Tag Archives: Media

SORRY BRO, YOU’RE NOT COOL

In 2012, a study examined the correlation between TV watching and self esteem in children, and came up with some not-so-surprising results: white boys who watched television had higher self esteem, while white girls, black girls, and black boys who watched television had lower self esteem. Both lack of representation and associations with undesirable behavior contributed to the low esteem outcomes, while, on the other hand, white male characters were far more often associated with strength, logic, and accomplishment, as well as a more varied set of character traits.

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PRINCETON REACTIONS TO ‘DEAR WHITE PEOPLE’

Last month, Justin Simien’s film “Dear White People” premiered across American theaters. Days before its official release, the film had an early screening near Princeton University campus as a part of Princeton’s black alumni reunion weekend. Since that showing, and the subsequent nation-wide release, several members of The Stripes have watched DWP and weighed in with their impression. Continue reading →

WHO CARES?

“Who cares?” says Jerry Seinfeld about diversity in comedy.

I do. In early February, Jerry Seinfeld made remarks about his role in increasing diversity in media. He states: “People think [comedy] is the census or something, it’s gotta represent the actual pie chart of America, who cares?” I believe complaints about minority representation in media are not particularly calling for creators to diversify as an obligation, but question how the media is not reflexive of our diverse society. Continue reading →

LOOKING FORWARD FOR LUPITA: UNDERREPRESENTATION IN FILM

Lupita Nyong’o. The name of the Kenyan-born actress is on everybody’s lips after she won a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress last night. Nyong’o plays the physically and verbally abused slave Patsey in Twelve Years A Slave, and her acceptance speech reflected the grace, intelligence, and humility that she has demonstrated throughout the awards season. Her performance as Patsey is gripping and formidable, one that leaves you still reeling as you leave the theater. Continue reading →

BLACK LOVE: A DISCUSSION

In honor of Valentine’s Day and Black History Month, The Stripes was excited to capture some of the action at the Black Love discussion this past Wednesday in our very first multimedia special! To respect the event as a safe/open space, we did not include audio from the actual discussion and instead interviewed students afterwards.

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POP AND PREJUDICE: NOT ALL FANS ARE CREATED EQUAL

cynthia1

G-Dragon, the lead singer of K-pop boy band Big Bang, dons blackface while dressed up as André 3000.

My favorite thing to do when I want to take a break from the “real world” – work, school, politics, the news, etc. – is to immerse myself in non-serious things I love. For me, these things mainly include music and pop culture: specifically, boybands. Continue reading →

IDENTITY LOST IN LANGUAGE

I was out shopping one day when a woman walked up to me and started casually speaking to me in Spanish. I stared at her for a moment and then quickly shifted my gaze around her to see if maybe my mom was close enough to hear my call, answer the woman’s question, and spare me the embarrassment of yet another “Lo siento. No hablo Español.” Continue reading →

RACIST INTERNET

My generation was raised using the internet. During various phases of our lives, we have experimented with education, entertainment, media, relationships, and communications online. The internet was the tool through which we researched and applied to college, and now in college it is increasingly becoming our primary way to approach our assignments, research, and routine activities. Seeing as we use the internet on average for more than 25 hours per week, I could confidently say that we know the internet pretty well. Just as we recognize the shortcomings of any person that we have come to know, we cannot pretend that we do not also recognize the faults of the internet. And it turns out, the internet is racist. Continue reading →

FAIR AND LOVELY

I have never been quite as intimidated by an inanimate object as I am by the little bottle sitting on my bathroom countertop. It had arrived, along with a flood of other unfamiliar toiletries, in my cousin’s bag this morning. The bottle is only a couple of inches high and the words “Fair and Lovely” are written across the top in friendly, pink script. An ambiguously ethnic girl smiles on the front. Behind her grinning mug is a picture of the same girl, minus the idiotic grin but plus a whole hell of a lot more melanin. “Smear me all over your face,” the bottle demands rudely. “Then maybe you can be white – pretty – and happy, too.”

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