I recently saw a commercial on TV that left me with a sour taste in my mouth. The commercial portrayed numerous black athletes in very competitive situations. Throughout the course of the commercial, clips of high school, college, and professional athletes were shown competing in practice and in games. From watching the commercial, it left me with three thoughts. 1) That being overly aggressive to the point of physically fighting someone is ok, and part of athletics. 2) That only black athletes behaved this way. 3) That the only way for black athletes to succeed would be through hard work in athletics. I'm not sure what the real message of the commercial was, but I didn't get it. The only thing I saw was a reinforcement of what most Americans already think of black athletes. The company was directly targeting a race by using a stereotype that is unfortunately accepted and reinforced in our society today. What truly irritates me is the fact that most people wouldn't even come close to having the same thoughts that I had.
Derek W.
KIN 332I Section 2
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