have a big problem with that culture, maybe some do. The small minded idea is that this culture, this style is somehow "bad". Denying the positive use of this word in the context of that culture is like saying they are wrong to express themselves in that way.
it is the juxtaposition of two wildly different cultures that makes the picture funny. Its like seeing a picture of your sweet old grandmother riding her harley to the biker bar, where a bunch of burly biker dudes are baking cookies for her. It plays on certain preconceptions about different cultures of people, yes, but it does not necessarily paint one or the other as "bad"; it is up to the viewer to do that for themselves.
As for me, when i look at the picture, my preconception is of a yuppy whitebread rich trophy wife trying to be all "cool" or "gangsta" really i should find it more offensive to rich white ladies than black people, because i hate yuppie scum.
