Sony Defends Controversial Ads - UPDATED |
Ó
UPDATE 1: Just a quick note to let you guys know that the images in question have apparently been taken off the Dutch PSP homepage and replaced with the following:
So is this an admission by Sony that the initial images were in bad taste? Not necessarily, as we learned this morning the ad consists of over 100 diiferent photos and these images might well be the next step in the the ad campaign. Still, it is pretty coincidental timing.
Well that was quick, you'd almost think they had a statement ready... almost like they expected to have to use it. Before I get into posting Sony's reply to yesterday's controversial ad, let me state something plainly. I never once in the original news story called the ad in question, or Sony, racist. It's a silly notion that such a huge multinational corporation might be racist and I don't believe for a second that that is the case, however, I do think that Sony approved the ads knowing full well the sort of controversy it would pull and banked on just that to make the campaign a "success". I expect the ads then, are a success, if the barometer by which you measure the success of an ad rests solely on how many feathers it ruffles (sigh, and yet here we are talking about it, ruffling feathers). Anyway, let's move on to Sony's response, which reads:
"The marketing campaign for the launch of the White PSP in the Benelux focuses on the contrast between the Black PSP model and the new Ceramic white PSP model. A variety of different treatments have been created as a campaign to either highlight the whiteness of the new model or contrast the black and the white models. Central to this campaign has been the creation of some stunningly photographed imagery, that has been used on large billboards throughout Holland."
The spokesperson also goes on to say:
"All of the 100 or so images created for the campaign have been designed to show this contrast in colours of the PSPs , and have no other message or purpose."
If the idea was to merely show a contrast in colors then why not have both models standing side by side, or playing a game of chess with some black and white pieces, or heck even arm-wrestling? Why show them in direct conflict and in a position of domination and submission? Does the metaphor for "people as PSP's" even carry over to this state of conflict? Are the white and black PSP's fighting for market share and superiority now?
It's not the fact that image is racist (because really it is not) it's the fact that it's so easily interpreted as such, and that it lends itself to that reading and that Sony would disrespect its customers to such a degree as to use this tactic against them.
Perhaps most telling is a statement from a representative at Sony's UK office concerning the ads chances of leaving Holland:
"I would like to confirm that we categorically are not running this advert creative in the UK."
Now you have to ask yourself why it seems the UK office is so quick to distance itself from this bold new advertising campaign, after all what's good for the goose is good for the gander, right?
As always you're invited to share your thoughts and comments in the form below, please try to keep the discussion civil and clean, thanks guys!
Contact Us:
The QJ.net Network |
 |
| Site | Feed |
| QJ.NET | RSS |
| Nintendo DS | RSS |
| PlayStation 3 | RSS |
| PSP Updates | RSS |
| Wii | RSS |
| Xbox 360 | RSS |
| MMORPG | RSS |
| Personal Computer Games | RSS |
| iPhone - iPod Touch | RSS |
| QJ.NET Forums | RSS |
Add QJ.NET
User Favorites - December
User Favorites - December
Categories
Archives
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
Comments [refresh]
1st comment!!!!
what i see is that although the 2 versions of the psp are the same, they look different... it's almost a comment on how we're all the same, whether or not we look different.
yeah, so people could misconstrue the whole thing as somehow showing tension between black and white. i would have thought the world was getting slightly beyond that kind of thing though. personally i saw nothing offensive at all about it, just a very stylised campaign.
i have a feeling that oversensitive prudes get their way a lot in the world, and it's not fair. i don't know anyone who takes offense at these ads, so why on earth are people saying they could be offensive?! they're not!
yes, it's a storm in a tea cup, but i feel that it does highlight a slightly different issue - that's overreactions, it's starting to get annoying.
I Live in The Netherlands
and i've seen this billboards a couple time.
And i need to say " i love these ad's "
Anyway, cant really see anything wrong with these "controversial" image.
pathetic
sony wants you to be a *****ing idiot and make a big deal out of this, and you are.
hey atleast this is psp news..
Why not shut the ***** up, stop complaining about racism that isn't there, and get a GOD DAMN LIFE!
I mean for CHRIST'S SAKE! People like the original poster of this article are the racist ones, not the people who made this article.
This is 2006, a white person and a black person can be in an ad together without it automatically being racist. Get with the times.
why did they had to put and ungly black women OR is dat a man? on that ad why couldnt they use BROOKE VALENTINE or HOLLy BERRy .....thats how i view my black psp as sexy as
A. American superstars....
I can't see anything wrong with these ads. If people want to blow it all out of proportion simply because there is a black woman and a white woman in the ad, so be it. Ignornace knows no bounds.
Along those lines, should I, as a white man, be offended since Sony brought out the black PSP first? Are they not saying that black is superior and that white is just a secondary novelty item? No, I shouldn't. Want to know why? Because not everything in this world is a comment on race. Black can be just that, black. A color. It doesn't always have to represent black people. White can be just that, the color white. It's not always going to signify white people.
The only things that are being represented in these ads are the black and white PSPs. No sly, underhanded commentary on races and the perceived differences between them. Just when it feels like the world is making some tiny bit of progress in understanding that we are all in fact, humans no matter what our skin color may be, ignorance rears it's ugly head and we slip back a few centuries.
I think you're making a big deal over nothing really - if you see a black person and a white person fighting in the street, do you think that's racism? No it's not.
If it was two white people fighting, or two black people fighting - then it's unlikely you'd call the ads controversial. Yet for some reason people seem to think that colour of skin matters and then make a big deal about it - when really we shouldn't.
Fact is, there are two colours of PSPs - a white and black PSP. The ads show the two colours together - and whether they are fighting or arguing or whatever, it's just colour and people take it a step too far.
There is no message behind these ads, apart from that the new white PSP is out to somewhat 'rival' the black PSP. It doesn't say that we should go fighting and strangling other people.
i like the ad,... its sexy not racist - geesh who are all these whining idiots?
ads well be ads
Qj is already a sucker for this particular ad... Sony wants people to discuss the ad, they want websites to have it in there news, they want it to be on TV. The fact is when people see this they remeber it, its pretty hard not to forget, and thanks to its 'contreversy' news of it has spread far and wide... The buety of it is Sony is getting coverage, and publicity on TV, radio the internet, whatever, and all they had to do was come up with these bill boards....
Think about it this way and you will realise that you too have also fallen victim to the ad campaign; because just like me your gonna remeber it
that aint racist considering I am black.
it almost look like a ying yang sign lol^_^
Anyone ever thought this can be considered quite Kinky?
as she is dominating him.
more like a S&M kind of thing. which I love in the artistic way they portray it.
Love the ideas they come up with.
*in the other, you clearly see the guy dominating her.
the white psp should have a reflective screen instead of a backlight like the gba so then it would be completely white and then the white psp would work better for bright places while the black psp would work better for dark places lol
Hi Christopher C....
I think these comments show you're really the one who's started all this *****. Not Sony. I live in holland and no one is talking about it over here. At least not about the ad ralated to racism. As far as I know you're the only one relating it to racism.
I think you wrote the artikle really fast after seeing only one picture. After seeing the other pictures you were to "proud" to admit you were wrong. In my oppinion that's a sad story
LOOKS LIKE A MICHAEL JACKSON TRANSFORMATION HAHAHAHAHAHAHA "it doesnt matter if your black or white....
AHEEE HEEE!!!"
I printed it out and asked 7 people what they thought about it out of context and they all said while not positively racist there is could be something implied which in my opinion is bad for the gaming community as a hole.
*****s *****s *****s
The quality and credibility of the contents of pspupdates is going from bad to worse. I'm not going to visit this page anymore.
I must say that if I was in charge of advertising at sony and someone brought me this I wouldn't have used it. I wouldn't have fired anyone for being racist either, its just not in good taste.
he said it twice?
heh!,... makes a good wall paper for ur psp aswell!
Sorry about that, fixed.
They'd get slaughtered by the political incorrectness squad for the one with the white woman in power.
wow... it take almost no time for Sony to defend itself...
well I first though it was a bit "hard" for the "black psp" to be treated like that... shame on the "white psp" hahaha.... (inside joke)....
seriously, i can't stand people who try to find a subbliminal message behind every damn thing. just like the whole 'loco roco' uproar. I'm black myself, and the only thing offending me here are the people that use every excuse to portrait how 'politically correct' they are.
zzzzzzzzzzzzz. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz .zzzzzzzzz
"If the idea was to merely show a contrast in colors then why not have both models standing side by side, or playing a game of chess with some black and white pieces, or heck even arm-wrestling? Why show them in direct conflict and in a position of domination and submission? Does the metaphor for "people as PSP's" even carry over to this state of conflict? Are the white and black PSP's fighting for market share and superiority now?"
Oh Chris, Chris, in getting swept up with your paranoia of racism, you stopped and forgot to look at the advert as a man. The reason they didn't use any of the things you suggested is because of SEX. Y'know, that thing, black and white chick, sub/dom, sounds like I'm describing porn.
This advert's more about sex than it is about race.
This is all stepping up to a bunch of white people not knowing how to react to this *****, I'll tell you how: don't sweat it.
I am black and i too am sick of everthing being supposidly racist. I dont find this advertisement at all racist, in fact i quite like it and is a good advert. Please could people stop thinking everythng is racist, its really getting on my nerves.
HOW SAD SO SAD
This ad is meant for holand. they dont have the same race issues that we have in america. It's a little self centered to think that a japanese company who is advertising in holand needs to be sensitive to issues in america.
If you disagree, let me ask a simple question. Do you have a problem showing a 4 fingered cartoon character in an advertisement? A portrayal of any character in japan is like showing someone in blackface and calling them the n word in america. "4 fingers" is a discriminatory remark to a low level caste in japan. In fact, Disney had to pay a huge settlement to this group in order to be able to show mickey mouse with 4 fingers.
If you didn't know that, then it just shows how self centered you are. Imagine if the japanese started raising a big fuss about advertisments in america that portrayed 4 fingered characters. That would be a little ridiculous wouldnt it.
These pictures would be more apt back in the late '80's early '90's. They're way too sigue sigue sputnik for me. C'mon Sony, people want advertising that is simplistic, not all this guessing shyte. As for me, I thought the squirrel and portable nuts ads were the best. Hell even the launch ad was incorrect. You know the one where the guy is walking down the "sunny" street playing his psp. We all know that that can't happen. So give it up, this throws people away from your product. IMO.
"Still, it is pretty coincidental timing."
They have over a hundred pictures and an iminent white PSP release. They're trying to populate them without flooding the site with pictures, really, you don't see them tearing down the billboards anytime soon.
Looks like we're gonna be seeing more of the 100 or so pictures they took, but, oh no! They did it again! One of the hands is black, and the other one is white! What the...oh, that's probably fine to you guys, right?
Just drop it, some argue that this discussion is planned for more hype, when really it's just not intended for you.
"It's a silly notion that such a huge multinational corporation might be racist and I don't believe for a second" You See? No1 Said It Was Racist! & "If the idea was to merely show a contrast in colors then why not have both models standing side by side, or playing a game of chess with some black and white pieces, or heck even arm-wrestling? Why show them in direct conflict and in a position of domination and submission?"
It's True! Why not Show Them Side To Side Or Having A Drink Or Sumin I Duno, Not Lookin Like There About To Battle Etc. Comparing a PSP To a Race Is Pretty Low.
CARES?? this is what sony wants! they make their own publicity
That's idiotic. The ad is clearly to show the difference between the two versions.
WHERE THE F*** CAN YOU SEE RACISM IN THIS AD???
if the black one is a man or a women?
HELP! HELP! Its the thought police!
ok
so sony says that some ppl have certain ideas on things?
so
i could say some stuff about other people too
and look at the new pictures
the psp with two colors
thats pretty cool looking
i dont see anything racist in any of the images ive seen so far
i'm a 27 year old black male, and i don't find the images offensive in the least, and honestly, when i looked at them, i didn't think anything other than, "Hey, those are pretty cool pictures." the photographer who took them is very talented, i think, and those pieces of art could be used for a multitude of different things and meanings, they just happen to be applied to video games in this instance, but would people have been getting so upset if the images were in a museum, and if the meaning *was* indeed about racial tension?
no one wants to look at videogames as art yet, so a campaign like this seems out of place or inappropriate to the masses that don't know any better. i like the pictures, i wasn't hurt, or upset, or offended. people are prudes.
as an example of something that does hurt and offend me, i was watching the news after Hurricaine Katrina hit New Orleans, and the newscaster was reporting about how it was pandemonium, and that there was robbing and looting, and all sorts of violence, and those statements were accompanied by various shots of black people looting and stealing, etc. then the newscaster went on to report about how there was hope, with caring, giving people donating food and clothes to those needed. this was accompanied by numerous shots of white people. there wasn't a black face in the crowd. that kind of skewed view of society is what hurts and offends me. and it's what hurts society and breeds incorrect perceptions of the various nationalities living in this country. not subjective, artistic, photographs.
Nothing is racist abought this.
i don't know, this isn't the first time sony's used borderline racist imagery in their ad campaigns. remember those terrible tv commercials with the offensive racial stereotypes of mexicans and black people, portrayed as dustballs and squirrels respectively?
"HEY MANG JOO SEE THEES GAME MANG"
i live in amsterdam, I've seen the ads.(I'm black, if ur wondering) And I LOVE the ad!!!
Those squirrel commercials are pretty funny, because they're portraying ethnicities they must be racist?
Get over it.
are natually racist animals.
ok
so just because sony makes some commercials with dustballs or squirrels that song like one specific race, makes them racist?!
if so then every commercial is racist!!
because every commercial that people are talking, they are talking like a certain race!
so because some people talk one way, and sony wishes to use that vioce, instead of the 'correct way to talk' makes them racist!? i say that all the other commercials are racist to white people! yeah! because they have a narrator tlaking like a white peson!
now thats the stupidest thing i have ever heard in my life!
realism = racism!?!?
no it doesnt! grow up
people talk different. and so its not racism if some one talks like they do.
otherwise, every thing is racism that makes a noise!
#49 is being racist because he automatically assumed it was a mexican.
you got a point there
its a marketing ploy:
a) generate as many outcries from advertisements as possible, leading to widespread controversy (of course, if you have half a brain, you'd know everyone loves controversy)
b) have a sony spokesperson publicly acknowledge these outcries, and change them to a "less outrageous" advert at the last minute.
Think people, think.
oh ffs!
The world needs to get its collective "pollitical correctness" bull5hit in check. This aint in poor taste, this aint even slightly rascist or anything. Its a rather stylised advert, might look too much like a perfume add, but theres nothing wrong with it persay.
Political correctness is bollocks.
Only in the Netherlands.
why are the forums not working
Chris, I really can't believe your pathetic reaction to the ad. This is boardering on American hypocracy. African people have different skin colour than Eskimos, live with it. I feel this difference is a beautiful and have nothing against this ad. I, being as pale as titanium oxyde, would have been just as happy if Sony had released a white PSP first and was advertizing for a black version in exactly the same way. Our past abuse/misuse of symbols (skin colour being an example, the lucky charm called 'swastika' being another) should not inhibit any healthy, witty use of it.
QJ needs to keep overly biased articles off their front page. The writer of this article needs to get with reality. He/She seems like the kind of person that would bring up racism in all kinds of things in everyday life. Just because it can be interpreted as racism by radical people dosn't mean it is. Heck going by your thinking, Those chocolate easter bunnies they sell around easter are racist because there are a lot more chocolate ones than white chocolate ones. Oh and cars are racist because there are a lot more of certain colors than other colors. Also basketball must be racist because there are more people of some races than others. Get a life people.
and at first i thought everyone thought this was racist.. but on reflection it seems no one really thinks it.
strange.
seems like a huge deal although not many people are bothered.
as soon as you have a black person and a white person racism seems to be called, regardless of everything.. everyone seems to jump to the negative interpretation.
omg the white person seems cominant so its saying black people are crap
but if roles were reversed i bet people would say its claiming black people are violent and beat people and *****.
its not racist its clever. they are basing their advert on a controversial topic to gain attention.
any publicity is good publicity.
and so what if there are 100 pictures? so it makes ti worse jsut because there are more?
i wanna see the rest and see how people take them ;)
sony pwnt you
this is not only the most racist ad ihave ever seen but it's also the stupidest, how the hell does this relate to psp
"Europeans, in general, tend to be more racist than Americans (this is not generalization, this is a trend)."
I can't see how this page can get any more idiotic.
there you go... that one is much better no contreversy just the contrast of the two psp's cause the first pics really looked like a psp rivalry....stupid a$$ sony but good comeback dough....
Anybody know who she is?
This is on par with that blue man group thing. So what if a light toned person plays the white and a dark toned person plays the black?
so what? They're acting, biches, no making a statement on any issues about racial superiority, conflict, or whatever.
they're hot, that's all that matters. fap fap fap...
go f ur self waa im black everybody hates me waa white people got it so much better than me waaaa grow up stop blaming every body els and take resposiblety for your self waaaaa i like to cry race its esier than tak
eing responsiblety for my self. have you ever thought that som people arnt raciest there just asssssssssholee sssssssssssssss ssssss!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!yes i know my spellings bad im not entering a spelling bee.
"Europeans, in general, tend to be more racist than Americans (this is not generalization, this is a trend). A major reason for this is that there are not many black people integrated into their communities. Many Europeans have only seen black people on rare occasions."
yes, rare occasions. it is a rare site to see a black person in europe. many people go their whole lives here without ever seeing a black person.
i, myself, have never seen one.
rare occasions? are you serious? have you ever been to europe?
Hey are the forums down? i keep getting a gateway timeout
noone would have a problem if they found a hot black girl.
They had to find some chick straight from the black panthers era or somethin'! Sony knew what they were doin' the *****s!!
Yes! Lets all jump on the bandwagon and cry racism.
Let us be civilized and rational human beings.
This add is not racist. Clearly the two models are displaying a conflict between the white and black psp models on equal ground, which represents the conflict some may have when they must choose which color to buy. Any racism found here is projected onto it since these are models to represent two colors, black and white, not to represent two races. The context is not meant to offend, but I do believe there is validity to the notion that sony may have known this would spark controvercy yadda yadda and probably give them free advertising.
for that they deserve a slap, however it's not an ad to lose your cool over, I believe. Don't give them what they possibly wanted.
I can't see how this is interpreted as racist? It's metaphoric, and I thought it was rather neat of Sony to use people. People are black, people are white, face it. The pictures are not of the white woman is doing nothing that demeans blacks as a whole, and same on the flipside, the black woman is doing nothing to offend whites. It's simply two women, who happen to have different coloured skin, fighting.
Yeah it is racist, Ugly Black woman against a Beautiful White woman.
1.Opening intro for SF2:The World Warrior- Blonde-Blue Eye White guy knocks out Black guy.
2.Old Benetton ad featuring a Black kid with horns as the devil, White kid as an angel.
3. Pimps and hoes in Balrog's stage and this is just all in one game.
I can go on and on about stereotypically racist characters in videogames.
Black is evil and White is pure. Intelligent people whether white,black or everything else see that this is systemic racism and yes coming from a multinational corporation it does'nt surprise me. Shock value controversy-maybe more people will buy a PSP?-Gimme a *****in break... How about showing some good games, period. No. 65 got it right, this is extremely bad taste amidst the racial tensions in Europe especially during the World Cup. The same as when Black people "looted" and White people "found" stuff during the whole Katrina incident. I hate to break it to all of you white people in denial but this is just a racist world that we live in, very sad.
if the ad showed them fighting and a titty (or two) was showing. then i bet you people wouldn't think it was racist then.
so maybe we all stop looking at the outside and focus on the inside (of their shirts) then we could all get along.
I think its kinda tasteful
Look, im an african american and i dont find this at all offensive, so why should anyone else, the thing that bothers me about racism is when ppl who arent of a particular race sticking up for another when the race on the supposed deffense isnt offended, it makes the person whos sticking up for them seem like the racist (if that makes sense)
man shut tha ***** up, im not even black, im half white and half asian, and im tired of white people claiming everythin is racist when they know they are just trying to act like they care, it aint their business to say this ***** is racist, they aint black
its just a white person grabing some black guy. I don't see why some people are like "OMG!"
im black dumb assssssssssssss sssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss ssssssssssss
I think Sony tries to be too much Wannabe Apple by trying to make "classy", "controversial" commercials...
Just my two cents
Its idiots like you that allow racism to exist!
Its just an add for a video game, quit LOOKING for a reason to be offended!
You and nobody you know were ever a slave. Im tired of being made feel like I have done something bad simply because of the actions of a group of people who are long dead, towards another group of people who are also long dead. If we all just GET OVER THE PAST AND MOVE ON, the world will be a lot better place.
There is nothing that anybody today can do to change the things that happened in the past - THEY WERNT EVEN ALIVE THEN, NEITHER WAS ANYONE WHO CHOOSES TO BE OFFENDED BY THIS.
Very Clever Ad, Id run it myself, its funny because the only people that think this is racist are over sensitive white people, or people who are white washed.
To number 9, the Black lady isnt that ugly, and its spelled Halle not Holly. The white girl isn't really hot either, anyways thats not the point, This is as dumb as the thing about Loco Roco being racist.
I have read some pretty disturbing things on this site, and I bet QJ.net's writers are vexed by the things people post.
It doesn't matter, if you personally find the images racist or not.
There are people who do ; so, what right do you have to question it .
Do you feel that your feeling are more important, or do you simply lack compassion ?
In other words.
Why defend what others find offensive ?
There is and will always be some level of racism in the world. It could be your skin color, your religion, or even the kind of clothes you chose to wear. So, while alot of you on here say you do not see the racist meanings of the ad - I say you are blind! Of course Sony is using it to draw attention and of course they would never admit that it could come across as a racist ad, or they would have law suits left and right.
dis iz funy
??????? lol it like this is somthing taken out of south park
_______________ ______-
psp 1.5 fw, 256mb
gb emulater
aotm
i think, since this has turned into a race issue, that it needs to be pointed out that the Civil Rights movement just ended less that *40 years ago*. my mom (who is 56), grew up during the 50's and 60's, and wasn't allowed to eat at certain restaurants, and had to drink from "black only" fountains. she was pulled over and accosted by cops because she was driving around a "white" neighborhood (nevermind that she worked at Warner Bros and was on her way home). young people need to drop the notion that all racism died out back in the 1800. about 3 years ago, i was called a n****r by a white person while i was making a U -Turn and he got pissed off. racism still exits, and until people stop basing their opinions of another race from what they've seen and heard on the Television or Radio, we'd all understand that it's not the color of our skin that makes us "good" or "bad" people, it's our actions to our fellow man.
the comments you posted come off as more bigoted than any of the photographs in the Sony PSP ad campaign.
things like, "You and nobody you know were ever a slave. Im tired of being made feel like I have done something bad simply because of the actions of a group of people who are long dead, towards another group of people who are also long dead."
whether or not it was your intention, a comment like that offends me because it assumes that *all* black people love to call the race card as a crutch to garner sympathy. it's as foolish as saying all Jews love to bring up the holocaust to garner sympathy for them. and if we follow you're thinking that we should just get over and forget that, yes, slavery was real in the 1800, and yes, that as late as 1969 there were blacks getting hosed and lynched and beaten to death, we will never, ever grow as human beings. it's not books and movies, and video games that are degrading society (especially here in America), it's apathy. people just don't care about anyone, or anything but themselves. That is all.
i'm a 27 year old black male, and i don't find the images offensive in the least, and honestly, when i looked at them, i didn't think anything other than, "Hey, those are pretty cool pictures." the photographer who took them is very talented, i think, and those pieces of art could be used for a multitude of different things and meanings, they just happen to be applied to video games in this instance, but would people have been getting so upset if the images were in a museum, and if the meaning *was* indeed about racial tension?
no one wants to look at videogames as art yet, so a campaign like this seems out of place or inappropriate to the masses that don't know any better. i like the pictures, i wasn't hurt, or upset, or offended. people are prudes.
as an example of something that does hurt and offend me, i was watching the news after Hurricaine Katrina hit New Orleans, and the newscaster was reporting about how it was pandemonium, and that there was robbing and looting, and all sorts of violence, and those statements were accompanied by various shots of black people looting and stealing, etc. then the newscaster went on to report about how there was hope, with caring, giving people donating food and clothes to those needed. this was accompanied by numerous shots of white people. there wasn't a black face in the crowd. that kind of skewed view of society is what hurts and offends me. and it's what hurts society and breeds incorrect perceptions of the various nationalities living in this country. not subjective, artistic, photographs.
The reason it showed black people looting and robbing is because that was the main population in the area. They didn't see any white people doing so. Then the people that came to help were from different states and were mainly white. No offense but most blacks are lazy and don't care about what happens to others. I feel no sympathy for the katrina "victims". They were all mostly on welfare and are now getting new houses replacing the old *****ty houses they had and weren't paying rent for. And now they are getting unemployment checks for the jobs they never had. That white woman in the ad needs to be hanging the black (dude or chick I don't know) for it to be racist, or even hitting (him or her) with a whip while it's pickin white psps out of the ground.
ha ha ha I made a joke.
I am not racist I am a faccist(sp).
*we* didn't see white people looting and robbing because they chose not to show us white people looting and robbing. poverty breeds desperation, regardless of skin color. the news just likes to report on the "angry black person" angle.
a lot of the reason why blacks (such as myself) didn't go to New Orleans to help was because we couldn't afford to. i won't even get into how ignorant the statement that blacks are lazy and don't care about others. (i work 10 to 12 hour days at my job, on top of an hour and a half commute to work). i'm guessing that you watch a lot of the evening news, and haven't had much experience with blacks outside of maybe the few that work at your local McDonalds. turn off the television and get out into the real world. get some actual life experience.
if you were up on current events, you would know that the government is pulling support for the people in New Orleans, and that if they don't come up with their rent on their own, they're going to be evicted from their homes. having grown up with nothing, and having experienced an eviction or two (for the simple fact that my mom chose to feed us, thus meaning she was short on rent), i do have sympathy for those in New Orleans. the homes aren't what's important, however, it's the lives that were lost during that event. i have family that lives out there, and while, thankfully, none of them were hurt, that doesn't stop me from empathizing with those families that did lose loved ones.
you are my case in point that most people only care about themselves, and until something happens to them, they'll continue to not care. look at 9/11. Americans could've cared less that over in Iraq, people were getting killed and blown up on practically a daily basis, from men, to women, to children. those people never know if when they go to work or school the next day, they'll be seeing their families again. but once 9/11 happened, Americans were crying and sobbing, wanting all eyes, and all sympathy on them, because, "Well, its *us*! Coddle us! We're Americans!" it didn't matter that all over the world people are suffering and dying, but when it hit home, we were up in arms, wanting everyone to help us wipe out the "evil-doers" that did us wrong. it's hypocrisy, and it's what we seem to be really good at here in America.
and, no, you may not be a racist, but you are an insensitive douchebag.
to see this as controversial is being racist
now this forum is ridiculous...its all nonsense....
Why didnt they just make a picture of 2 psp's?? like the Japanese ads...
This whole PSP color is to make you choose. Which psp do you want? Black or White?
But now simbolize it with people... which do you want???
Black or White...???? This whole thing is bringing back the BLACK Vs. WHITE thing.
It's racism not just against black people... but both... associating things with persons... and bringing the color competition.
the "Black Vs White," thing has never gone away. it's hard to bring something back that was never gone to begin with. i'm 5'3'', 120lbs, light brown, and older white women *still* clutch their purses to their chests, or go to the other side of the street when i walk past them. it's all about perceptions. the more non-blacks see blacks as threatening and scary, the more blacks will see non-blacks as racist or bigoted.
things will slowly change (especially now that there is an increasing number of mixed children out there) when more people communicate. my brother in law is white. my other brother in law is mixed (black and white). i'm creole and black (creole being french and indian), my fiance is white. my nieces and nephews are all mixed, and are being raised with a balanced view of both whites and blacks. my children will be the same. that generation will be the one that tears down barriers and bridges gaps and misunderstandin gs. our parents generation won't be the one to do it, our generation has made wonderful headway along that path (i think our generation, the 20 and 30 year olds, are a lot more open and understanding of other nationalities, and we're passing that on to our children), but we're still about a generation or two off from total equality. it's just a shame that its taken close to 200 years to get this far (which, really, isn't very far at all. but hey, it's a start).
one of the other things we can do to help propegate that change, is to stop being so offended by things like this ad. personally, i don't find it offensive, but many do, and the work is open to any kind of interpretation we put into it. the ad itself isn't what's racist. it's just images. we're projecting our thoughts and beliefs into it, and that's what causes the controversy within ourselves. *why* is it racist? it's two women fighting. no big deal. *we* are the ones that are labeling them as "a black woman, and a white woman." *we* are the ones adding our own social prejudices to the image, thus proving how race conscious this world still is. man, we have a long way to go still...
well you're right...
things go both ways..
nice point of view
chill out ppl, its because of ppl that say this is racist that even racism exist... why is this racist? see! this is NOT racist, but SOMEONE HAVE to bring it up, why? because racism still hasnt ended officially... treat ppl equally, don't even NOTICE the difference, yeah, so my friend's black, i DONT CARE, hes human, and thats enough, i dont treat him like a black, i treat him like i treat anyone else, so he DONT even feel ANY pressure... and wtf is with some ppl keep saying everything is racist? stop... its better if we AGREE everything isn't racist.
If is was a black person choking a white person its not racist. But if its the other way around it is racist. How FU#kING stipid. How is this racist. "Some People" alway find a way to make white people look bad.
In Brazil, the newspapers never use the words "Black" or "White" to describe someone's skin color. Or so I've heard from a friend from that beautiful country. In America, it's more common. Nevertheless, the words are loaded, not simply because they can be taken one way but a multiplicity of ways. And unfortunately, most of those meanings are grounded in negative connotations (very few are positive). So, for SONY to employ such language exhibits more than a carelessness. Marrying the word "Black" (here used to define an ethnicity but it's also problematic) to the image of a woman of African descent in violent opposition to a woman of European descent married to the word "white" denotes some reference to skin color. We live in the 21st century, folks. Have we not learned the problematic of such terms? How race and slavery depend on violence enacted on the black body? Have we not learned that peoples of African-descent (myself included), especially in historically colonized/oppressed nations prefer to reappropiate their own images and not be bound by the dominent culture's rules of identification? SONY is ignorant. That ignorance is bread out of a denial which is part and parcel of the nature of racism. So yes--it can be read as racist; and SONY should know better.