The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Mr. Popeil, I'm in trouble.
Need your assistance on the double.
Oh no! Now how am I gonna make
My old vinyl car top look like new?
Mr. Popeil!
Tell me, what am I s'posed to do?
--Mr. Popeil, Weird Al Yankovic
______________
National Public Radio aired an interview with Ron Popeil Wednesday concerning Barack Obama's 30-minute infomercial. Mr. Popeil is known as the King of Infomercials, successfully selling on-air millions of his company Ronco's Veg-o-matic and Chop-o-matics, smokeless ashtrays, and Showtime Rotisseries in the 70's, items which still may be occupying some dusty corner of your or your parent's cabinet space.
Mr. Popeil offered that if Mr. Obama's product was good enough, the informercial might be to his advantage. (Ross Perot did well with his own in 1992, and perhaps that demographic was Obama's target.) Amazingly, there is still a sizable "undecided" cohort of voters. If you split down racial lines, Obama has the black vote in the bag. So his campaign managers are probably wondering how they might dispel any lingering fear or apprehension the undecided white voter might have.
The answer: market Mr. Obama like a Ginsu knife. White people buy those sorts of things, right? They do things like buying more candles than they can possibly use, at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It is not that we as group are a nation of Valentino's in need of soft bedroom lighting; it is that we read Martha Stewart Living and Yoga magazines, and think that certain combinations of scents and colors will bring us bliss.
Obama's informercial immediately conjured the idea of catering to the apprehensive white base, just that broadly. It reminded me of the blog Stuff White People Like, which is devoted to such ephemera. It tends to be spot-on, if slightly tongue-in-cheek. Simply put, the racial divide remains a problem, and we put little Band-aids on a festering undercurrent of discomfort.
Hot Ghetto Mess is another blog by Jam Donaldson, a 36-year-old black lawyer in D.C. showcasing what she calls "the dysfunctional elements of our black community." She pulls no punches, and got a BET program off of it. Her message to the black community is, "We've got to do better." We have all got to do better.
Bravo to Ms. Donaldson for sparking a debate. We have passed the knee jerk condemnation of Bill Cosby for even suggesting there might be a problem years ago. But we also need dialog between communities. Comedian Chris Rock can say, "Everything that white people don't like about black people, black people really don't like about black people," and we can laugh, but what do we do about it?
Roger Cohen's writes elegaically in Wednesday's NYT that Obama's very name is likened to a lullabye. "He is the providential mestizo whose name — O-Ba-Ma — has the three-syllable universality of some child’s lullaby." Huh? These are things white people say.
A-weem-a-way, a-weem-a-way, Kum-Ba-Yah, and all that.
[I'll write about some of the real modern fractures between the races no one talks about, Sunday.]
Need your assistance on the double.
Oh no! Now how am I gonna make
My old vinyl car top look like new?
Mr. Popeil!
Tell me, what am I s'posed to do?
--Mr. Popeil, Weird Al Yankovic
______________
National Public Radio aired an interview with Ron Popeil Wednesday concerning Barack Obama's 30-minute infomercial. Mr. Popeil is known as the King of Infomercials, successfully selling on-air millions of his company Ronco's Veg-o-matic and Chop-o-matics, smokeless ashtrays, and Showtime Rotisseries in the 70's, items which still may be occupying some dusty corner of your or your parent's cabinet space.
Mr. Popeil offered that if Mr. Obama's product was good enough, the informercial might be to his advantage. (Ross Perot did well with his own in 1992, and perhaps that demographic was Obama's target.) Amazingly, there is still a sizable "undecided" cohort of voters. If you split down racial lines, Obama has the black vote in the bag. So his campaign managers are probably wondering how they might dispel any lingering fear or apprehension the undecided white voter might have.
The answer: market Mr. Obama like a Ginsu knife. White people buy those sorts of things, right? They do things like buying more candles than they can possibly use, at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It is not that we as group are a nation of Valentino's in need of soft bedroom lighting; it is that we read Martha Stewart Living and Yoga magazines, and think that certain combinations of scents and colors will bring us bliss.
Obama's informercial immediately conjured the idea of catering to the apprehensive white base, just that broadly. It reminded me of the blog Stuff White People Like, which is devoted to such ephemera. It tends to be spot-on, if slightly tongue-in-cheek. Simply put, the racial divide remains a problem, and we put little Band-aids on a festering undercurrent of discomfort.
Hot Ghetto Mess is another blog by Jam Donaldson, a 36-year-old black lawyer in D.C. showcasing what she calls "the dysfunctional elements of our black community." She pulls no punches, and got a BET program off of it. Her message to the black community is, "We've got to do better." We have all got to do better.
Bravo to Ms. Donaldson for sparking a debate. We have passed the knee jerk condemnation of Bill Cosby for even suggesting there might be a problem years ago. But we also need dialog between communities. Comedian Chris Rock can say, "Everything that white people don't like about black people, black people really don't like about black people," and we can laugh, but what do we do about it?
Roger Cohen's writes elegaically in Wednesday's NYT that Obama's very name is likened to a lullabye. "He is the providential mestizo whose name — O-Ba-Ma — has the three-syllable universality of some child’s lullaby." Huh? These are things white people say.
A-weem-a-way, a-weem-a-way, Kum-Ba-Yah, and all that.
[I'll write about some of the real modern fractures between the races no one talks about, Sunday.]
Labels: barack obama's infomercial, ginzu knives, hot ghetto mess, ron popeil, stuff white people like, things white people do
posted by Lisa at 11:14 AM
12 Comments:
He is lucky I voted for him early. I think he is starting to fall in love with his own voice and maybe thinking that his scheist does not stink. If I had known he was going to waste his bucks on an infomercial instead of helping out other Dems running for Congress or other posts then I would never have voted for his dumb @ss. The dem governor of my state is being overwhelmed with slimey tv commercials. Her opponent has deep deep pockets. Same thing with a congressional districct here which could go dem except for the big bucks slime going on.
Obama could have put that money to a lot better use.
mike,
The amount of money that has been wasted on this campaign is astounding. There is such great need everywhere one turns. I find the messianism revolting. At one time, I was involved in politics. Even from my small exposure I could see how slimy the whole mess was.
There will be no savior. Why don't people rush with their money and their hands to do good every week? They don't, because they get a charge from being touched by the limelight. It is the catharsis of a good tent revival: they are now standing on the street corners screaming for their candidate.
Nov. 5th: back to American Idol.
chris rock is funny. so was redd foxx, who was often as harsh in his criticism of the black community as the worst southern redneck.
thing is, when you're talking about your own people, it is something you can get away with. unless, of course, you're don rickles then you can fuck with everybody.
i've often been taken to task for speaking and writing uncomfortable truths about the apache. the depth of superstition, the giddy enjoyment of cruel tortures, stuff like that. one of the biggest lessons to learn from the indian wars is that they were completely nasty on all sides.
there was very little nobility in those conflicts and what little did surface tended to be stomped out quickly.
Aloha, Lisa and Ranger!
Unfortunately, I posted my last hurrah at M&C! I hope to be situated soon! Aloha!
MB,
I feel this harsh undercurrent of racial animosity, running both ways. It has never been reckoned with. Someone is hoping that Obama's election might put it to bed, but I sense something different. I will try and gather my thoughts on the matter later.
The Bradley Effect is real. Kristof in the NYT just cited a sociological study confirming that we hew to those we can ref. No surprise there. It is not always on the basis of race, either. It can be on the basis of sex or age, hence McCain's marginalization as out of the loop generationally.
No one should be cowed by calls of racism, but no one should be so callow as to think the election of Obama would be a quick fix to a deep wound.
CT,
I am horrified you will be leaving Main and Central. Damn this miserable economy. I hope for a quick resolution to your problems, and a return to the helm of M & C.
Lurch would have been so proud of the honor you've done the site.
Mahalo, Lisa!
That really means a lot! 8-)
Hopefully, I'll be on my feet, and, up and running in more ways than one! I did want to give ya a heads up!
CT,
My thoughts are with you, now.
MB,
Follow-on: I realized it might be I who would be construed as racist, but that is not my intent.
Rather, the question I confront is: How can the McCain/Palin ticket -- a weaker ticket I can not imagine -- present a challenge to the Democrats this turn. How can that be? It is certainly not on policy issues, so there must be something more elemental.
I have been privy to hear the reasons from both blacks and whites. I cannot imagine I am alone, and my observations are not earth-shattering, but I have not read them elsewhere. I will post them Sun.
I have sadly heard from numerous white people, mostly older, that I come in contact with at work, that they are lifelong democrats but they won't vote for Obama either becasue "he is a Muslim" or that "the country isn't ready for a black President."
Rick98,
Yup, it may not be, and what amazes me is the feigned shock of many East and West-Coast Democrats to this pretty obvious problem. I mean, it's not like we as a nation have ever successfully tackled the race issue.
Everyone says with a flourish, it is or it isn't an issue, but surely it won't stop thinking Democratic voters from casting their ballots. I that's a wrong presumption.
We are not fools here, but c'mon: Barack Hussein Obama. We've only been whipped up in these wars against guys named "Hussein" and "Osama" (sounds like...) for seven years. Seems silly, right -- what's in name? We'll see.
Yeah Lisa,
I'd like to think that Americans are more intelligent than that, but after the events of the past 7 years I've come to the conclusion that the majority are herd beasts driven by emotion rather than reason.
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