Brian Damage
05-02-2012, 10:31 PM
Gather round, friends, and let's have ourselves a chitchat about Ashton Kutcher's ad campaign for Pop Chips snacks, where he plays different characters of different nationalities and ethnicities — notably, an Indian character. It's so very funny:
Wait, not funny, discomfitingly racist. This was not the take-home message from many news outlets, mind you: The New York Times didn't mention it, the New York Daily News didn't mention it, the New York Post says that his "skin is darkened by makeup," E! doesn't care, the Seattle PI doesn't care, Us Weekly posted a beefcake shot of Kutcher getting done up in brownface, People didn't mention it. And yet, yikes.
But he was joking, but he makes fun of other accents too, but it's not racist, it's just silly, you are too sensitive, not everything is about race— nope! Not acceptable! Jokes can still be racist! It's 2012, folks. Does this ad use imagery that is primarily seen elsewhere as a means to degrade and marginalize people? It sure does.
"I can't imagine I have to explain this to anyone in 2012, but if you find yourself putting brown makeup on a white person in 2012 so they can do a bad 'funny' accent in order to sell potato chips, you are on the wrong course," writes tech hero Anil Dash in a terrific and forward-looking analysis of the ad. "Make some different decisions."
Interestingly, as recently as 6 p.m. today, Pop Chips had separate ads up on YouTube for each of Kutcher's different characters, including an extended-play audience with Raj. But by shortly after 7 p.m., they had all been marked "Private" and are inaccessible. Perhaps different decisions are being made very quickly.
http://www.vulture.com/2012/05/ashton-kutcher-racist-ad-chips.html
Wait, not funny, discomfitingly racist. This was not the take-home message from many news outlets, mind you: The New York Times didn't mention it, the New York Daily News didn't mention it, the New York Post says that his "skin is darkened by makeup," E! doesn't care, the Seattle PI doesn't care, Us Weekly posted a beefcake shot of Kutcher getting done up in brownface, People didn't mention it. And yet, yikes.
But he was joking, but he makes fun of other accents too, but it's not racist, it's just silly, you are too sensitive, not everything is about race— nope! Not acceptable! Jokes can still be racist! It's 2012, folks. Does this ad use imagery that is primarily seen elsewhere as a means to degrade and marginalize people? It sure does.
"I can't imagine I have to explain this to anyone in 2012, but if you find yourself putting brown makeup on a white person in 2012 so they can do a bad 'funny' accent in order to sell potato chips, you are on the wrong course," writes tech hero Anil Dash in a terrific and forward-looking analysis of the ad. "Make some different decisions."
Interestingly, as recently as 6 p.m. today, Pop Chips had separate ads up on YouTube for each of Kutcher's different characters, including an extended-play audience with Raj. But by shortly after 7 p.m., they had all been marked "Private" and are inaccessible. Perhaps different decisions are being made very quickly.
http://www.vulture.com/2012/05/ashton-kutcher-racist-ad-chips.html