This Column Takes itself Way Too Seriously to be About a T-Shirt

There was a study once in which a bunch of five year old girls were shown Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and asked a series of questions about it afterwards. Throughout the film, various levels of anger are displayed by the beast, and he basically makes his business doing everything he can to destroy the life of Belle (I really hope I didn’t get that name right). In the end, of course, he’s redeemed and becomes a prince.

ANYWAY,

After the film, the girls were asked “if your best friend were in a situation like Belle’s, where she was locked in a closet, not allowed to eat, and screamed at by her boyfriend, what would be your advice to her?” Every kid said a variation of the same thing: “I’d tell her to stick it out because he may be mean to you now, but underneath is a prince.”

Let me make this clear, as my explanation may not have done this justice. The message of the film, according to five year old girls, was put up with spousal abuse, because eventually if you allow him to destroy your life for a long enough time, the prince that is underneath will emerge and you'll live happily ever after.

This study scares the shit out of me.

It also tells me that imagery created by media images of any kind is much more pervasive and insidious than we think it is.

Read More...

That brings me to the Horry Kow t-shirts that have gone on sale near Wrigley lately. If you haven’t noticed, first of all-climb out of the cave you’ve been in. Then, take a look at the imagery in the shirt (I don’t really want to put up a picture of it-feel free to find it at one of the fine establishments that carries this piece of Ignorance Couture). It’s fairly obvious what’s being depicted.

Now, the question, of course, that has been debated on message boards all over the place is "are they racist?" Various debates have gone on in which some people of varying intelligence levels are arguing over the difference between “racially insensitive” and “racist,” highlighting the pejorative nature of the term “racist” and the role of intent. This is a valid argument and one I think actually is a fairly productive use of time. Of course, some mouth breathers feel the need to insert the standard “Get over it! Its all PC garbage!” talking points into the debate, which, of course, raises the level of discourse so much. Thanks to you guys.

I think all of these arguments, however, miss the point. One of the first elements of media (and these shirts ARE a form of media) that should be considered is not the intent, but the effects. Intent is rarely even necessary for something to be devastating to culture. In fact, the actual intent of any piece of media is almost always ignored in the interpretations of it by various viewers-if you don’t believe me, try asking ten different people what the lyrics of “American Pie” mean, line-by-line. You’ll get ten different answers, and none of them likely jive with Don McLean’s intent.

Given the myriad responses to this shirt, I think whether or not the creator intended them to be ridiculously insensitive and condescending, that’s a pervasive effect of the pictures. As such, instead of telling people to “get over it,” maybe it would be a good idea to actually, I don’t know-put yourself in their position. I know that, as part of the majority culture race plays almost no role in the manner in which we define ourselves, and therefore its hard to understand why minorities get angry about the stereotypes presented in media-after all, what’s the big deal? Its just a joke, right? Luckily, our favorite Reds-announcer-slash-douchebag has given me a very simplistic insights into the much more dangerous impact of stereotypes on the people in the targeted group.

When Brennaman made those ridiculous comments about Cubs fans being “the most obnoxious fans in baseball,” I was pissed. Not only at him, but also the way it made me look simply because I followed a baseball team. The more this stereotype regarding the overall stupidity of Cubs fans is conveyed (and believe me, its perpetuated throughout baseball fandom), I find myself constantly feeling like I have to justify to fans of other teams (a) that I am not, in fact, a drunken buffoon who doesn’t even know the names of the players on my team, and (b) that there are, in fact, other smart fans who follow the game as closely as do I. Furthermore, many Cubs fans are at the point now that they are constantly looking around themselves to see what stereotypes about us are being embodied by the people around us. We are in a constant and uncomfortable state of hyper self-awareness, afraid to say or do anything that might help perpetuate the stereotype we loathe. It not only makes enjoying baseball games that much harder, its just damn tiring.

Granted, this is a trivial example that I’m certain doesn’t do justice to the bigger problem facing people who are looked at through the lens of stereotypical images such as the Horry Kow shirt. But this example, on a very simple level, showed me how much some people use race to define themselves in everyday life (as much of my sports-fan life is defined by the fact that I am cursed to love the Cubs), how devastating to them this shirt becomes, and how this is just another image that they have to think about when doing just about anything in public. I just don’t feel its right to put anyone in the position of having to constantly think about how everything they do will be interpreted by those around them. I don’t want to make people constantly question their self-worth because they can’t overcome the preconceived notions of others. We all barely survived junior high, yet feel perfectly content to force segments of the population back into that state of self-consciousness.

So, like the Disney cartoon that was designed to tell a good story (and sell boatloads of merch), you can’t simply argue that “the guy didn’t intend to be condescending, so its okay.” You have to look at the effects of a piece of media like that. And judging by the ridiculous reactions this is getting throughout the city, this whole "controversy" scares the shit out of me, too.