purlblog

Modern Minstrel

Step right up! What I got here is bona fide, countrified, idolized, monetized, symbolized, exorcised time machine! We got a way to take something from waaaay back, twist it around a bit, and put it in front of you, modernized. As the dreamy harp music plays, think back. Back to a time when a darkie knew how to shuck and jive. When the only cares you had were that yo feet didn't fail you. Just Stepin Fetchit and you'd be alright!

This is a harsh way to begin even a rant, but this rant was inspired by the shufflin' modern buffoonery on Flavor of Love 2.

Once we had:

Now we have:

Now am I saying that Flavor Flav is as outrageously offensive as the "colored" portrayals of Mantan Moreland and Lincoln "Stepin Fetchit" Perry? Absolutely not. I am saying that this negative stereotype, no matter how "real", is a lingering reminder of a time gone by. I will not play the hypocrite here, I watched both Flavor of Love series in their entirety. I was aware of the subtlety in deriving enjoyment from William "Flavor Flav" Drayton's cartoonish minstrelsy. It didn't make me turn the channel because it was mildly entertaining. Coupled with several Jezebel stereotypes by the women, it was a modern day, if not low-key minstrel show.

This is more an observation than a rant, I just hope that for every Flavor of Love that is produced containing negative stereotypes, there is another The Cosby Show showing positive characters to offset it. Vote with your remotes, folks. If there is a 3rd iteration, I will vote with mine...

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