I looked at the cover and thought it was striking. Attention grabbing. Apparently some people looked at it and thought it was racist. Whaaat?! Someone please educate me.
Some say that the picture of LeBron is stereotypical, in that it shows James as the dangerous black man. LeBron, according to complaints, looks like King Kong and Gisele is the helpless Fay Wray. Also, the picture allegedly hits on another stereotype: the black man wanting the white woman.
Overly sensitive, are we?
I see a famous athlete - looking all powerful and like the champ he is. As a sign of his power and charisma, he just happens to be hanging out with one of the hottest models around. End of story.
Vogue, through spokesman Patrick O'Connell said that the magazine "sought to celebrate two superstars at the top of their game" in their once a year issue devoted to size and shape. He continued to say that "We think LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen look beautiful together and we are honored to have them on the cover."
Even if I stretch my imagination, I see no racism. The only complaint I could have is that Vogue is way, way behind the times, because it took them until 2008 to have their first black man on the magazine cover, when there have been so many viable candidates over the decades. If I think about that, maybe I will get upset.
Some say that the picture of LeBron is stereotypical, in that it shows James as the dangerous black man. LeBron, according to complaints, looks like King Kong and Gisele is the helpless Fay Wray. Also, the picture allegedly hits on another stereotype: the black man wanting the white woman.
Overly sensitive, are we?
I see a famous athlete - looking all powerful and like the champ he is. As a sign of his power and charisma, he just happens to be hanging out with one of the hottest models around. End of story.
Vogue, through spokesman Patrick O'Connell said that the magazine "sought to celebrate two superstars at the top of their game" in their once a year issue devoted to size and shape. He continued to say that "We think LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen look beautiful together and we are honored to have them on the cover."
Even if I stretch my imagination, I see no racism. The only complaint I could have is that Vogue is way, way behind the times, because it took them until 2008 to have their first black man on the magazine cover, when there have been so many viable candidates over the decades. If I think about that, maybe I will get upset.
2 comments:
…I don't think it is being overly sensitive. After hearing about this issue, I did some research and reviewed quite a few King Kong and Fay Wray graphics. The similarities are pretty much dead on. Have a look at this one for example:
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/IMC/A9739~King-Kong-Posters.jpg
When I studied advertising, my eyes were opened to just how much thought and calculation goes into creating an advertising campaign. No detail is overlooked. The number one objective is as you said to grab attention. It is common place to use familiar items to promote a new or current product. In this case, the familiar positioning of King Kong and Fay Wray were used.
Let’s consider the following:
This is the first feature of a Black male on the cover of Vogue.
Vogue has opted to couple the Black male with a white woman.
The couple is positioned similarly to that of King Kong and Fay Wray.
The Black male has historically been negatively likened to the ape/monkey allegedly because of his physical features, mental capacity and tendency towards aggression.
Controversy sells.
Overly sensitive is an understatement. Just give me the time and supply the material & I could come up with racial slurs for every "white" editor's publication & advertisement. Yes I could come up with one.
Well in the world we'll find racial divides but sometimes i wonder if we try to keep them at the front line.
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