Race Representations

1. Race Representations The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2. Cheerios and Pepsi • Watch both ads carefully • Jot down observations of race, representations, and rhetorical strategies

3. Cheerios and Pepsi

4. Cheerios and Pepsi • Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5Yq1DLSmQ

5. Cheerios and Pepsi • Both of these ads were controversial but one of these ads was celebrated and one was criticized • Discuss your observations with your group • Then decide which is the “good” and which is the “bad”

6. Cheerios and Pepsi • Why Kendall Jenner ad has push-back article: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/pepsi-ad-kendall-jenner-echoes-black-lives-matter-sparks-anger-n742811

7. Cheerios and Pepsi • SNL spoof of Pepsi ad • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn8pwoNWseM

8. Cheerios and Pepsi • Now as a group, develop 2-3 SOCRATIC inquiries for a large group discussion. • Remember to use level 2 and level 3 inquiry • Level 2: compare/contrast, analyze, criticize, examine • Level 3: construct, formulate, evaluate, judge, predict

9. Cheerios and Pepsi • HW: Type your inquiries and bring them to class tomorrow for Socratic Seminar • (note: Apply Outcome 4 – revision/editing before you publish)

10. Socratic Seminar • Objectives: • Deepen our understanding of representation in the media • Share open and honest perspectives regarding race and pop culture • Apply understanding of rhetorical situation (audience, message, purpose) • Connect to each other and build community

11. Socratic Seminar • Topics for discussion: • Characters (what they look like, what they say, what they do) • Rhetorical strategies (ethos, pathos, logos, music, lighting, pacing, etc.) • Controversies (why might people take issue with the ads) • Effectiveness (are the ads getting the job done?)

12. How does dramatization impact each ad’s effectiveness? • How would an audience react to each commercial and how would the reactions be similar or different? • At what point does diversity become forced? (Pepsi had a checklist/cheerios had a natural setting) • What could Pepsi have done to connect to the young, modern audience? (Iesha Evans – protest at Baton Rouge) • What is the “good” and what is the “bad” (if any)?

13. Socratic Seminar • Opening Activity: • Look at a person across the circle – make eye contact/silly face at them • Partner up with them in the middle of the circle • Read your inquiries aloud to them and share what you hope/expect to hear when you ask this question

14. Socratic Seminar • Reflection (on your printed inquiries page): • What is something you heard that challenged your thinking? • What is something you heard with which you agree/disagree? • How effective was this seminar in your estimation? What could be improved? What should we continue?

15. Stereotypes and Tonto • Objectives: • Identify stereotypes that have been traditionally applied to American Indians in film and popular culture. • Analyze the impact that stereotypes can have on an individual’s self-concept by reading Sherman Alexie’s essay, “I Hated Tonto (Still Do).” • Understand how popular culture perpetuates stereotypes to excuse systemic discrimination.

16. Essential Questions • How do prevailing stereotypes affect the self-worth of individuals who are labeled by them? • How do dominant groups use stereotypes to “write” history?

17. This Photo by Unknow

18. “I Hated Tonto (Still Do)” by Sherman Alexie This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

19. “I Hated Tonto (Still Do)” by Sherman Alexie • Before reading the essay, “I Hated Tonto (Still Do),” brainstorm about the title in a small group. Why might author Sherman Alexie hate Tonto?

20. Why does author Sherman Alexie hate Tonto? • Consider one more fact: The author of the essay is also American Indian. • Does this new data change your theory about the title? Why or why not?

21. Sherman Alexie Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. is a Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-American novelist, short story writer, poet, and filmmaker. His writings draw on his experiences as an Indigenous American with ancestry from several tribes. He grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation and now lives in Seattle, Washington.

22. Stereotypes and Tonto • You will first view a short video, How Hollywood Stereotyped Native Americans, which contains original footage from several Westerns, comparable to the films author Sherman Alexie would have seen as a child and teen. Notice that the American Indians interviewed here, not unlike Sherman Alexie, are displeased about the portrayal of American Indians. As you watch, take notes and focus on answering the following questions: • How did Westerns commonly stereotype American Indians? • How did Westerns commonly stereotype whites? • Why are the American Indians interviewed in the video critical of Westerns?

23. Stereotypes and Tonto • Share your answers with a partner, then pair up with another partner team. Compare your answers, and work to come to a consensus about the best answers. • As a class, decide if the clips—primary sources—support or weaken any of the theories you have collected about the impetus (motivation) behind the title of the essay.

24. “I Hated Tonto (Still Do)” by Sherman Alexie • Move your desks so that they form a discussion circle of four. Individually, read Alexie’s essay. While reading, underline text that responds to the following questions: • How did portrayals of American Indians contrast with portrayals of whites? • How did the stereotypes that Alexie saw in the films affect his self-worth? • How did stereotypes that Alexie saw in the films affect his feelings toward his people and heritage? • Why did the author hate Tonto? (He wrote about his childhood days of pretending, “But I never, not once, imagined myself to be Tonto.”)

25. “I Hated Tonto (Still Do)” by Sherman Alexie • Revisit your initial list of theories. • Revise as necessary or simply star the “winners.” • What did you discover? • Did you learn anything new? Explain. • Write a reflection on what you learned and how this new awareness may affect you.

26. Journal Response • Alexie’s essay highlights the harm that stereotypes can inflict on an individual and on a people. So why were these Westerns, riddled with blatant stereotypes and historical inaccuracies, so popular? Put another way, if American Indians were harmed by the making and viewing of these distorted films, how did white audiences and white filmmakers benefit from the use of stereotypes in Westerns?

27. Extension Activity • Extension Activity • 1. Alexie’s essay highlights the harm that stereotypes can inflict on an individual and on a people. So why were these Westerns, riddled with blatant stereotypes and historical inaccuracies, so popular? Put another way, if American Indians were harmed by the making and viewing of these distorted films, how did white audiences and white filmmakers benefit from the use of stereotypes in Westerns? • Conduct research with a partner (or two) to obtain a historically accurate picture of the clash between American Indians and white settlers during the nation’s period of westward expansion. Think critically about how your findings “answer” the guiding question above. • Here are two resources from PBS to get you started with your research: • Westward Expansion • Manifest Destiny Overview • Translate your findings into an “interview” with an historian similar to the ones you viewed in the clip earlier. Use a question-and-answer format. Most questions should begin with “how” or “why” and every answer should be substantiated by specific facts from your research and your analysis. • Perform your “interview” for your class or two other partner teams. • 2. Alexie wrote about movies made in the 1950s through the 1970s, but how prevalent (common) are stereotypes in media today? Your task is to conduct research to find out. To prepare for this activity, conduct a brainstorming session to identify which social groups are most commonly labeled with stereotypes, for example “girls and women.” Write the list on the board and in your notebooks. • Using the list you generated, choose one group to focus on, keep a journal and briefly record the date and source every time you spot a stereotype about one of these groups in the media. In addition to considering movies, examine commercials, television shows and videos. • Recall that Alexie was not critically aware of the stereotyping until he reached adulthood, and that he “cringed” when he revisited one of his favorite Westerns. In your journal, discuss whether or not you were surprised by your research. Note how viewing these pieces of media affected you emotionally. Also, explore how other audiences may be affected by viewing these images. • Choose one example from your journal to examine more deeply. (Ideally, choose an example that plays on stereotypes about a group to which you belong or share close ties, such as “people who live in the South,” “girls and women,” or “people who come from low-income neighborhoods.”) Record as much detail as you can about the appearance and behaviors of the stereotyped character, and take note of how other actors are responding to that character. Determine what messages this piece of media is sending audiences about the stereotyped group. • Draft a letter to the producer of your media example protesting the use of stereotypes. Using the facts you gathered, include analysis of how their media draws on stereotypes. Educate the producer about the harm that stereotypes can inflict upon the audiences who receive them. Or, if you are more artistically inclined, like Sherman Alexie, create a poem or a comic that achieves the same objectives.

28. 6 Racial Stereotypes White People Are sTill unaware of… • We have discussed several stereotypes in media that have existed for several decades • Are there stereotypes or underrepresentation that we haven’t talked about? • Brainstorm a list of current representations that perhaps people are still unaware about

29. 6 Racial Stereotypes White People Are sTill unaware of… • Groups of 3 • You will be assigned ONE of 6 racial stereotypes that are present in our popular culture today • Read it silently to yourself, marking the text for key points

30. 6 Racial Stereotypes White People Are sTill unaware of… • Now, as a small group discuss the following and write your responses in your journal: • Come up with examples in popular culture that seem to exemplify the stereotype • Can you think of any examples that are counter to this stereotype? • To what extent do you agree or disagree with this observation? • To what extent do you feel the general populace is perhaps too sensitive (if at all)? BE BRAVE and HONEST!

31. 6 Racial Stereotypes White People Are sTill unaware of… • Jigsaw! • Find a representative from each stereotype from the article • Make a large group (there should be 6 of you!) • Go around the group and share: • What the stereotype is (summarize) • Examples you brainstormed (where it exists and where it doesn’t) • Whether your group agreed or disagreed with its prevalence in pop culture.

32. 6 Racial Stereotypes White People Are sTill unaware of… • Application! • Now, you will come up with a stereotype that was not on this list but should be! • Do a copy/change paragraph in which you add to this list. • Requirements: • Typed • Picture from an example • Style matches the article’s style

33. Example • 7. It’s not stereotyping, if you have one from every ‘group’ • Individually, representing any one of these characters with their thievery would be a racist stereotype; however, since the lead is white, and all of his sidekicks are ‘other,’ it’s fine to highlight their skills as criminals, right? …

34. Focus on Genre: Blog Post • Your first SA requires you to mimic the style and features of a blog • Read the sample blog post from a student linked on today’s date on the calendar • Then discuss: • What are the features of the page? What is included? What is the layout? • Who is the targeted audience based on your reading? • What is the purpose of the post? • What is done well? What could be more effective?

35. Focus on Genre: Blog Post • Your turn! Follow these steps to develop your SA: • Look over the sample blog post I created • Use this as a basic foundation for your post • Outline your blog post (it will be much easier if you have at least an idea of what you’re going to write first) • In a Word document or GoogleDoc, begin to lay out your format • Once you have formed your blog, make sure to have people look it over for you • Complete your Writer’s Memo!

36. SA #2: Entering the conversation • You will be synthesizing sources to enter the discourse about Disney’s impact on race representation • Before we watch Coco, we need some lines of inquiry to help focus our viewing of the text. • Brainstorm with a neighbor several questions that the class should search the answer to as we watch/read the film

37. Inquiries • Is Coco an accurate cultural representation of Mexican culture? • What are the effects of cinematic techniques on character portrayal? • How stereotypical are characters and the culture? • How does the antagonist reflect the filmmakers’ views on the culture overall? • How does Disney “voice” the characters in the culture? • How does humor strengthen or degrade the culture and characters? • To what extent does the life experiences of the filmmaker(s) affect cultural appropriation?

38. SA 2 • Inquiry: To what extent has Disney made efforts to combat racial and cultural misrepresentations of its past? Use your close analysis of Coco, Mickey Mouse Monopoly, and at least one other source from your own research to support your position. • Be sure your response: • Is Typed, double spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman • Is 2-3 pages • Uses the sources above and one from your research • Includes a Works Cited page with MLA format (go to OWL at Purdue and look up MLA formatting)

39. Research and Citations • Read chapter 8 from our textbook Writer, Thinker, Maker. • Consider this information as you research for SA 2. • Picker, Miguel, director; Sun, Chyng-Feng, writer. Mickey Mouse Monopoly. 2002. • Unkrich, Lee, co-director; Molina, Adrian, co-director. Coco. Disney/Pixar, 2017.

40. Major Paper #1: Synthesis Essay Develop a line of inquiry regarding a facet of race in popular culture (sports, images, food, sit-coms, fashion models, etc). Research peer-reviewed articles regarding your topic from varied perspectives. Construct a synthesis essay in which you enter the conversation surrounding this topic. You must use at least 3 sources. 5-7 pages, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman or equivalent

41. Let’s watch some tennis! • U.S. Open women’s finalists Serena Williams (USA) and Naomi Osaka (Japan) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiBrForlj-k&t=319s

42. Respond in your notebook • Write down the events as you see them play out on the court. • Try to be objective and factual (like a journalist) This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

43. Respond to the following questions • Was chair umpire, Carlos Ramos, justified in giving the penalty to Serena Williams? Explain. • Was his treatment of Serena Williams racist? How do you know?

44. Is the depiction of Serena in this cartoon racist?

45. Research – shades of gray • Read the articles about this controversy on our class calendar • Try to remain unbiased as much as possible with an open mind • Jot down quotes/points that make logical sense, even if they combat your own opinion

46. So… • To what extent do you see race a relevant discussion point regarding this controversy? • How does race surface in seemingly innocuous circumstances?

47. Journal • Enter the conversation. • Using the articles and discussion from class, write your opinion on this issue in your journal. Be honest with your feelings and balanced in your views.

48. Chapter 10 – On Argument - Everything is an argument – LITERALLY - Navigating a world of argument is crucial to critical thinking - Argumentation is not all about winning

49. Chapter 10 – On Argument • Why We Make Arguments: • To convince and to inform – lead audience to accept an idea as true or plausible • To persuade – lead audiences to action • To make decisions – lead audiences to closely examine important matters • To understand and explore – lead audiences to consider other opinions/facts or to uncover personal interests

50. Chapter 10 – On Argument • Occasions • Forensic Arguments– arguments about the past (court decisions, legal briefings, investigative reports, academic studies) • Deliberative Arguments – arguments about the future (proposals, bills, regulations) • Ceremonial (epideictic) Arguments – arguments about the present (eulogies, graduation speeches, inaugural addresses, roasts)