The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movie is just another example of racist propoganda.
Yes, I'm saying it! The movie featuring those green sewer-dwelling amphibians that everyone loves is racist. Subliminally racist. Insidiously racist.
I know . . . people are tired of folks
accusing movies or television series of having racist content or undertones.
Because, come on, if you look hard enough you can convince yourself that
anything can be racist. Right?
But let's examine some cold hard facts
here, okay?
Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo -- members of the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles = The good guys.
Be-Bop, Rock-steady, and Shredder -- members of the Foot Clan =
The bad guys.
Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo are
named after great artists of the European Renaissance era. Leonardo, then one
might easily surmise, is meant to represent Leonardo da Vinci -- the great
artist, inventor, mathematician and writer whose genius epitomized the
Renaissance humanist ideal.
They are, of course figures to be admired,
even worshiped as role models for our children. Figures with whom we would all
want to identify, and whose success we hope they would aspire to emulate.
But now let's look at the bad guys, shall
we?
Bebop is a form of music developed in the 1940s
-- some say invented by jazz icons Charlie "Yardbird" Parker, Dizzy
Gillespie, and Coleman Hawkins -- but identified with all the African-American
jazz musicians of that era.
Rocksteady is a musical form that came out of the
Caribbean, mainly Jamaica, in the mid 1960s. Made famous by Alton Ellis who was
called the "Godfather of Rocksteady," It even spawned a dance craze
that reached the United States in the 1970s with the Queen of Soul Aretha
Franklins' hit Rock Steady.
Johnny Nash hit number one on the Billboard Chart here in the States with
his Rocksteady song, I Can See
Clearly Now.
Shred guitar or shredding is defined as a
virtuoso leading guitar solo playing style for the electric guitar, based on
various fast playing techniques. A friend of my father's always talked about
musicians and their titles. Frank Sinatra was "The Chairman of the
Board." Ray Charles was "The Genius.” And Jimi Hendrix -- who died in
1970 after only a four-year career in music -- was "The Shredder."
Search the web and you'll find numerous mentions of his magnificent shredding
at the Woodstock Music Festival, and his stirring rendition of The Star
Spangled Banner is still considered a shredding classic. Though greatly
identified with heavy metal rock, Prince was also considered one of the great
shredders, and he cited his shredding influences as both Jimi Hendrix and
Carlos Santana.
Now, see, I don't think it's overly
sensitive to look at a cartoon that names all the smart good guys after
European culture and all the stupid bad guys after Black culture. Do you?
What bothers me the most is that it's
subliminal, and therefore insidious!
Subliminal, because most of the children
watching wouldn't yet know about the European Renaissance, or yet be familiar
with names of music genres like Rocksteady and Bebop, they're just watching a
funny action-packed cartoon. Thus the idea is insidiously planted in their
brain -- European culture good -- Black culture bad.
Cowabunga my ass.
23 comments:
Over sensitive? Not at all Sister and you're right you can find anything in these media images if you look hard enough but you really don't have to look hard to see it. It's there sometime subtle sometimes it's just out right smacks you in the face but it's there none the less. Images that try to reinforce Racist stereotypes in attempts to assert white superiority and or foster suggestions of Black inferiority. See the key phrase here is subliminal. Subtle images that your mind's eye will recognize and internalize in spite of what your eyes don't see.So stay sensitive Sister because it is really only being conscience
The creators probably weren't even aware of what they were doing because they were basing their villains on earlier villains in pop culture that were based on yet earlier villains, going all the way back to the bad old days when anthropology was a pseudo-science meant to sort people according to how far or close they were to (at the peak) Anglo-Saxons. When I was a kid, I wondered why all the bad guys in the Hardy Boys books were described as being "swarthy."
But in art, as in the law, ignorance is no excuse. Which is why it’s important to call such things out.
I agree with you, I don’t think it’s political correct nor being too sensitive to question things or our actions. Mainly because look how systemic the whole slavery/racism construct was to denigrate minorities especially Africans.
They were forbidden to marry, to go to school, to learn to read. And that was set up legally, and in places where it wasn’t, there was de facto slavery/segregation.
Then when slavery was finally abolished, it was a struggle for former slaves, and even “free” African Americans to secure their civil liberties and freedom. Look at Octavius V. Cato here in Philly.
We reneged on 40 acres and a mule, had to pass Amendments (13, 14, & 15th) to the Constitution to insure fairness to the systemic hatred that was in place and we’re still having serious racist issues today!
Instead of lynchings, now we have legal violence against unarmed black men because they are perceived as dangerous or threatening! Really? An unarmed person being a threat to an armed police officer who’s trained to deal with a situation like that. What ever happened to not using deadly force? To trying to deescalate the situation? Firing a warning shot, if necessary first? Waiting for backup?
And it’s still covert, insidious, and subliminal. Well until recently with demagogue Donald Trump and racist Ted Cruz, et al running in the GOP presidential primaries!
So, thank you so much for writing that article.
Are you familiar with the PBS series about race? I think we should start spreading the word that dividing us into “races” is false, a myth. (Go to www.pbs.org/race).
We have to start eliminating this myth instead of letting it continue.
Race has no genetic basis. So we should substitute “ethnic group” or "ethnicity” instead of using the word race.
Race is a construct invented by slave owners and racists who wanted to justify, not only slavery but white supremacy, the extermination of Indians, the taking of Mexican lands, and the exclusion of other groups; Jews, Asians, etc. We are all part of the HUMAN race! There are different ethnic divisions, but no human subspecies.
So, please contact the influential people you know and let’s get this myth deconstructed and ended!
Please click on that link and let me know what you think Karen.
SiStar Queen your assessment is astute and accurate! Thank you for sharing your Melanic Vibrational Insight.
I always think the Ninja Turtles are black.
They act like black, sounded like black, looks like black.
Holy hell you people are as ignorant as you are clueless. These characters were created by a guy who was with an African American girl at the time of it's creation. APRIL Oniel was named and styled off of the creators then girlfriend who was African American. It was the suits that alterd her to a white girl for the cartoon. But the man that named these characters was in no way trying to be racist. You're forgetting that this was done in the 80s. And that the names beebop and rocksteady" were considered cool. Nothing more. There is no secret message in the names, you people just have nothing better to do and youre just a bunch of cynical morons.
I suppose the most recent representation of the TMNT called "rise of the teenage mutant Ninja turtles" is racist too? After all, they kept all those names. Except for one little problem, 2 of the turtles and April are all voiced by African Americans and April is drawn as a young African American girl. You were spot on in your first paragraph. If you look hard enough, you can make anything seem racist. Morons.
Actually the original creator of the TMNT meant for April O'Neil to be African American, she was based on the creators then significant other who was an African American woman. The names are just names. Nothing more. The creator was an artist and paid hommage to some of the most influential artists in history, nothing more. Beepbop and rocksteady were named that way just because it sounded cool in the 80s, nothing more... Ignorance is no excuse, so stop being such an ignorant cynical dipshit. The most recent version of TMNT has a black April O'Neil voiced by an African American woman and 2 of the 4 turtles are voiced by African American actors. dumb ass.
It's completely cynical and ignorant of the facts. It's far fetched and completely moronic. Talk about Irony.
lol did dirtyhippiekiller seriously agree with himself
looks like someone forgot to switch accounts when trying to sockpuppet
PS. I'll give you Bebop and Rocksteady, but Shredder was specifically named because he resembled the inside of a vegetable shredder, not for music.
Nah dumb ass. I was responding to different posts. But apparently this forum doesn't organize in that way. What an imbecile you are.
And where did I say anything about shredder being named for music? WTF are you you even talking about? You are completely retarded.
Oh and, Oroku Saki, one more thing. If I wanted to reply to my own comments, I wouldn't have to "switch accounts" I could have just selected 'anonymous' instead of my account name. Again, you're really, really dumb.. It's kind of sad.
See, you brainless twit. No need to switch accounts if I wanted to pretend to have a conversation with myself, but that is CLEARLY not what I was doing. you pathetic dolt.
I hope you never have kids
Too late. And I guarantee they are smarter than anyone claiming the Ninja turtles are "racist"... Dolts
Thanks for an interesting article. I found it cos im mid 40s just rediscovered my love for TMNT but it occurred to me that there are very few black people in the whole city, even the street kids are mostly white.
I hadnt even thought about the naming, and tbh you are a showing a little bif of confirmation bias. I agree a bit that Bebop and Rocksteady do have black connotations, but these are not the major baddies, of which there are about 20 in all, meaning about 17 dont have such names...some are Japanese some latin names for animals etc etc. You also neglect to mention other names of the good guys, such as splinter, that have no white connotations.
But you raise some interesting points, and just swearing at you is rather lame. Thanks again for the piece. One Love.
Holy shit come on ...we are all the way down to goddamn ninja turtles now!!?? is there anything that isn't racist or a subliminal attack on black culture... next week we will examine the degradation of black culture caused by the powder puff girls and my little pony
Karen stands for opinionated B.B.
Beyond ridiculous this post i jist have to laugh... Girl wot a fukin reach and a half 😂😂😂
Wow I thought this post was satire.. aren’t the turtles black stereotypes themselves?
Silly
Dumbest shit I ever read
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