Thinking more about American Indians in the media

As I've given more thought to my final project, I have considered the presence or absence of American Indians from the media. Media professionals sometimes tread lightly over this terrain, but I think they need to delve into it more deeply. American Indians, or Native Americans (the debate continues over which term to use), deserve treatment just as any other ethnic group does. Despite the fact that they are outnumbered, they still exist and, tribe by tribe, contribute richly to our American culture.

I follow a sports blog called www.survivinggrady.com. In one post, one of the authors mentioned Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury's interview in an issue of Men's Vogue. I immediately clicked the link to read the article. Of course, the first paragraph mentions Ellsbury's Navajo heritage. While it is of note that Ellsbury is the first Navajo player in the major leagues, I still wonder why that facet of his background draws the most attention. Doesn't his athletic prowess trump everything when it comes to lauding him as a member of the team? If Ellsbury were white, would the writer have drawn attention to that? I doubt it.

This presents my struggle with the topic of American Indian presence/absence from the media. While I assert that they deserve equal treatment, I also do not want them to be exploited. I suppose exploitation manifests itself as the ultimate evil of some forms of journalism. Not everyone believes the media are objective in their methods.

Final project ideas

I've been thinking a lot about my final paper topic. Although most students in our class will expand their mini-study papers to explore topics thoroughly, I think I might choose a new path. Some of the things that interest me is a study of Cabbage Patch dolls and the percentages of white-skinned ones and black-skinned ones (and Asian and Native American ones, if any) that may have been manufactured.

Another topic I'd like to explore is the amount, or lack, of Native American figures in advertising. I might do this from a film angle, too. I need to narrow this somehow. I'm sure there is an abundance of literature in mass communications journals. This topic has interested me for a long time. It still shocks me to consider how Native Americans have not fared as well as other ethnic groups in this country and that their struggles were never self-imposed; they were victims of racism and negligence. No one seems to give it much media treatment, either. It makes me sad.

Identifying Race

Recently, my grandmother sent me a clip from the op/ed section of The Hartford Courant. The piece caught my grandmother's eye because it addressed presidential candidate Barack Obama's race. The writer, Rachel F. Gary, chose to respond to the media's habit of calling attention to Obama's African heritage. Ms. Gary observed that broadcasters label Obama as "the first African American, Democratic presidential candidate." She says this label is inaccurate. Barack Obama is biracial. Calling him "black" or "African American," Ms. Gary notes, does a disservice to his maternal heritage. It also identifies him as something he is not.

Ms. Gary is biracial and chooses to identify herself as such. She does not see herself as half black and half white; rather, she sees herself as a wholly, biracial being. I have struggled with the identification process myself. My father is East Indian, and my mother is Irish. I, of course, look white because of my fair skin. My mother indicated "white" on my birth certificate. My younger brother, however, takes after my father and looks Indian. My mother still chose to identify him as a white baby when he was born, though. Today, seeing Patrick, no one would ever suspect he is Irish.

The problem with these labels is that they rely on stereotypes. What if my brother Patrick were born in Ireland to Irish citizens? Wouldn't he then truly be Irish? The same problem occurs with my identity. Even when I tell some people that I am only half white, they say, "Well, you act white, so you should call yourself white." What an ignorant way of thinking! What is acting "white"? What is acting "black"? What is acting "Indian"? Differences in personality and lifestyle exist across cultures. People are products of their environments, not necessarily their races. Barack Obama has a fascinating background because he was raised in transnational settings. I am sure that he uses those environments, rather than his biracial makeup alone, to account for his identity.

Parentheticals

Responding to The New York Times article, "The Tastemaker," from a journalistic perspective, I find fault with Lynn Hirschberg's writing for two specific reasons. Hirschberg uses parentheticals in the second and third paragraphs to insert commentary about two fashion designers' sexual orientations. Isn't the mark of good journalism the ability of the writer to convey facts objectively and without commentary or speculation?

In the second paragraph, Hirschberg injects the Pilati quote, “I couldn’t tell my parents I wanted to work in fashion,” he said. “They thought everyone in fashion turned out to be gay or a drug addict. And I became both!” in parenthetical form. She does this as an interjection to the statement of Pilati's wanting to become an architect as a child. Is this interjection necessary to the layout of the story, which may or may not have unfolded naturally on a course of revealing Pilati's sexual preference? In other words, is his homosexuality crucial to the purpose of the story?

The third paragraph moves the story of Pilati's life forward to his adulthood, as Hirshberg introduces the reader to Pierre Berge. Pilati explains Berge's prominence in the Yves Saint Laurent fashion market, but Hirschberg chooses to mention, again parenthetically, that Berge was Mr. Saint Laurent's romantic partner as well as his business partner. Again, this mention seems unnecessary.

While some readers may assume that Pialti and Saint Laurent are homosexual because of their work in the fashion industry, this assumption is rooted in stereotypical thinking and may be proven false. Hirschberg, however, wishes to make it known.

Response to Dr. Lambiase's post re: Senator John Cornyn

Senator Cornyn's video embeds the stereotype of "big, bad Texans" and does nothing to unite politicians across party lines. In this instance, stereotypes further their negative connotation. While Senator Cornyn may believe that his image in the video strengthens the character of powerful leaders from Texas, I believe it positions him as a target for jokes. The image of him a a rustling cowboy does nothing to fortify his role as a senator.